Let's all take a minute to give thanks...

I'm just sayin.....

It's official, again.

I have named the worst band of the Year. I know it's a little early, with a whole month left to go, but I have already heard a radio single I simply don't think can be outdone, save for invention of a musical instrument that exclusively plays brown notes.

This song is the new single by Theory of a Dead Man. Due to the unfortunate demise of 99x, and the fact that NPR (I've become my father, I know) doesn't broadcast news or weird opera music at all times I have been forced to roll the tuner looking for something else. This led me to stumble across the early front runner for this prestigious award, the new Puddle Of Mud single. Actually I don't know how old it is, I just know that it makes me think of getting a violent colonoscopy. I will never ever ever forgive that band for what they have done to rock, and I will never forgive anyone who admits to being a fan of theirs. All of this had me seriously surprised when they were edged out of the lead. Now, this was a real photo finish here, kids, but Theory of a Dead man is actually worse. 

Yes.

Worse than "Tell me I'm the WOAN." (How much do you want to bet that douchesack spells is 'skizofrenik'? anyone? anyone?)

If you haven't heard this band, imagine Nickelback. Now make them worse. Now make them even a little worser. and worser, and worserer. Now add a producer who thinks wit is adding a little nu-metal riff for a breakdown between choruses, and you have something approaching this horrible band. Yes. A low-rent Nickelback knock off with adema riffs to cushion the blow. And the worst FUCKING guitar tones this side of a Crate beginners pack (I tried to link this so you would know what I'm talking about, but I could not find one for sale online through any major retailer). 

Hell is too good for them. Yech.

More bullets!

- "Meh" is officially in the dictionary. Seriously. No, Seriously.

- Hamburger Helper chicken fried rice is way too hard to make. Doing that shit on my own with my own recipe is way easier. What help could they possibly be referring to?

- I have rediscovered Gin and tonics. And we have the best damn liquor store in the world near our house. Best prices, and pleasantly smartass employees. 

!!!!!

- We (RN and myself) finally applied for our joint FOREX account. We should know if we're approved in a few days. Wish us luck, and hope we learn fast! If any of you have any trading advice, especially highly liquid commodities, please let one of us know. 

- My whole family is sick, and C has it especially rough. Does anyone have a spare healthy head lying around? We might can make a deal. I totally have some old tires I'm not using...

- TD is scheduled for one big last blowout of a show, on 11/29 at the Vinyl, with the Soundmen. Now the show might get cancelled because Winter Ransom was also supposed to play, but it turns out they're a bunch of flaky fuckers. I think this is the third or fourth show with us they've bailed on. 

- For my GA readers: The run off between Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss starts next week. Early voting is again an option. The official election date is 12/2. PLEASE Vote against Chambliss. Write in Mickey Mouse if you want, just please help defeat that flat-taxing bigot. I know that Martin is boring and kind of looks like a child molester, but damn it, he's not Chambliss. He's not the son of a bitch who won his senate seat by questioning the patriotism of a man who left three limbs in Vietnam. 

- Does anyone know how to fix an idle problem on a '99 Corolla? Help!?

More views from the tracks

So, here as promised are some more views from the marta tracks. I was on the wrong side of the train this particular morning to get any good pictures of the abandoned industrial sites in West End and Oakland City, but I still like these pictures. All of these were taken between the Fort Mac and West End stations.

I tried to get pictures of some of the car lots along this stretch that are littered with four decades of car shells, but the details are so blurry from a moving train there's no point in sharing the image. It's an acre of rusty lincolns from the Johnson administration.

There's also a business with it's whole half acre rear lot full of old refrigerators, stacked almost two stories high in some places. I'll do my best to get shots of those next.

Today's the day.

Wow. Here we are. The historic crossroads I never seriously thought I'd see. It's going to be hard, but I'm going to try and get through the rest of today without yelling the words "septuagenarian", "asshole", "psychotic", "Bible-thumping", or "harpy".

It's like Christmas, but way more stressful, because if one wins I'll get presents and joy and four years of sunshine brought in on the backs of flying unicorns, and if the other wins, I'll get four years of lashings. Of course, I don't expect either candidate to last the whole term. One do to being born during the Roosevelt administration, and the other due to the fervent xenophobia still so prevalent in this country. I heard a woman caller on a radio show a few weeks ago loudly decrying Obama as a terrorist because his name has the word "bomb" in it. No, not joking. Not in the least. By that logic, I'll refuse to vote for McCain because his name has the word "Cain" in it. As in the first murderer, according to the bible. Cain and Abel? Rocks and skulls meeting at unfortunate velocities? OK, weak analogy, but you get my point.

It's gonna be a bumpy ride.