Regis is 25

It's my birthday today, and my gift to you is the best video I could find (that isn't saying much, I know) of one of my favorite "Weird Al" tunes. Hey, it's either this or obnoxiously self-indulgent reflection.




You're welcome. It's an apparent nod to Tonio K's "The Funky Western Civilization," a song that is equally grim and danceable at the same time - a combination I can always get behind.

The big question of the day is whether or not I'll get the Hawaiian shirt my mother gave me an IOU for last year. I'll keep you posted.

We'll all be crispy critters after World War III,
Regis

UPDATE: No Hawaiian shirt yet, but I am assured it will be done soon. Also, my sister and her fiance forgot my card, so that's late too. But still, as compared to several birthdays past (like '94 and '06), it was a pretty good day.

Brace For Impact

I'll let this speak for itself.


marriedtothesea.com

Happy Pennsylvania Primary Day (I predict Clinton by single digits)/Earth Day,
Regis

And Now For Something Completely Different...

I found this over on Andrew Sullivan's blog (link is to the right, gang), and felt compelled to share it with you: The Most Unwanted Song.

A description:

The most unwanted music is over 25 minutes long, veers wildly between loud and quiet sections, between fast and slow tempos, and features timbres of extremely high and low pitch, with each dichotomy presented in abrupt transition. The most unwanted orchestra was determined to be large, and features the accordion and bagpipe (which tie at 13% as the most unwanted instrument), banjo, flute, tuba, harp, organ, synthesizer (the only instrument that appears in both the most wanted and most unwanted ensembles). An operatic soprano raps and sings atonal music, advertising jingles, political slogans, and "elevator" music, and a children's choir sings jingles and holiday songs. The most unwanted subjects for lyrics are cowboys and holidays, and the most unwanted listening circumstances are involuntary exposure to commercials and elevator music. Therefore, it can be shown that if there is no covariance--someone who dislikes bagpipes is as likely to hate elevator music as someone who despises the organ, for example--fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population would enjoy this piece.

Hooray science!

While it isn't something I'd normally throw on to listen to or play while driving (like Electric Six, for instance), I have to admit I generally enjoyed the piece. The combination of so many musically unrelated elements had an almost Dadaist quality. Some of the elements of the music were quite lovely if taken on their own. Some parts (mainly the kids singing) made me laugh out loud. Overall it kind of felt like watching the infamous Monkees movie Head - weirdly random, but not quite unpleasantly so.

So if you've got 25 minutes to spare, check it out. I think you'll thank me.

Schools are closed and pools are open,
Regis

The Debate

I just finished watching tonight's debate between Senators Obama and Clinton on the DVR (I missed the live broadcast). Here are my quick thoughts and reactions before I go to bed.

Barack Obama: Seemed a little flat. Took a lot of loaded questions and, for the most part, answered them pretty damn well. I particularly appreciated his repeated observation that dwelling on inconsequential to relatively minor things (i.e. flag pins) really just distracts us from the big issues.

Hillary Clinton: Smug and more than content to keep bringing the focus down into the gutter. Certainly less shrill or borderline violent than in previous debates, but still kind of grating. Fixated on Reverend Wright. Her pandering struck me as pretty blatant.

Charles Gibson: Seemed incapable of asking a question that wasn't loaded. Also seemed to interrupt a lot - and while I like moderators calling out candidates when they duck a question, he seemed to butt in needlessly.

George Stephanopoulos: Not quite as smug as Hillary Clinton, but close. Looked like he was mugging for the camera at least once.

All in all, I don't think the debate will really change anything. Obama did a good job taking (and trying to steer the debate onto) the high road, whereas Clinton sure loves her Rovian playbook and wallowing in the mud. Probably a draw, but I'll give it to Barack Obama. I know I'm ready to get past our current state of hyper-partisanship, and he's hands-down our best shot at it, as he showed multiple times tonight.

Cheers,
Regis

With A Glass She's Pretty Handy

This past weekend, Hillary Clinton, being the blue collar regular gal that she is, threw back a shot of Crown Royal and a beer in Crown Point, Indiana. Now, I don't have a problem with an adult responsibly enjoying an alcoholic beverage - I like to do so myself from time to time. Nevertheless, something about this just didn't sit right with me. Last night, it hit me.

Crown Royal is a Canadian whisky.

That means Hillary Clinton is un-American.

She could have chosen any of a number of fine spirits distilled in the good old U. S. of A., but she didn't. Her choice in imported booze is even more striking, given her apparent flip-flopping over NAFTA - an agreement that includes Canada, the very nation in which Crown Royal is made!

Bravo, Senator Clinton. You just lost the crucial Jack Daniels vote.

On a semi-related note, here's a picture of my dad's truck.

Sadly, the bumper sticker has fallen off since this picture was taken in February (the bumper was pretty dirty when I slapped it on), but my old man's support for Hillary still stands.

Forget about the check, we'll get Hell to pay,
Regis

That Took Long Enough...

It would appear the AP finally woke up.

The likely Republican presidential nominee is much more conservative than voters appear to realize. McCain leans to the right on issue after issue, not just on the Iraq war but also on abortion, gay rights, gun control and other issues that matter to his party's social conservatives.

It's about damn time somebody in the traditional media dropped this freaking "McCain is a maverick" narrative they've been running with for as long as I can remember. Remember, kids, a vote for McCain is a vote for a slightly more eloquent (though potentially less bitterly partisan, not that I'm holding my breath) third Bush term.

John McCain: Like hope, but different.

Don't Be Late

I caught the end of this video on VH1 Classic the other day and finally remembered to find online. This clip, "Don't Be Late" by Saga (off their 1980 album Silent Knight), features excessive synthesizers, presumably cutting edge visual effects, a mid-song bass handoff, and a lead singer that reminds me a little too much of Thomas Jane's character in Boogie Nights.

Behold!


This metal is a cold home,
Regis

New Danger Dog Studios

I've been wanting to post some pictures of my recording setup for a while, so here we go. I christened this corner of the second bedroom "New Danger Dog Studios" in honor of my replacement, Lizzie the miniature pinscher. You see, I referred to my parents' basement as "Danger Dog Studios" back when my former band Half-Penny was recording its one and only EP, Loose Change, as part of a theme (Jason's place, where the vast majority of the recording was done, was called "Little Matey Studios" in honor of our nickname for his family's dogs, and post-production was done at Benny K's home, nicknamed "The Kennel" for the large number of canines occupying the premisice).


Behold the glory! It's a pretty basic setup: the electric guitar or bass goes into a V-Amp, which goes into the 16-track. I've got a couple of effects pedals (distortion, wah, echo, and chorus), which you can see in the back. Of course, if I'm recording vocals or an acoustic instrument (such as the guitar on the left, which incidentally has a Nashville tuning), I've got a microphone.


Here's my big new toy: a Fostex MR-16HD/CD. Glee!


Gillian (l) and Doris. Lucy (the mandolin) is up on the desk.


My trusty old 4-track, Blue 4. I've had this since high school. I did all of my writing/recording for FAWM on this. You can also see my new cowbell in this shot.


A dim picture of a slightly less dim guitarist. The batteries in the camera were just about shot with no spares at hand, and I had no plans of dressing up again any time soon when this was taken.

So there it is. Don't stop believin',
Regis