He Took a Face From the Ancient Gallery and He Walked On Down the Hall

Monday. Happy Halloween to you all! No holiday fiestas around here, though. No one dressed up, no one is giving out candy, and no one is playing Monster Mash over the speaker system. It's just another day around here (which sometimes can be scary enough, especially when thinking of the long term...). I spent the morning wrapping up some reports that I had to get out, and I just finished a 45-minute conversation in which I had the pleasure of walking someone through how to do something in our system over the phone. Having to do it over the phone is hard enough, but this lady seemingly had no computer-savvy skills whatsoever. Hey, I'm not some crazy computer genius or anything (quality of this site a testament to that fact), but I at least know the basic navigation procedures for our main operating system. I think I helped her out, though, or at least tried my best so hopefully she'll do ok with it.

Ok, time to go over the football weekend:

Tennessee lost. I'm not ready to talk about it yet. The pain is still fresh. They started out the season as national champ contenders, now they are just fighting to get into a bowl game. The last time I can remember a season this bad for the Vols was in 1992 and the fired the coach. Now, I like Phil Fulmer and I don't want to see him go so let's go big Phil and get your team into shape before we end up losing to (gulp) Kentucky or something...

Colorado State won, though, so they are looking pretty good again in the MWC. If only TCU wouldn't have come back to win over San Diego State, they would be sitting pretty. This one is going to come down to when the two teams meet, I think. You can do it, Rammies!

USC took care of Washington State fairly easily. Texas had a huge scare from Oklahoma State but was able to pull off the win. Virginia Tech handled Boston College no problem. Florida upset Georgia and I have to admit I was a bit surprised at this one. I thought Georgia was going to make a run for the Rose Bowl for sure. I guess now it is up to Alabama to represent the SEC in the BCS.

Oh, in professional sports the Broncos racked up a slew of points against the much-vaulted Philadelphia Eagles' defense. Way to go, guys! In a side note, a big best wishes and hopefully speedy recovery for Bronco Dwayne Carswell.

I listened to The Doors on the way into work today. I picked The Doors because I woke up today with The Soft Parade in my head and I thought that Jim Morrison and Co. would be a nice selection for Halloween. Since I've already reviewed the Doors here and this post is running long I think I will cut it short for today. I hope you all have a good Halloween!

Living Reflection From a Dream

Friday! Yeah, finally! This week has been dragging for me, despite being fairly busy here at work. Not too much going on today, though. I am currently working on my usual Friday spreadsheet report in which I list all of the items that dropped off of the website this week. Yep, it's about as exciting as it sounds.

For some strange reason ever since I got back from Ohio I have been experiencing these crazy bad headaches. They usually come at the same times every day: first thing in the morning and about 2 in the afternoon. Advil is not much help. I read a story once about a guy who was having bad headaches and went to the doctor's only to find that he had a giant nail imbedded in his brain. I really hope that's not the case here. I can't remember playing with any nail guns lately...

So anyway, I woke up with a bad headache this morning and found myself in quite a dilemma. My usual practice of playing something rockin' on Friday mornings was combating my desire to listen to something easy on my aching brain. I scrolled through the iPod to find something to meet both of those needs and I came across Led Zeppelin III. This is one of those albums that you forget about how amazingly awesome it is until you find yourself listening to it again. It starts off strongly with The Immigrant Song (admittedly a bit overplayed on the radio) and then goes into Friends/Celebration Day. Once you get all worked up on Celebration Day (mama I'm so happy I'm gonna join the band...) the album suddenly shifts into the phenomenally excellent blues number Since I've Been Loving You. Just when you think you are emotionally drained from that track, they kick it back up with Out on the Tiles. By this point, the headache was forgotten and I was singing along. Is there a more rousing Zep tune than Out on the Tiles? Back me up on this one, Billy! The music for Led Zeppelin III was written in an isolated cabin with no electricity, which explains why the second half of the album is pretty much all acoustical. Side 2 includes the beautiful That's the Way, and one of my absolute favorite Zep songs Tangerine. Man, is this a good album. I highly, highly recommend this one. You will not be disappointed.

I Got a Funny Feeling They Got Plastic in the Afterlife

Thursday. Today has been a busy day, for sure. First, it's website upload day, so that is guaranteed to take up the majority of the morning. On top of the usual fun of working on the website, I found out that the server that handles all of the company's various websites (including our main one) has been acting up and that our receivables website has been up and down because of it. So, I've had that added bonus to deal with since I came in the door this morning. Other than that, I am trying to approve these "emergency" orders for people set to the marvelously relaxing noise of all of the drilling going on in the background because they are installing new light fixtures in the building. Pretty awesome all around.

Today is Thursday, so that means college football picks!

After last week's hugely disappointing loss to Alabama last week, #23 Tennessee plays South Carolina. Ok, the Vols have to win this one. First, they have to win because they've already dropped too many this season not to have to win. Second, South Carolina is coached by none other than Steve Spurrier, one of my least favorite coaches in all of football. Seriously, if it weren’t for Gary Barnett, there would be no contest. Spurrier must go down and the Gamecocks must go with him. Tennessee bounces back for the win.

Colorado State plays New Mexico. This should be a pretty good MWC match up. The Rammies must take this one if they expect to catch up to TCU in the conference. Objectively it is an even pick, but I am going with the alma mater. Go Rams!

#1 USC plays Washington State. On paper this should be no problem for the Trojans, but I am convinced that USC will drop at least one to an unranked team this season. Will WSU be the ones? We'll see...

#2 Texas plays Oklahoma State. Texas should win this one easily. Why Texas isn't #1 I have no idea. They already are in the BCS. Maybe after this week they'll lead the subjective polls as well.

#3 Virginia Tech takes on #13 Boston College. This should be a pretty good match up as well. Keep an eye on this one. Boston College just might pull an upset...

Finally, #4 Georgia plays #16 Florida in the SEC game of the week. Hmmm... I don't like either team. Tennessee's already out of it, so does it really matter? I am going to go with Georgia because I hate them the least of the two, and because I actually think they are a better team than Florida.

Today I listened to One Foot In the Grave by Beck. This album was released back in 1994 around the time of his groundbreaking Mellow Gold. However, instead of a bunch of heavy production effects like MG, One Foot is pretty much a wholly acoustic album. Many of the songs sound similar to tracks found on Stereopathetic Soul Manure (also released in 1994 and oddly enough contains the track One Foot in the Grave not found on this album...) but does not have any of the weird filler tracks and samples found on that one. No, this album is pure folk, just Beck and his guitar. While the production values may be lacking, the songwriting is strong. If you are a fan of Beckian (Beckian???) lyrics, this album is for you. However, those who are only casual fans or less may be bored by this album. It definitely isn't Odelay. Recommended tracks: A__hole (which was covered by Tom Petty once), Hollow Leg, and Outcome.

Like a Sunday in T.J., It’s Cheap But It’s Not Free

Wednesday. I'm finally starting to ease back into things after being out. Not only that, but I think I am actually making some progress (finally) in getting some of these old receivables collected. I am just a hair away from bringing in about $59k on a single invoice and I may have a couple of more getting cleared up as well. But I'm getting ahead of myself; we'll see how much progress I've made by the end of the year. By then I should have a good idea about whether or not I'm making any real movement or not. Other than that, I'm just approving orders and updating the database for the website upload tomorrow. You know, the standard fun and games.

My head was hurting this morning for some reason, so I wanted something easy on my brain for the drive in to work. I chose Gaucho by Steely Dan. I know this choice may seem odd considering some of the other music I discuss on this site, but actually I am a huge fan of The Dan. They confuse me, though. They straddle the line between kitsch and seriousness so well that I often can't tell if they are putting me on or what. Perhaps that is part of the charm. For instance, I can be totally into an excellent jazz saxophone solo and then they come on with their typical ironic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It's like they are telling a joke so straight-faced you can't tell if you are supposed to laugh or believe them. There are also all kinds of fun trivia about The Dan that I've already mentioned previously here. I highly recommend Steely Dan based on their outstanding music and clever lyrics. Recommended tracks on Gaucho: Hey Nineteen, Gaucho, and Time Out of Mind.

Every Soul is Duty Bound to Uphold All the Statues of Boredom Therein Lies

Tuesday. Well, I'm back everyone. I'm sure you missed me. I am guessing everyone here did since everything went to heck while I was gone. The website didn't upload right, reports weren't done, no one was here to annoy my fellow co-workers with lame jokes, I mean you wonder what they would do without me. Maybe I will use this as leverage to get a raise... Ok, probably not.

Football outcomes were also lame over the weekend. Tennessee lost to Alabama 6-3. 6-3! I've seen higher scoring soccer games! The Broncos also lost in the final minutes of their game against the Giants after holding a 13-point lead. The only bright spot was that Colorado State won the border war against Wyoming, thank goodness, or we'd have to put up with a year of that obnoxiousness.

So, here I am trying to clean up the messes from my absence and trying to get over the fact that Tennessee is barely hanging on to their ranking in the top 25. I need a vacation just from getting back from vacation. Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Today I listened to Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins. This album follows up their indie debut Oh! Inverted World. Inverted World had a slow, melodic feel to it, while Chutes tends to pick up the pace a little bit. This may be a bit disconcerting to those who loved Inverted World, but I welcomed the slight change. A little bit of growth can be good for a band. The songs are still lyrically tight and the music inventive. The trademark Shins sound is still intact. I dig it. Recommended tracks: So Says I, Turn a Square, and Fighting in a Sack.

I Was Just Trying to Remember All the Things I’ll Never Know

Wednesday. But it's like a Friday for me! I will be out of town the next couple of days, so there probably won't be any posting until next Monday. I know, but try to fight back those tears. Today has been pretty crappy, making this time off even more welcome. They say that if you ever feel unappreciated at work to go on vacation, and I have to say that old axiom is true. All I had to do is send out an email this morning warning people I was going to be gone, and everyone flipped out like no one had ever taken time off before. I will be gone for TWO DAYS people, get a grip! I couldn't imagine what would happen if I said I was going to take a week off. They'd probably have to shut the company down nationwide for that...

Since today was my pretend Friday, I tried to find something upbeat to get me going this morning. I dug deep and came up with The Plague that Makes Your Booty Move by the Infectious Grooves. The Infectious Grooves are a side project put together by Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies. However, while Suicidal tends to be more skater punk, Infectious Grooves display the bass-poppin' funk so popular in the early 1990's. These guys are a lot of fun, and the Sarsippius dialogue in between tracks is especially humorous. With song titles like Stop Funk'n With My Head and You Lie... and Yo Breath Stank you know they have to be good. Ozzy makes a guest appearance on Therapy, and Punk it Up is an excellent jam. Highly recommended stuff.

Opinions Were Like Kittens, I was Givin’ Them Away

Tuesday. Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday, I left work early to take care of my sick young one and didn't get one up in time. Not that I think I really missed anything at work, just more spreadsheets and the usual routine like I am doing today. I can barely conceal my excitement.

Well, since I wasn't here to go over football picks, I will do so now. My CSU Rams dropped one at home against BYU. Rammies, you showed so much promise. What happened? This is going to make things tough for Colorado State in the MWC, but not all is lost yet. There is no clear front-runner at this point, so with a couple more conference games they might be right back in there.

Tennessee didn't play, but they have another big game coming up this week against Alabama. I hope they used their bye week wisely...

A close call for USC, but they were able to pull one off against Notre Dame to keep their win streak alive. The Trojans better watch it, because one of these weeks one of those comebacks may not come back enough if you know what I mean...

Texas clobbered Colorado 42-17. Thank you, Longhorns.

LSU came on top of a close one with Florida, helping Tennessee in the process. Georgia beat Vanderbilt, which may indicate how the rest of the season will probably go for both teams.

Finally, in pro ball the Denver Broncos beat the mighty Patriots. So far the Broncos are on track to win their division. Let's not see another mid-season flameout like the past four years, ok fellas?

Today I listened to Modest Mouse's The Lonesome Crowded West on the way in to work today. MM released this album in 1997 and it is obvious from first listen that this is a different MM than what can be heard on The Moon & Antarctica, Building Nothing Out of Something, and even Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The sound here is a lot more raw, and there is less emphasis on melody. However, there are still the trademark MM buildups and emotional outpourings that can be found on all albums. I have heard comparisons of MM and The Pixies, and on this album you can hear a bit of that influence (since I love the Pixies, that is definitely a good thing). If you like MM, you will most likely appreciate this album. If you are new to the musical genius that is Modest Mouse, try one of the other albums mentioned first then come back to this one.

Word Power Can Plow Through Acres of Cornfields, Paragraphs Cut Like Warm Steel

Friday, Yeah! Well, despite being stuck behind a bad accident and getting into work late this morning, so far today has been a good day (of course, now that I said that I will probably jinx it). I don't know why, it's not like anything super awesome has happened to me, I'm just in a good mood.

The big boss lady is in town today. She has already told me that she wants to "have a sit down with me." I assumed that this meant that she was going to demote me for doing such a lousy job since coming back into collections, but instead she insinuated that she was going to increase my workload. So, apparently poor performance pays off around here. Maybe I'll tell her I've been posting on my blog during work hours to see if she'll make me a manager... ok, maybe not.

Since it is Friday, and I always pick out something upbeat on Friday mornings to listen to, today I picked The Jurassic 5. The J5 are a rap group. They are not a "gansta" rap group. I have made my feelings known about gangsta rap here, but it basically boils down to this: I like rap, but I am bored of gangsta rap. NWA came out with Straight Outta Compton in 1987 and all of these artists have just been remaking the same album ever since. It was shockingly fresh at first, but now it has gone stagnant. That's why I prefer to listen to rap groups who are inventive and can put out a positive social message instead of the same old tired themes. Jurassic 5 are proof you don't have to listen to Will Smith if you want to get away from the gangsta genre. J5 presents strong, intelligent lyrics set to tight beats and quality music. Don't believe me? Listen to Concrete Schoolyard, Freedom or Jayou. I can list more, but that should be a pretty fair introduction.

Who History Doesn’t Teach It Makes Numb

Thursday. Today is website upload day so I have been spending the morning working on that. So far, so good so we'll see how it goes. Other than that, I have been doing vendor insurance requests and more order approvals. It's just a non-stop fiesta around here let me tell ya...

But since it is Thursday, it is college football picks day! Let's see what's on the schedule this week...

Coming off a huge homecoming win against Utah, Colorado State plays another conference rival from the beehive state, Brigham Young University. I think BYU is tougher than their record indicates, and is capable of putting big points on the board. However, after putting up some 50 points, their defense allowed 51 points and lost the game. CSU's defense looked excellent against Utah (did you see that 4-down goal line stance???) and the offense is on fire. Kyle Bell has another big game as the Rams win over the Cougars.

Tennessee has a bye week. This is good because I am still feeling the loss from last week to Georgia. I am sure they are, too, and after playing 3 top-ten teams in 19 days, they will need the rest to take on #6 Alabama next week. Jeez, do they have the toughest schedule in college ball, or what?

#1 USC is going to get a big test from #9 Notre Dame this weekend. The Irish have a good chance since USC has started out weak in both of their games against ASU and UA. If the Irish can get a lead early, they may break USC's incredible win streak. I, however, don't really care for Notre Dame or their non-conference affiliation. I'm picking the Trojans to win.

And talking about teams I don't care for... #24 University of Colorado takes on #2 Texas. I'm picking Texas for sure on this one. First, Texas is pretty tough and has dominated all year. Second, as a CSU alumnus, I can't in good conscience pick the Buffs. Finally, even if I didn't have the whole in-state rivalry grudge thing going, I do not like the Buffs coach Gary Barnett in the least. No, I don't know him personally, but just reading in the news about this scandal-ridden misogynist is enough to fire me up. I could write a mile-long post on this one, but I will just move on.

Ok, a couple of big games in the greatest college football conference around, the SEC. First #10 LSU vs. #11 Florida. This should be a great game, but since both are rivals of Tennessee, I can't bring myself to root for either of them... I am going to pick LSU because they need to hand Florida a loss to give Tennessee a better chance in the East. I'm also counting on Vanderbilt to hand Georgia a big loss this week. Vandy was on fire until they dropped one to Middle Tennessee State and they played 3 solid quarters against LSU before finally laying down. Georgia will no doubt handle the Commodores no problem, but I will be rooting against the Bulldogs for sure.

Ok, that's it for football for now. I listened to Keep it Like a Secret by Built to Spill on the way in to work this morning. I know I have said on several occasions that I thought Ancient Melodies of the Future was a better album, but you know, I think I am moving over to the Secret camp. Both albums are great, but I have really gotten into Secret the past couple of listens. Plus, there is this great song, You Were Right, which is almost completely made up of other song lyrics making it pretty entertaining. Other great tunes include Center of the Universe and Time Trap. Either way, Built to Spill is pretty darn good and I recommend both albums (and all of their rest) to the non-initiated. In fact, get them both, do a comparison, and then let me know which one you think is better. Sound good? Cool.

My Eyes Wake Up But My Brain is Sleeping Fine

Wednesday. Not much going on here. I am putting the finishing touches on my website database spreadsheet and approving orders here and there. I spent the morning on some collection efforts, so we'll see if those pay off (literally). I am bored, but my brain is dead today so I don't know if I want any action anyway.

This morning I listened to some Ugly Casanova. Ugly Casanova is the side project of Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. Supposedly, the name came from an alias of a deranged fan that made his way backstage at a 1998 Modest Mouse concert in Denver and played some demos for the group. Although I admit being a deranged MM fan that lives close to Denver, I am not this person. Anyway, after The Moon & Antarctica sessions, Brock went back to the Pacific Northwest, recruited some fellow musicians in the area and laid down some tracks for Sharpen Your Teeth. The songs on this collection are fairly mellow and are played mostly acoustically. Nature plays a heavy theme in several of these songs. I believe I already detailed my instant attraction to the song Cat Faces here (still one of my favorite songs), so no need too repeat that story. Hotcha Girls is another good track on this album, as is Smoke Like Ribbons. Of course, since I hold all things Modest Mouse in high esteem, I highly recommend this album. You don't have to be a MM fan to enjoy Ugly Casanova, though. I mean, hey, I was a UC fan before MM, so I guess anything's possible.

Suffered a Swift Defeat, I’ll Endure Countless Repeats; The Gift of Memory is an Awful Curse…

Tuesday. It has been another busy day here. First, two of my fellow co-workers are out today, and I have had to pick up the slack there. Second, one of those two people was supposed to lead a teleconference this morning. With only about an hour to prepare, the big boss lady asked me to lead the meeting in her absence. Well, I did my best, though I don't think they are going to promote me to executive management any time soon. My main objective was to not come across as completely inept in front of the big boss lady and the customer, so hopefully I pulled that one off at least. Other than that, the usual joys of spreadsheets and order approvals.

Today I started a new book, Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. This book just came out about a month or so ago, and I am totally pumped to read it. I loved all of Mr. Ellis' other works, so I hope this one doesn't disappoint. By the way Billy, thanks again for letting me borrow the Speer book. I'll send you my thoughts about it in a separate email.

Ok, as promised a Death Cab for Cutie review! I know you all couldn't sleep last night in anticipation, and I apologize again for having to postpone. Anyway, Plans is DCfC's first release on a major label. While this has struck fear into the hearts of many a DCfC fan, I don't think that it was that big of a deal for them musically. They have been able to preserve their usual sound, which could be seen as a sign of respect from the label. However, those who desired for DCfC to evolve past the sound displayed on their previous albums may be disappointed. This is not a radically new Death Cab. This is the same Death Cab with higher production values. I am somewhere in the middle. I like Death Cab, but stagnation can be just as dangerous as radical change. I would have liked to hear something a little different, but yet still familiar. But, hey, I'm just some guy, so what do I know.

My favorite Death Cab for Cutie tidbit is that singer/songwriter Ben Hibbard writes all of his lyrics in complete, grammatically correct sentences. I know I mentioned this before in my review of Transatlanticism, but it bears repeating. I can't even promise complete sentences in this blog, much less try to set them to music. Now I can tell my junior high English teaching mom that rock and roll isn't completely full of illiterate degenerates. It is just mostly full of illiterate degenerates...

Anyway, this album is pretty good if you dug Death Cab's early stuff. If you haven't heard Death Cab before, give them a shot. Despite the insinuations of their name, they play the slow, mellow, alternative indy-rock so popular with the young hip kids today (apparently their name is derived from an obscure Magical Mystery Tour reference, but I've been a huge Beatles fan since I was like 10 and I've never picked up on it before). Most of the songs on this album attempt to tackle the big thematic elements of love and death. The single off of the album, Soul Meets Body, is ok but sounds a bit too much like Depressed Mode to me. I recommend Crooked Teeth, I Will Follow You into the Dark, and Someday You Will Be Loved.

In My Head There’s a Greyhound Station Where I Send My Thoughts to Far Off Destinations

Monday and it sure feels like one. It is snowing here. It was really coming down earlier this morning, but it seems to have slackened off for the most part. I had to finish up a spreadsheet report this morning and the rest of the day has been devoted to orders. I need to get crackin' on some of these collections, but these vendor order approvals really bog me down. It shouldn't be this labor-intensive, but we are doing the work of another department since they don't want to do their own jobs, I guess.

Enough grumbling, today's a holiday for goodness' sake. It's Columbus Day! To celebrate, I will provide everyone with some trivia regarding this great city. First, I was born there. Yeah! Second, it is the largest city and capital of Ohio. Finally, Columbus was the home of the first ATM (and, one would assume, the first outrageous transaction fee). So let's give it up for Columbus!!!! Yee haw!

Ok, let's talk football. First, I really have to give it up to the Colorado State defense for stopping Utah four times in a row on the 1-yard line and keeping them from scoring what would have been the game-winning touchdown. Colorado instead hung on to win their homecoming over the Utes, and after dropping their first two games are actually looking pretty good in the MWC.

Tennessee lost a tough one to Georgia. Maybe after playing 3 teams in the top 10 in like 19 days started to take a toll on them. Relatively unchallenged Georgia, on the other hand, came off a bye week. The Vols' defense looked good, but the offense has been inconsistent all season long, and this time it got the better of them. With two losses, they are pretty much out of the running in the SEC, but a prominent bowl game is not out of the question if they can bounce back from this disappointing loss.

After a shaky start, USC took care of Arizona. Virginia Tech handled Marshall no problem. Penn State pulled off a big win over Ohio State (apparently not a good Columbus Day for them). However, I was way off in my call that Oklahoma would upset Texas, but, hey, what can you do?

In other news, I won a bet with one of the bookkeepers in Minneapolis over who would win the Broncos vs. Redskins contest. It was a close one, but soon I will be the proud new owner of a Denver Broncos coffee mug. Thanks, F.

I listened to the new Death Cab for Cutie album Plans today. This is their fifth album, and the first one on a major label. Some diehard fans have been disgruntled over this move, but honestly, I don't think they have anything to worry about. Despite a little over production in spots, they sound like the same old DCfC to me. You know what? This post is running way long and I want to give this review my full attention without concern for brevity. Sorry for the disappointment, but check back in a couple of days and I should have something more substantial. Thanks!

Like Gravy to Potatoes, Luke to Darth Vader; I’m a Souped-up Sucker and I’ll See You All Later

Friday. Man, what a day. I just got off an hour and a half phone call with the big boss lady and another financial manager for my monthly account review. It wasn't pretty, but it came off better than I thought. For those new to this story, I was asked to go back into collections about two months ago to help resolve some of the oldest, messiest accounts on the books. So far, despite all of my hard efforts, I haven't gotten very far. Hey, some of this stuff has been sitting on the books 3-4 years. Did they expect me to get it taken care of in two months? Anyway, most of the review was pretty positive and I got a lot of good ideas on how to get these things cleaned up so we'll see how it goes. By the way, this is commercial collections, specifically very large government accounts in my case. I am not the guy foreclosing on grandma's house because little Jimmy didn't make his car payment.

Today is Friday, and as faithful readers know, I like to get my weekend started right by listening to something upbeat on the way to work. This morning I needed something pretty strong, so I pulled out the big guns: The Beastie Boys. I needed the power of the B-Boys since I was running late. Needless to say, their ultimate power guided me to an early arrival. My choice of albums was Ill Communication. At first look this album seems to be front-loaded. All of the singles are in the first few tracks: Sure Shot, Root Down, Sabotage, etc. Easily the album's best track, Get it Together, is track seven. At that early peak you would think everything would be downhill but there are still a few tracks to hold interest, namely Alright Hear This, Do It, and Flute Loop. This album is similar to Check Your Head in that it is a mix of rap, punk rock, funk instrumentals and obscure samples. However, this album pales in comparison to its predecessor. It couldn't even hold a candle to the genius of Paul's Boutique. That doesn't mean it's bad, though. It's actually quite good. It's like when someone told Joseph Heller that he never wrote another book as good as Catch-22. His reply: Who has?

I Just Gotta Get Out of this Prison Cell; One Day I’m Gonna be Free!

Thursday. Today is website upload day, the culmination of all my hard work over the past week. It all leads up to this. Can you feel the excitement? If so, please let me know so I can try to feel it, too, because I'm pretty bored. Of course, I would rather be bored than have to deal with upload problems and so far everything has gone well.

If today is Thursday, that must mean it's time for college football picks! We have a lot of good games this week.

First off, easily the game of the week (not just to me but in all of college football) is the SEC powerhouse match up of #5 Georgia vs. the #8 Tennessee Volunteers. This game will most likely decide who takes the SEC this year. If Georgia wins, they have a good shot at going undefeated. If Tennessee wins, that means they will most likely be in a tie for first place in the SEC East with Georgia, and possibly Florida and Vanderbilt, depending on their respective outcomes this week. This will be a tough one for the Vols, but they have the home field advantage. They've been playing well lately, and hopefully they will carry over this momentum and claim victory. Volunteers over Bulldogs in a close one.

My Colorado State Rams will be taking on the Utah Utes this weekend. What is a Ute, anyway? When I hear that I think of this movie. Well, there will certainly be more than two "utes" to be worried about this week for the Rammies. Although Utah's head coach left to join my least favorite team in all of college football, the Utes are still a formidable opponent. CSU has two things going for them, though. First, it is their homecoming (is it still a "homecoming" for me if I still live in the same town as my alma mater?). Second, the new coach of the Utes was recently reprimanded by the MWC for criticizing the officiating crew at their last game. Those refs stick together, man. I'm expecting payback in the form of a lot of questionable calls against Utah. Rammies win their homecoming no problem.

Other games around the league: #1 USC vs. unranked Arizona. No problem for the Trojans. Another easy win.

#2 Texas vs. unranked Oklahoma. Ok, on paper this looks like an easy pick. Texas is Texas, and Oklahoma has been playing weak lately. However, for some reason I smell an upset here. I'm going to go against conventional wisdom and pick the Sooners over their rival Longhorns. Cross your fingers...

#3 Virginia Tech vs. unranked Marshall. Easy win for Virginia Tech.

Other big games to check on include Ohio State vs. Penn State (how about that Joe Paterno comeback this year, huh?) and Vanderbilt vs. LSU.

Today I listened to Queen on the way in. I woke up with Keep Yourself Alive in my head, and as a general rule if wake up with a song in my head that's what I listen to that day. Since I already reviewed Queen here awhile back and this post is already running long, I'll just end now.

Clinging Still, Against My Will, to Promises of Clearer Days

Wednesday. Today I am working on order approvals and making changes to my list of items scheduled for tomorrow's website upload. Tons of fun.

Ok, I'm annoyed right now. You see I like to read on my lunch breaks. First, I like to read books. Second, I don't go out to lunch, so by reading said books I can whisk my mind away from my boring job for at least an hour without actually having to go anywhere. It sounds corny, but it is my little escape from the monotony of the day. This is my time. I don't want to talk shop, or deal with business, or do anything else except eat my lunch and read. Most people respect this desire and leave me alone. However, there is a new hire who has been here about a month now that apparently has a huge phobia of either silence, not moving her mouth, or both. It is usually ok if someone else is in the break room, because I can usually tune them both out when she traps them into some inane conversation. However, on occasion it happens that we two are alone in the break room and she won't leave me alone. Hello? What part of nose-in-a-book do you not understand? I don't want to be rude, but please just leave me alone. I mean the conversations aren't even good. Instead of tolerable subjects like what book am I reading, what do I think about some current event, why did Vader not sense a disturbance in the force when he used the torture probe on Princess Leia, etc., it is either completely shallow small talk or something completely off-the-wall like "how would you describe the taste of cilantro?" I'm not joking, I just put up with at least a half hour of "supposedly it is in the parsley family, but I think it is a mint, however, it isn't sweet like a mint but it isn't bitter, either. It must be a combination of several of the four tastes because I wouldn't place it as salty like other herbs and if everything is only one of the four tastes than everything would taste the same and there wouldn't be any variety but cilantro is so dominant over the other tastes in a salad but it goes so well with so many things..." Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......Listen lady, leave me alone! I'm sorry that you lead such a lonely miserable existence that you can't sit alone for 5 minutes without sucking someone into your void, but I have my own miserable experience at work I am trying to deal with thank you very much. So please let me get back to my book, I have only 60 pages left out of 700 and I really wanted to finish this thing up.

No, I sat there and played the nice guy and talked to her about the subtle tastes of cilantro, beets, and bitter-tasting lettuce and got maybe 5 pages read when she finally went back to work. Hey, I'm not a misanthrope; I just want to be left alone on my lunch break. Is that so wrong?

Sorry about all of that, I just had to vent. Anyway, I listened to Round Room by Phish today. Yes, I am a Phish fan. No, I don't consider myself a hippy. I have short hair, I'm clean-shaven, employed, and I shower daily. Well, ok, maybe I miss an occasional weekend day, but for the most part I practice good personal hygiene. I didn't like Phish at first, but they kind of grew on me and now I have a good number of their albums. Today was the first time I ever listened to Round Room. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This album was recorded in four days and sought to capture the energy and spontaneity of a live performance. I think it fell a little flat, personally. Nothing really grabbed me on the first listen, not even the improvisational expositions they are known so well for. It wasn't all bad, but there is just much better Phish out there. If you want to hear a CD that captures what Phish sounds like live, buy Live Phish instead.

It’s the Truth We’ve All Been Wrong, Make it Up and Let’s Move On

Tuesday. Just like pretty much every other Tuesday I am working on spreadsheets to get ready for this week's website upload. Not exactly exciting, but it keeps me busy.

Ok, I admit it. This blog has been pretty lame lately. This is partly because I have been fairly busy at work the past month or so. This hasn't exactly been a cure for the boredom that spawned this site, but it has kept me from searching out odd links and things like I had in some of my earlier posts. Also, the strict structure of this site that provides focus and helps perpetuate the posts has inadvertently caused monotony and repetition. I would open this forum to suggestions on how to keep this site fresh, but I tried that over a month ago and got zero replies. So, now that things should be slowing down a bit around here hopefully I can work on some improvements in both content and layout.

Talking about repetition, I listened to Modest Mouse on the way in to work this morning. I know, I know, but I woke up with MM in my head and I can't deny my subconscious its musical desires or it will start releasing some of those suppressed memories again. However, I did chose to listen to an album that apparently I have never reviewed on this site, Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks. This 8-song EP is a conglomeration of an earlier released 4-track set Night on the Sun and some outtakes from the Moon & Antarctica sessions. The mood on this release is pretty mellow, but that might be a carryover from the mellowness of Moon. My favorite track on this collection is You're the Good Things. The tune itself is pretty catchy, but the lyrics are quite ironically humorous. Of course, MM lyrics are always good, that's part of the attraction. So Much Beauty in Dirt is another great track. I would definitely recommend this EP to any MM fan, but for the newbie I would still recommend getting The Moon & Antarctica first (then getting all of the rest quickly afterward).

I Sought To Lose That Cloud That’s Blacking Out the Sun

Monday. Work has been steady today. It hasn't been near as bad as last week, but I am catching up on things and trying to put the final polishes on my treasury report. Lots of fun.

Well, it was another good weekend in football. Tennessee not only beat Ole Miss, but Alabama pounded Florida. This should even things out a bit in the SEC. Now Tennessee faces another tough SEC opponent, Georgia, but more about that on Thursday. USC won again as I predicted, but it was pretty close. ASU showed that USC isn't unbeatable, but unfortunately they fell on the wrong side of a close game. Michigan's upset over Michigan State was an eye-opener, while easy wins for Texas and Virginia Tech were not. In professional ball, the Broncos defeated Jacksonville, making them 3-1 for the season. This game was notable not only because we have a long history of losing to JAX, but also because a rookie cornerback playing for the injured Champ Bailey had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in his first pro game ever played. Nice.

Today I listened to Haughty Melodic by Mike Doughty. For those unfamiliar with Mike Doughty, he was the former lead singer of Soul Coughing. For those unfamiliar with Soul Coughing, well, I'm sorry, you're missing out. A friend of mine who had an uncanny early ear for up-and-coming alternative bands first exposed me to Soul Coughing. This was just one of his many finds long before they became famous. He played Ruby Vroom for a car full of us, and while the album certainly didn't take with the whole crowd, I found it oddly enamoring. This was like nothing I had ever heard before. The rhythm was driven by a stand-up bass, with weird sounds and noises accompanying the music. The beat poetic lyrics were odd, ironic and quirky. These guys were good. They continued to put out two more excellent albums, with the third (El Oso) easily being their most assessable to the mainstream. The band broke up in 1998. Mike Doughty has been around touring, doing odds and ends, and even put out a live album since, but this is his first full studio-produced release. Some of the songs I have heard before. One of my favorite songs, Grey Ghost, has been available on bootleg for years. Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well is getting airplay here, and is a catchy little number. Overall I liked this album, but it sounds a lot like the offerings on El Oso. In fact, His Truth sounds a bit too much like Circles to me. There are also grumblings among diehard Soul Coughing fans that Dave Matthews' production company had a hand in this album and that Dave himself even appears on one of the tracks. I am not a DMB fan, but I have no complaints. I will say, though, that if you pick this up expecting Ruby Vroom or Irresistible Bliss, you may be disappointed. If you like Mike Doughty's trademark vocal style and are willing to accept that Soul Coughing is in the past, this album may be for you.