I still love the local Subway. It would be perfect if it wasn’t for the customers. Today I observed:
A kid ripping down the chip display as he swung around like a monkey. His mother bought him a medium pop as a reward.
A woman trying to text on what appeared to be a rotary phone whilst asking for fries.
Another woman absolutely floored by the selection of bread. She was unable to make a decision.
I would go on, but I don’t want to sound negative.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I may have mentioned once or twice that I am a fan of all things Apple and that I would be quite excited if/when the iPhone made it’s debut on Verizon Wireless. I must have mentioned this because when I say something at home about it, I get a blank or irritated look and a mimicked “I don’t care”.
Jeez.
My new iPhone 4 arrived yesterday and yes, it’s a Verizon iPhone. My last iPhone was a 3G, which I got rid of because AT&T didn’t offer 3G service for most of my commute. They have since added some 3G capabilities but I’m quite pleased with Verizon. My Motorola Droid was a good trouper through my first Verizon experience but it didn’t give me that creative feel owning an iPhone does. I know, it’s all in my head. But it’s my head and I can do what I please with it.
When I plugged my iPhone into my Mac last night to activate it, I was delighted to see that it offered to migrate all my settings and apps over from my old iPhone, even though that phone is long gone. So when it got done synchronizing and getting it’s affairs in order, I was looking at a much better looking version of the home screen I had nearly a year ago.
It’s good to be home.
I have already started taking pictures and posting them to Flickr and my blog again. I’ve been tying things together with Flickr talking to this blog, which talks to my Tumblr account, shouts at Twitter and updates the Facebook for me. I think this social networking thing they talk about just might catch on.
Oh, I’m using the new iPhone as my new wireless device while at lunch. So I have a Verizon MiFi device for sale.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
So Christina Aguilera sang the National Anthem for the Superbowl this year. You may have heard that she messed up the words. She did.
I’m offended by her performance.
I believe that if you are fortunate enough to have the honor of singing the National Anthem live before an audience, the first thing you need to remember is that this is not your moment. This moment belongs to the country that all Americans love and you have a duty to lead a tribute to that which we hold dear.
The melody should not be screwed with. The word ‘brave’ does not have a dozen syllables with a wild assortment of notes. One of the most dignified performances I have ever encountered was done by the Dixie Chicks, where they performed the song in three part harmony. The tempo was normal and the blending of their voices was awe inspiring. They lent their voice as the song held it’s own.
The National Anthem is not a ballad. It is derived from a relatively lively old English drinking song, if memory serves it has something to do with “Anacron” or “Ananacron”. It’s not a slow number. Don’t make it something it isn’t.
Quite frankly, every American should know the words to the National Anthem, just as we know the Pledge of Allegiance or the way Christians know the Lord’s Prayer*. It should be a given that you know the words. Michael Bolton shouldn’t need a crib sheet and Christina Aguilera shouldn’t do an abridged version.
Don’t hassle me about whether I can do better. I don’t know if it can be compared but I have sung the National Anthem at two hockey games; my performance at one of the games was punctuated by fireworks being blasted over my head in the indoor arena as I sang the last note. I didn’t make the song my own, I used my talent to pay tribute to my country.
I was offended by Christina saying “thank you” at the end of her performance. Not because she was terrible, but because the performance shouldn’t have been about her, it was about the United States.
For the love of all that is decent, please stop destroying the National Anthem with your own interpretations. Lead the crowd in a song that everyone can participate in. *That’s* why you’ve been chosen to sing at the event.
Be proud, be humble and show some love for your country.
* I admit that I still have to sing the Lord’s Prayer in my head when it’s time to sing it.
Update 07 Feb 11 08:13: Reading through comments on various sites, I see that others share my opinions. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or if I just have specific expectations of paying tribute through the National Anthem, but others share my feelings. Here are two comments from The Washington Post editorial section:
Note to Roger Goodell (and his colleagues):
The National Anthem is NOT as damned lounge act in a third rate Vegas hotel.
Next Super Bowl (or World Series, or Final Four, or whetever,) get a band from any of the service academies, play the song with dignity, and listen to it being sung by 100,000 people…who know the damned words!
If you don’t know what a rampart is, go back to the 4th grade.
Sid Prejean
LtCol, USAF, RetiredPosted by: sidprejean | February 6, 2011 10:29 PM | Report abuse
I dislike every rendition of the national anthem by singers focused on their own performance rather than respect for the nation, it’s people, and the anthem. There are many groups, military, collegiate, etc. Who will sing the anthem properly. We do not need to listen to mediocre singers, changing the rythmn or the melody (often because they are unable to reach the high notes or keep time), trying to be “cute.” I am offended by self-serving butchering of the anthem. Can we please stop choosing “pop” performers who can’t sing.
Posted by: Eagle-Ed | February 6, 2011 10:33 PM | Report abuse
Ah, Flickr, how I have forgotten about thee as of late. I was reading the latest version of Macworld (via the iPad app) and I noticed a review of this app called Flickpad Pro. I enjoy the random browsing experience one can have on an iPad so I decided to give it a try.
Wicked cool. If you have an iPad I recommend the app.
The interface takes your photos, and your contacts as well, and puts them into a stack that you can arrange and tap on to ‘pick it up’ for a closer look. It’s kind of like that Microsoft Surface interface we saw years ago but didn’t seem to go anywhere. An intuitive interface lets you make comments and the like. I just found myself browsing through photos for the past ten minutes when I haven’t looked at Flickr in ages, simply because I didn’t care for the web interface.
I haven’t been posting many photos on Flickr lately but this app, coupled with my impending Verizon iPhone, has inspired me to do so again. I’m thinking I might try a 365 days project again. It keeps me inspired, when I remember to do it.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It is a brilliantly sunny day in the Jtown and by this time next week I will hopefully be more motivated to share pictures of such beautiful days with you. Why?
Because I will have an iPhone again.
I should be wicked tired again but I’m not. I went to bed at a decent hour and without setting any alarms, I awoke at 0255 so I could pre-order my Verizon iPhone (it was available at 0300). Verizon was kind and had fired up the order site early so I placed my order, received a confirmation and went back to sleep.
Quite exciting.
Last year I was excited about my Droid and my options of things other than Apple, but then I realized that computing outside of Apple devices is work, and I must be getting old because I just want my stuff to work. Hence, my decision to return to the iPhone.
I could go on and on like the typical Apple fanboy that I really try not to be but instead I’ll just sit back and enjoy the rest of this lunch break in the sunshine.
The small package arrived by Airborne Express. Hot delivery man (with the huge mustache) handed me the pad so that I could sign for it. I noticed the driver’s name at the top of the sheet and smiled.
The package was from Warner Brothers Records. The last time I had an overnight package from them it was a hard copy of the faxed cease and desist letter I had received for playing Madonna’s “Music” before I was suppose to.
The package contained a cassette tape with no label. Taped to it was a note: “new Cher track. Don’t play it on air.”
I popped the cassette into the tape player and pressed play. Out of my speakers came a track the sounded amazing for it’s day, in fact, a colleague in the other room came in to listen with me.
It was Cher’s “Believe”. We were into the second line of the first verse when I heard this really cool effect they did with her voice. It was like they turned her voice into some electronic instrument. It was definitely not a vocoder, I stopped the tape and rewound, listening to it again.
“That is wicked cool.”
The track played through and I realized I had been blessed by a sneak peek of what would be coming soon. The tape didn’t have the quality necessary to play the track on the air, but I could sneak it into a promo, if it was a really, really brief clip. I did, of course. No cease and desist that time.
By the way, that fresh, inventive sound we were hearing on her voice was auto-tune. It actually was auto-tune being used incorrectly, but it made for a really good effect. Cher demanded it be kept in the song.
And with that the auto-tune revolution was born.
Today, 99% of what you hear on pop radio or in dance tracks is auto-tuned. The folks at “Glee” auto-tune the hell out of their tracks, to the point of where it is so obvious that I want to kick in the television screen. What was once a really cool sounding effect, especially when used in moderation, became a necessity to sound 21st century. What’s worse is that auto-tune has sped up the American acceptance of mediocrity. Anyone can sing now. No talent required, just correct the pitch. Blah.
Back in the day Steve Perry had an amazing ‘arena rock’ voice. His voice is spectacular and is actually known for going a little sharp from time to time. The Human League, bless their hearts, are sometimes so off-key that you have to wonder if they’re in the same room as the instruments. (Listen to the opening ‘oohs’ of “Mirror Man” sometime). The honesty of a person’s singing voice should be celebrated, not electronically corrected.
People give a standing ovation now if the singer has simply made it through the song without forgetting the words and/or the pre recorded vocals haven’t skipped or crashed. This is crazy.
Cher was honest with her use of auto-tune as an effect in “Believe”. I wish more performers celebrated the honest instead of trying to cover up their individuality.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The news outlets are hootin’ and hollering about a “massive” snowstorm that is going to “blanket the lower Great Lakes and New England” Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Weather Service fired off the obligatory panic warnings with a Severe Weather Alert. I long for the days when that alert signal was reserved for an air raid attack or a nuclear meltdown. Now there’s a flash of lightning somewhere in the lower 48 and they fire off those stupid tones and send everyone running and crying like the god mode of SimCity. It’s stupid. But I digress.
The forecast they released predicts two to four inches of snow. This is a Severe Weather Alert? Show me a woman riding a bike in the clouds and we’ll talk.
I’m sure that at this stage of the game, even our friends downstate and in Boston would agree that two to four inches of snow in the northeast is no biggie. When did we become scared of Mother Nature?
I think the 24 hour news outlets are going to be the death of our country. I can get more reliable, less sensationalized news from various sources across the Internet. I typically follow U.S. News from non U.S. sources like the CBC, BBC and France 24. I even read the English version of Al Jazeera. These folks are not being controlled by corporations with a political intent and it’s good to get a perspective from someone outside looking in. Plus, don’t buy into the new American way of being hysterical about everything. I feel like the American news channels are controlled by ratings and ad revenue and that they hype things way beyond reality. Many buy into the hype and basically fear everything outside of their comfort zone these days but I enjoy trying to get a different perspective on it all.
The hysteria over weather this winter is kind of making me angry because there’s nothing we can really do about it. Make sure you have the basics stocked up, act responsibly and then simmer down and enjoy what Mother Nature is bringing us. That’s all you have to do. It’s actually fun to get snowed in once in a while. Worried about food? Cook or if you have to, pop open a can of pork and beans. Buy some C-rats if you’re super paranoid. If you can’t get out, you can’t get out. The sense of entitlement is futile when you’re messing with the elements. Just go with the flow and enjoy nature for what it is.
So what if the forecast turns out to be wrong and we get dumped on with three feet of snow in a day. We’ll shovel and scrape and get on with our lives and by April it’ll be melted and you’ll be enjoying the spring.
People need to chill, forget the ratings and stop buying into the hype. Seriously.
I think I need to get out and dance or something. Always a favorite on the dance floor back in the day, here’s Hazell Dean with “Love Pains”.
Notice the “Never Gonna Give You Up” percussion intro at the beginning. Hazell had teamed up with the Stock-Aiken-Waterman team for this tracks. They were known as the “Hit Factory” and used similar techniques in a LOT of records.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
