VIRTUAL SOAPBOX
RANTS-N-RAVES
The World According to Scott
This is the section of my site that is strictly reserved for my opinions, my beliefs, and whatever I feel like talking about at the moment. It's updated generally on a fairly regular basis, so check back to see what the most recent things on my mind are.
The views and opinions expressed on this page do not reflect that of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department or Cornell University.
_________________________________________________________________________
Okay, last post before heading west for vacation. Many things to look forward to: A Perfect Circle, Yosemite, & Amoeba Records, just to name a brief few. Tune in about mid-June for an update on the trip & anything else that comes to mind.
_________________________________________________________________________
Caught most a great special last night called "The Way The Music Died" on PBS of all places. Great, honest stuff about the state of the music industry, the state or radio & how artists are developed, & once they are, how they either sink or swim. I really give them credit for presenting a very straight forward, clear program. Check it out.
_________________________________________________________________________
Looks like a jam band era is coming to a close as the mighty Phish have announced they're breaking up for good at the end of their summer tour. It's a shame that Kathryn & I never got to see them. I remember hearing them for the first time at an all-day party that was moving from house to house on one particular Saturday in early 1992. Could have been the beer, could have been the company, who knows. All I do know is that I heard their album A Picture of Nectar in its entirety while being on the third floor of a house on Bay Street in Potsdam that was at the time housing the Phi Chi Epsilon fraternity (their house was stop #2 on a tour of four different Greek houses that day, kegs at each, it got uglier with each stop...). The variety of styles, sounds & songs really kind of threw me. "Who the hell is this?" I eventually asked someone. "Ah," so I thought, "so this is Phish." Strange, interesting, at times bizarre, but very good. They will be missed, but I have no doubts that these four extremely talented men will continue making music in new & different ways on their own.
_________________________________________________________________________
Al Gore comes out swinging at the entire Bush Administration in this amazingly well spoken remarks. This is probably some of the most eloquently spoken stuff shot directly in the face of all of the nonsense that we as a country have had to put up with for the last four years. You can disagree all you want, but this really lays it on the line. This clown has got to be voted out of office. We are living in curious times right now. People need to be aware of what's going on & make an informed decision about how they're going to want their country run for the next four years. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why anyone would still feel any sort of allegiance or support to the current administration & its legacy of nonsense.
Now the big question I have is this - why in hell couldn't have Gore been more like this when he was running for president four years ago? While no one can say for sure, I'd wager a safe bet that we wouldn't be the same mess(es) we are currently. And if you think I'm wrong, & if you think things are going just fine, you're only deluding yourself to the very obvious.
_________________________________________________________________________
BUSH MUST GO!!! GO NADER!!! GO KERRY!!! Just be sure to vote no matter what this year, or we will all end up paying the price.
_________________________________________________________________________
Here are some varying degrees of opinion on the Ithaca area. First, there's the Ithaca Sucks blog which is alternately funny, truthful & annoying seemingly all at once. Can't tell if this one is run by a student or a local with an axe to grind. Agree with it or not, it's not a bad read. Second, there's an older article posted in the Cornell Review, which seems to be run by Conservatives that make Attilla the Hun appear to be a leftist do-gooder. The firs thing you see when you log onto their home page is the line "We do not apologize." Guess I can respect that, even if I think their heads are inserted in an area of their bodies that were never meant for head insertion. But hey, I don't/won't apologize either here at the Soapbox! In these strange & bizarre times that we live in called the 21st century, I find it beyond comprehension to even begin to try & understand people that far on the right any more. Not that I think those equally as far to the left have things correct, I don't support severe extremism in any fashion, truthfully. Anyway, I'm digressing, as I'm opt to do. (But I will not apologize, dammit!!) And third & finally, here's a blog discussion board from College Confidential weighing the pros & cons of Ithaca & Cornell in general. As irritating as it can be, it's interesting to see what people do & don't like about the Ithaca area. See read through these links, make up your own mind. In my opinion (because ultimately it's the only one that really matters on this site), Ithaca is by no means a perfect place in any way, shape or form. There are things about this place that I have what I feel are legitimate gripes about, there are groups of residents here I cannot deal with, & I too have exclaimed from time to time "Ithaca sucks!" But, in all honesty, I've lived far worse places surrounded by far worse people. You can pick it apart, you can criticize it, you can lambaste it with your opinions. BUT - Ithaca in the end is a not a bad place to live & I've been here over five years & I'm not planning on leaving. My advice to those whose mantra is "Ithaca sucks?" Don't come here, or get the hell out. We don't need you or our attitudes. And no, I won't apologize for that either... (My thanks to Paul Glover for sending these links in his bi-monthly e-newsletter, "The Ithaca Community Newsletter.")
Late addition to this thought - another good link on the city itself.
_________________________________________________________________________
Well, it's official now - we are going back to San Francisco at the end of the month for vacation once again. I cannot wait! We don't have a lot of specific plans as of yet, but we're going to spending two days in & around Yosemite, which is going to be great! We're also going to get the chance to catch A Perfect Circle in San Jose as well, which should rule. We're also going to get the chance to see our friends Dickie & Patty & hopefully catch a Chemstry Set gig as well. All in all, it should be a pretty fantastic trip. Check back for additional details around the second week of June.
_________________________________________________________________________
Doing the Guys Camping Weekend thing again this year the weekend of 5/22. We'll be staying at Dippikill again. See the pic below of the cabin we'll be in. Nothing but meat & beer for an entire weekend. Should be great.
_________________________________________________________________________
Here's a great article that I completely agree with that states the "election is Kerry's to lose." At this point, Kerry has done little to impress me as a great political candidate. He just seems like everything that makes the Democratic party look bad - slick, evasive, all about the presentation & not enough about the substance. But, he's got time to get it together. If Kerry can't beat our pathetic idiot of a President in this fall's election, considering everything that that man & his administration have done in the last four years, then he doesn't deserve to win. And this is coming from someone who would rather see pretty much anyone else running our country right now. Kerry better not make the same mistakes that Gore did in 2000 - or we're all in big trouble.
_________________________________________________________________________
Saw a couple of movies recently. First was The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise's latest star vehicle. All in all, an okay movie at best. It was slow & I really didn't feel a whole lot for any of the characters. I also felt that some of the battle scenes were blatant Braveheart ripoffs. I guess I expected a lot more considering both the subject matter & Cruise being the main draw. The second movie was Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, the Russell Crowe star vehicle. Again, similar complaints - slow, plodding, not all that interesting. The whole idea of the movie was cool, & parts were very good, but overall, certainly not worthy of the all Oscar nominations it received, in my opinion. Both of these movies are available for rental/purchase now, so see for yourself.
_________________________________________________________________________
Like good little lemmings, we watched the finale of Friends, along with about 51.1 million other people. Good riddance to this show, I say. Even the hour long retrospective shown before the actual show was full of reminders why this show hasn't been worth keeping up with regularly for years now. I think the early seasons were good & enjoyed them, but then it just stopped being a charming comedy about six twentysomethings, & become over-the-top physical comedy, with very poor writing. I can't say I'll miss Friends at all. I thought the final itself was weak, & again, just another reminder of bad the show had become. If the spinoff of "Joey" is going to be anything like the last few seasons of this show, that'll definitely fall under my "must miss" category. Sayonara Friends, you won't be missed.
_________________________________________________________________________
Talk about a killer double bill - Dream Theater & Yes are going to be touring together this summer. They won't come anywhere near Central New York, so I'm not even going to get excited about this, but man, what a show that would be. I've seen Yes four times before, & they've been absolutely great each time.
_________________________________________________________________________
Caught the new video for the tune "Slither" by Velvet Revolver a few times on tv. It's a good song, it rocks, it's got some guts & there's actually a lead in the song - imagine that... I didn't think anyone played lead guitar any more these days. This is the second song I've heard from them, the first being "Set Me Free" which was a tune off of some summer movie soundtrack last year that I downloaded. If both of these songs are any indication what the whole album is going to be like (current release date is 6/8/04), we've got something to look forward to. In the "Slither" clip, vocalist Scott Weiland is going his best Iggy Pop impression. With his moves, his emaciated look & even the pants he's wearing, it all just reminds me Iggy. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, mind you, considering that I've never thought Weiland was all that original anyway, even if he is a decent frontman. Slash, Duff & Matt Sorum are looking fit & in good fighting form. They're pretty much the nucleus for this group & the main reason I'm interested. Their tour is supposed to start this month. Let's hope Weiland can lay off smack, crack, coke & any other drugs he can get his hands on so he can keep his dumb ass out of rehab for more than a few months this time.
_________________________________________________________________________
Hmm, it looks like they finally got the details for the 'Safe Haven' web site online. Or maybe it's been there & I'm dense & just haven't noticed it. In any case, here I am.
_________________________________________________________________________
Found a great site devoted to all things Seinfeld, aptly titled "Stanthecaddy.com." While it contains everything the diehard Seinfeld fan could ever want to know, it truly is a site about nothing.
_________________________________________________________________________
We spent pretty much the entire weekend doing battle with our yard. Saturday started having 8 cubic yards of mulch delivered by Pro-Lawn. Let me tell you, that is a helluva a lot of mulch! I figured we'd have that pile in front of our house for a while, but we managed to get it all distributed throughout the yard. Stuff looks great. Lot of work, & both Kat & I have the scrapes, cuts & bruises to show for it. We trimmed all kinds of branches & bushes, mowed, raked, moved brush, you name it, we did it this weekend. Came out looking good though. Have to get some updated pics on the Soapbox eventually.
_________________________________________________________________________
Caught Kill Bill Vol.2 finally. Great, great movie. It's so refreshing to see a film that even though it's full of action, it relies on the story & the dialogue as its focus. And what excellent dialogue. Say what you want about Quentin Tarantino, but this man can write a mean script. So many (too many!) movies these days spend millions upon millions of dollars on movies for big name starts, special effects, computer generated effects, location filming, & the list goes on. But the one thing that's consistently forgotten is - THE STORY. Tarantino takes his time, develops his characters, & let's the audience get to know each of them. What a nice change. Vol. 2 is a bit less over the top than Vol. 1, & to be honest, I'd have to say I enjoyed it more. Both were excellent films in their own rights, but in comparison, I'd say Vol. 2 was better overall. It'll be interesting to see if eventually, Tarantino puts a a DVD version of both movies edited together to make one long film. Check it out, it's one of the few movies I've seen in a very long time that I would genuinely recommend.
_________________________________________________________________________
[HOME] [WORK] [KATHRYN] [RASH] [RANTS-N-RAVES] [PETS] [LINKS] [SOS] [CHEMYSTRY SET]