7/16/01
OK...2 work stories...one is cool... the other is... Well, I don't know. the good part is easy. Last month Mike, George, Dave and I helped this woman get everything up and running on her system. Well, she sent us a special care package of home baked chocolate chip cookies. Yum! What a pleasant surprise. The second story concerns an email the Support department got. It was signed with this...
April, June & No Wonder
All the rest have peanut butter,
Except for Johnny, he has a little red trike.
--author unknown, but I wish it had been I
Can someone explain to me why a therapist has this as an email signature? More importantly, anyone seen my little red trike? I seem to have lost it.
6/29/01
WOW! I must admit that I wasn't expecting this. I have seen Aerosmith 6 times and this was by far the best. Steve Tyler was swinging on a rope over the crowd. They had a second stage on the lawn. The set list was amazing. It covered everything from their whole 30 year career. Big hits and obscure favorites. The crowd was crazy. Everyone was in a great mood. Singing and dancing. But it was definately worth it. The 50 plus year old men can still play kick ass rock-n-roll. Afterwards we got a little "show" in the parking lot. Most humorous. Somebody develop the film! And while you're at it, develop the River Rave film too!
5/17/01
Just a word or two about work...I'm actually learning some stuff. Getting credit. We all like each other & we're a bunch of fun people (you should see how we pass the time between calls). And we get movie passes and ice cream! So HA!
5/6/01
Will the Real Dummy Please Stand Up?! PART I
A telephone company fired their president after nine months, saying he lacked "intellectual leadership". He received a $26 million severance package. Perhaps it's not the president who's lacking intelligence...
Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them, shouting to please come out and give himself up...
An Illinois man pretending to have a gun kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines. The kidnapper then proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts...
A 9-year-old boy in Manassas, Virginia received a one-day suspension under his elementary school's drug policy last week - for a mint! The boy allegedly told a classmate that the mints would make him "jump higher." Also, a student in Belle, West Virginia was suspended for three days for giving a classmate a cough drop. The school principal reiterated the school's "zero-tolerance" policy...not to be confused with the "zero-intelligence" policy...
A man in Taormina, Italy was hospitalized after swallowing 46 teaspoons, 2 cigarette lighters, and a pair of salad tongs.
A man walked in to a Topeka, Kansas convenience store and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.
Your Tax Dollars At Work BELVIDERE, N.J. - A New Jersey man was arrested last July for stealing 58 cents from a parked car. But it's cost New Jersey taxpayers a bit more than that to keep him in prison. So far, the tab is $16,000.
4/17/01
More randoms...FRITO-LAY will release its new CHEETOS MYSTERY COLORZ SNACKS nationwide on April 22nd. The spring promotion look just like normal neon orange-colored CHEETOS, but turn your tongue either green or blue when eaten. Also, at 3:15 am on a Saturday and who drives by me in their special sqaud car but THE POSTAL POLICE! If you knew these people existed or what they were doing at 3:15 am on a Satuday then I don't know what to tell ya. Another thing is that I got a bootleg of the GN'R Rock In Rio show. It's really strange and it definately isn't what I fell in love with, but I am learning so many things aren't. But all in all I am happpy I bought it and I like the new material and he does have one hell of a band to back him up. I would still like to sit and talk with Axl. And finally, There's a new Savatage CD, Poets and Madmen, which is a little different but I'm sure I'll place in heavy rotation soon, and a new Praxis CD that I haven't heard yet.
4/3/01
This isn't so much one story as a bunch of random comments... One...I saw the Raw/Nitro simulcast. Ho hum! In general I must admit that pro wrestling bores me as of late. I actually have kind of a split descision on this. I think selling out to Vince will overall give everyone resources to potentially create a good product. However, Vince has had trouble not having the WWF be stale as of late so it might be the kiss of death for everyone. Like I said. I'm bored.
Two...Along the same vein... wrestling that doesn't really bore me. I have 2 of them...and they both happened in a weekend. On Saturday I went to Killer Kowalski's gym in Malden, Massachusetts and saw some kids tear the freakin' house down. I am not sure if this is a constant "leaugue" or what exactly. I don't even have a name for it... but I watched kids do some pretty amazing things and put their bodies at significant risk. And for no reason other than their passion for what they were doing. I saw hardcore matches and table matches and all sorts of lunacy. Quite a show really! Then, the next night I watched Wrestlemania. The show of all shows as always. I wish they could make all their shows as standout. But to be fair, there were a few oddities. Gimmick Battle Royal? There's no need. Chyna as woman's champ? The role model of femininity. Austin as a heel? He was never cheery to begin with. And where was HBK? I thought the whole McMahon match was predictable also. But there were a few good things too. Taker/HHH was good. Anyway... my thoughts are fading on this.
3/20/01
It's a very strange time to be a wrestling fan. Not a fan of one organization, but a fan of pro wrestling as a whole. I have been to huge pay per views & high school gym shows. I've met wrestlers out of the ring and I have had them fly out of the ring and land on my head. I have fond memories of shows spanning the years as well as various states. But what is going to happen next?
It would appear that we have seen the demise of both
&
. This leaves the 
as the one big gun in the wrestling world. What makes it even stranger is that the
has long been giving a helping hand to
and is now listed as one of the potential bidders to purchase . So I for one have been very confused about the recent proceedings & I think it's just going to get weirder before it dies back down again.
But I just wanted to breifly tell my little story of being a wrestling fan. It's been a constant in life for more than a decade now. I remember watching it on Saturday mronings as a child. I fondly remember my dad and I going to the matches at the Boston Garden. I remember good friends and I going to ECW house shows and getting front row & all the chaos that brought along with it. I had the pleasure of not only multiple Monday Nitros in the Boston area but one in Lincoln Nebraska with my ex that depsite my over-reacting a little because we got lost getting there still stands as a great memory. I remember my one Raw taping. I remember WCW Slamboree when I was 10th row to see Scott Hall turn against Kevin Nash. I remember meeting DDP, and HBK, and Sunny and Sandman and New Jack and John Kronus and everything that those little autograph signings bring back into my head. Basically, I remember a whole lot of good stuff. In some ways I look back at all the great memories and wish I could go back, but I know that's not possible. So all I can say is that I wish, as time goes on, that if you can't go back maybe you can go forward and rebuild and remember. So here's to more wrestling fun in the future. And to anyone I ever saw a wrestling show with in the past who enjoyed going with me...Thanks. Maybe we can do it again sometime.
02/20/01
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
A brown mustard-like substance has fallen onto a Florida town.
Cars, driveways and picnic tables on one Lakeland road keep being covered by the smelly substance.
Neighbors and health officials have no idea what the substance is.
Resident Demetra Kaltsos said: "I can't even go into my back yard because this stuff is falling from the sky everywhere and it's disgusting. I don't know if it's going to be hazardous to my kids."
Gene Jeffers, an environment official, said samples were being tested by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
He told The Tampa Tribune: "It seems to me to be organic in nature."
Yummy huh? How'd ya like to live there?
01/16/01
LONG LIVE ROCK N' ROLL!!!!! (I just decided to share a few things that MTV wouldn't)
According to www.slawterhouse.com, VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony will be making several appearances at this year's NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA including the unveiling of his brand new signature series bass line at the Yamaha booth as well as personal appearances at the Ampeg, Dean Markley and Dunlop booths. Michael's new bass line will feature chili pepper fret inlays and the first 500 made will be personally autographed by Michael and will include a few exclusive goodies to boot! Michael also recently shot an ad for his new bass series. Check out the exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot at van-halen.com. You can catch him on Saturday, January 20th, at these locations: Ampeg: 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Yamaha: 3:00pm - 4:00pm and Dean Markley: 4:15pm - 5:00pm. In related VH news, DAVID LEE ROTH sent friends a deluxe pair of long johns with his likeness printed on the back this holiday season as a gift. The specialized long underwear came complete with button-fly rear and Dave-penned artwork on the back! The art is another in a series of sketches and paintings Dave has been working on in his spare time. You can check out some of his other work at his official website, www.slawterhouse.com.
According to Germany's worshipped Rock Hard Magazine, UFO has once again crashed and burned, all thanks to the antics of guitarist Michael Schenker. During a recent gig in the UK in Manchester in support of their new Covenant album, Schenker reportedly came on stage stinking drunk with a black eye, the words "Spike Did This" (referring to Quireboys singer Spike) written on his forehead. During the course of the show, he proceeded to try and provoke singer Phil Mogg by constantly giving him the finger and shouting "You suck!" at him. Schenker also lambasted the crowd, saying "f**k you too, Manchester!" over his microphone. Naturally, the following six dates were cancelled.
According to www.megadeth.com, the forthcoming MEGADETH album will include nine songs that were recorded back in the beginning of 2000. Included in those nine songs is 'Dread And The Fugitive Mind' which appeared on both Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years. There are 12 tracks total on the new release, and 13 on the Japanese import. Four NEW tracks have been added. The whole album was remastered which means that the songs that were already recorded will be slightly different than they were going to be originally. In addition, some of the songs were ammended/reworked so this album is going to be full of all "new" Mega-tunes. Here is the track listing. (*) designates the four tracks that were recorded in the second session in late 2000: 'Burning Bridges'*, 'The World Needs A Hero', 'Moto-Psycho', 'Disconnect'*, '1000 Times Goodbye', 'Promises', 'Recipe For Hate...Warhorse'*, 'Losing My Senses', 'Dread And The Fugitive Mind', 'Silent Scorn' (instrumental)*, 'Return To The Hangar' and 'When'. The Japanese bonus track is 'Coming Home' The album title will be revealed soon.
On January 30th, Perris Records release the double CD Various Artists compilation Aerosmithsonian: AEROSMITH Tribute. Carmine Appice (ROD STEWART/OZZY/VANILLA FUDGE) exclusivly played drums on all the tracks, Jason McMaster plays bass and Steve Fister (LITA FORD) plays all rhythm guitars. Guitar solos on the album come from: Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES), Keri Kelli (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT/RATT), Marc Ferrari (KEEL) and Jamie Scott (VAIN). This Cd will promote and help sell the back catalog from the featured artists and will be the same price as a single CD. The tracklisting and vocalists: 'Sweet Emotion' - Derek St. Holmes (TED NUGENT), 'Last Child' - Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS), 'Back In The Saddle' - Ron Keel (Keel), 'Mama Kin' - Derek St. Holmes, 'Train Kept A Rollin' - Derek Davis (BABYLON A.D.), 'Lord Of The Thighs' - Ron Taylor (LILLIAN AXE), 'Rock In A Hard Place' - Paul Shortino (QUIET RIOT/ROUGH CUTT) featuring Jimi Crespo (guitar/Aerosmith), 'S.O.S.' - Davy Vain (VAIN), 'Get The Lead Out' - Jason McMaster and 'Walk This Way' featuring Derek St. Holmes, Jason Mc Master, Ron Keel, Derek Davis and Ron Taylor.
We Sold Our Souls for Rock & Roll, the Ozzfest '99 documentary directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World), premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah Jan. 18 through 28th. According to the press release, "Some of the most interesting parts of the film come from seeing Ozzy not so much as a rock God, but rather as an adoring husband and father who drinks special herbal concoctions and gets massages between sets."
STRYPER recently played a show in Costa Rica for over 5,000 screaming fans, marking the first time all four original members played a full set together in almost 10 years. The band are also set to perform in May at the 2nd Annual Stryper Expo in Southern California. For more info check out www.stryperexpo.com.
Spitfire Records will release BRITNY FOX's reunion/live album, Long Way To Live!, on February 6th. The tracklisting: 'Six Guns Loaded', 'Long Way To Love', 'Lonely Too Long', 'Liar', 'Dream On', 'Closer To Your Love', 'Black And White', guitar solo, 'Shot From My Gun', 'Louder', 'Over And Out', 'Turn On', 'Girlschool' and 'Midnight Moses'. The Japanese version will come with a bonus disc featuring 'Gudbuy T' Jane' and 'Hair Of The Dog', and videos for two live tracks and the studio version of 'Dream On'. The band is now also considering re-issuing their three studio albums, recording a new album, releasing a "best of" with a few new tracks, and also touring this year.
TESLA will in fact do a mini-reunion that the band cautions not to take as a "full reunion" at this time. North American dates kick off in Boise, Idaho on February 16th and wrap up on March 3rd in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN/DIO) has made the following statement regarding his role in the upcoming Warner Bros. film Rock Star,. "The role was a real stretch for... I play a womanizing, drug addict, philandering, decadent bass player...". His character is named Jorgen Wolf, an American of Icelandic descent. He went on to say that the film indeed began with the name Metal God, but the studio opted for Rock Star in order to target a broader audience.
CINDERELLA is still looking for a producer for their new album, so don't expect it out till the second half of this year.
GUNS N' ROSES' management company, BFD, have confirmed that the titles of the new tracks that the band performed at their New Year's Eve gig in Las Vegas are 'Rhiad & The Bedouins' and 'The Blues'. The band will play their first European show in eight years at the German Rock Am Ring Festival. The event takes place between June 1st and 3rd at the Nurburgring Race Track. Meanwhile, the bands new album, Chinese Democracy, is due this Summer.
Former LIVING COLOUR singer Corey Glover has a new band, VICE. They are currently gigging in clubs around the East Coast.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland and CULT vocalist Ian Astbury are said to be considering a studio project with the surviving DOORS members.
WARRANT are scheduled for the following shows in January: 19 - Al Rosa Villa - Columbus, OH, 20 - Harpos - Detroit, MI, 21 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH, 24 - House Of Blues - Hollywood, CA and 27 - House Of Blues - Las Vegas, NV.
According to Lars Ulrich, METALLICA will hit the studio in April.
PARADISE LOST's forthcoming album, Believe In Nothing will be available in the UK one week before the rest of the world, February 19th. Having just finished a support slot on the SISTERS OF MERCY European tour, the band will embark on a headlining UK tour this year. The band release the single, 'Mouth', through EMI on January 29th.
The forthcoming Ozzfest album, Second Stage Live, due on Divine/Priority in late March, will be a 2 CD set. Disc One features live performances from OZZY OSBOURNE, SOULFLY, KITTIE, TAPROOT, DISTURBED, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, PRIMER 55, SLAVES ON DOPE, PITCHSHIFTER and others, while Disc Two will be a re-issue of the '97 release Ozzfest Live.
Perris records is giving away another autographed guitar by SLASH, WARRANT, LILLIAN AXE, DANGEROUS TOYS, ROUGH CUTT and other artists appearing on Aerosmithsonian (Aerosmith Tribute). Go to www.perrisrecords.com to enter.
Versailles Records continues to assemble its forthcoming STEVE VAI/JOE SATRIANI Tribute, with George Lynch (LYNCH MOB/ex-DOKKEN) being the latest to join the roster of participating artists.
01/15/01
The parties declined to discuss the price, but Jordan Rohan, media analyst for Wit SoundView, says the WCW is worth only $10 million-$15 million because it's hemorrhaging dollars, having lost about $60 million in 2000 alone. Further, showcase program "WCW Monday Nitro" on TNT has slipped from a 3.5 average rating in 1999 to a 2.7 rating in 2000. The ratings for the first two Mondays of 2001 have plummeted to a 2.0 average.
To help get WCW's ratings and revenues back on track, Fusient plans to sit down with the dominant World Wrestling Federation, owned by Vince McMahon, to create pay-per-view events that would pit the best of the WCW wrestlers like Goldberg and Sting against the WWF's Mick Foley and the Rock. The enmity between McMahon and Ted Turner prevented any such coming together of the two orgs in the past, but Fusient is starting off with a clean slate.
"Events like these could allow the WCW and WWF to raise the retail rate in pay-per-view to the level of a world-championship fight and pull in record buy rates," said Rohan. A wrestling extravaganza now goes out at about $29.95 a household, whereas for a major prizefight, rates as high as $49.95 may be set.
In a telephone conference call with reporters, Brad Siegel, president of general-entertainment networks for Turner Broadcasting, said Turner has agreed to continue scheduling the WCW's most important weekly primetime series, "Monday Nitro," on TNT and "WCW Thunder" Wednesdays on TBS.
Siegel is pushing for the new WCW to succeed because Turner is hanging on to an (undisclosed) minority stake in the company.
Brian Bedol, president and CEO of Fusient, said he's optimistic that the new managers of the WCW will be able to turn things around because "there are so many revenue streams to wrestling," not only in PPV and live arena tours but in "future growth areas like interactivity and broadband and international cable and satellite TV."
Fusient plans to bring Eric Bischoff back to WCW as president, focusing on programming and production. Bischoff recently left the WCW after spending seven years in the operation's top programming job.
01/03/01
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!!!!
(then go to the GN'R News link off of the Links page if you want more)
1st of January 2001 - First Review of GNR in Vegas!
Show started at 3:35am and lasted until 5:35am (including one encore of 2 songs...one new one and the final song of the show...Paradise City).
Other songs in the set included...Nightrain, It's So Easy, My Michelle, Patience, November Rain, You Could Be Mine, Sweet Child Of Mine, Knockin On Heaven's Door and about 4 new songs, including Chinese Democracy and one called Blues. I may have left some out...and these aren't in the order which they were played...far too much to remember.
I wasn't overly impressed with the new material with the exception of Blues...most was not very "musical"
The band sounded great...Buckethead was wierd...he wore of KFC bucket on his head the entire show with a white "phantom of the opera" type mask...during the short drum solo he came out and did num-chucks, which he threw into the audience after.
A few technical glitches with the sound and the piano...Axl was funny, he said how before he would have thrown a fit and all the papers would have written about what an asshole he is. So, when the piano wouldn't work...he said, "how 'bout we do Patience instead." He hopped up on the piano and while the rest of the band was getting ready for the different song the crowd started chanting "Welcome Back!" Axl was very appreciative and it was a real cool moment in the show.
It was a pretty small stage, so there wasn't much set other than a huge video wall (at least 20' x 40') behind which projected close-ups of the show along with pre-roll funky video of everything from war atrocities to swimming dolphins.
Axl did say that he felt wierd about playing the old material...and the band first got together to researse for the show this past Thursday...perhaps that's why it was a bit rough around the edges in places.
Well, that about does it. The show was fantastic...worth every penny...and I've got one helluva concert T-Shirt to prove I was there. The front says "Guns N Roses * Live * New Years Eve * Las Vegas 01-01-01" with the Chinese Democracy design and on the back it reads "Chinese Democracy Starts Now"
Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before I see them again.
01/01/01
A lot people asked how my last trip to Nebraska was. So here's the highlights...
1)Saw the love of my life.
2)Saw
which I endorse if you can get the underlying stuff .3)Ate Deer Jerky, which ain't so bad.
4)Drinking 3 very weak Jack & Cokes reminds me of just how crazy my past was.
5)Played quarter slots in a floating casino in Iowa.
6)Watched White Trash women throw scrambled eggs at their babies. That's about it...
