It doesn't happen that often in San Francisco, but tonight we have an honest to goodness thunderstorm rolling through. The sort of thunderstorm I remember from growing up in Minnesota. You would hear a faint rumble in the distance and it would just keep getting closer and louder.
Really!
Billboard magazine just published the following today:
Van Halen Tour On Hold But Still In The Works
February 23, 2007, 2:00 PM ET
Ray Waddell, Nashville
A prospective Van Halen tour with original frontman David Lee Roth has derailed. Sources tell Billboard.com the decision to postpone the outing indefinitely was not due to any internal strife among band members. Insiders close to the situation say a tour is still in the works and will happen, though when is anybody's guess.
It's Official: Van Halen Tour Called Off
February 22, 2007
Earlier this week, multiple sources were reporting that the Van Halen reunion tour with David Lee Roth had been "postponed indefinitely." Now Rolling Stone says that it's official: the tour will not be happening at all. The magazine cites a memo informing Live Nation employees simply that "the Van Halen tour has been shut down." Some other reports have said there may have been "contractual issues" surrounding the tour and a deal with Live Nation never fully materialized.
Also, a new Van Halen best-of disc highlighting the Roth years was set to be released by Rhino Records this fall, to capitalize on the tour and the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now Blabbermouth reports that the compilation has also been "indefinitely postponed."
The next issue of Rolling Stone is slated to have a feature on the band, and excerpts have already appeared on RollingStone.com from a new interview with Roth, along with the first group shot of the new lineup.
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So, is it really over for the Van Halen tour or is this all part of a great marketing plan? There was great demand for this tour, but imagine what might happen to demand if the plug gets pulled and then band works out their problems and announces the tour is back on. Fans will have to go to this show the first chance they have because it could self destruct at any moment and end. But the reality is the band is in it to the end and this drama was just part of a great plan to create demand for something that could disappear at any moment. Don't think something like wouldn't be possible. Keeping the truth quiet would be very difficult, but when there are 10s of millions of dollars riding on this tour you bet they will try anything to make is a success. We will have to wait and see just what happens, but don't be too shocked if the problems are all worked out and the Van Halen tour returns. Then again, maybe Eddie Van Halen is completly F'ed Up!
Last August I went to Hawaii and went swimming with the sharks on the north shore of Oahu, check out North Shore Shark Adventures. I was able to take pictures in the shark cage, but wished I could have gotten some video underwater. Thanks to YouTube someone did, and what you see in this video is identical to what I experienced.
In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.
1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they're well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are... plus, I've never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.
2.) They're useful. In this tech-savvy world, it's great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.
3.) They're more romantic than they're given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such... but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.
4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like 'em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like 'em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.
5.) They've got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?
6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it'll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they're more attentive than guys who "have more options". Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they'll likely have mental lists of all the things they'd love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.
7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I'm not really familiar with this myself, but I've friends who've been intimate with geek guys and it's raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra... all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.
8.) They're relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you're not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?
9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won't have to worry much about your geek guy getting his "groove" on with club hotties because, frankly, he'll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won't have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he'll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I've seen this happen.
Me: "Eww. Victoria Secret's Models... They're so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!"
Geek Guy: "ooooooo..."
Me: "Hey!" *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store*
Geek Guy: "What?"
Me: "Never mind..."
10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you'll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he'll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn't want to go someplace with you, you won't have to worry much about what he's up to. You'll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It's ok. He's used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.
11.) His friends aren't jerks. I can't stress this enough. You'll more likely get "Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!" than "Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on..." They're awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code... a geek can dream).
12.) They're rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won't care. He does too! They won't get pissy if you don't wear make-up or don't want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won't try their best to make you feel like crap.
13.) They're usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won't have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he'll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce...
14.) You'll almost never have to hear, "Yaw dawg whazzap!!" plop out of their mouths. Unless it's in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get "wasted", so you won't have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps...
15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that's a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than "DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!" Believe me.
I'm watching the original Disney movie Swiss Family Robinson this afternoon and just thought, what happened to movies like this that make you smile and happy while watching them? Seems as if even Disney might have lost the "magic" that was in movies like Swiss Family Robinson.
Just got this news from Rocky,
"announced on Siruis Radio's Hair Nation this morning (February 19th), a reunited RATT - featuring singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini, drummer Bobby Blotzer - will hit the road this summer with POISON for a full-on tour of North American sheds. It is unknown at this time if original bassist Juan Croucier will be part of the reunion tour. An official announcement from the RATT camp is expected soon."
I have seen the original RATT a number of time during the 80's. I love their music, but their live shows were the most boring. But, it might just be fun to go catch this tour.
So what, beats the crap out of rap... rap is crap. There was a band called Valentine that I saw perform at the Concrete Foundations Forum in the late 80's. I described them as a heavy metal journey. Unfortunately they never amounted to much. Well they are reuniting for the Firefest Festival in England, Nottingham Rock City on Saturday October 27. Below is the press release for their performance.
Valentine's self titled debut album, despite not getting the attention it deserved upon it's release, is quite rightly revered as a classic of the era. Peppered with up tempo feel good rock songs and heartfelt balladry, tracks such as 'No Way', 'Tears in the Night' and 'Nobody Said it Was Easy' conjure up images of stadium rock as it should be. Led by Hugo Valenti, Valentine were compared to Perry era Journey, Hugo's voice and looks bearing an uncanny resemblance to the legend himself.
Valentine were pushed by the record company, having a number of tracks featured in the hit movie 'Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead', but changing musical times meant the band, despite recording a fantastic album, were lost in the mix.
Valentine morphed into Open Skyz and released a self titled album in 1994 which once again contained a wealth of stunning tracks, but alas the band called it quits shortly afterwards. Hugo has continued to release albums, in fact the self titled debut 'Hugo' featuring Vinny Burns and Gary Hughes can rightly be described as a latter day classic. For the first time in 15 years, Hugo, Adam Holland, Craig Pullman and Gerard Zappa will appear live on stage as Valentine at Firefest 4.
The set list is being debated by the band, but Gerard has insisted it will encompass Valentine, Open Skyz and even a couple from the debut Hugo album. Another definitely not to be missed.
I was organizing my photos this morning, uploading a bunch to my Google Picasa page, http://picasaweb.google.com
Here is the first picture of the new Van Halen.
I am not sure how to feel about this. VH with Dave is the only VH in my opiniion. Yes Michael Anthony is missing, but honestly that doesn't bother too much. My problem, I saw VH on the Fair Warning tour... it was massive, a monster, loud. Dave was flying all over that stage. Will they still have that energy now? After 20 years I doubt it, and I am not sure I want to ruin that incredible memory of VH in their prime with an image of Dave gingerly moving about the stage.
Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. I was fortunate enought to spend mine with someone very cool. We had dinner at Cafe Mozart, "the most romantic restaurant in San Francisco". Well, that is their claim not mine. It was a nice little place, but more like eating dinner in your grandma's living room. The food was ok, not anything great. We had fun, and a number of laughs. After dinner we came home and opened some gifts and had some fun.
Still looking for a good teacher for guitar lessons.
At work today I booked my trip to Phoenix for the Phoenix Forum on March 29-31. Word is this a really good event. Also spent some time rebuilding some of the web pages on the portal site. In addition spent time preparing for my new hires first day on March 1.
I have a call next Tuesday with a couple music industry managers about a future web project, more later.
The last week has been a wild ride. One week ago I had pain I hope to never feel again. Today I am just chilling, doing nothing and enjoying a quiet Sunday. I spent yesterday setting up my guitar rig. I felt that after 25 years of playing air guitar maybe I should try learning to play the real thing. So I purchased a inexpensive electric guitar, that has a built in direct USB connection so I can play it directly through my Mac. I went over to Guitar Center yesterday and got a case, stand and a Marshall practice amp. The Mac with Garageband is an amazing setup for creating music. In less than an hour I had hooked the guitar up directly to the USB port of my laptop, launched Garageband and was playing and recording directly through the computer. I didn't record anything that mattered, or played anything for that matter... really just made some noise. But the concept worked. If I already knew how to play I could be recording my own multi-track project, with multiple instruments. Damn, has Apple just made everything amazingly simple! Now I need to locate a guitar teacher and get some classes.
Last night wasn't too bad, I took a Torodal before going to bed and that helped me sleep. The pain was nowhere near as bad as Sunday night, but there were moments of very sharp pain and a constant discomfort. This morning I could feel it had moved lower, towards my bladder. There was more discomfort and moments of sharp pain. I decided to go out for a walk, since activity is supposed to help it pass. By noon I think I had also downed over 2 quarts of water. I know something was happening as I started to see small amounts of blood in my urine as well. About 30 minutes ago I am going to the bathroom and out drops a very small brown stone into the strainer. I was a bit surprised as there was no pain like giving birth, but also hoped that was it. It was definitely a stone (see the picture) around 2mm in size. I still feel a bit discomfort and bloating so I am not sure it there is more or not. I am going to keep drinking today and see if anything else gets flushed out.
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| From Misc |
I have experienced real pain! Last night I ended up in the emergency room. It started around 1030pm as what felt like a really bad pulled muscle in my right side, rear, near the kidney. About 30 minutes later I got cold sweats and threw up everything I ate during the day. Still nothing I was real worried about, though a ruptured apendix did go threw my mind. Another half later and the pain move around to the front, and really started to get bad. At this time I told Lyndsey I mignt need to go to the hospital. The next 30 minutes the pain become INTENSE and we called 911. The 5-7 minutes it took for the paramedics to arrive was the longest wait. I was rolling in pain and screaming. Ruptured apendix was still going through my mind, but the paramedics suggested it could be a kidney stone. I must have arrived at the emergency room around midnight, in pain like you could not imagine! It seemed like forever, but it must have been about 10-15 minutes later and I was pumped with two shots of moriphen. Wow, that stuff works fast and is good. I could still feel the discomfort, but the pain was gone. They took blood and did a CAT scan. Sure enough, I had a 2 mm kidney stone. Oh my god the pain something that small can cause is unbelievable! Now the bad part, because it is so small they are going to let it pass naturally, yes pass... meaning work it's way out. The doctor described the upcoming pain as something close to giving birth. Oh boy, I can't wait! The next 48 hours I am waiting for the even worse pain!
More to come, stay tuned!
Growing up I was a blue jean, t-shirt and tennis shoe guy. I would do anything to avoid getting dressed up. In the last month I have gotten the urge to dress nicely. While in Las Vegas I went and saw The Rat Pack and wanted to wear my suit, black shirt and black tie. I felt great being a sharp dressed man. I still wear jeans, but now it's black socks and Doc Martins with a nice shirt. I feel good getting dressed. Help! Does this mean I am growing up?
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