WORSE THAN I CAN SAY

First, Happy New Year to my few faithful readers. Being the first post of this New Year, I wish you all, my beloveds, much prosperity and joy.

Second, I officially announce the relocation of this post and its author. The time I have spent in exile in South Florida has been some of the very most miserable of my entire life. I happily leave behind this Blasted Land in the Spring of this year.

In the wake of the destruction of the wonderful city of New Orleans by that horrible hurricane, my excelllent friend, D, in Fort Lauderdale, generously opened his heart and home to me and my late husband (Leslie) to stay with him. To D, I am eternally grateful. He truly saved my life.
Unfortunately, nothing and no-one could save my Dear Leslie's life. He died of Depression on June 1, 2006.

But that is not the issue here. Of all the places I have resided in my lifetime so far, Broward County has been unarguably the very worst.

First of all, it is far too crowded and yet has none of the advantages of other Metropolitan areas I have seen. Even my friend, D, wonders why he ever moved here.

Second, the people here are the most base and shallow I have ever encountered. It is truly a redneck wasteland.

Third, it is so underdeveloped it really is like a Third World Country. Not because of the ethnicity of its people, but because there are no sewers or streetlights in much of Broward County.

While it is a fact that they are berginning to build sewers, I have seen no progress on the streetlights, even though there have been televised news reports about how Florida Power and Light has been charging several South Florida towns for streetlights that do not, in fact, exist.

Fourth, general services are virtually non-existant. Just try to get your laundry done if you do not own a washer and dryer. And bus service? Think again!

I won't even go into property taxes and the lack of affordable Homeowner's Insurance. And in a place plagued by hurricanes and tornadoes, no less.

Perhaps worst of all is the incessant heat. People in South Florida tend to be that ultra-stupid breed that are so dead inside that they wouldn't feel the heat even if you set their buttocks on fire, therefore they love it here. To anyone else this place is a freakish hell-zone that burns to death anything or anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped here long enough.

Which brings me to my Happy Point, which is that in April or May of this year I shall be permanently relocated to my hometown of Buffalo, New York. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

While life in Florida has been worse than I can say, I am renewed and resurrected by my impending exodus there from. I am truly escaping a fate worse than death and look forward to re-acquainting myself with my Queen City.

Prospero Ano Y Felicidad!

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

It's been a long way down the road of vulgar selfishness and boorish disregard for the well-being of others since the Cabbage Patch Kids created such a ruckus over the availability of their dolls in the mid 1980's. I remember well, how people would rush into stores as soon as they opened, demanding dolls of the innocent store staff and management. It left behind an unpleasant distaste for humanity.

How sad that this kind of situation has only gotten much worse. Last Friday's release of the new PlayStation 3 brought out the worst in people all over America. As riots broke out at stores because of the limited supply and overwhelming demand for the product, I can't help but wonder how this event was not anticipated by retailers and the manufacturer. They shoud be held at least partially accountable. After hyping the product for a year and knowing that they would not be able to produce enough units for sale by the release date, Sony should have made the product available only through mail order and the internet. This would have prevented the horrors we witnessed on Friday.

Nintendo was much better prepared for the release of their Wii on Sunday. With many times more units produced, they avoided the marketing disaster of their competition. Still, perhaps the guilty gamers should be penalized for their unsportsmanlike conduct.

May Your WIRE Be ENDLESS

When I recently walked into my favorite F.Y.E. record store I was only intent on picking up a new copy of the Who classic, "Quadrophenia," when I noticed that the new Who CD, "Endless Wire" was on sale. Not having heard anything on this new release, I was nevertheless intrigued and couldn't resist the temptation to buy.

By the way, I did end up getting "Quadrophenia" also. It is still as powerful and exciting as the day I first heard it, many years ago. The remastered version sounds flawless and is almost as dynamic as the original vinyl.

But what really impressed me was the new work. The mere fact that these "Geezers" can still put out something that's captivating is amazing, in itself, especially after all they've been through. They are now only two. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Two is all they need. The entire album was written over the past four years.

While the entire CD is not fantastic, there are several songs which I already regard as favorites. They include "Mike Post Theme," "It's Not Enough," "Sound Round," "Pick Up The Peace," "Mirror Door," and my very favorite, the title track, "Endless Wire."

The mini-opera, "Wire & Glass" is the foundation upon which the entire work is built. It seems to be an autobiographical piece about the early life of Townshend, but, I'm sure with further listening, it will yield many more insights and inspirations.

As a further bonus, the Limited Edition copy which I purchased also includes a 5-song CD of The Who live in concert in Lyon, Switzerland. This is a sampler of the complete concert DVD available through the record label, with all the proceeds going to The Who's favorite charities. Cheers!

DARKNESS DESCENDS!

While listening to the classic death metal release "Darkness Descends" by legendary L.A. band Dark Angel this evening, I got the overwhelming impression that the dead were not only listening, but paying close attention.

While I have always been sensitive to impressions from "the Other Side," I have always attempted to maintain a sense of objectivity. This experience has called off all bets and redefined my communications with the dead.

With song titles like "Death is Certain (Life is Not)" and "Hunger of the Undead," I can only deduce that it is a very grim future which the dead are attempting to foreshadow. There is really no hope and I will not pretend otherwise. The Apocalypse is in progress and the world is utterly doomed. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Dwelling on the Past?

While it's true that I grew up on pop music, hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal, it is incorrect to assume that I have no appreciation for classical music and opera. To the contrary, I love these genres.

One of my favorite operas, in fact, is Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin." I discoverd this musical treasure through my late uncle, Bob, who I adored. Wagner's music is majestic and at the same time introspective. It has hooks as well as mystery; beautiful melodies and intense drama.

I think that many people who have only been exposed to popular forms of music would, if they truly listened to any such work as this, gain an unexpected pleasure and wider perspective on music and indeed all forms of artistic expression, thereby.

Beyond just being great, inspring music, this particular work is also very intelligent and thought-provoking. It is a story of magic, romance, betrayal and intrigue. I leave it up to you, my wonderful audience, to explore the details of this excellent story.

Next few posts will highlight more classics as well as more Death Metal and pop/rock. I look forward to sharing these with you. Evanescence and Deicide are in my sights as well as Mussorgsky and Leos Janacek. Dark Blessings!

GODSMACK IMPACT

Greetings from the Blasted Lands, dear readers. My unexpected abscence since Independance Day has finally come to an end. An interrruption in my internet access (still unexplained to this day) was the cause of this. A savage curse upon Earthlink!

On with the review! This fresh new band has captured my ear with their latest effor, "IV". While I sometimes feel that contemporary hard rock/heavy metal leaves a lot to be desired, I find Godsmack a refreshing change. Their hook-laden, yet still heavy melodies and song structures should be an inspiration to other bands of today.

Although I find the song "Shine Down" preachy and overly optomistic, it still has a good structure and melody. I have been told by those more familiar with Godsmack that this is not their best release. For me, it's a good introduction.

Changing Times

My dear readers (is there anybody still out there?) you may have noticed that my masthead and "About Me" have undergone some changes recently. This shall be reflected in the new direction this blog is going in from now on. Whereas this weblog has heretofore concentrated solely on my ravings and opinions on social and political matters, it now shall have a more fun and entertaining theme.

I now shall present reviews of my favorite CD's, movies and books as well as any other fun topics I deem worthy of mention. I am sure many of my readers will find this far more useful and uplifting than many of my previous posts have been.

I am looking forward to presenting my next post, which will be a review of the new Godsmack CD, "Godsmack 4." See you all (?) soon. Cheers!