Oh, and my choices consist of one of the "Big Five", three middle-ish guys, and one longshot.

1) Radiohead, "Exit Music (For A Film)"
2) Johnny Cash, "I'm A Drifter"
3) Sheryl Crow, "I Shall Believe"
4) Johnny Cash, "Bird On A Wire"
5) Paul Simon, "You Can Call Me Al"
6) Run DMC, "Rock Box"
7) Rancid, "The Way I Feel"
8) Beck, "Soul Suckin' Jerk"
9) AC/DC, "Ride On"
10) Train, "Drops Of Jupiter (99x Live X 7)"

Thoughts and prayers go out to Bill, Scott, Heather and the rest of the Hartman family.

We should all be so fortunate to live a life on par with Coach's. Appropriately, he'll be buried in Athens in his coaching jacket.

RIP to a Damn Good Dawg.

But I think I still have that little kid in me. Y'know how when you were young and your parents got you a kickass toy for your birthday or Christmas and inevitably you end up playing with the box? Well, it's not exactly that severe in this case (the PC box can't pull up Flickr or YouTube) - but damn if I didn't flip out over the totally awesome pictograms printed on the tower's plastic wrap...

I dork out over stuff like this waaay too much, but c'mon, tell me these aren't two of the most awesome pictograms you've ever seen. I almost want to find a baby and put the plastic wrap over it's little bald head just to see if it makes a similar expression.¹

DAve

¹ Before any indignant people hit me with e-mails damning me for suggesting this, let me assure you that I wouldn't actually do this, despite how awesome it'd be.

1) The Rolling Stones, "Always Suffering"
2) Boston, "Something About You"
3) System Of A Down, "Aerials"
4) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Peter Gabriel, "Taboo"
5) Elliott Smith, "King's Crossing"
6) Bukka White, "Strange Place Blues"
7) Mark Mothersbaugh, "Pagoda's Theme"
8) Josh Joplin Group, "Camera One (Live on Letterman)"
9) Alison Krauss & Union Station, "Blue Trail Of Sorrow"
10) Fleetwood Mac, "Gold Dust Woman"

Nonetheless, I can apologize the only way I know how: by taking that entry, and, using Google, translating it into Japanese and then back into English. We call it Engrish. Enjoy...

20 years ago. Precocious 11 year of person old, 20 years in tomorrow ago, it started showing the crack as my unerring reliance and a country. We are the large アメ Lee mosquito, but, it is not complete. The person fails once upon a time the dies of the person once upon a time. As for that being to be, as for us who always are it was in the school which is seen with the tv. I connected completely with our voices which are brought up with countdown namely yell: " 3, 2, 1! ". Beautiful ignition and rise - The fact that the land and mind are stirred is shaken. At rear ninety second: " Go because of the スロ ット. " And disorder. By mistake we had known that it is with the age something. When and there was a part, you did not know, the surface of our teachers informed everything to those. We are to witness the life of the American 7 exactly the key tobacco was inhaled between instant pioneer. Or we thought. Something which continues is first impact namely while that makes being surprised, the っ after: " That was fast, pain was not "...". But " happened had not known as for them under any condition, that was not true. Afterwards, we find terrible truth. As for explosion those the shooting midst っ it is - As for falling to earth. 7 Icari. As for me the magazine of time, I have remembered the photograph of 1 you remember many from other things: The Florida beach of serene namely one smoldering glove of sand. We are not complete, don't you think? so is? The reliance to which the person and the country do not tremble is dangerous. It asks always. It asks always. If you do not rely on with one thing, rely on our specific infallibility. We occasionally fail. We occasionally die. Being to have that, and being always to be.

"We are the large Lee mosquito, but, it is not complete."
"We are not complete, don't you think?"

So true. So, so true.

Twenty years ago tomorrow, as a precocious 11-year-old, my unerring faith in man and country began to show cracks. We are the great America, but we are not perfect. Man sometime fails, man sometime dies. As it was and it will always be.

We were at school, watching on TV. We all joined in the countdown, our voices growing louder: "THREE, TWO, ONE!!". The glorious ignition and ascent - shaking the ground and stirring the soul.

Ninety seconds later: "Go for throttle up." Then chaos. Even at that age we knew something was wrong. And if there were some that didn't know, our teacher's face told them everything. We had just witnessed the lives of seven American pioneers snuffed out in an instant. Or we thought.

After the initial shock, it came as no surprise what followed: "It was quick and painless"... "They never knew what happened." But even that wasn't true. Later, we'd find out the awful truth. The explosion didn't kill them - the fall to earth did. Seven Icari.

I remember the picture in TIME magazine, one I remember more than the others: the serene Florida beach, one smoldering glove in the sand.

We're not perfect, are we? Unwavering faith in man and country is dangerous. Always question. Always question. If you must trust in one thing, trust our inherent infallibility. We sometimes fail. We sometimes die. As it was and as it always will be.

Well, well, well

It seems that we didn't recently discover chemical weapons in Iraq, since we know Hussein obeyed the UN Resolution to a T so that when we unjustifiably invaded there wouldn't be any chemical weapons anywh... oops.

Gazi George, a former Iraqi nuclear scientist under Saddam's regime, told Fox News that he believes many similar weapons stockpiled by the former regime were either buried underground or transported to Syria. He noted that the airport where the device was detonated is on the way to Baghdad from the Syrian border.

Now, I'm a rational guy. I don't think this is the end-all, be-all "smoking gun" but it sure as hell strengthens my belief that the current administration's intelligence was not perhaps as shady as some would have you believe.

Granted, one shell dispensing sarin does not a "large stockpile" make, but hopefully that won't prevent the US from properly addressing this situation. We just need to be sure, yeah?

Maybe the shell was overlooked as a sarin-carrying piece of ordinance when the Iraqis were disposing of the rest. Maybe some enterprising kid bought it as a paperweight, then sold it back into circulation. Could have been any number of things, I guess...

Maybe it fell off the truck bound for Syria.

Fast forward to today.

We-heh-hellll...

In the mean time, I might just be droppin' links like Galileo dropped the orange.

This first one: Wow. Brilliant, yet devious. Deviously brilliant. An acid trip gone beautifully, ingeniously wrong and right. I have a bad feeling I'm one of those people that would throw up if I stood in the middle of the hallway in the first pic for too long.

*UPDATE* Tons more here.

[mas aqui]

Y'know what? I'm gon' leave it at 9, just because closing out aught-five with Radiohead is the thing to do, you smell me? And what a closer it is; "We hope your rules and wisdom choke you."

Indeed. That's profound; And it applies to someone. Somewhere. So dig the heaviness.

Happy New Year.

Apologies to all for the lack of posts lately - I'm going to start the year off with a site redesign. Massey Christmas party pics coming soon as well.

DAve

[more here]

First of all, I want to thank you for the many blessings with which you've blessed me over the years; a loving family, wonderful friends, and most importantly of all, an esteemed place in the brotherhood of the GREATEST DAMN UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD.

You have blessed me Lord, and will undoubtedly continue to bless me, I am sure.

So let's not let up now, OK?

For Lord, this time tomorrow I will be 30 years old, a milestone in anyone's life, another mile-marker on the golden highway to Immortalityville (Population: You). And Lord, in honor of such an occasion, I ask for only one thing...

We must beat Georgia Tech.

Lordy, please understand that I'm not one of those guys who asks you to help his team win, and, by logical extrapolation, the other team lose. Oh no, Lord. I ask nothing like that from you. In fact, Lord, I do humbly ask you to help The Lying And Cheating Nerds From North Avenue this evening - because, frankly, Lord, those sonsabitches are gonna need all the help they can get.

Mighty are your blessings, Lord; you have blessed the Dawg Nation with a successful coach who, not coincidentally, has a faith that allows Jesus to carry him in tough times (read: 2003 SEC Championship, 2004 Tennessee game) along the beach of trial and tribulation and so there's only one pair of footprints in the sand or something. I forget exactly how the poem goes, but you get my point.

And the blessings don't stop there, Lord - they just keep on a'comin'. You have given us Moses, Mohamed, and, most importantly of all, Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth - your greatest creation yet.

Lord, you gave Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth the patience of Job to wait for the safety to bite on the play-action before shedding his blocking assignment and turning up the field for a long pass reception. Amen. You gave Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth the strength of Samson, except this time you did the right thing and gave him little hair, so he has no weakness. Amen. You gave Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth the quick feet of Shadrach, who developed his speed and cutting ability hopping around in that hot furnace until you showed up. Amen. You gave Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth the architectural and construction ability of Noah, as he, alone, built the Continuing Education building in his spare time between catching passes, flattening linebackers, and healing the sick. Amen. Lord, if only you had given him x-ray vision like Superman - South Bend's most recognizable landmark would be Touchdown Pope Maleficent Benedictus the VIIth.

I am torn, however, Lord. You know well the consistent lying and cheating the Bugs have infected the football landscape with, and part of me wishes you would smite them for their malfeasance. But I will not ask that of you. For one, the NCAA has already done that. You work in mysterious ways, Lord. For two, despite your omnipotence, I feel we need not your services this day. So instead I ask of you our forgiveness.

Forgive us for our running game, for it will cleave the very heart of the Georgia Tech defense.

Forgive us for our passing game, for it will shame Jacket defensive backs into casting aside their Magic: The Gathering cards and acknowledging the greatness of the Dawg.

Forgive us for our defense, for it will break the very will of the Jacket offense, and several bones as well.

And finally forgive me, for upon our victory on the Flats this day my celebration will be one of great obnoxiousness as I urinate (definitately metaphorically, possibly literally) upon the collective heads of the less fortunate: the student body of the North Avenue Trade School.

In your name I humbly pray,

GATA,

Jasper was down,

Amen.

My final random music list of my 20's - dare I stretch it to 30? I dare. I promise nothing. Coffee is good. Inspire me, caffeine...

1) System Of A Down - "Suite-Pee"

When I was at UGA, my buddy Kevin (who was working as a rep for Sony at the time) and I got to go to the now-defunct Cotton Club in Atlanta for a double-bill show with two relatively unknown bands: System Of A Down and Incubus. System didn't play - the singer was having throat problems or was pissed off about American involvement in (insert backass insignificant country here) or something. Kev and I did get to kick the bass player and DJ from Incubus's asses in pool, though. So that was fun.



2) Cake - "Cool Blue Reason"

My bro Chuk took me to see Cake at the Roxy one year - for my birthday. I wanna say it was my 25th? Or was that my 26th? Or was that Soundgarden?



3) Daryle Singletary - "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet"

Ah, the legendary Daryle Singletary (file under: How'd This Get Here?) - I suppose I could adopt this as my mantra for my blossoming music career, maturing into a more disciplined guitar player and more experienced songwriter, but that'd be gay.



4) Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - "The Drugs Don't Work (Live)"

I love Ben. This is a great cover of Richard Ashcroft's (lead singer of the Verve, who did "Bittersweet Symphony" and then got sued because the strings part in that song was ripped off from a Rolling Stones tune and they hardly got any money for it and the money they did get [especially the dough from Nike] they gave to charity) best song. Ashcroft had to edit the lyrics before it could be released - the original goes, "The drugs don't work, they just make me worse" - the safe-for-radio edit? "The drugs don't work, they just make you worse." Yeah, I don't get it either.



5) Dan Rather - "Election Night 2000"

A collection of Rather's nonsensical quips from the controversial evening in the Presidential election. Dan Rather: he makes hokey, nonsensical blathering entertaining.



6) The Rolling Stones - "Pretty Beat Up"

How I feel. Happy Birthday to me. Ugh.



7) Interpol - "Roland"

If you don't like Interpol, you're stupid. I know this because every online "indie" magazine told me so.



8) Radiohead - "Lewis (Mistreated)"

The one band I haven't seen live that I really really really want to see. U2's great; I love U2. But they're not the best band in the world. Sorry, Bono.



9) Collective Soul - "She Said"

The A.T.L.'s own. Not a great band, but they can lay claim to one thing: supposedly they have had more songs in regular rotation at the same time on radio stations nationwide than any other band. Thanks to my buddy Jonathan, I can't hear this anymore without thinking he's singing "Like chicken and shrimp-fried rice, she said..."



10) Stevie Wonder - "Overjoyed"

The two greatest things Stevie Wonder ever did? 1) "Superstition" and 2) the SNL camera commercial. If you've never seen it, find it. Watch it. Laugh. Blind people are HI-larious!

Stretching this to 30 might've been a bad idea... Must... fight... urge... to... delete... this... stupid... post... eeergghh...