...that Brokeback Mountain was a sequel. Or maybe it's the feature & Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man was the prequel.

I've never seen Mickey Rourke in a role that gay before. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Who cares what they say?

- Johnny Depp, from A Nightmare on Elm Street I

Also, is that the only role where he dies?

...an African desert movie with a southern rock sndtrk, except for wasting 2hr of your life in front of a SUCKING African desert movie with a southern rock sndtrk.

The Advocaat's gone & I'm only drunk-ish. 750mL at 15% should feel drunker than this. This is only like two good glasses of wine. Oh well; it's bedtime anyways.

...& beautifully put

...how great it is to have a cat. Like I just mentioned to LJ user h8luvh8, Cats are sometimes so friggin stupid one moment, then so awesome the next.

I'm amazed when I think of how long Veronika has lived with me and every time I walk in the door, even if I just went & started the car, she greets me at the door. Used to *pay* her a little attention, like it was a chore, like it was something I had to do as a cat owner, but in the last little while I've been able to see more meaning in it.

She's like a little kid, wanting to be around a parent. I wish I'd been able to see it in those terms earlier, but really it's just my problem.

The years without that POV are lost on me alone; she's known the whole time. < /heartwarming moment >

BTW, rehearsal was very good. The new pre-amp tubes sound incredible. I took some good advice & it paid off. Up til now I've always played with a very saturated tone - the gain right up. Now my gain is backed off & the sound isn't as naturally compressed anymore. I've had to tilt my pickup, pulling the bass end away from the strings. What a huge diff! Nice & even volume across the strings, no more boomy bottom or fade-away top.

& I'm going to shell out for the power amp tubes that the bias repair will utilize to it's fullest.

I enjoyed Underworld better the 2nd time around, but I still say the scene in the hallway when the Lycans come to take Michael is still bullshit. Movies must obey their own inner logic! I got over the stupidity of the Lycans sticking to walls. Whatever. BUT (& I cannot stress this enough) there were four Lycans coming down the hall at her. She shot three. Then she decided to evade the fourth by shooting a round hole in the floor below her.

Abakingpowder?

Yup, she proceeds to spend more bullets & more TIME shooting out the floor than it took to kill the three Lycans. The fourth, being one target, should've been a barrelshoot. STUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPID!

So, now that I'm hearing all sorts of good things about Judi Dench's latest role, I'm now in the mood to see her play M. But I've watched all my Brosnan 007's recently-ish (he's the best Bond, BTW - I'd've killed to see him in Casino Royale under the direction of Tarantino - another stupid move on a studio's part, but what can ya do?)

Moonraker is on deck this eve. Even tho he was my 1st Bond, & For Your Eyes Only my 1st Bond film, I'm getting to think he was the worst Bond. Octopussy does not stand the test of time (it's got all the charm < /sarcasm > of Temple of Doom for a guy like me who couldn't give two shits about explosions but loves great storytelling). My disclaimer, of course, is that 90% of acting is direction. Maybe 8P's directer just plain sucked?

I'll let you know how Moonraker goes. It'd go better with red wine & chocolate & I'm too lazy to get out & buy some. In lieu, I'm baking THESE (WTF? Pillsbury can't be bothered to update their own website? I wanna kick 'em in the nuts. Imagine little yellow chicks in little pink eggs. They're adorable. And square. I had a small pan.)

Sean just called & my head's in. The bias has been put back to factory original.

(Mesa/Boogie makes their tube heads with a fixed bias, then puts their tube purchases thru an exacting quality control. This means when you replace tubes in a Mesa head, if you buy Mesa tubes the bias doesn't need adjustment.)

I bought it used in '95 (or thereabouts). After a couple of months it went down, but instead of trying to return it & get my money back, I decided, since it was a boutique-ish item at the time, I would get it repaired. All it *needed* was a bias adjust. & my tech said he didn't understand why anyone would make a tube head with a fixed bias. He modified it to be variable, like the traditional gear he was used to dealing with.

I want reliability. Musicians have been asking for this since the dawn of the electric guitar. An amp rarely sounds the same every day because of the variations in the current coming out of the wall, & differences in tubes just make it worse. Plus, an amp shakes when it's running at band level. The adjustable bias screws into place. It vibrates out of position, taxing the tube, shortening it's life & sounding like crap at the same time. (I won't mention all the compliments I got with my tone, even with old tubes.)

Don't get me wrong. Bradd came highly recommended cuz he knew his shit. But this was yet another example of old-school thought failing in light of innovation. He knew about Mesa's claim about the fixed bias & QC'd tubes, but his opinion was that Mesa was making a cash-grab, & I don't think worse of him for his skepticism. I'm a fellow cynic. But the whole problem with the head in the 1st place would not have happened if Mesa tubes were installed by the previous owner.

I also understand his outrage at Mesa tubes costing a few bucks more. Rock/metal guitarists run with a lot of gain, spending a set of tubes in a year, whereas a country musician feels cheated if he needs a new set every ten.

Meh, what can you do?

Name 10 bands/artists you are really into.

1. Prince
2. Tom Waits
3. PJ Harvey
4. The Divine
5. Sonic Youth
6. Billy Idol
7. Ministry
8. Britney Spears
9. Madonna
10. Bjork

Now answer the questions according to the numbers.

+ what was the first song you ever heard by 6?
: Rebel Yell, & what an impression it made!

+ what is your favourite album of 8?
: Britney - the grooves on it are SO cool

+ what is your favourite lyric that 5 has sung?
: "10, 20, 30, 40, tell me that you're achin' for me"

+ how many times have you seen 4 live?
: Funny story - I saw them more times than I could count after I turned down an invitation to join; three years later the invitation was renewed & I had the time of my life :)

+ what is your favourite song of 7?
: Crumbs - & it was hard to choose just one. In the middle of the 1st verse, there is a subtle vocal that comes in saying "Oh yeah..." & I MUST sing that little part every time!

+ what is a good memory you have considering the music of 10?
: I was hangin with my then-gf, her sister & a bunch of her friends in her friend's basement. That was the 1st time I'd heard Human Behaviour & Big Time Sensuality.

+ is there a song of 3 that makes you sad?
: Yes. Polly does a cover of Kurt Weill's Ballad of the Soldier's Wife that blows me away

+ what is your favourite lyric that 2 has sung?
: "There are a few things I never could believe
: A woman when she weeps
: A merchant when he swears
: A thief who says he'll pay a lawyer when he cares
: A snake when he is sleeping
: A drunkard when he prays
: I don't believe you go to Heaven when you're good
: Everything goes to Hell anyway"

+ what is your favourite song by 9?
: Deeper & Deeper - not only is it catchy & the lyrics meaningful, but it takes real ingenuity to make a pop melody that doesn't adhere to a scale

+ how did you get in to 3?
: Down By the Water was all over the radio during that period of time when my personal definition of "good rock" expanded exponentially.

+ what was the first song you heard by 1?
: The Morning Papers was the 1st one that caught my attention, driving around with a then-gf, but When Doves Cry was the real 1st - I was too young to appreciate it.

+ what is your favourite song by 4?
: An unreleased song called 1 a.m. & a Bottle of Rye. My music, H's lyrics. When I put the album on & it comes to that song I have to sit back & let the vibe wash over me.

+ how many time have you seen 9 live?
: None :(

+ what is a good memory you have concerning 2?
: Henry Rollins' account of the time he met him.

+ is there a song of 8 that makes you sad?
: No

+ what is your favourite album of 5?
: Washing Machine, & that, too, was a difficult choice. Remembering hearing both the intro to The Diamond Sea (how the guitar plays *with* the envelope filter, then the drums come in & gently pull the tempo out of sync with the filter) & Kim Deal's innocent-sounding vox on Little Trouble Girl on the radio brings a wonderful nostalgia of the time when I basically lived in my car - my home, my daughter, my job, my band & my most of my gf's around that time all lived in different towns & I listened to a lot of FM radio.

+ what is your favourite lyric that 3 has sung?
: Who the Fuck - more audacious fuck-you attitude than an army of emo/screamo/pseudopunk guys half her age

+ what is your favourite song of 10?
: Hunter (another exceedingly difficult choice!) That intro bassline... wow.

+ how many times have you seen 6 live?
: None :( but I've played his songs onstage.

+ what is your favourite album of 2?
: Frank's Wild Years - a different style on almost every song. It blows me away, despite a friend who makes me turn him off cuz listening to him sing makes her want to 'clear her throat'

+ what is a great memory you have considering 9?
: One I'm not going to repeat here.

+ what is your favourite lyric that 6 has sung?
: "I've traveled and unwound my own truth
: I've laid my head on the rock of youth
: I've trusted and then broken my own word
: Just to keep me free in this mad, mad world
: It could happen to you so think for yourself"

+ what was the first song you heard by 8?
: Oops!... I Did It Again - At the time it was my daughter's favourite album. Listening to it a couple of times, well, I guess my brain went to mush cuz I loved it. The cohesive album catchiness sold me.