CD [Ensign]

Now that is has officially been delivered by UPS to an end-user consumer it is for real. Ben's album is the real thing now. And I am proud very proud very proud of my friend Ben for producing Love Tractor's newest album Black Hole.



The album is excellent. It's a cohesive project that is a seamless jouney from track to track through a deep resevoir of sounds, shifting through many moods. There is depth to each track. At times haunting. At times springy. Always a driving thread of energy and weight. The tracks have a very dense, layered sound. A complex and interesting soundscape. A ride. A trip through the depths of a black hole.

This is Love Tractor's latest album since 2001's The Sky at Night. And prior to that it had been 12 years between projects. Love Tractor is from Athens, GA at a time in antiquity when the town ruled the college music scene and birthed bands like REM and the B-52's. Today Love Tractor's Mike Richmond and producer Ben Holst are the force behind Black Hole. Along with the release of the album, Love Tractor most recently played at Austin's South by Southwest festival. They haven't toured in 16 years. But they are back.

Get yourself a copy of Black Hole at Barnes & Noble now >>



NOTE: These doof pictures are testament to how happy and excited I am to now own this album.

Song [Ensign]

Some people are suckers for Elvis movies. Some people love Elvis' interpretation of the traditional kiddy song Old MacDonald in Double Trouble

Elvis' Old MacDonald
Old macdonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o
And on that farm he had some chicks, ee-i-ee-i-o
With a cluck, cluck here, a cluck, cluck there
Loud as they could be
And when those chicks got out of line Chicken fricasse
With a cluck, cluck here, a cluck, cluck there
Loud as they could be
And when those chicks got out of line Chicken fricasse

Well, old macdonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o
And on that farm he had some cows, ee-i-ee-i-o
With a moo, moo here, a moo, moo there
Cattle everywhere
And when those cows got out of line Hamburger, medium rare
With a moo, moo here, a moo, moo there
Cattle everywhereAnd when those cows got out of line Hamburger, medium rare

Ohh, well, old macdonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o
And on that farm he had some pigs, ee-i-ee-i-o
With an oink, oink here, an oink, oink there
Pigs everywhere in sight
And when those pigs got out of line Pork and beans at night
With an oink, oink here, an oink, oink there
Pigs everywhere in sight
And when those pigs got out of line Pork and beans at night

Well i'm goona have a farm one day, ee-i-e-i-o
And i'll do things mcdonalds way, ee-i-e-i-o
With a cluck, cluck here, a cluck, cluck there
A moo, moo here, a moo, moo there
An oink, oink here, an oink, oink there
And i can promise youIf those animals ever get out of line
We'll have a mulligan stew
How about you?

Beverage [Ensign]

Super Rooster Booster is now available in 16oz cans. And I am quite sure that it is a souped up formula from the old 8 ouncer. Among its ingredients is L-Carnitine. You wanna know what L-Carn is good for, check out the Top 10 Reasons to Take Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine

On the street >>
Booster=to inhale cocaine
Rooster=crack

check out some more interesting street terms.

Kitchen Item [Anonymous]

DEEP FRYER

Having your own deep fat fryer is awesome. Just look at that name, it starts with "deep fat." I don't even know what "deep fat" means, but when it comes to food, you know it can only be good. No more baked-ass cheese sticks for me! (Plus I can finally put my family's long-lost deep-fried cany-bar recipe to good use.)

Kitchen Item [Anonymous]

CROCK POT

I love the crock pot. Throw in some meat, some spices, some veggies, turn it on, leave for eight hours, BAM ya got dinner.

NOTE: do not leave pork carnitas cooking for 10 hours or they will dry out and burn up!

Writing Passage [Ensign]

From Stephen King's Insomnia

>>
"No. She favors stretch pants from Kmart and can usually be observed traveling in the company of assorted Ding-Dongs, Funny Bones, and Hostess Twinkies. She often wears a big sweatshirt with the words BABY FACTORY on the front..."
>>

And as Sam the architect would say: Didn't you see where they just crossed out the words chicken coop and wrote baby factory? Where are the plans for the baby factory?

Condiment [Ensign]

Hoorah for TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce. It is absolutely the best. It's great in soups, on sandwiches, in salads, on meat, in creamed spinach, on toast, in a roast, on a burrito, on pizza. Whatever. It is not hot. Tabasco is not about fire in the mouth. They are about flavor. They now have an entire line of really flavor-poppin' based pepper sauces. NOTE: The Chipotle Pepper Sauce has a bold smoky BBQ-y flavor.

CD [Ensign]

CHAINSKI05 - [Brad's MP3s No Rap]
Various Artists MP3 mix

Recently I purchased a new portable CD player. The buttons on my old one stopped working except for the play and pause button which was very annoying. So I went to Target and got a new one. Gladly I realized that for just a few bucks more I could get a player with the active use (jogging) anti-skip technology that I wanted and one that was capable of playing MP3s. Awesome.

Before I get to the CD, let me just start off with a little product soapboxing. Do not buy this product - GPX Portable CD/MP3 Player. It is a cheap product that skips even when moving at a slow walk. I had to take it back after a day of using it. It sucks.

I exchanged it for a more reputable brand that had everything I wanted - Panasonic's SL-SX450 Portable CD/MP3 Player. The product is great. Totally cool. It looks like a discus.

The great very great thing is the fact that this baby plays MP3s. You can fit and S-load of MP3s onto 1 disc. Very nice. I don't have the money yet to spend on an IPOD. So this is a nice compromise.

I asked the Corporal to burn me a disc of as many MP3s of his that he could. Corp has MP3s of all of his favorite songs on his laptop. The only thing I suggested was that he not include any rap, b/c I am still getting through the GRC [GREAT RAP COMPENDIUM] that Corp made for me.

The mix of MP3s on the CHAINSKI05 is tops. There are 229 tracks with the Corporal stamp of approval. There's oldies, newies, and A-lot of stuff from the very late 80s and early 90s. Among the surprises, as far as Corps musical tastes are concerned are Bob Dylan, Madonna, and Def Leopard.

[SEE THE PLAYLIST]

Candy [Ensign]

A week ago my candy jars were restocked. My dealer: Cracker Barrel. The fix: Jar #1 - Lemonheads (the candy not the band) and Jar #2 - Chick-O-Stick (the minis, not the full stick).

See some of the nostalgic hoopla on the Internet about this awesome candy.

Chick-O-Stick in the Candy Wrapper Museum
Chick-O-Stick at CyberCandy
Chick-O-Stick at OldTimeCandy.com
Chick-O-Stick the Making Of at HomeTownFavorites.com

CD [Ensign]

So good is Whiskeytown's Pneumonia.
So good.
So.
>>

CD [Anonymous]

Do you like the French band Air?
Do you love them?
Then you will really like Before the Dawn Heals Us by M83.
Be careful because there is a scary song.