I Would Be Excited But...

I would be excited today... inauguration day... but... I am a raging racist.

Not really.

More importantly, I now have Twitter. I have taken the plunge. I am not overly proud of it but if you have it, look me up. You can see some of my updates on the right. I added the Twitter widget for Blogger. I have also been adding a lot of links to the link section. The recommended spending section has especially seen a big overhaul.

I am going to be selling some records & dvds in the next week. I'll probably post them on here with prices (because I'll be posting them damn near everywhere) but if you're interested in trading with me, drop me a line.

I am up to 68 movies on the 2008 movie list. When I see two more I'll post the list again. We have a brand new #1 movie for 2008. That's right, something has taken over WALL-E.

Until then...

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley, Have You Heard?

So I've got a big recommendation for this Thursday afternoon. If you haven't already listened to it, that is. Check out "Girl Talk." Girl Talk is a guy who does remixes or mashups of popular songs, mostly hip-hop based, with "classic" hits. Classic is a word I use very loosely as some of the sample material is awful but he turns all of it into a wonderful album-long song that would fit in nicely at a club. Not a shitty club though. One of my favorite interchanges is the blend between Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" and T.I.'s "What You Know About That." It's hard to believe these things would mesh, but they do and it's awesome. Even more surprising is that Girl Talk isn't facing hundreds of lawsuits because he puts this stuff out on CDs available most places and has done so for years, clearly without the original artists' permission. My only guess is that because he uses relatively small snippets of the source material he escapes legal requirements. That or he pays a lot of money for the rights.

I guess this can serve as a Vinyl Find of the Week post, too. This week I'll go with Bo Diddley's debut self-titled album "Bo Diddley." This was found along with the Chuck Willis album from like 2-3 weeks ago in a Marietta antique store. It's worth $250 and unfortunately has its former owner's signature across the top. No matter, it's in great shape and is one of the great early rock & roll albums ever made. It also makes me laugh. The first (and biggest) single off of this album was a song called "Bo Diddley." So if you're keeping up, that means "Bo Diddley" by Bo Diddley was on Bo Diddley. That is, the song by the artist was on the album. I love it. This is one of three Bo Diddley albums I'll have on here eventually. His early stuff is pretty valuable and I've inexplicably turned up three different records in this category.

Hmm, what else is going on? I've been reading a Chuck Klosterman book lately for the first time. I'll probably write more about it when I've read enough to adequately comment. I'm excited because one of my favorite books "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (2006 Pulitzer Prize winning book) will be in theatres by the end of the year, sure to make an Oscar run like its predecessor, No Country For Old Men. Viggo Mortenson plays the lead and photos have leaked online. Very, very exciting.

Work has been insane lately. I've added "photographer" to my resume as I've been taking pictures for the South Fulton paper I write for. More work without more pay is never welcomed, but I like having control over the pictures and I am surprisingly good with the camera. The Vince Dooley photo(s) from last week's paper were mine and from now on most of the South Fulton photos will be mine as well.

I've got to try and see some more 2008 movies to blog about. I've really enjoyed keeping a running list of the movies I've seen this year and ranking them but it's so wildly (and unnecessarily) incomplete that I feel bad. I think I'll be checking out Tropic Thunder and Mamma Mia some time in the near future. The concepts behind each movie seem terrible, especially the morally repulsive Mamma Mia, but I'll do my best to put my biases aside.

Anyways, that's all I've got today. I think I'll start sharing more links in the near future to spice things up around here. Use the comments things below, even if there's nothing to say. Later!

Come On! Feel The Georgianoise!

Some exciting news today. Through the Sufjan Stevens rumor mill we have come to the conclusion that his next "State" album will be about a state whose first letter would be enough to determine which state it is. Thus, we can conclude that the state's first letter is not shared with any other states which leaves eight possible states:

Delaware

Florida
Georgia (!!!!)
Hawaii
Louisiana
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Utah

My money's on Pennsylvania or Utah with Rhode Island being a possibility just because the name is so easy to turn into an album title for him. For those unfamiliar, Sufjan Stevens is probably the best musician to come out in the past ten years and it's been at least 3 years since he's put out a completely new album (there have been Christmas and Outtakes releases since then, but not real albums). He has thusfar done "Come On Feel The Illinoise!" and a Michigan album.

In other news, the fantasy football season is upon us which for me is significantly more interesting than the actual NFL season and even the average college football season. Technically this college football season is more interesting than the average one because of UGA's projected success but fantasy football is one of the most wonderful things in the world. People will be coming to my apartment Saturday evening for our draft. Nearly all of my closest friends are involved in my primary league this year which is really fun for me. It dawned on me recently that a lot of the people in the league don't know each other but everyone knows at least 2 other people so it should work. Two years ago I won the league and last year I came in third so it's been a good run thusfar for me in this game. The baseball league I'm in with Rob & B.J. is going especially well. I am in 2nd place with the playoffs right around the corner and I am playing the first place team and kicking his ass so far. A win could put me in first which I could possibly hold on to going into the playoffs. Not bad considering I was in 4th less than a month ago. I have an unhealthy interest in fantasy sports. Meanwhile, Rob is saying this fantasy football season will be his final due to waning interest. I cannot even fathom this. I can understand people not being into it to begin with, but I can't see someone being completely into it and then dropping it. Oh well. He'll be back.

Now for everyone's least favorite weekly blog feature: vinyl find of the week! This week is Gene Chandler - The Duke Of Earl. This is easily one of my five greatest record finds ever. I paid $3 for it, thinking it was perhaps a Duke Ellington record or just something random that might be interesting to check out. When I got home with my record finds that day, I began to look them all up. I was very disappointed that I had spent way more than I should've and came home with only 1-2 decent records. I couldn't find the record in question in the price guide thingy because it didn't have an artist's name listed in any of the common areas. A few weeks later I looked again. In the blurb of text on the back it had mentioned something about Gene Chandler. I knew Gene Chandler had written the original Duke Of Earl song but I had thought this record was someone else singing that song or something like that. I was wrong. Turns out this is the original Gene Chandler record. Then it got better. The standard issue of the Gene Chandler record was worth about $200, which is the value they generally give for older records featuring black artists and extremely popular songs from the time period. For instance, most of Chuck Berry's original records are worth $200. But this one had something a little different. The word "Stereophonic" is on the top of the cover. This meant that the record is "stereo" as opposed to "mono." This is significant in that it was released in 1961 but in 1961 there were very few stereo record players. Not until the Beatles came along were people like "holy crap I must listen to this in two speakers!" So basically, with no one having stereo record players, no one was yet buying stereo records. Especially stereo records of black artists. This turns a $200 record into an $800 record. That's right, book value $800. But it gets even better. Unlike all of the other high end records I own, this effing record is SEALED. Sealed records carry a value higher than anything else. This one has stayed sealed for 47 years. I could likely sell this one for it's book value or more if I found the right buyer. Wow. Not bad for $3.

Just to put this in perspective, I only own 5 records worth more than this and one worth the same. Of those 6, only one is not a Beatles record. None of the others are sealed. Woot.

I Could Dance With You Until The Cows Come Home. On Second Thought, I'd Rather Dance With The Cows Till You Come Home

It's Vinyl Find Of The Week day. At left we have Chuck Willis - The King Of The Stroll. This record is worth about $300 and is in excellent shape. Willis died pretty young so we aren't overly familiar with his work but apparently he was very popular as an early rock/R&B musician. The photo doesn't do it justice but it's a really good looking album, as most Atlantic releases from that time were. I believe I paid something like $5 to $8 for this, so it was a steal at a Marietta Square antique store that normally overcharges for everything they have. Generally speaking I don't pay more than $3 apiece for records unless it's something special and this clearly is something special, especially considering the condition it was/is in. I will probably put this one up on my wall when I finally get to working on my room in that way. I don't have a whole lot else to talk about today so here's a bunch of quotes from the movie "Duck Soup" by the Marx Brothers. As you will see, it is one of the funniest movies ever made and you don't have to watch the movies to appreciate the quotes. A lot of my blog entry titles are some of Groucho's incredible witticisms.

Rufus T. Firefly: I'll see you at the opera tonight. I'll hold your seat till you get there. After you get there you're on your own.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Awfully decent of you to drop in today. Do you realize our army is facing disastrous defeat? What do you intend to do about it? Chicolini: I've done it already. Rufus T. Firefly: You've done what? Chicolini: I've changed to the other side. Rufus T. Firefly: So you're on the other side, eh? Well, what are you doing over here? Chicolini: Well, the food is better over here.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Lieutenant, why weren't the original indictment papers placed in my portfolio? Bob Roland: Why, uh, I didn't think those papers were important at this time, your excellency. Rufus T. Firefly: You didn't think they were important? Do you realize I had my dessert wrapped in those papers?
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Bob Roland: Ambassador Trentino is a very sensitive man. Perhaps if you insult him. He's very easy to insult. Why, I said something to Vera Marcal in his presence once, and he slapped my face. Rufus T. Firefly: Why didn't Vera slap your face? Bob Roland: She did. Rufus T. Firefly: What'd you say to her? [Roland whispers it in his ear. Firefly slaps his face] Rufus T. Firefly: You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Where'd you hear that story? Bob Roland: Why, you told it to me. Rufus T. Firefly: Oh yes, I remember. I should have slapped Mrs. Teasdale's face when she told it to me.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Now, what is it that has four pairs of pants, lives in Philadelphia, and it never rains but it pours? Chicolini: Atsa good one. I give you three guesses. Rufus T. Firefly: Now let me see. Has four pair of pants, lives in Philadelphia... Is it male or female? Chicolini: No, I no think so. Rufus T. Firefly: Is he dead? Chicolini: Who? Rufus T. Firefly: I don't know. I give up. Chicolini: I give up, too.
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Rufus T. Firefly: How would you like a job in the mint? Chicolini: Mint? No, no, I no like a mint. Uh - what other flavor you got?
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Rufus T. Firefly: You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Dig trenches, with our men being killed off like flies? There isn't time to dig trenches. We'll have to buy them ready made. Here, run out and get some trenches. Wait a minute, get them this high [gestures to his chin] Rufus T. Firefly: and our soldiers won't need any pants. Wait a minute, get them this high [gestures over his head] Rufus T. Firefly: and we won't need any soldiers.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot. I implore you, send him back to his father and brothers, who are waiting for him with open arms in the penitentiary. I suggest that we give him ten years in Leavenworth, or eleven years in Twelveworth. Chicolini: I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll take five and ten in Woolworth.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Married. I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. But I can't see the stove.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Not that I care, but where is your husband? Mrs. Teasdale: Why, he's dead. Rufus T. Firefly: I bet he's just using that as an excuse. Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end. Rufus T. Firefly: No wonder he passed away. Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him. Rufus T. Firefly: Oh, I see, then it was murder. Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honour, which is probably more than she ever did.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Maybe you can suggest something. As a matter of fact, you do suggest something. To me you suggest a baboon. Ambassador Trentino: What? Rufus T. Firefly: I, uh, I'm sorry I said that; it isn't fair to the rest of the baboons.
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Chicolini: Now I aska you one. What has a trunk, but no key, weighs 2,000 pounds and lives in a circus? Prosecutor: That's irrelevant. Chicolini: Irrelephant? Hey, that'sa the answer. There's a whole lot of irrelephants in the circus.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Oh, I'm sick of messages from the front. Don't we ever get a message from the side? - What is it? Bob Roland: General Smith reports a gas attack. He wants to know what to do. Rufus T. Firefly: Tell him to take a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda and a half a glass of water.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You better beat it - I hear they're going to tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. You know, you haven't stopped talking since I came here? You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.
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Minister of Finance: Here is the Treasury Department's report, sir. I hope you'll find it clear. Rufus T. Firefly: Clear? Huh. Why a four-year-old child could understand this report. [to Bob Roland] Rufus T. Firefly: Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can't make head or tail of it.
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Rufus T. Firefly: [to Chicolini] I wanted to get a writ of habeas corpus, but I should have gotten a-rid of you instead.
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Prosecutor: Chicolini, you are charged with high treason, and if found guilty, you will be shot. Chicolini: I object. Prosecutor: You object? On what grounds? Chicolini: I couldn't think of anything else to say. Rufus T. Firefly: Objection sustained. Prosecutor: Your majesty, you sustain the objection? Rufus T. Firefly: Sure, I couldn't think of anything else to say either. Why don't you object?
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Rufus T. Firefly: I'll see my lawyer about this as soon as he graduates from law school.
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Rufus T. Firefly: And now, members of the cabinet... Rufus T. Firefly: we'll take up old business. Cabinet Member: I wish to discuss the tariff. Rufus T. Firefly: Sit down, that's new business. No old business? Very well... [pounds gavel] Rufus T. Firefly: we'll take up new business. Cabinet Member: Now, about that tariff... Rufus T. Firefly: Too late, that's old business already. Sit down.
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Cabinet Member: The Department of Labor wishes to note that the workers of Freedonia are demanding shorter hours. Rufus T. Firefly: Very well, we'll give them shorter hours. We'll start by cutting their lunch hour to 20 minutes.
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Mrs. Teasdale: Notables from every country are gathered here in your honor. This is a gala day for you. Rufus T. Firefly: Well, a gal a day is enough for me. I don't think I could handle any more.
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Mrs. Teasdale: As chairman of the reception committee, I welcome you with open arms. Rufus T. Firefly: Is that so? How late do you stay open?
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Rufus T. Firefly: Just for that, you don't get the job I was going to give you. Chicolini: What job? Rufus T. Firefly: Secretary of War. Chicolini: All right, I take it. Rufus T. Firefly: Sold.
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Mrs. Teasdale: Your excellency, the ambassador's here on a friendly visit. He's had a change of heart. Rufus T. Firefly: A lot of good that'll do him: he's still got the same face. Ambassador Trentino: I'm sorry we lost our tempers; I'm willing to forgot if you are. Rufus T. Firefly: Forget? You ask me to forget? A Firefly never forgets. Why, my ancestors would rise from their graves, and I'd only have to bury them again.
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Prosecutor: Something must be done! War would mean a prohibitive increase in our taxes. Chicolini: Hey, I got an uncle lives in Taxes. Prosecutor: No, I'm talking about taxes - money, dollars! Chicolini: Dollars! There's-a where my uncle lives! Dollars, Taxes!
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Rufus T. Firefly: [into radio] This is Rufus T. Firefly coming to you through the courtesy of the enemy. We're in a mess folks, we're in a mess. Rush to Freedonia! Three men and one woman are trapped in a building! Send help at once! If you can't send help, send two more women! [Pinky enters and raises three fingers] Rufus T. Firefly: Make that three more women!
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[reporting on shadowing Firefly] Chicolini: Monday we watch-a Firefly's house, but he no come he wasn't home. Tuesday we go to the ball game, but he fool us: he no show up. Wednesday HE go to the ball game, but we fool HIM, WE no show up. Thursday it was a double-header nobody show up. Friday it rained all day, there was no ball game, so we stayed home, we listen to it over the radio.
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Rufus T. Firefly: I'm in a hurry! To the House of Representatives! Ride like fury! If you run out of gas, get ethyl. If Ethel runs out, get Mabel! Now step on it!
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Ambassador Trentino: Have you been trailing Firefly? Chicolini: Have we been trailing Firefly? Why, my partner, he's got a nose just like a bloodhound. Ambassador Trentino: Oh really? Chicolini: Yeah, and the rest of his face don't look so good either.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Go, and never darken my towels again!
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Rufus T. Firefly: Here are the plans of war. They're as valuable as your life. And that's putting them pretty cheap. Watch them like a cat watched her kittens. Have you ever had kittens? No, of course not, you're too busy running around playing bridge. Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you, I love you.
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Rufus T. Firefly: Take a letter. Bob Roland: Who to? Rufus T. Firefly: To my dentist. [Roland writes out the following] Rufus T. Firefly: Uh... Dear dentist, enclosed find check for $500, yours very truly. Send that off immediately. Bob Roland: I'll, um, I'll have to enclose a check first. Rufus T. Firefly: You do and I'll fire you.
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Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, your Excellency! Rufus T. Firefly: You're not so bad yourself.

Vinyl Find Of The Week, Etc.

Finally able to start my "Vinyl Find of the Week" gimmick. I have no idea why this would appeal to those of you who read me regularly, but this is the crap I care about and some of it is pretty interesting. To kick it off, I went with the record that is the blog's namesake: Buck Clayton - How Hi The Fi. I love the album, obviously. It's only worth $50 which is far less than most of the records that will be on here, but I think my price guide undervalues it. I saw one for sale at Wuxtry Records in Athens, GA for $40 which means it's price guide value should be quite a bit higher. Buck Clayton isn't the most famous jazz musician and I wouldn't call him prolific, but this one is about perfect if you like upbeat jazz. Since moving to Buckhead, I've had a much greater appreciation for my record collection than I've had in a long, long time. It is wonderfully on display in my new living room and there's something majestic about it the way we have it arranged. As I mentioned, a lot of the junkier records are getting sold off so that helps things as well. It's nice to have moments where you appreciate what you have more than what you want. I have these same moments with a lot of my various junk. My roommates agreed that they had never seen a guy with as much "stuff" as me. I can see this making sense, but I'm curious as to what it says about me. Most people seem to think it's a good thing, so I guess I shouldn't worry about it.
Ever since I posted the link to my blog on Facebook, I've been getting quite a few hits. Miraculously I didn't get any comments on my list of 25 favorite movies. I thought that one would garner some sort of discussion. A year or two ago I posted my favorite movies by decade on Facebook and got tons of comments. Oh well.
Work has been stressful lately. I've been doing all of my regular work on time but I've been struggling to get photos that accompany the stories I write that take place outside of Douglas County. I rely on the interviewed subjects to submit photos and they forget or whatever and I'll get phone calls from the powers that be wondering what happened. It makes me look bad and, lately, feel bad. The higher-ups scheduled a meeting at the same time of what might be my biggest local assignment ever (that is, I've recruited several people to show up somewhere to do something for a story and now I won't be there to ask them questions). It's technically not a HUGE problem, but didn't help anything. I've taken on a lot of extra work outside of my coverage area without asking any questions and all of the problems regarding it are probably making me look bad to the higher-ups rather than making me look good for doing thankless work without ever really being asked to do diddley. Oh well again.
On a lighter note, I'm still loving the Jason Bay/Manny Ramirez swap. We lost our first game since getting Bay last night but he still has a hit in every game he's been with us. Meanwhile the Yankees' big trade deadline pitching acquisition gave up a walk-off grand slam yesterday. Gotta love that. I haven't been worried about the Yankees all year, then, right after the All Star break they started catching up, then they almost swept us, then they were right on our heels, then they picked up lots of good players at the deadline, but suddenly I'm back to being comfortable with them. Their pickups weren't very good afterall, their pitching staff is falling apart like crazy, the guys who were having insane months are coming back to earth and they seem extremely beatable. Meanwhile, the Jason Bay Red Sox seem relaxed and relieved to be rid of Manny. I'll take it.