SwampLog 3.0

Engine In The Car Goes 'Bbbbbb Bbbbbb...'

There's a Nissan ad for the new Z series, with a whimsical song in the background. "Take me ridin' in the car car / I wanna go ridin' in the car." I knew it was a folk tune from a while back, but wasn't sure where it came from.

Well, thanks to the digital crack shoppe that is the iTunes Music Store, I can now report that song is a cover of Woody Guthrie's "Take Me, Riding In My Car." The cover Nissan uses comes from Ramblin' Jack Elliot, called simply "Riding in My Car." Get your friends hooked on it today -- it's as infectious as the 5,6,7,8s.

Arrest Yourself!

While my sunburn isn't as bad as the one I had in 2002, the effects are a little different.  The blisters are a lot smaller, and more persistent.  I still have a lot of 'em, and they're making me cross.  I used sunblock -- SPF 50, and repeated slatherings during the day on the lake -- and it's still this bad.  Ah, well.  I'm not complaining.  It was worth it.

Jane sent along this bit of news pointing to the workplace crackdown on employee blogging.  To me, that's just Darwinism.  When you're posting something on the World Wide Web, you shouldn't expect to be invisible or invincible... especially if you name names.  If any of these people were smart, they would vent their spleen using fake company names, or fake names themselves.

I've signed on to be the technology bitch for the Wild Ass Circus.  This will mean I do a lot of the web work for the show, as well as the multimedia for the site and the set-up of the show's podcast.  I'm thinking the 'cast will be the show's best segment, with additional stuff like music Richard digs or whatnot that doesn't necessarily fit in the show's parameters.  Developing...

Marty just picked Edison up to give him a zerbert on his fuzzy belly... and Edison rolled his eyes in disdain.  I'll be laughing about this for a while.

Dawn Ellis-Lopez, one of the few people on this planet who knows far too much about me to be allowed to live, told me last week that she felt it was "really important" for me to start writing about baseball on DBH again.  Said she felt it would be "good for my soul."  It sounds right, and I believe it, but at the same time I have no desire to do it.  After all I poured into DBH in the seven months the site was truly active, it feels like I have nothing left.  Gary Adornato, the site's publisher, gave me an incredible opportunity to work on the site, but the inability of the site's two "sales directors" to actually sell anything dragged the whole project down.  I didn't walk away from it, as much as left via free-fall.  My job at Rawlings consumed more and more of my time, and I had no energy to give DBH.  I haven't spoken to Gary in a while, and once I post this, I'll call him to play catch-up. 

Meanwhile, I still hunger for baseball (even though the Rangers are mired in mediocrity), but can't seem to write anything coherent about the Great Game.  Not completely sure what I would write about, if I did.  Damned fickle muse.

Song that's stuck in my head at this moment: "One, Two Step
" by Ciara.  Dammit.

I'm signed up for Blogathon 2005, set to kick off on 6 August.  I don't know what my theme or "gimmick" will be this year, but I hope it'll be as decent as the one from 2003.  It was a lot of fun for a great cause.  Developing.

One last bit: Devinukah 2005 may very well be taking place in Addison.  Something's afoot.

And Don't Get Me Started About Claire Murray

In 1987, I was a senior at DeSoto High School, and the Managing Editor of the school paper, the Eagle Eye.  The Editor-In-Chief was Brady Speers.  Brady was a great friend to have in those years, because we shared a lot of the same tastes in clothes, girls and music.

Brady was also a devout Christian.  He was particularly fond of Christian Rock, and one band in particular.  Stryper rocked his planet.  He knew everything about all of the members, the whole discography (such as it was) and whatnot.  In a tasty bit of serendipity, the Toyota Celica he drove was yellow and black -- Stryper's primary color scheme.  When he was in a rather horrible wreck our senior year (if memory serves, a semi was involved), it was labeled divine intervention when he emerged unscathed, even though the Strypermobile was totalled.

I'm reminded of this while tooling through the iTunes Music Store's new offerings this week, and I come across... the brand new single from Stryper, Reborn .

It really is 1985 all over again.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Will someone please tell Gwen Stefani to quit screaming at me that "this shit is bananas"? Please?

"Hollaback Girl" is insidious. There's nothing to the damned song, yet it remains lodged in my medulla oblongata. And will not leave.

Next Stop: Bed, Bath & Beyond

I have now officially entered the "middle age" period, since I could not afford my Corvette.

Today, I purchased James Taylor's Greatest Hits.  While Marty doesn't find this nearly as alarming as I do, it's just not something I thought about doing at all.

Do not misunderstand me here -- I have always dug James Taylor.  "Fire and Rain" has always been a powerful piece of music for me, and "Mexico" has rung in my ears for the better part of a decade.  I've just never owned a piece of Taylor's catalog, other than the aforementioned "Mexico" for Cancun purposes.

Along with this purchase came a couple of tracks from a remix project called What Is Hip, Volume 1.  The concept of making Seventies soft rock more appealing to the hipster set is appealing as hell to me, and the thought of introducing Todd Rundgren and Seals & Crofts to a new audience is delicious.

In conclusion, get offa my lawn.

I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You

I still haven't gone to see Zach Braff's 'Garden State' yet, but everyone and their mom kept telling me to get the soundtrack.

They were all right.

The album is a moody, almost etheral mix of songs from Zero 7, Coldplay, Colin Hay, Simon & Garfunkel, and a bunch of bands I'll have a great time unearthing. Go buy it now.

'Reemergence'

A first glance at what will likely be a track listing for my 2004 Year-End CD, courtesy of the iTunes Music Store. Take a look.

Talk to Me, Goose

When 'E.R.' killed off Anthony Edwards' Dr. Greene, there was this amazingly simple rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" played over his last minutes. The song was performed by Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, and is coupled with "What a Wonderful World." The iTunes Music Store now carries that song, and you should get it immediately. It's beautiful.

Bring On The Dancing Girls!

I first heard Ozomatli on Music Choice, the free music service you get with DirecTV, back in 1997. They still rock the planet. Go get their new single from iTunes, called simply "Saturday Night." Instant mood enhancement.

Christmas Remixed

Jeff K originally linked to this, on the Amazon.com side. It's remix artists like Robbie Hardkiss and A Shrift working over holiday classics by Bing Crosby and Mel Torme. It almost makes Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" tolerable for me, and I hate that song.