Oh, so many choices! But this is a song that I loved even as a very little kid, and still love today.

RIP Dimebag.

Flashback to 2010. The Giants win the National League West on the last day of the season. Giants Nation goes nuts with the hope that this might finally be the year. The Giants came west in 1958, and in that time managed only three National League pennants, and no World Series wins. We were due.

Bay Area musician/producer Ashkon grabs a karaoke version of Journey's Don't Stop Believing and writes lyrics to celebrate that this might be the season.

It was. San Francisco Giants, your 2010 World Series Champions. Swing and miss, and that's it.

This still makes me very happy, as it takes me back to the excitement of that October, as we came closer and closer to the win. Fun note, of all the players mentioned, only Buster Posey is still with the Giants.

Black and Orange 'till I die.

True story: I first heard of Bill Kirchen, and his amazing take on Hot Rod Lincoln while I was still driving for PODS. I had been sent to drop a container in the Santa Cruz Mountains during a raging rainstorm. It would have been a hard drop on a sunny day, and I was doing it in running water up to my ankles.

Driving home, with my shoes on the floor of the passenger side of the cab, and my socks on the dash near the vents, driving my big truck on Highway 9 in a deluge, I was listening to KPIG, and they played this. I was hooked. We've seen him a couple of times, and every time he plays Hot Rod Lincoln it's different.

WHAT IS IT? CAUGHT IN A MOSH!!!
WHAT IS IT? CAUGHT IN A MOSH!!!
WHAT IS IT? CAUGHT IN A MOSH!!!

Iron Maiden - Two Minutes to Midnight.

We get to see them in ONE MONTH!!!!

1. a song from the year you were born. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
2. a song that reminds you of school. Y&T - Mean Steak
3. a song tied to a specific moment in your life. The Kinks - Low Budget
4. a song that is not sung in your native language. Rammstein - Sonne
5. a song over 5 minutes long. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (Part 1) 22:40
6. a song under 2 minutes long. Slayer - Necrophobic 1:40
7. an instrumental. Metallica - Orion
8. a classical piece. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
9. a song with no percussion. The Who - I Am The Sea
10. something you’ve heard performed live. John Philip Sousa - The Stars And Stripes Forever
11. something you’d give ANYTHING to hear performed live. Tool -Ænima
12. a song by an artist who’s from where you’re from (town/city/state/country). The Doobie Brothers - China Grove
13. a song made suddenly precious because of a special someone. Damn Yankees - High Enough
14. a song made suddenly awful because of a special someone. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Modern Day Romance
15. something to BELT SHAMELESSLY/do DIVA HANDS to. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - Oh What a Circus (from Evita)
16. something to SCREAM ALONG to. Metallica - Seek And Destroy
17. a song for raging. Pantera - Fucking Hostile
18. a song that demands lipsyncing into a makeshift microphone. The Rolling Stones - Shattered
19. the last song you had stuck in your head. Foo Fighters - Everlong
20. a song you’re dying to master all the words to. Foo Fighters - Everlong
21. a song that you could SLAY at karaoke. John Cage - 4'33"
22. a song you can’t help but dance to. Richard O'Brien - The Time Warp
23. a song that makes you want to dance on a table. The Slickee Bee - This Party Sucks
24. a song that makes you wanna STRIP. Beethoven - The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2
25. a song with a great music video Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory
26. a song that makes you act out the music video when you hear it. Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice
27. a song with counting. XTC - Senses Working Overtime
28. a song with spelling. Aerosmith - What It Takes
29. a song with lots of clapping. John Fogerty - Centerfield
30. a song 40 years older than you. Al Jolson - When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along
31. a song you wish your parents didn’t know the words to. No such song.
32. a song whose lyrics shocked you once you were old enough to understand them. No such song.
33. a song you have ZERO patience for. Irving Berlin - God Bless America
34. a song you’d like your favorite artist to cover. The Who - 905 (covered by Tool)
35. a great song you discovered thanks to a movie. Cheap Trick - Reach Out
36. a great song you discovered thanks to television. Anthrax & Public Enemy - Bring The Noise
37. a song you’re ashamed to have in your music library. Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie
38. OK what’s the song you were too ashamed to even post for #37? Metallica - Invisible Kid
39. the most played song in your music library. Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
40. favorite Disney song. Randy Newman - Friend Like Me (from Aladdin)

I was just reading an article on the Black Dahlia murder, and thinking how great it would be to finally know the facts. Which leads me to this:

Congrats! That piece of crap you picked up at the thrift store has a genie in it! Unfortunately, he explains, he can't offer you any wishes due to cutbacks. But he can give the full story explaining any five mysteries you choose.

What do you want to learn about?

My choices?

1. The Black Dahlia


2. The Taman Shud case


3. Shepherd’s Monument Inscription


4. The Wow! signal


5. The Valentich disappearance

Give your answers (with links so the rest of us can enjoy the mysteries), and repost if you feel like it.

Meme: Comment to this post and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random. Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

From  kath8562, I got:  

Wine Wine has actually been part of my life since childhood. My parents enjoyed good wines, and we were all taught at an early age how to properly sample a glass. I'm not really a connoisseur, but have learned enough to understand different varietals, viticulture regions, and the importance of the terroir on the final product. When drinking, I p[refer good reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir. I dislike overly sweet reds. Not a huge fan of white wines; when I do drink them I prefer extremely light, crisp wine like a good Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. I do need to try to sample more local vintages from the Livermore and Santa Cruz Mountains AVAs

Army Ah, the best of times, the worst of times. I had a lot of fun in the Army, saw some amazing places and things, and grew quite a bit. Unfortuantly, my own demons caught up with me. I am still amused that the one job skill I came out of the service with is being an expert janitor.

Color I never really developed a good sense for color. I'm terrible at matching things, tend to wear black and darker colors simply because I know they match (mostly) and leave all more complicated matches to those with a more refined taste. My favorite colors are black, orange, and red.

Party It's funny, but I rarely really have a good time at a party unless I'm running it! Being in a group of people, many of whom I know only slightly or not at all, really sets off my antisocial tendencies. But, if I'm the one running around to make sure that everyone has a drink, and that the chip dip hasn't run out, I'm able to enjoy the party a little more. A big part of this is my utter inability to remember faces. I may have known you for years, and still not recognize you. I do miss the Traveller parties we used to throw at Baycon.

Monster For me there is only one monster: Reed–Sternberg cells. These are the monsters that lurked in my body for years, turning my own lymphatic system against me. The monster that turned my body from being me into being The Thing that I was locked in battle with. The monster that still plague my nightmares almost 20 years later.