Clean-up time

- Lockerz

I signed up for a market research community. Log in every day = 2 points. Answer a single question every day = 2 points.
Total of 4 points per day.
Accumulate 600-1000 points and you can trade them for something interesting like a PS3. I can't vouch for it personally but I have a few friends I trust who can and did. So I'm trying it.
If I invite some people I can get prizes quicker, so if you're interested or even if you're not really interested but you're willing to waste a few minutes creating a log-in, please give me your E-mail address. The goal they set for me is 20 invites and I don't even know if I have that many friends, but I'm gonna give it a go anyways.

- Music
Fleetwood Mac. I prefer Lindsey Buckingham's vocals to those of Stevie Nicks.
Taylor Swift. I didn't mind listening to her music at first, but the music station at work plays her stuff constantly. The most recent single is on a 4 hour rotation and all of her other songs still get heavy play as well. It gets so that you can't go more than 2 hours without hearing one of her endless variations on teen romance. Too much.
Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of my favorite bands but maybe they could stop referencing California every 30 seconds. I'm tired of hearing about the state.

- Places
Speaking of which, pop culture might lead one to believe that California is the most awesome place to be. My experience hasn't been nearly as pleasant. For example....
All I wanted was a freaking cheesesteak but I couldn't find a good one in San Diego. I finally settled for a crummy one at the mall, just eating and minding my own business when this dude and his girlfriend stand up, glare at me and walk away. It took me a minute to realize he must've thought I was checking her out. As if I would be interested in his skanky looking, flat chested bitch anyways. I was actually checking out a much hotter girl behind them.
But it creeped me out. A civilized person would've addressed me directly. I'd rather be addressed. If someone stands up and asks me if I'm checking his girl out I'm pretty sure I'd know what to say. Maybe I'm feeling froggy and I say something like ' I was just daydreaming about how she'd look like bent over my coffee table', or maybe I tell the truth and point out the hot girl behind them and we both get a good laugh out of it.
But seeing this guy jump to the wrong conclusion, pack up his meal and leave the restaurant is so foreign....
I don't even know what to think.
And there's lots of reasons beyond that to explain my dislike but I'm not trying to start fights or anything. It's just not a place I like to be.

So without any further ado I present a list of my favorite places.

1. Hawaii
2. Home (Pennsylvania)
3. Singapore
4. North Carolina
5. New York (upstate)
6. Japan
7. South Carolina
8. West Virginia
9. Chicago

And somewhere near the bottom... California
Last. Virginia

I'm not even gonna get started on Virginia.

First Post.

-Music
I struggled to find good tunes tonight. The Miley Cyrus song 'Party in the U.S.A.' killed the mood early. I'm tired of hearing it and it just happened to be playing on two stations at once. I didn't mind the song at first. It's a teenager singing a song for teenagers and no one is making it out to be something it's not. I't's just a basic disposable pop song. But it's a little bit too cute for it's own good.
The situation got a little bit better when I found Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi'. I like the way the song uses a rolling synth to create tension, suggestive of the potentially serious consequences of fan obsession. That's followed by a pretty vocal part from the perspective of the obsessed person. "Chase you down until you love me."
It's dischordant, strangely beautiful and probably meant to reveal the twisted mindset of a mentally ill fan.
Then there's three sharp shouts which seem to signify violence, like the crack of gun, and then the voice of the obsessed fan again.
Lady Gaga makes for an easy target for the casual music critic. She wears strange clothes, doesn't have a  noteworthy voice and her sound seems a little bit too tailored to the airwaves, but I think a closer examination reveals some depth in her creative process.
Then Kings of Leon 'Use Somebody'. Still a decent song. I think the appeal for me is primarily in the lead singer. He's got a pretty good voice, a good sound for rock I should say.

-Fantasy Music Draft
That reminds me. Freddie Mercury is my pick for greatest vocalist of all time. If I could draft an 'ultimate rock band' he'd be my #1 pick.
Interesting mental exercise. Pretend you're doing a fantasy football draft, but you're picking band members instead. Do you start with a vocalist and hope that the guitarist you want is still available in the second round? Or maybe you're gonna start with the rhythm section? You gotta have a great drummer if you want to be a legendary rock band.And then you gotta have the best songwriter you can get your hands on, so maybe McCartney on bass?
So many choices.....

-Sports
The Penguins lost again. Too many injuries right now.

-Daughter
My daughter was a pretty big P.I.T.A. tonight. Couldn't figure out why she was screaming. At least she's sleeping now.

-Idiots
Paul Krugman embarrassed himself pretty bad in the Op-eds. He blamed California's problems on the Republican party. Yeah I know.... Democrats run the state but apparently it's the Republicans' fault the state is broke.
But my favorite part was (and I apologize that I can't find the article online yet so I'll have to paraphrase...) he said 'The most qualified person isn't always the one who gets elected, voters are often just reacting to current events."
He was attempting to explain away the losses the Democrats took in the election last week, but that statement is also a pretty fair description of the circumstances about Obama's election.
I laughed out loud at him.

-Politics
Obama at least has finally made the tough decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. Withdrawing troops entirely would also have been acceptable. Gold star to you Barry.