Your GPS May Be Trying to Kill You

Oh, my, the machines really are out to get us. Exhibit A is this story from Yahoo Tech: Apparently, some guy was following his GPS a little too closely. Only a well-placed fence kept him from driving off a cliff. You have to wonder, though -- what was he thinking when the road became "increasingly perilous?" GPS is a great little device. I love mine. But you have to watch out or we'll all be playing a game of lemming. Fortunately, the GPS is still too dumb to know that if the car goes over the cliff, it dies, too.

President Obama on Letterman

I caught President Obama on the Letterman show last night. As always, Letterman did a terrific job querying his guest. There was something about the appearance that bugged me, though. I don't know quite why it did, but it was just very strange to see a sitting president on the talk show circuit. It doesn't seem right to me, and it just felt wrong. I understand why President Obama did it. He's trying to reconnect with the average American to push his agenda and his health care program, all of which I happen to agree with. Seeing him sitting there, joking about a heart-shaped potato and whatnot...it just was too much.

They don't have the full interview up at CBS yet, but here's a segment that features the President and Letterman chatting about racism.

One More Reason to Go Vegan

I've been vegetarian for quite awhile, but I've had a really hard time going vegan. I like cheese, and I like eggs. And I use milk products from time to time in baking. The food just tastes better. It's also very hard to go out to a restaurant for dinner, because most vegetarian options are not vegan, so this has always given me reason not to make the switch. For home use, I do try to use organic options from humane farms.

The recent video footage shot by Mercy for Animals has convinced me to, at least, give up eggs:



It's disgusting and vile what the commercial egg farmers are doing to dispose of the unwanted male chicks. The video footage is revolting. And I don't generally like this kind of shock-mentality to get people to change their minds. I also don't tend to like Mercy for Animals' in-your-face Sometimes, though, that's what it takes. It worked for me.

Here's the good news: Morningstar Farms, Boca, and Litelife Foods are taking steps to rid their products of eggs. It's of little consolation to all the little chicks that were massacred by being tossed into a grinder, though, but at least it will stop this ridiculous process.

What is wrong with people anyway? Whoever came up with using bones from cows to process sugar?? I'm still baffled by that one, but that's a post for another day.

America's Economic Collapse

After America's economic collapse, there is plenty of blame to go around. News programs and magazines have levied numerous charges at everyone from Countrywide to AIG. One thing I hadn't really seen or considered before is the role that Goldman Sachs played in the whole debacle. As it turns out, Goldman Sachs has a history of pumping up the U.S. economy, skimming a ton of money from the pockets of everyday folks, and then crashing the whole system. It's a way of life, and they've gotten away with it, too, because the company has managed to insert its executives, past and present, into every aspect of America's capitalist society. They've taken over both parties, Democrats and Republicans, and while I'm annoyed to no end with Ralph Nader for the role he played in putting Bush into the White House by stealing crucial votes from Al Gore, the recent article by Matt Taibbi that ran in Rolling Stone last month makes the case that maybe Nader isn't so crazy after all.

Great Women Singers

Women vocalists knock me out. I really should do a post on some of the best bands sporting female singers, but in the meantime, here's a few killer CDs that have been issued in the past few months:

Neko Case's Middle Cyclone: Case has come a long way since her debut. She's got this overpowering voice that is hard to support, but she's found ways of doing it. This is her best album yet, and there's no reason to think she won't keep improving. She's gonna be around for a long, long time, which is great for all of us.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz: Doesn't the egg on the cover look like a weird flower in a punk girl's hand? That just about sums up the disc too. Karen O has pushed her band to the pop-side of punk. It's synthy and disco-dance friendly but it packs a punch. This is the B-52s all over again, but it's made for people who didn't really like the B-52s all that much. Dig the basslines but watch out for those guitars...they bite.

Lal Meri's Lal Meri: Fans of Beth Orton would do themselves a favor by checking out this sterling debut. The group is fronted by Nancy Kaye, a jazz vocalist. Behind her the beats swirl and groove, switching from trip-hop to folk to gentle R& B. You can get completely lost in this seductive music. Perfect for a party, perfect for dreaming the night away.

Bye, Roland. Nice Knowing You...

Roland Burris has decided not to seek a full term in the U.S. Senate when his seat comes up for election in 2010. He could have saved everyone the trouble by not showing up for work in January and insisting he be seated. He was appointed by our infamous former governor Rod Blagojevich, and he forced the issue about joining the Senate rather than allowing the citizens of Illinois to have a say in who filled President Obama's seat. Now that he's there, he is deciding not to come back.

This puts the Democrats at a huge disadvantage since it levels the playing field for the next election. Incumbents always have a huge, huge advantage over their challengers. In 2010, since Burris isn't returning, there will not be an incumbent running.

The only good news is that Republicans in the state of Illinois are worse off than the Democrats. Believe it or not, they also are worse off than the national Republican party. We can only hope they can't resurrect themselves before the 2010 election.

Sears Centre Struggles to Survive

Hoffman Estates just can't seem to support a concert venue. Poplar Creek was a huge loss for the region, but it was forced to fold when the World Music Theater in Tinley Park was constructed way back around 1990. The World was and always will be a horrible place to hear music. It's not built for music. It's built for capacity. Yes, Poplar Creek wasn't perfect. But it was one of those old-style outdoor music venues with decent sightlines and a reasonably good sound system. It felt intimate, while The World felt corporate.

Logistically, Hoffman Estates and the World are (no pun intended) worlds apart, especially amongst the traffic congestion of an urban center like Chicago. So, there was no reason to think that the region couldn't support both venues. But the developers that owned Sears new headquarters wanted the space and owned the property, so it shut down Poplar Creek.

Cut to 2004, when these same developers were struggling to get anything going in the area. So, they proposed a new concert and sporting venue. It's actually not a bad place -- a mid-size arena, featuring 11,000 seats or so. In a lot of ways, it's akin to UIC Pavilion.

Unfortunately, according to a story in the Daily Herald, the Sears Centre isn't faring very well financially. The economy probably has a ton to do with it, and at least, at this stage of the game, it looks like the venue will remain open and won't be shuttered. The owners of the Sears Centre are buried in a mound of debt, and the village of Hoffman Estates might have to come to their rescue.

Here's the good news. The village of Hoffman Estates thinks that the Sears Centre ought to hold more concerts. The sports teams that play in the venue have been struggling to attract crowds, but music acts are selling tickets by the boatload. So we may actually get more and better shows up here, if they can steal some artist away from the city. Not a bad deal, and hopefully it will work.