Rimjack

Talk about inspiring. This article from the NYT Health Section discusses the recent phenomenon that is Randy Pausch, a computer programming professor who is dying of pancreatic cancer. He gave a “last lecture” to a class at Carnegie Mellon University, in which he discussed his philosophy of life. He didn’t discuss his cancer - instead, he talked what he felt he had learned, and presented it in a way that he felt his children (now 6,4, and 2) would eventually be able to benefit from. Now, the lecture has been heard by 10 million people in seven different languages, and there are plans to make a book. The guy certainly appears to be confronting his illness with courage, as I would hope to be able to stand up to this with half as much strength as he is. According to the article, the lecture can be heard here:

According to this article:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104136.phpl

some teen-agers do better later in life, in terms of mental health, depending on the type of ethnic clothing preferences they have.  I'm not going to go into much detail on the article, but I suppose I'd have been saner if I simply had dressed in the clothing of my "cultural heritage" when I was a teen-ager, something like this:

I could have been my high school's "Lord of the Dance," and felt better about myself too!!!

Hey all,

With today's ticket prices for rock concerts out of control, as well as my diminishing interest in attending rock concerts as I get older (which, coincidentally coincides with my increasing interest in Jazz), I thought I'd reminisce about rock concerts of "yesteryear" (i.e. the old days for me, pre-children!).  Here are a couple of my favorites I attended back in the day:

1) U2 - Joshua Tree Tour - Best seats I've ever had: third row, Madison Square Garden.  I loved the band, that album, and their live performances.  The only negative was Bono's arm being in a sling from an accident during a previous show.  Highlights (for me) were "I Will Follow," "New Year's Day," and closing with "40."

2) Tom Petty - 1986(?) - Saratoga Springs  - had lawn seats, went mostly because a couple of friends were Petty fans.  Man, was he good live!  Loved "Runaway Trains," and the opening act, Georgia Satellites, were excellent live as well.

3) Monster of Rock - Meadowlands - 1991 - Went for Guns and Roses, but was blown away by Metallica.  Alcohol consumption partially impaired my ability to truly appreciate their performance (and I don't even remember Faith No More taking the stage), but Metallica simply owned the day - period.  Hey, at least Axl came out, which was generally a 50-50 proposition.

4) Kansas - The Power - 1988 - Most under-rated.  They got back together, promoted their new album, and played small venues.  Saw them at the Stanley Theater in Utica for like $10, went with 10 friends...and they were incredible.  Played all their old stuff really well, sounded polished, very fun.

5) Rush - 1994 (?) - Simply fantasic musicians

6) Tool - 1998 - Really good, nice visuals, and I saw them at Red Rocks ampitheater in Colorado.  Can't beat that venue...

There's plenty more, but those are some of my faves.  How about you?  What are some of the best shows you've seen?

Hey all,

I recently added a few songs to my I-Pod, including a few I plan to add to the playlists I use to work out, listen to while running, etc.  Here are a couple of the new ones I added, in no particular order:

* Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols

* Zombie - Miser

* Crush Crush Crush - Paramore

* The Missing Frame - AFI

* Are You Gonna Be My Girl - The Jets

I have a few faves from the "old days" (for me at least!) that include:

* Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue

* Going the Distance - The "Rocky" Soundtrack

* Rock Me To the Top - Tesla

* Slip Slide Melting - For Love Not Lisa (Also on the soundtrack to "The Crow")

* Save Yourself - Stabbing Westward

* Plowed - Sponge

* Nobody Hears - Suicidal Tendencies

* One Vision - Queen (From "Iron Eagle")

* Lunatic Fringe - Red Rider (from "Vision Quest")

I've got a bunch of others, but I'd be interested to see what other people listen to when exercising, as I'm always open to suggestions!!!

Credit where due: I first heard about this book over at MindHacks, and their review (as well as short interview!) suggested this book would be an interesting read. However, I never wrote the title down (as I usually try to do with books I might be interested in reading), and it fell off my radar. However, I was perusing the books in the “New Non-Fiction” section of my library, and there it was! Now, after having read the first chapter, I consider myself very fortuitous.

Proust was a Neuroscientist is described as an examination of how artists working in various media (poets, novelists, painters, etc.) were able to discover an essential truth about the human mind that science has only recently been able to confirm. In a more general way, the book discusses how both art and science are paths to knowledge, and how reducing everything to data points can cost us valuable insights and information. It would also appear (though I have not read the whole book y