Taking a break from this blog for Pioneer Trek July 11th- July 14th

Hello,

I will be on a Pioneer Trek until late Saturday night, I probably won't post again until Sunday at the earliest. This is my schedule over the next few days, wish me luck:

5th Ward 2012 Ward Family Trek
Day	Time	What
Wednesday	6:45	Meet at Church, Brief Devotional
		Drive to Rawlins
	11:30ish	Get gas in Rawlins (even if not empty!)
the	12:30-1:30	Arrive at Independence Rock, Eat lunch
REASON	1:45	Leave for Martin's Cove Visitors Center
	3:00	Training at Trek Center
	4:00	Head to Camp, set up camp, shuttle cars
	6:00	Dinner
	7:00	Company Announcement and Activities
	9:00	Campfire time
	10:00	Lights Out
Thursday	7:30	Morning Devotional and Breakfast
	9:00 - 4:00	Trekking
the	4:00 - 5:30	Activities, Crafts, Free Time
RESPONSE	5:30	Dinner
	7:00	Square Dancing
	8:00	Campfire time
	10:00	Lights Out
Friday	7:00	Morning Devotional and Breakfast
	8:30 - 4:00	Trekking
the	4:00 - 5:30	Activities, Crafts, Free Time
RESCUE	6:30	Dinner
	8:00	Camp Fire Activity
	10:00	Lights Out
Saturday	7:30	Morning Devotional and Breakfast
	8:30	Take down camp
REMEMBER	9:30	Return to Visitors Center
	10:30	Clean Handcarts
	12:00	Baptism
	1:00 7:00	Return home - DRIVE SAFELY!  Unload trailers at the church!

themusicaddict

"Jericho": Car Wreck Television (Updated July 10th)

Hello,

I've watched the first 6 episodes of Jericho and will probably be watching 7 & 8 tonight. "Jericho" is a show that lasted for two seasons and is a poorly constructed post-apocolyptic show. It's obviously a blatant rip off of "Lost". They are left all alone, just in a small Kansas community and not in an island. They even use creepy "Lost" like music.

I'm always finding the most interesting discoveries at my local library. The last time I went in there I stumbled across they have the DVD's for the first two seasons of "Jericho". Hey it's free so I said what the heck and took Season 1 home. I remember seeing previews of it when it was airing in 2006 and 2007 and I thought it looked stupid. But I thought I would give it a chance.

Well "Jericho" is fairly awful, I'm surprised it got a second season. But "The Killing" got a second season as well. Obviously a second season doesn't guarantee it's a good show. However watching this show is like watching a car wreck, so far I just can't turn my eyes away.

The actors and actresses are second rate. When Gerald McRaney is your biggest star and the writing is terrible you know you are in trouble. What exactly is  Skeet Ulrich and why was he given the lead role, he's a terrible actor. That limp he's trying to "act" like he has is terrible and completely unbelievable. There are virtually no other actors of note. Probably this show's third most famous person is Pamela Reed, who portrays Gail Green. Alicia Coppola looks like she should be famous, especially with that last name. But she has no chemistry with the Jericho resident she's going to hook up with.

Also don't forget the generic town babe Emily Sullivan, who's played by Ashley Scott. I was surprised to see that Scott had made two Maxim Top 100 babe lists. Then the whole storyline with her and her father? Haven't we seen that hundreds of times before?

It's no surprise that we haven't seen any of these actors or actresses since "Jericho" ended. This show seemed to be a last gasp at being a big time actor. Then when this show tanked, there went their final chance.

I watched episodes 7 and 8 of the first season Monday night. And like a car wreck I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Although I was bored as I watched the two episodes.

Last night I watched the latest episode of "Longmire" and "The Falling Skies", two shoes that are so much better.

One can also see what's coming a mile away. It's amazing at how many experts there are in the town of Jericho. There seems to be someone who knows about any situation that may raise. The right person always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Also there seems to be a lot of the story line of a person not doing what's right for the community, but then at the end of each episode making the right decision.

The Pirates and Dodgers Are Flying: Will it last?

Hello,

The Dodgers had been steamrolling the MLB for most of the season. But then they were hit with a bit of an injury bug and their play was aversely affected. Then the Dodgers lost 7 in a row and I didn't know what to think. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis were all injured and the Dodgers were struggling without those three players. The Dodgers offense had turned into a very anemic unit. Meanwhile the Giants got hot, caught up and then passed the Dodgers. I was hoping the Dodgers could hold on until those big 3 players came back. Then last Sunday LA was on Sunday Night Baseball and I thought the humiliation was going to be complete.

However that isn't what happened to this scrappy Dodgers team. LA continues to feel like a team of destiny by what happened next. Thanks to the Mets error proved defense and the Dodgers timely hitting somehow the Dodgers scraped together 8 runs. They snapped their 7 game losing streak in front of a national television audience. They then lost the next day, but that was followed by 3 straight victories.  Improbably the Dodgers have won 4 of 5 and seemed to have rediscovered their mojo just a bit. Good news came when Ellis was able to begin playing again. Fate intervened and lead off hitter Dee Gordon was injured. Now it looks like he'll be out 6 weeks.

Thankfully Matt Kemp is in Rancho Cucamonga rehabbing his hamstring. He says he'll be back in the Dodgers line up after All-Star break is over. If it wasn't for the Red Sox and all their injuries I would say that the Dodgers are the most snakebite team in the MLB. The Dodgers have 3 more games with the Diamondbacks in Arizona and then thankfully it's the All Star Break.

The Dodgers still need to add another powerful bat to their offense if they can. It didn't break my heart that Carlos Lee didn't end up a Dodger. And although they now seem to have a lot of money, I don't want them to see them overspend to pick up a player that may or may not help them. I know it's a bit farfetched but I would love to Yasiel Puig be able to help the Dodgers this year. He's already signed and they don't have to give up anything for him. The $42 million he'll be paid is a much better value than Alfonso Soriono, Justin Morneau or Vernon Wells would be.

My other team that has kicked up their level of play another notch is the Pittsburgh Pirates. I won't quite call them a team of destiny. Are they a team that has finally learned how to win? Do they have enough pieces to make noise in the playoffs? Will they be able to even make the playoffs. Can they continue playing as well as they are now? Will they somehow be able to avoid the injury bug that seems to hit every team? Will the frugal Pirates make a move to make themselves better by the trade deadline? If the answer is yes to most of those questions, then we may see Pittsburgh's first playoff team in 20 years. It's been a crappy 20 years for the Pirates. So I won't call them a team of destiny yet, but they certainly seem to be MLB's Cinderella team.

Pittsburgh has won 8 of 9 games and are playing at a very high level. The Pirates are fueled by a high scoring offense and solid pitching. Pittsburgh is in first place in the NL Central, leading the second place Reds by two games. They close out the first half of the season with a 3 game series against the Giants in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh can help both themselves and the Dodgers with a good series. I'll be cheering doubly for the Pirates. Any time they win in the next 3 games will help them and the Dodgers. I would love to see Pittsburgh and LA go into the All Star Break leading their respective divisions.

I'm already looking forward to the playoffs. Now can the Red Sox and Braves continue to get better and make some noise? I want to congratulate David Ortiz for hitting his 400th career home run. Although the Red Sox were swept by the A's. With Dustin Pedroia getting injured is there any hope for them? Or is karma slapping them around for their ridiculously high payroll. If that's the case though when is karma coming for the Yankees? As for the Cubs, (insert your own overly optimistic thought here.)

themusicaddict

Linkin Park, Mumford & Sons and Other Great Songs

Hello,

Linkin Park recently released their latest CD, "Living Things". Although I didn't expect much, it under performed even my lesser expectations. Linkin Park's first two CD's are an amazing mix of the rap/ rock mix. The music is excellent with very insightful and with searing lyrics. "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" is full of great music to exercise to and work out aggression. But starting with "Minutes To Midnight", the band has slowly started downward. There are still a couple of good songs on "Midnight". But it's clear that unless Linkin Park can find a new successful formula they are done. The rap/ rock formula has been dead for a few years now and it's not coming back.

However I quite like Mumford & Sons  "Sigh No More". I honestly didn't expect much from it when I finally broke down and listened to it. But from top to bottom, it's a very solid CD. Of course the best song on the CD is "Little Lion Man": (The language will offend some.)



For a limited time the mp3 version of "Sigh No More" is available at amazon.com for $4.99. I promise I don't get compensated for these recommendations. amazon.com usually has the best prices, other than legalsounds.com, so buy if you so desire. In fact, I'm trying to stay away from making any buying recommendations. When I do make recommendations, it's only for something I really believe in. With Spotify being free, you can listen to almost anything there for no cost. With free Spotify you need an internet connection, which is why I like to have songs on iTunes.

When there's a spectacular deal, I have to give you a heads up. amazon.com's MP3 Daily Deal is the White Stripes "White Blood Cells" for only $2.99 today. Are you kidding that's an awesome deal. This is one CD I highly recommend you to pick up.

This is the CD that really started the White Stripes ascent. It features such White Stripes classics as:

"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground":



"Hotel Yorba":



"The Same Boy You've Always Known":



If you like any of the above songs, you will like the whole CD. "White Blood Cells" features 16 excellent songs. Although they had other CDs that were more popular, I think this one is the best by far.

Ok one more song from "White Blood Cells". This is "I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman Every Day":



Here are some other great songs,  The Band of Heathens "L.A. County Blues":



This is from Carole King's "Tapestry" CD (or when it was originally released, it would've been on record, 8 track or tape). This is truly an amazing CD. It's the song "Tapestry":



Thanks to my iPod for reminding me of this great song: We Are The In Crowd's "Kiss Me Again":



Thanks to Rewind 100.7 for playing this song yesterday. I was reminded how great "You Give Love A Bad Name" is:



themusicaddict

Happy July 4th: What's More American Than The Beach Boys and Baseball?

Hello,

I just want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July today. Thanks to all the veterans who allow us all our freedoms that we enjoy today. However I think one of the best things about today for me is that I don't have to go to work! (Although I'm extremely grateful for the job I do have.) I know many people are playing "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood today. I know Greenwood's song is a classic and was reminded of that fact again while listening to it last night watching fireworks.

However I like this song a bit better. First of all it's just a great song and is intensely funky. From James Brown, one of the most legendary singers of all-time, this is "Living In America":  (I always laugh when I hear this song because it makes me think of a classic Eddie Murphy comedy routine.)



I wrote yesterday that the "Pretty In Pink" MP3 soundtrack is available for sale for $2.99 at amazon.com for a week. It was only a couple of days ago that amazon.com also had Led Zeppelin "4" available for only $2.99. That probably is my favorite CD of all-time, although today's MP3 Daily Deal is also amazing. amazon.com has the amazing "Legend" by Bob Marley CD available for only $2.99. This deal is only for today, but sometimes these daily deals extend beyond one day. Pick it up! I would suggest you keep an eye on amazon.com for more great deals in the future. (For the record amazon.com doesn't compensate me in anyway for my recommendations.)

I think almost everyone is familiar with "No Woman, No Cry", "Buffalo Soldiers" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Here's a couple of my lesser known favorite songs from "Legend". This is "Redemption Song":



"Waiting In Vain":



One final amazon.com plug: You can pick up this incredibly addictive song for only .25c for a limited time:



Sorry I got a little sidetracked. Anyway last night I went to a 4th of July celebration. The finale was the fireworks, although a bit chintzy as they only lasted about 10 minutes. But as I warned my two kids that went with me, you can't complain about things that are free.

Before the fireworks, a local band played for two hours. That band's name is Endless Summer and as you can guess from their name, they are mainly a Beach Boys cover band. I was surprised as they were actually decent. But listening to Endless Summer play I realized how timeless so many of those Beach Boy melodies are. And what's a more American band than the Beach Boys?

With those songs still ringing in my ears I thought it would be appropriate to feature some of their songs on my blog. One of the Endless Summer members said that Utah had the first station to play a Beach Boys song. That was way back in 1962. Whether that's true or not, it's a good story. Also this year is the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys and they are actually playing tonight in my home state. They are one of the very few all-time classic bands I haven't seen in concert. Enjoy to all those that are going to Stadium of Fire. From reviews of their recent concerts I've read they play about 40 songs and for about 2.5 hours.

Here are some of the Beach Boys classics. Here's the most famous song featuring a theremin, this is "Good Vibrations":



"I Get Around":



"409":



"Surfer Girl":



"California Girls":



"God Only Knows":



"Surfin' USA":



Speaking of things that are truly American. A few thoughts on the great sport of baseball, specifically the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'll explain why someone that lives in Salt Lake City likes the Pirates. A couple of years ago I read an article in Sports Illustrated about the Pirates. At that time they were so downtrodden and I guessed that relatively few people were fans. Although I was already closely following 4 teams, I added them to my favorite teams.

The Pirates frankly have been awful the last several years. They played much better last season and are doing even better this season. I'm hoping for a historically good season for the Pirates this season. But what I truly want to know is: Are the Pirates for real this season? This season the Pirates look to be real almost halfway through the season. Pittsburgh is 44-36 right now. It's the first time they've been 8 games over .500 in 20 years. This is a team that hasn't had a winning season since 1992, also the last year they made the playoffs. This might be year that Pittsburgh breaks through on both counts.

Some stats from my friends at espn.com. As mentioned above the Pirates are now 44-36. As I'm writing this blog they are also currently playing. In fact they looks like they are going to win today. If they continue winning and the Reds lose later tonight, the Pirates will be alone in first place in the NL Central Division. (Since the Reds are playing another one of my teams, the Dodgers, I'm doubly cheering for the Reds to lose today.) As of July 3rd the Pirates have won 6 of 7 games. Their offense has exploded of late, starting on an offensive tear on June 1st. They scored 8 runs that night and haven't let up since. The Pirates have scored 60 runs in their last 7 games, obviously it's not coincidental they've won 6 of 7.

Also congrats to Chipper Jones. Last night he had his first 5 hit game since August 11th, 1992. Jones, who plans on retiring at the end of this season, has hit in 10 consecutive games. He's hitting at a .313 clip this season. He was recently named to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement, replacing the injured Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.

Currently according to espn.com the Braves only have a 43.9% chance of playing in the playoffs. But maybe if they put a run together, they can send Jones out in style. I'm sure he would love to win his second World Series in his final season.

themusicaddict

"Pretty In Pink", only $2.99, R.I.P. Andy Griffith

Hello,

amazon.com has been running a promotion the last few weeks, they are selling select MP3 albums for only $2.99 each. This week the theme is soundtracks. They've included one of the best soundtracks ever, the soundtrack for the movie "Pretty In Pink". If you don't have this in your collection you need to add it right now. Very few soundtrack CDs have such an excellent selection of music. The songs are by some of the best musicians of the mid-1980s. Included on this CD are many classics. These are the songs on "Pretty In Pink":

Song Title	Artist	Time	Price
Play	1. If You Leave	OMD	4:25	Album Only
Play	2. Left Of Center	Suzanne Vega	3:32	Album Only
Play	3. Get To Know Ya	Jesse Johnson	3:34	Album Only
Play	4. Do Wot You Do	Inxs	3:16	Album Only
Play	5. Pretty In Pink	The Psychedelic Furs	4:40	Album Only
Play	6. Shellshock	New Order	6:04	Album Only
Play	7. Round, Round	Belouis Some	4:06	Album Only
Play	8. Wouldn't It Be Good	Danny Hutton Hitters	3:43	Album Only
Play	9. Bring On The Dancing Horses	Echo And The Bunnymen	3:59	Album Only
Play	10. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want	The Smiths	1:51	Album Only

I know that I will get arguments on this but I suggest that "Pretty In Pink" may be the ultimate 80's teen movie. From the amazing music to the great actors. Come on you have Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer, James Spader and Annie Potts. All are great and James Spader plays a douche bag with great skill, not sure if that's a compliment or not. And I wonder why the lovely Molly Ringwald didn't become a bigger star. I love redheads and I had a major crush on her in the 80s.

Here are some of the best songs off that CD, although all the songs are pretty good. This is the title track, "Pretty In Pink". There are two versions of this song. The original and the updated for the movie version. The movie version is by far the best version:

OMD's "If You Leave": (this video has about a minute remaining after the actual song is over.)

Just another amazing song and a song I'm not sure how it has become so forgotten. Echo and the Bunnymen's "Bring On The Dancing Horses":

I'm skipping the Smiths track, you are probably sick of me writing about them. However here's another great 80's band and one of their best songs. This is New Order's "Shellshock":

What else are you going to be buying with your limited music money? I mean you aren't going to be buying the new Flo rida CD are you? Please tell me "no". Some people use to use samples and were creative with them. However Flo rida pretty much is stealing from other people. The things he did to Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me 'Round" should send him directly to jail, not to mention he has one of the dumbest rap names ever. Doesn't the man have an ounce of creativity in his body?

Anyway amazon has some other classic soundtracks available for only $2.99. Unfortunately they don't have the best soundtrack ever, "Purple Rain". But you already have that CD right? I highly recommend getting the soundtracks to "Hunger Games", "Rock of Ages", "Footloose", "Moulin Rouge" and "Top Gun". By the way that's the soundtrack to Kevin Bacon's "Footloose", another one of the greatest soundtracks ever.

Also much respect and best wishes to the incredible Andy Griffith, he died today at the age of 86. Even all these years later, you can't go wrong with the hilarious "Andy Griffith Show". That show had a unique chemistry featuring many of the funniest people who were working at time. Thanks for all the laughs Andy as I grew up.

By the way I will finish my songs of 1991 blog eventually. I've already started working on my songs of 1992 blog. I'm in the research phase right now.

themusicaddict