Music: The Sex Pistols.

Currently listening to: 'Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'.

Yes, Rites of Spring may be the best thing to come from punk, but the Sex Pistols were the originals. The Sex Pistols had a spite that has never been duplicated. These guys are number two on my list of the best punk bands ever.

Music: Rites of Spring.

Currently listening to: 'End on End', by Rites of Spring.

Rites of Spring was the greatest punk band ever.

That is all.

Geek Humor.

I love vim, but I fear this. The paperclip is back.

Music: Atreyu, Korn.

Currently listening to: 'Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses', by Atreyu.

This one was a recommendation from Zack, who probably got it from theRob. At first I was thrown by the "Cookie Monster" effect which a lot of hardcore bands suffer from. As I was telling Rob not long ago, It's tough to take a band seriously when their lead singer sounds like Cookie Monster half the time. After listening to this album a few times though, I'm really warming to it. The group has a really nice sense of balance: When to tone down and when to kick it up a notch. Atreyu will be playing 'Taste of Chaos' on April first, so I may get a chance to see them live.

I thought the 80s guitar riff was as good as dead, but I guess not. Everyone from The Darkness to Avenged Sevenfold is using it these days. Atreyu makes good use of it, too. Is this a nostalgia thing? A last gasp? Is rock and roll the new country-western, doomed to unending cycles of imitation?

Also, I recently checked out Korn's recent album, 'See You on the Other Side'. It compares favorably to 'Look in the Mirror'. The first single, 'Coming Undone', is pretty sweet. Still I miss the days when these guys were experimenting. They haven't done anything outside the formula since 'Follow the Leader'.

Music: Cat Power.

Currently listening to: 'The Greatest', by Cat Power.

Hmmm... Still don't quite know what to make of this album. It's more refined, more subtle than her last album, 'You Are Free', but not as emotionally intense. There are a few standout tracks, like 'Love and Communication'.

'You Are Free' was one of my favorite albums of 2k3. I don't think this one quite tops it. A few more listens, perhaps.

Music: Pulp.

Currently listening to: 'This is Hardcore', by Pulp.

So now you know the words to our song,
pretty soon you'll all be singing along.
When you're sad, when you're lonely
and it all turns out wrong.
When you've got the fear.
And when you're no longer searching
for beauty or love -
just some kind of life
with the edges taken off.
When you can't even define what it is that you're frightened of
this song will be here.

Speed Reading.

This article details a number of very useful techniques for speed reading.

The Power of the Dark Crystal.

Jim Henson's 'The Dark Crystal' was such a tough act to follow that it's taken them almost twenty five years to begin developing a sequel. There's really no telling if they'll get it right or not, but I can say that I have a certain amount of faith in the director they've chosen to helm the project. Genndy Tartakovsky was the guy behind the Cartoon Network's 'Samurai Jack', and the 'Clone Wars' cartoon series. Of course, they're going to market the hell out of it this time.