4.30.2002
Well, I bagged on the Maxima. Really too bad, because it was a beautiful car. There were lots of reaons. I called a couple of insurance companies and all the quotes I got were for at least $120 more than I am paying now for insurance - that cuts into my budget for a new car. Plus I'm really trying to save for a house or condo, and this wasn't the best way to do it. Finally, I work for an internet company for god's sake. Who knows when the axe will fall?? I feel pretty secure, but I'd rather have the peace of mind - just in case - than a sweet ride. But let me tell you, it was difficult as all git-out to walk away from it. Damn.
Now - should I buy a big-screen TV? Actually, we need living room furniture first. That way we can be comfortable when I buy the TV. Right? Right.
I just bought the new Wilco CD, entitled "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." Of course all the critics are raving about it (since there's nothing else out there even remotely worth raving about) and saying that Wilco is America's answer to Radiohead. I'm here to tell you: they're wrong. The new album is certainly another stop on Wilco's trip to weird-ville, but it doesn't hold a candle to what I've heard from Radiohead, and I don't even like Radiohead too much. What this world needs right about now is a band like Twisted Sister - a fun band that doesn't care. I wish we had more of them around these days.
I still haven't seen "The Osbornes." I'm sure I'd love it.
posted by Jeff Copetas 7:47 PM
4.28.2002
I was supposed to go to the Red Sox game today.........but it got rained out and re-scheduled for July. My next game is the ESPN Sunday night gave vs. The Yankees on May 26th. That'll be awesome....
posted by Jeff Copetas 3:43 PM
4.27.2002
So, um, yeah. Pending approval of my mechanic, I will soon be the proud owner of a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE. It's swank. Yo.
posted by Jeff Copetas 11:26 AM
4.25.2002
I have a friend who let me borrow his digital camera. I must have one of these immeadiately.
These are my feet. My favorite sneakers, for sure.
This is a 1970s-looking shot of my dining room. See how it's kinda sun-inflected? Reminds me of stuff from the '70s.
And this is my desk. I keep it neat. Must know where everything is at all times. Oh - check it out - right next to the left side speaker is a ceramic monkey. He's holding my business cards. It's the hit of the office. And of course, there's my lamp next to it. File that one under "stuff my girlfriend didn't want in the house!" Heh.
posted by Jeff Copetas 4:30 PM
4.23.2002
I took my dad to a Bruins playoff game for his birthday on Sunday night. We sat in the snobby seats, the ones where the waiters come down and take your order. They were tremendous seats, but I believe we saw the waiter exactly two times, and both times it was to feed the seemingly bottomless pit teenagers who were sitting next to us. Anyway, the Bruins jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, and the place was just rockin' loud! But Montreal ended up coming back - the Bruins won anyway, 6-4. Turned out to be a fine game. They handed out little yellow pom-poms to everyone, so it was pretty amazing to see 17,500 people waving them when the Bruins scored. Neat-o. Happy birthday, dad.
My buddy Clay, who runs a tight ship over at ClayJohnson.org was the first to identify the song below as Neil Diamond's "I Am....I Said," a pop masterpiece from the 1970s. I'll have to make this game a little tougher.
I went out looking for cars on Saturday and went to seven dealerships. The customer service was just plain laughable. Of the seven dealerships I went to, exactly one guy really knew his product and was actually nice. Naturally, that was the car I liked the least. The rest of these freaks bordered on incompetant. In no particular order, here's what happened to me:
--- One guy at the Honda dealership wouldn't give me the VIN number of the car unless I committed to buying it. Said he couldn't give me the VIN number. I told him they had no prayer of me buying it without giving me the VIN number. On my way out, I walked over to the car and wrote down the VIN number, which can be found on the dashboard of ANY car. Idiots.
--- Found a car to take for a test drive at the Acura dealership in Boston. Only it had a flat tire. No problem, right? Put some air in it? Oh, of course not. "Sorry Jeff, you'll have to come back on Tuesday as we have to put in a repair order and take it to the shop." Uh, what? To put air in the tire? Yeah, I'll be back Tuesday, no problem. Right.
--- Found a car to test drive at the Nissan dealer in Braintree, MA. "Oh, sorry we can't take it out right now, all of our dealer plates are gone. The wait time is one hour." Excellent way to sell cars! Have a shortage of delaer plates! Whoooo-hoooo!
---Finally, at my last stop, the Nissan dealership in Cambridge, MA, I walk in and the guy is on the phone and he looks at me for 15 straight minutes while I walk around the Nissan Maxima, get IN the Nissan Maxima, poke, prod, open the HOOD, look inside, look at the guy, look at the car, look at the guy, look at the car, look at the guy. Then I go outside to look at what they have in the lot, and about five minutes later, the salesman finally comes out, only he has his briefcase, and he locks of the door of the dealership, gets in his car, and leaves, with me standing there in the lot looking at cars. What a way to end the day car shopping! Yeee-haw!
posted by Jeff Copetas 8:37 AM
4.19.2002
Time to play the song lyric game again:
"L.A.'s fine but it ain't home, New York's fine but it ain't home no more..."
If you can tell me what song that is from, you'll again get abosolutly nothing except props on this website. This basically means that like 10 people will read your name and say "hmmmmm." Have fun.
posted by Jeff Copetas 5:10 PM
I have to tell you, it totally sucks when you forget to wear a belt. Now I have to hike up my pants all freakin' day like a farmer or a plumber. Thank god I'm wearing boxers. Makes me look a little hip-hop.
Props go out to an old buddy, Matt Hickey, who was the first to get the lyrics from the Edie Brickell song "What I Am." My old roommate Andre Dandeneau, he of the now chickified apartment, came in a close second, while Dan Cederholm was the third one to get it correct. You win nothing. Congratulations.
posted by Jeff Copetas 10:49 AM
So, I came across an old mix-CD that I popped into my Discman this morning for the gym and I heard two more amazing 70s power ballads. Badfinger's "Day After Day" is still a beautiful song, full of excellent harmonies and nice piano. Badfinger's story has got to be the saddest ever in the music business - they got completely screwed by an unscrupulous manager who took them for everything they had, then not one, but two, of their main members, including vocalist Pete Ham, hung themselves after the ensuing depression. Damn. Anyway, the other song was Eric Carmen's "All By Myself." I can't believe I had forgotten that I had that on CD. You know the song: "when I was young, I never needed anyone, making love was just for fun......those days are gone." Yeah, that one. Now, that's a true '70s power ballad! Note, however - do not listen to these two songs at the gym. Not exactly "get in shape" music. That being said, on that very same CD is AC/DC's "Jailbreak" and "TNT" - now those are songs to workout to! I pretty much dislike all of AC/DC's music after Bon Scott died. Everything before that was brilliant. My point about all this: I absolutly love finding old mixes where you have no idea what's on them, and then listening to them. Most of the time I wonder "why the hell did I ever put this on a mix????" But it's still fun to find out. Holy crap - "it's fun to find out" - I just remembered that's the motto Boston's Musuem Of Science used to have in all their commercials when I was a kid. I wonder if they still use that?
Check this out - I don't know how they do this, but there's actually a website where someone sells stuff that people left (or lost) at airports and goes unclaimed. Who said the dot.com era was dead?!
Finally, did you see those pictures of my sister's puppy below? Damn.....I may have to steal that little puffer.
posted by Jeff Copetas 9:41 AM
4.18.2002
No fair. My sister got a new cute puppy. When I finally see it in person, it is guaranteed that I will melt. Look at how damn cute it is!
 
Quick contest: if you can tell me who sang these words and what song it was, I will say nice things about you on my website: "Philosophy, that's a walk on slippery rocks religion." It just came on my LaunchCast.
posted by Jeff Copetas 10:36 AM
4.17.2002
The gym can be such an odd place. This morning I had just come out of the shower and was getting dressed when this guy walks by, completely naked (as a lot of guys in the locker room inexcusably do) and just blew out a totally inappropriate and incredibly loud fart! Come on! There really should be some etiquette in the gym locker rooms for god's sake. Like, no walking around or standing at the sink buck naked, and no farting. Geez.
Whatever happened to the power ballad? I'm not talking about dreck like Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" and the seemingly hundreds of other hair bands who virtually copied that song, I'm talking about the powerhouse 1970s power ballad. It's gone. Take, for example, Nazereth's "Love Hurts." This was actually an old country song written, I believe, by '50s scribe Bordelueax Bryant. But Nazereth plugged in the guitars and busted out a great version of it in the 1970s:
"Some fools think of happinesss, blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
But they're not fooling me
I know it isn't true, I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie, made to make me blue......"
Ahhhh.....good stuff. Or - how low must Elton John have felt when he put the pen to paper for "Someone Saved My Life Tonight":
"It's four o'clock in the morning, dammit, listen to me good,
I'm sleeping with myself tonight, sick and tired
Thank god my music's still alive.....ohhh ohhhh ohhh, ohhhh
Someone saved my life tonight......"
What a great song. Imagine that Elton John - who put together an incredible string of number one albums and hit songs, and he cannot enjoy it. That "Behind The Music" episode was just harrowing. Here's a guy who has it all, but he's so inward and shy that it takes cocaine to make him "get happy." Then he just spirals downward (as do most "Behind The Music" episodes at the 30-minute mark!) and is depressed and suicidal for years and years - the guy wrote "I'm Still Standing," "The Bitch Is Back," "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," and a host of other rocking, somewhat happy tunes, all the while ready to end his own life. Unreal. Makes me glad that I'm just a regular dude sometimes.......relatively speaking.
posted by Jeff Copetas 9:54 AM
4.15.2002
I take great pride in the fact that my girlfriend is walking 60 miles in 3 days. This is no small task and the cause is obviously a good one. She raised the required $1900 in just a month and donations are still flowing in - she's on her way to raising $3,000 for this, maybe more. As if that weren't enough, there's the physical preperation, which means walking all day at least once per week and dealing with the human body's reaction to such things - the body just isn't made to endure such treatment and I am sure there are days (Saturday, specifically) when it just plain stinks. But I have great admiration for such selfless tasks, especially since I usually stay home and play video games or watch the Red Sox while she's out there practicing. But when the day comes and the official walk kicks off, I will have tremendous pride, support and admiration in her for doing this, blisters and all.
Today is Patriots Day here in Massachusetts, a state holiday. To protest the fact that I have to work today while everyone else is out enjoying the Red Sox, the Marathon, or whatever, I am posting from work (just takes me a couple minutes, really, boss).
posted by Jeff Copetas 12:06 PM
4.13.2002
Saw the movie Kissing Jessica Stein last week. It was very funny in the same way that Bridget Jones's Diary was funny. I can't, for the life of me, remember a single specific line uttered during the movie that was funny, but I still found myself laughing for the majority of the film. Well worth seeing.
Just watched the Red Sox come from behind in a thriller over the Yankees, 7-6. I just love it when the Yankees blow games like that.
I'm a little behind the times with this one, but that Coldplay album, Parachutes, is one hell of an album. I don't know why it took me so long to realize it. "Yellow" has got to be one of the better singles I've heard in the last five years, while "Don't Panic" and "Sparks" are just plain powerful songs. I hope this band isn't a one-album-wonder.
Courtesy of my friend Dan over at Cederholm.tv, you can get much joy out of one of lifes' simple, daily activities. Add your two crumbs worth.
posted by Jeff Copetas 4:42 PM
4.11.2002
I'm so glad that people have time to put together stuff like this. Incredible. It's really fun to click the "Doh!" ones really fast - mix-master Homer.
posted by Jeff Copetas 4:53 PM
I wouldn't mind trying some of these:
1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a
hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in"
5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has Gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors".
7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."
8. Dont use any punctuation marks
9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
10. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go".
12. Sing along at the opera.
13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.
14. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.
15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
16. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard Kim.
17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream "I won!", "I won!" "3rd time this week!!!!!"
18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling "run for your lives, they're loose!!"
19. Tell your children over dinner. "due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."
posted by Jeff Copetas 9:53 AM
4.10.2002
Another gym story - this morning I was on the eliptical cross-trainer (golly, that makes me sound so athletic) and there are six of them, all right next to each other. Behind us are the treadmills. In front of us is glass. You know how sometimes glass can reflect weird stuff? Well, I'm on the eliptical cross trainer (golly, that makes me sound.....nevermind) and I look into the glass and I can actually see the dude behind me, only because of the odd reflection and his black shirt it makes him look like he's fully dressed up as Dracula. Naturally, I imagine what it would be like if I actually turned around and it was Dracula on the treadmill behind me. That would be amazing, but I'd be glad because Dracula was staying fit.
posted by Jeff Copetas 10:32 AM
4.7.2002
It's somewhat well-known that I have a soft spot in my heart for wrestling. All the way back when I was a kid, I remember my dad (and his dad, for that matter) watching wrestling on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings, so to me there's nothing abnormal about professional wrestling. I've watched it my entire life and look how normal I've turned out. Er, on second thought........Anyway - I had read about Kaiju Monster Wrestling in The Boston Globe on Friday afternoon and just knew that I must attend this. Seriously - a combination of characters based on old Japenese horror movies, costumes, and wrestling? A tag-team match between Los Plantanos - two "brothers" dressed as the fruit Plantains - vs. the Hell Monkey and Super-Minion?? A wrestler named "Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle, dressed as can of Chicken Noodle Soup with a chopping knife??
Are you serious? You just cannot turn down an opportunity like that. So my friend Brian and I set out on our little journey to the College of Mass Art gymnasium down the street from Northeastern University on Huntington Avenue, figuring we'd have no problem getting in. Boy, were we wrong. There were at least 1500 people in line, waiting to get in, and big sign that said "SOLD OUT." Now, most people would have simply walked away, but as Cypress Hill once said "we ain't goin' out like that." So I did a little scouting and much to my pleasure found a secret door that had been unlocked. Let's be real here, you can't expect tight security at an art college gym, right? In we go. So we're walking down hallways, through workshops, down and up stairwells, twisting and turning, when finally - HARK! - we hear loud music (Lita Ford, to be precise) and we know we're close to the promised land. We turn a corner, and in all it's majesty is a packed gym, full of people 6-8 years younger than us. We have reached the peak of the mountain. We ended up in some hallway with a bird's eye view of the gym, through a window that had no glass! Like those two old dudes on the Muppets up in the balcony! We were SET!
As if the wrestling weren't enough, a band actually opened up the show, playing in the ring. Dressed up in high school wrestling outfits. It was surreal and hilarious. The lead singer, while singing, went into the crowd and performed wrestling manuvers on unsuspecting crowd members. He climbed on top of the light stands. He rang the wrestling bell. He was hilarious.
After a half hour or so of that, the wrestling began. They brought in a whole lot of fake city buildings made out of cardboard and set up a "city" in the ring. What looked like a giant strawberry of some kind came into the ring and began destroying everything, and crowd was passionately booing him, until the "American Beetle" rushed in, waving an American flag and kicking ass! Suddenly, out of nowhere, a referee bursts out of one of the "city buildings" to bring calm to the match. The crowd was going postively insane. I can't even describe how excellent this was. And as soon as we picked up our jaws off the floor after that first match, a Mass Art security guard burst into our secret perch and kicked us out of the building. Oh well. We got our, uh, money's worth! (Final tally - $0). It was surreal and amazing. Next time, we're buying tickets beforehand!
posted by Jeff Copetas 10:50 AM
4.5.2002
Some random thoughts:
- When I first heard "You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)," I was a high school freshman and I absolutly loved it. Around the same time, Run-DMC's "Raising Hell" came out, and I was most certainly a suburban white-boy who was a very mainstream rap fan. I never thought at the time that rap would become what it has today - a tour-de-force of the music industry. And I am not even sure if rap's been a positive influence or not, but I have an epic respect for the music now. I'm not a huge fan of it, but think about it: a whole new genre of music managed to twist and turn its way through the horrendously corrupt music business and break on through. Very impressive. However, does the music and lyrical content influence our children negatively, or does it show African-American children that if you work hard enough, you can succeed? Agree with their actions and lyrics or not, "making it" in the music business has got to be harder than hitting a major league curveball.
- Why, oh why, do cities perform roadwork during rush hour? There's plenty of people in the city who have no problem working at night when there's no cars on the road. Hello? Hello?
- I just heard "I Alone" by Live on my LaunchCast, and I'm remembering what a great album "Throwing Copper" was. What the hell happened to Live? How do bands put out one great album and then the rest are just throwaways? I don't mean one good song, I mean an entire album of good songs.
- I'm still trying to get over the assault that The Bottle Rockets put on this week here in Boston. What a great band. I wouldn't mind if they were the band playing at my wedding. That would totally rule (although I suspect the elders may not be so into it). They'd have to share the bill with The Tarbox Ramblers, though. I bet the elders would love them.
- I still wonder what Kurt Cobain would be doing now if he were still alive. Apparantly, there was talk of he and Michael Stipe doing something together - that would have been incredible. Cobain was so weak and suicide is such the ultimate cop-out. How frustrating.
- I'll be making my first appearance at Fenway Park on Tuesday - Red Sox vs. K.C. Royals. I really want to be a season-ticket holder someday. Ah, dreams.......it cost $4455.00 per season for one good ticket. That's $8910.00 if you want two seats. Good god. By comparison, if you want to be a Kansas City Royals season ticket holder, you can buy a season ticket in the first ten rows behind home plate for $1701.00. Two seats for the season: $3402.00.
- One of the better song lyrics about being a not-famous band on the road for years: "I'm gonna write down my name in a ladies room stall/gonna try not to fall down singing for y'all/gonna die someday staring at dressing room walls....." -- The Old 97's, "Dressing Room Walls"
Have a nice weekend.
posted by Jeff Copetas 11:19 AM
4.4.2002
Major, major, major snaps and props to The Bottle Rockets, who came to town last night and as usual, kicked out the heartland jams just like they always do: volume knobs up, tequila and beers down, and fun all around. I can't even begin to describe how criminal it really is that this band isn't playing in bigger venues than 150-person capacity nightclubs. It's just beyond the realm of imagination. Yet, they continue to tour around in their van and have what appears to be great fun. I've now seen them over 20 times and every time I leave I say to myself, "self, that's the best live band in rock and roll." And I believe it.
Speaking of nightclubs, I'm looking forward to the day when smoking is banned in them in Boston/Cambridge. Sometimes the smoke really does bother me (headache, throat hurts, etc) but most of all, it's just plain annoying to have all your clothes smell like it. Ick. Last night wasn't so bad, actually. For once, the club was shrouded in clouds, so that made the show that much more pleasant. Anyway, perhaps you smokers should take to these. Sounds like fun.
Barry Bonds has already hit four home runs after two games. Can he be stopped? The Red Sox season is off to an auspicious start for sure. Pedro Martinez got whacked around like a pinata, Dustin Hermanson got hurt last night after like 6 pitches (Kent State alum!) and the Sox have played exactly one game in four days (and it was a crappy game!). And their plane got struck by lightning en route to Boston on Sunday. Hmmmm.....omen?
I really, really, really love Fig Newtons.
posted by Jeff Copetas 8:59 AM
4.1.2002
You need to check out The White Stripes. A terrific brother-sister band from Detriot, MI. Everyone talks these days about that other Detriot band, The Strokes. Well, I'm here to tell you that The Strokes stink. The White Stripes put them to shame. Oh, yes they do.
posted by Jeff Copetas 10:41 AM
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