If you live in the Twin Cities, I have an extra ticket to go see Regina Spektor on October 19 at the Varsity. (Extra defined as two and I can’t find anyone else who wants to go).
If you don’t know who Regina is, I strongly recommend taking the time to listen to her. She’s great.
ZOMG has this turned out to be a disaster.
I have concluded that the ultimate blame for all of this lies in the fact that I don’t have a real copy of XP, only a dumb ass recovery CD for the factory settings I got with my computer. I have Windows, but I really don’t have Windows. If I wipe my hard drive and try to reinstall from the recover CD, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get XP to run. It will install the files, but it wont boot.
I can install Linux and it can boot fine.
I’m going to install the RC1 of Vista I think rather than buy a full blown copy of XP. I’m so frustrated with Microsoft and their dumb ass upgrade and recovery CD’s, and their stupid activation codes. I have a perfectly good copy of Office XP, but I can’t use it because I can’t perfectly remember how I put in my name when I first installed it, now I can’t reactivate it. It’s worthless.
As I’m packing up all the crap in my house, I’m dumbstruck as the number of Microsoft CD’s I have accumulated over the years. The majority of which, I couldn’t use if I wanted to because they’re all upgrade CD’s or recovery CD’s for computers I don’t have (or just the paper license to the OS, with no CD’s at all).
The funny thing is, the only thing which has ever driven me to consider pirating Windows has been dealing with all the copy protection bullshit. Absent that, I’d really have very little issue with Microsoft.
Linux has been an education. There are parts of it which are good, and parts which are not. It doesn’t recgonize my video card and there doesn’t seem to be much support for it. Simple things like installing Flash are far more difficult than they need to be. (all applications really) I can’t easily run multiple monitors. I have a brand new video card, but I can’t run beyond the base resolution and can’t run 3D rendering natively. That seems like pretty basic stuff. All of those limitations have been less frustrating than dealing with Windows if for no other reason than I didn’t pay for it and I can always burn a CD if I need to.
Boy, did I speak too soon.
This has been a disaster.
I eventually had to remove XP and Linux, install and re-install XP about 5 times and constantly fiddle with my partition manager software.
Right now I got Linux running, but not XP. I can surf the web, but that’s about it. I don’t know how to open ports to use Gaim. I’m very unsure about how to install new applications, use RPM, or manage icons. I also can’t get multiple monitors working or the scroll wheel on my mouse.
Thank God I have a laptop.
I’m writing this post from inside Mandrake Linux running on my primary computer.
Yesterday I goofed around with the partitions, installed linux and today got the network up and running. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and I’ve finally done it.
I have to figure out how to install new applications, I have to figure out how to get it to run dual monitors, and I have to get my sound to function.
So far, so good however. At least I have a platform to work from now.
The Beatles? The Rolling Stones? U2? Beach Boys?
Nope.
They’re all pussies to be honest. They are far from “the greatest most awesome band in the history of the world” (TGMABITHOTW).
For a band to be considered TGMABITHOTW, you have to rock, and rock hard. Like 8.7 on Mohs hardness scale, hard. Like, head chopping, jaw dropping, accoustical assult on the senses hard. So that instantly eliminates the posuers like the Beatles, etc.
Beyond rocking hard, you also should have the following: bald German drummer, long haired european lead singer, quiet virtuoso lead guitar player who can play at Yngwie Malmsteen-esque rates, videos with flaming skulls, Molly Hatchet-esque album covers, and Christopher Lee doing narration.
There is one and only one band in the world who is even in the running for TGMABITHOTW, and that is RHAPSODY OF FIRE: Italy’s Film Score Metal Champions.
My discovery of RHAPSODY OF FIRE (I have to write it in all caps to do them justice), was totally by accident, and I believe was partially guided by mystical powers, probably a wizard.
One saturday over a year ago I fell asleep in the afternoon watching TV. When I awoke, Tivo was playing some music video that I had never seen before from a band I had never heard of. They were at a castle, and there was a guy dressed as a king, and there was a skull on fire. It was playing on the Bravo channel, which I never watch. How Tivo knew to tune in this video is beyond me, but it did.
At the time, the band was called just Rhapsody, but due to trademark infringement, they had to change it. If you have to change your name, where do you go from Rhapsody? Duh. The same place you go when you’re at 10…..11.
Thus was born, RHAPSODY OF FIRE.
I strongly suggest you check out their myspace site. Also, their videos are available at Yahoo Music (but you have to use IE. Why they would require this at this day and age is beyond me. I suggest getting IE 7 now if you haven’t already). Read the text on their myspace site to get an idea just how awesome this group is:
In 1997 a holy thunder rolled through the international metal scene as RHAPSODY, the Italian metal band, released their debut album, ‘Legendary Tales’……Turilli is the band’s lyricist, as well as guitarist. His lyrics often refer to mystical lore from the medieval age and the heroic valor of those times, reminding us of the everlasting fight between good and evil……..On September 27, 2004, the world of metal changed forever with the worldwide release of RHAPSODY’S latest album, ‘Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret.” Metal will never be the same.
Indeed.
Mike Judge should drag Bevis and Butthead out of retirement just to watch these videos.
