The GI Bill

Around the time I was driving home for Thanksgiving there was a super-interesting segment on Talk of The Nation regarding the failings of the current (Montgomery) G.I. Bill. The segment was based on a book by Edward Humes entitled Over Here, and the premise is that thing that makes America great today was the resources available to veterans when they returned from WWII. Obviously, if I’m just now talking about this it is because the piece stuck with me. The segment stuck with me because I think this Humes** guy is wrong.

It goes like this. The original G.I. Bill compensated service members returning from war with one year of unemployment pay, their entire college education (private or public), and low interest, zero down payment home loans. The Montgomery (current) G.I. Bill provides active duty service members up to $1100 per month for 36 months ($39,600) to be used within 10 years of the completion of their service. Receiving this money is contingent upon forfeiting $100 from their first 12 paychecks (pay $1200 and get $40,000).

Humes claims that because 1 in 8 Americans served in WWII the benefits these service members received amounted to the “best investment our country has ever made.” Accordingly, he thinks the same benefits should be awarded to the current service members. He also claims that the current GI Bill reaches less than 1% of the US population, so its benefits cannot be felt.

So, this is what I think:

• Today’s military is a voluntary military. The average cost of a college education in 2007 was 6,000. That means that those who CHOOSE to enter the military can have their tuition and a large amount of living expenses covered at a public university. I can’t think of one state that doesn’t have at least one public university that is not worth attending. PLUS, the veterans can take out loans to cover the difference at a private college. PLUS, they are earning a significant salary from what they earned while in the military. I have an MBA friend who was earning $85,000 a year while in Iraq (granted he was a flight officer…the point is that the salaries they earn are not insignificant).
• The success that America had following WWII cannot be contributed to any single factor. Winning the war was probably a much greater investment to this country than providing an education to those that returned. I doubt that providing those current service members a free education when left service would have the same effect. The US is a much different place than what it was in 1945.
• 16 million Americans died in WWII. That amounts to about 10% of the population. Less than .5% of the population is currently in the military. Education wasn’t an arbitrary investment. It was a need to rebuild this country.
• Using an inflation calculator, the $10 billion cost of the WWII GI Bill amounts to over $111 trillion.

An interesting aside to the NPR story is that Jerome Korlberg has recently started a private fund to pay for scholarships for veterans. Korlberg returned from WWII, went to Harvard Business School and Columbia Law School, started KKR, and became a billionaire. The GI Bill obviously had its intended effect on Korlberg, but two free graduate degrees is probably a bit excessive.

Song Recommendation - The Underdog by Spoon

**Apparently this Humes guy won a Pulitzer Prize back in 1989.

I'm sure you all know by now but the new MMJ album is going to be named Evil Urges and will be released on June 10th.

Trouble in Vegas

Trouble in Vegas. That's the name of a tournament. Accurately described by its slogan as "Best and worst idea, ever." You see, it's Las Vegas and there are a lot of ways to get in trouble. I know this because I've been going through a season (the one with the Minitature Killer) of CSI in anticipating for the trip. Making mental notes.....mainly of all the ways to get killed or sexually assaulted (many less ways to do this) in Vegas. Because of watching the show, every girl I saw I just assumed they were a transvestite or a prostitute. We also only saw 1 cop in the 4 days were there. I guess when you don't have laws you don't need cops. Then again, that creates quite the disconnect with the TV show.

Flight was uneventful. Eric asked why Republicans existed. You know, the usual topics of conversation. We started gambling immediately upon arriving in Vegas. You see, we chose the Thrifty Wild-Car (ain’t that cute) option. This meant that we were getting any car full-size or larger at $12 a day. Apparently this didn’t include the Mercedes S-Class, but did include the Chrysler Town and Country. Because that’s what we rocked in Sin City. A pair of mini-vans. Which, when you have 40 alumni in town is probably the best option.

The airport is at the opposite end of the strip as the Stratosphere. And since it was Thursday and 8 o’clock we drove down the strip to get to the hotel. The last time I was in Las Vegas was when I was 12, and although I had a great time I don’t think I appreciated the city enough. There is no (NONE!) doubt in my mind that Las Vegas is the weirdest city on Earth. The amount of money needed to design and build the hotels/casinos on the strip is absolutely ridiculous. They know what they’re selling, and they’re good at selling it.

Well, I learned on the plane that almost everyone was flying into Vegas on Thursday night so they could have an extra night of gambling and debauchery. I chose the flight so I could carpool with the Purdue kids and pay cheap Thursday night rates. I had no idea what I was getting into. I guess you can imagine what happens when people who haven’t seen each other in a while meet in a casino. Madness. I went to bed about 2:30. Apparently everyone else went to bed at either 430 or 630. The sleep I got was so terrible that I would wake up in the middle of the night and say, I can’t wait for my nap tomorrow. I only had a sportcoat to use as a blanket (note to self, never be homeless) and each time I woke up I looked at the beds hoping that the comforter fell off. No luck. I found out in the morning that I was sleeping next to the air conditioner. I also found out that everyone else in the room was super hot and not using their comforters.

Friday was a day of waiting. Well, waiting and the Monte Carlo catching on fire (Can't you just hear Billy Joel Sing. "We didn't start the FIRE, it's......). We were all anxiously waiting for the rest (the idiots who worked on Friday) of the group to get there. Finally everyone did. And Friday night turned out to be a replay of Thursday night (it was at this point that I began to see a pattern and was pretty sure what was going to happen on Saturday night). The tournament hosted a party at the bar at the top of the Stratosphere. It’s a pretty incredible view of the strip. There is also a rotating restaurant up top. No more rollercoaster though. Spangle lost a bunch of money. Doug won a bunch of money. Doug lost more money than he previously won. I lost $20.

Saturday was the pool play of the tournament. The fields were typical (I guess) desert (remember you’d rather have two deSSerts than one deSert) fare. Brown and dry. Temp was about 55 degrees (it’s a dry heat), but the 65 degree difference than what it was at Purdue when we left made it feel like we were playing pretty reasonable. Doug got hurt on the 5th point of the tournament. To his credit it stepped on an electrical cover and twisted his ankle. To the fields credit, it didn’t matter how it happened he was going to get hurt. Luckily, he was able to play through. Lost to some LSU/Texas alumni. Lost to some Washington alumni. Beat some team from Chicago.

Saturday night we venture down to the main part of the strip to eat at the buffet at Planet Hollywood. Our dinner corresponded with the Miss America pageant. Also being held at Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood had dancers on the black jack tables. Watched the fountain show across the street at the Bellagio. I cannot image how much that casino paid for that property. Then they just dug a hole and built a gigantic lake with a fountain show. People must have thought they were insane. Actually, I bet people just shrugged their shoulders and went about their business. I realized on Saturday night that I get no enjoyment from gambling at casinos (Churchill Downs, now that's way different) and was in bed by midnight (Total losses for the weekend, $27). I think the rest of the group made it to the room not much later. Apparently 3 consecutive nights is Vegas is one too many. Girth won a bunch of money at roulette. Lucky him.

The Sunday portion of the tournament was wet. We lost our first game to MSU alumni and vehemently tried to get out of playing Harvard, but they really wanted to play so we went ahead and lost to them also. Then we went to In-N-Out Burger. Except that Tarr thought he knew where an In-N-Out Burger was but instead took us to In-N-Out Bailbonds. What an idiot. Finally we made it. I don’t know what those people from California get all excited about. I mean, yes it was good, but it’s not like it was amazing or life changing.

Then we went to the airport and flew straight home without incident. SIKE. There was a 4 hour delay with our flight, and we didn’t get back to Indy until 430. Didn’t get back to Purdue until 6. I missed another class. I don’t really feel like I’m in college anymore.


It was a really fun weekend. But more about who I was with than where we were. I would have had just as much fun in Iowa. It's not like we did anything Crazy.

Song Recommendation - Home by Marc Broussard (A perfect song for the upcoming Mardi Gras)

Bad Luck

Where has Nick been? Good question. I'm not even sure where I have been. I've been doing a pretty good job about posting this past month or so, and I'm sure that my readers (all three of you) have been checking the site anxiously. Each day that passed no doubt felt like a little more of your soul disappearing. Well have no fear; One Big Holiday is back in the game.

It's been a wild week. Where to begin. I'm in Louisville every other Thursday/Friday working part-time at Humana. Since classes weren't held on MLK Day and I don't have class until 430 on Tuesday, I waited until Tuesday to drive back to school. Well, I waited until Tuesday to drive halfway back to school. I was driving and I was thirsty. So I decided to stop in Franklin (Exit 90) to get a drink at the McDonalds. It was in the McDonalds parking lot that the Explorer's transmission decided it was finished working. That's not completely true, it would work for about 50 feet each time I turned the car on. The last 85 miles to West Lafayette would have taken quite a while at 50 feet a pop, so I decided to call the tow truck. So, I hung out at McDonalds for an hour and hung out at a Ford dealership in Greenwood for an hour before Sara drove up from Btown to take me the rest of the way to Purdue. I didn't make it class on Thursday I can't really say that the mechanical failure of the vehicle was that much of surprise considering I've been able to freely switch from Drive to Neutral to Reverse without putting my foot on the brake. Luckily we have friends in the transmission business.

The transmission is final event in a string of bad luck which began we me losing the jump drive with all my MBA stuff on it. A good 1.5 years of work. I'm an idiot for not backing it up more.
The middle event was a trip to the doctor for a foot injury that happened back in October. So, I as at the doctor and he's putting me through the paces. Taking x-rays, watching me walk, poking, prodding, and other things that doctors do. Finally he says, "Well, the x-ray looks fine. That means you've either damaged the ligament or there is a fracture internally. I can't tell the difference without doing an MRI, but with both those injuries I would just put it in a cast. So, let's save you some money. I'm going to get my stuff to put a cast." Well, this was not expecting when I walked into the doctor's office and I say, "Wait a minute, I'm going to Las Vegas next weekend to play in a tournament. I'll just come back in a couple of weeks and we can put the cast on then." So, on Friday the doctor is putting my foot in a cast. Lame. It's going to be on for 6 weeks. Double lame. I'm going to Chile and Argentina in 4.5 weeks. Triple lame.

But I can't be too sad. Today is the 28th of January. Since the 18th of January I've been to 3 classes for a grand total of 4.5 hours in the last ten days.

Song Recommendation - To Love Somebody by Ray Lamontagne AND Damien Rice

Now begins the hard journey to spring with only a brief stop at a dry creek called March Madness.

Or so sayth David Massey when speaking about the end of the football season. But Nick, doesn't DMassey understand that the Super Bowl still have to be played? Well, yes he does understand. But like myself, he understands that a Patriots-Boston Super Bowl is going to be an ESPN/East Coast media love fest. I don't even know who I would root for. I guess I'll root for Giants begin that I hate Bruski and Harrison from the Pats, and it would be hilarious if the "Perfect Season" ended in defeat (How can it be called a perfect season if the season isn't over yet? Perfect Regular Season....yes. Perfect Season....not yet.) Then there we would be mucho debate if the Pats were still the greatest team ever. Oh the people at ESPN Radio would have a field day**.

If you don't know yet, and you should. Consider that it has been on the MMJ webpage for like a whole week. MMJ will be playing a show June 20th at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. That's one that probably shouldn't be missed. Speaking of shows that shouldn't be missed. I was at what is considered the greatest MMJ show of alltime at Bonnaroo '06. Only Sara was so tired from a day full of music (ending in Tom Petty) that we left after about an hour. I still want to punch myself in the face everytime I think about it. I should have rationed my day better. Whoa is me. Paste Mag also has some good MMJ tidbits.

I recently watched an episode of Celebrity Rehab and I've got to say that I am super impressed with Dr. Drew. He seems like a stand-up guy, and the guy I want to get me of my drug addiction. You know, once I get a drug addiction. He is way more talented than one would think from his work on Loveline.

Song Recommendation - I'm Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys

Nope, not the normal selection but man is it good. Truth be told, it makes me want to fight someone (which probably wouldn't be much of a fight with a shoulder in rehab and a foot that's going in a cast when I get back from Vegas).

I asked Bostonian Jess O'Leary (as indicated by her Irish name and her cop father) if Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly was the better Irish punk band from Boston. She seemed to think Dropkick Murphys was, but that was a matter of personnel preference I think. I do wonder why Dropkick Murphys have a bagpipe in the mix consider that it is a Scottish instrument. Oh wait, I just checked and the bagpipe is actually an instrument of Irish origins. Weird.

Seriously, The Onion is hilarious. Girls, don't cry yourself to sleep over it. It's just a joke.

**In fact, after writing the paragraph I was watching PTI on ESPN and Wilbon/Kornheisiweirtgjr were already debating who the best team would be ('72 Dolphins, '86 Bears, '07/'08 Patriots) if the Patriots lost. PTI. Best sports related show ever? False. The original American Gladiators. True. PTI. Best sports talk show ever. The best.....easily.

The Tallest of Southern Indiana Mountains

Last night, Sarah, Sarah, Sara, Cate, Ben, Aaron (in bright neon green jacket) and I took to the slopes of Paoli Peaks for a litte midnight skiing action. Luckily we decided to do it on the coldest night of the year. I was dreading the experience because of the price and the cold, but as it turned out, it was cheaper than reported AND it wasn't that cold. Aaron was a natural on the slopes while Cate and Sara spent the night learning the snowboard. I think they might be ready for the X-Games. Not X-Games 12 but X-Games 13. If I had to guess. Only problem I had is that because it wasn't a mountain the ratio to ski time/lift-time wasn't very favorable. It's a good place to go if it is you're learning or re-learning. Sara can't move today.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant will be starting their the tour in support of their Raising Sands album together with a performance at The Louisville Palace. This presents quite a conundrum**. You can't find a more star-filled concert than one involving Krauss and Plant AND they are performing at the incredible Louisville Palace. The dilemma comes from the fact that I think their critically-acclaimed CD is really bad. In fact, I'm beginning to think that I don't like Krauss in anything other than straight blugrass. They will apparently be playing songs from throughout their careers, so that's a plus. But I just don't think I want to go. I will hate every minute that I am not there.

In other concert news, Ben Folds is coming to Purdue. Another poor choice, but I'm sure the freshman will like him.

In other concerts news, Dierks Bentley is coming to Purdue. As he was one of my favorites from last year, I'm pretty happy about that. I hope I get some good tickets. He is wild on stage

**Coincidently, one of my favorite movie exchanges is from Cold Mountain (theme song -You Are My Ain True Love by Alison Krauss) when Boise and Inman are about to shoot each other (sorry if you haven't seen the movie, but you've had four years) and Boise uses the word conundrum in their exchange.

Inman: I hope so. Look, how old are you? Give me your gun and ride home, I'm done fighting. I'm sick of it.
Bosie: I give you my gun and you'll shoot me dead.
Inman: I will not shoot you, but nor am I walking down that mountain looking over my shoulder for you.
Bosie: That's what you call a conundrum. I tell you what I've got on my side.
Inman: What have you got on your side?
Bosie: The confidence of youth.

Song Recommendation - Let It Ride by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

(Soon to just be The Cardinals)

Gun-Toting IRS Agents

Radiohead played a free show tonight in London. That's pretty cool. A free Radiohead show. What could make it cooler? The fact that they announced yesterday that they were having a free show that night. I don't care who you are, you gotta think that's cool. Truthfully, I've never been that much of a Radiohead. I own a couple of their albums (including In Rainbows....paid $11.50 for it when it was pay-as-much-as-you-want on their website) but for me it's just good background music. Nothing I get excited to listen to (see MMJ post below). BUT. Announcing a free show the same day of the show. That is cool. That's what music should be about. Doing whatever you want, however you want, and having fun doing it.

So, I was reading ABC News Mobile on the Treo yesterday and found a couple of interesting things. One article was reporting that they (Cop? someone? The interns on CSI?) found the body of an IRS agent that had been missing since December. Apparently, the lady committed suicide and they recovered the IRS-issue gun with the body. Look, I’m sorry that this lady committed suicide, but wait a minute. The IRS-issues guns? What is that all about? Do they have mice in the facilities and prefer high velocity projectiles to mouse traps? It’s not like an auditor is gonna be hot on the trail of a case and decide that they need to take a gangster down. That may have been the case with Al Capone 75 years ago, but that was a different time and place.

The second article was in regards to Tom Cruise: The Unauthorized Biography. So, the story is that Tom Cruise’s baby (Suri) isn’t actually his biological baby. But it (I don’t know if Suri is a boy or girl name) is in fact the baby of L. Ron Hubbard (inventor of Scientology) and Katie Holmes. Well, L. Ron died in 1986, so the little bundle of joy was apparently created in a test tube. I have no idea if this rumor is true or not. I do know that if it is, Tom Cruise is even more psycho than previously suspected. If it isn’t true it is still a hilarious rumor to start because it makes Tom Cruise seem even more psycho than previously suspected.

I went to the business etiquette dinner (definitely a Gourmet, not a Gourman) last night hosted by Krannert. It was the second time I’ve been because well, it is a free meal and the presenter is pretty entertaining. Anyway. I learned all these archaic rules about how I am supposed to dine. Which makes me wonder. Who made these rules anyway? Why is it that the proper way to eat is the way the King of England ate in the mid-19th century? What makes his style so “right” or proper. Why are we supposed to eat that way? I mean, shouldn’t they (the proverbial they of course) eat like the rest of population.

Song Recommendation - Karma Police by Radiohead
(I don't care what I said earlier, this song is AWESOME)

MMJ would have rocked Woodstock

Well sports fans, the site of Woodstock (well kinda...the actual site of the festival was purchased in 1996, but maybe some cars parked in what you're buying) is now for sale, and you too can own a piece of music history. All you need is $8 million. If that is a bit out of your price range, you can just have 8 million of your friends each pay $1. $8 million that way is the same as $8 million any other way. Mr. Yasgur sure was making a bold claim when he said "this is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place." Now let’s see. An estimated 400,000 (dirty) people attended the festival. I mean, there were over 500,000 in Normandy on D-Day. Battle of Somme, France had over 3,000,000 participants. War sure knows how to assemble large groups of people in one place. Now, if Mr. Yasgur would have said "this is the largest group of people ever to assemble on my farm", I wouldn't have been sure but I would have believed that. To put things into perspective. Birth of Nick Haywood. Probably at least 8 participants.

I've got a lot of free time on my hands these days, so I've been watching a good about of movies. Just finished North by Northwest. That Alfred Hitchcock guy sure can make a fine film. The lead actor is some guy named Cary Grant (I don't think he ever made it big) and he makes quite a team with Hitchcock. Don't be scared that it was made in 1959. You should watch it. It's better than almost any movie that came out recently (how's that for being ambiguous).

Sad day for the Colts. I sure didn't expect the season to end so soon. No use blaming anyone, we just didn't get the job done. Dungy is probably leaving. DMassey and I wore our Colts gear today to support the boys. David said it best (like he always does), "It's easy to be a Colts fan Sunday morning, but the true fans are still around today."

Song Recommendation - One Big Holiday by My Morning Jacket

I still remember this vividly. Sophomore year at Purdue, I was watching Conan and he mentioned that the band was from Louisville, Ky. I thought that that was cool, so I look up just in time to see these weird looking dudes starting playing what turned out to be the most amazing tune ever. A tune that when played with such enthusiasm burns in your soul and can't help but make you happy (you can tell that even Conan was surprised and impressed). So, then I downloaded the rest of the songs off the album off the internet (so sue me....oh wait, the RIAA will) and then the next day I went and bought the album (It Still Moves). That was the night my musical journey began. (Tear)

I really didn't just cry. I'm too manly for that. But since I explained that you probably think I did, but you see, I didn't. Or you don't know what I am talking about since you think the last word I put was what you do when you have 1 thing and you want 2. But that's not what that word was.

Kuwait can't get enough of My Morning Jacket

Anybody want some My Morning Jacket news? Well you're going to get it anyway. It's from a variety of sources. The tidbits from Reuters are actually from an article that was picked up by the Kuwait edition of the Arab Times Online. Apparently, the Kuwaitis are big fans of independent music. (I doubt that last statement is true.)

• Word on the street is that MMJ's newest record is going to be gospel/Sam Cooke-inspired. How's that for awesome? I don't really know what gospel-inspired means, but I do know that MMJ is going to pull it off quite well. (Rolling Stone issue 1041)
• MMJ just finished recording its next studio album in New York with frontman Jim James and Joe Chiccarelli (the White Stripes, the Shins) co-producing. The band hopes for a June release, then will tour in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Europe. (Reuters)
• The band will perform at this year's South by Southwest event in Austin for the first time since 2002, and James will do an acoustic show in addition to the full-band set. Other U.S. dates are being booked. (Reuters)

The only part that scares me is that I don't like the White Stripes at all. Hopefully none of that flavor will get introduced on the album.

Also, according to Google Analytics 75% of all visitors that stop by the site stay between 0-10 seconds. Geez, you people can sure read fast. Amazing. Simply amazing. Reading a whole post in less than 10 seconds. Incredible.

Song Recommendation - The Weight by The Band

By the way, how awesome would it be if you were so famous you could just go by the title of your profession. What if instead of Jacob Blair, we called him The Teacher. Or instead of Katie Haywood, it was The Nursing Student. Or instead of George Bush it was The President. What a minute........

Mr. Blair I think you're cool. Even if your students don't.

What's with Blair (link on the right) posting to his blog everyday. That means I've got to post everyday. And sometimes I don't have good stuff to post about. Then I have to make up stuff. Luckily, I already had this one prepared.

Check out this interesting article that appeared on WSJ.com about journalism in the US since 1940. It is not only interesting, but informative too!!!

While reading The Jungle, I noticed things in there that seem so ridiculous today. Someone would get sick, and they would send them to the saloon (which is interesting in that, today "saloons" are more upscale than bars....I would say...but these super-poor immigrants all went to saloons) to drink some whiskey. So, in 50 years you'll be showing your grandkids what a TV was used for and they'll be amazed. And then they''ll be like, "You used WHAT to cure cancer? That's so dumb. People sure weren't very smart in 2008, Gramps. Everyone knows that doesn't really cure cancer. Hehe. You're funny." And you'll be like, "I know kids. We were dumb. But at least I had a really happy life and I was really successful business and now I'm really rich. If you don't shut up, I'm going to write you out of my will." That will show them. But then in 2058 we're not going to use money....or cars....or plates....or music. We're going to be living in a world with no land (because the polar ice caps melted) and the only way to find dry land will be with a tattoo on the back of a mysterious girl. And we'll be chased by pirates around the globe. Or, maybe that was the plot to Waterworld.

Song Recommendation - See These Bones by Nada Surf (weird, I know...but it's good)

Song With Dirty Talk About Nipples

Someone Google searched the words "song with dirty talk about nipples" and was directed to my website. If that is not the most hilarious thing you've heard today, then you've either had a really funny day or have no sense of humor. Incidently, I searched for that myself to see if I could find my way to the site. Based on the results, I probably shouldn't have done that in the Krannert Computing Center.

Check out this hilarious video about Steve Jobs and this little girl who wrote him a letter. In all fairness to Apple, the little girl is dumb. They already make a program that allows you to show lyrics on your Ipod. Everyone knows that.

I was checking out some rumors about who was and was not going to be at Bonnaroo this year, and heard some really depressing stuff. Apparently, at the recent Arcade Fire shows they have been telling the crowd that this is the last time they will be playing in America for the next couple of years. I mean, come on, they're from Canada. It's not like there are any big cities in Canada.

School started. I found out that I'm going to get credit for the Chile/Argentina study abroad trip. That means I'm going to be finished with school in March. I also started working part-time for Humana. Same stuff I was doing last summer. Trying to save some money for my trip this summer.

Song Recommendation - Ain't No Time by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

A Mustache For Charity

Since the beginning of December I've been living the life of a character (?) on To Catch A Predator. In my book, that means growing a mustache. To make it better, I've been growing it for charity and in competition with various other students at Krannert. The award ceremony is tomorrow and I BETTER win an award.

You can check out the photos here.

Song Recommendation - Dashboard by Modest Mouse

Potluck

The Death Cab For Cutie website has announced (with a video) that the band finished up work on a new album set to be released in May 2008. Glad to know the band finished the album, and is now going to sit on it for 5 months. I mean, come on, you're killing me here. I mean we know that it's probably going to rock and that it definitely will have the best lyrics of any album of 2008. Give it to us already.

Speaking of working on an album, My Morning Jacket is working on an album in Upstate New York. Speaking of New York, I saw that some had checked my website from New York, and I was pretty positive it was one of the MMJ guys...alas, they were from NYC...I bet the guys went to a library in NYC to check it, to throw me off their tracks. Anyway, my point. Here's what Jim James had to say about the album in an interview with My Old Kentucky Blog.

"We are currently working on a new record. It will feature songs and probably some album artwork. We are very excited about this concept - which will hopefully change the industry forever."

Wow, MMJ coming strong again. Changing industries. These guys are men of vision (I want to say visionaries, but didn't want to look up the proper spelling. Plural with a Y is always tricky. Of course, all this typing when I could have just looked it up.)

Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts has been practicing and will be back for the Divisional Playoff Game. Harrison has been out since Week 4 (maybe?) with what was said to be a bruised knee. That must have been the worst bruised knee ever absorbed by the human body. It had to have been more than that. 3 months for a bruised knee. No way. I'm speculating that he tore something. He is the guy who broke his wrist a few years ago (2004.....maybe) and was able to get by with telling everyone it was a bruised wrist until after it had healed.

Heard a story on NPR about how Egypt was having a problem with building collapses because shoddy work is being done with poor materials. Seems to me that they should go back to the pyramid shape for the building. Those have been standing tall for the last, oh...about, 4500 years.

I wonder how many people made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight/eat healthier and then went to Steak N Shake or IHOP after a night of partying. Now that’s how you start things off right. I know, I know. You're starting tomorrow. I've got to be honest with my readers. This Google Analytics stuff that I previously wrote about is messing with my head. It is just way too cool. Shout out to the one reader who visited one time from South Korea. Also, shout out to the person who found this site after Google searching Adam Tarr. Big brother is watching.

Anyone notice Barack Obama getting his Martin Luther King on during his speech following the Iowa caucus. Definitely entertaining, but riddle me this. What is he going to say if he actually wins.

Song Recommendation - Girls In Their Summer Clothes by Bruce Springsteen

Best Album of 2007

Paste Magazine recently released their Top 100 Albums of 2007. Of the albums on the list, the ones I purchased (yes, purchased, since I don't like to download music) were:

1. The National - Boxer
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
8. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
10. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
11. Radiohead - In Rainbows
12. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
16. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
24. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
29. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
32. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

An editorial (Issue 38, page 14) that appeared in the magazine (but I couldn't find online) by Paste Editor, Josh Jackson, made the point that music is personal and everyone responds to different albums different ways. As an example, the reviewer who reviewed Boxer when it was released gave it 3 stars (of 5). 6 months later it is the album of the year. Interesting. He also made the point that there is battle royal between the staffers to make sure their favorite album is at the top of the list. All this is being said so that I have justification to rank my top 10 albums of the year. And because I get confused about what albums are released in what year, I'm going to re-rank the above albums.

1. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
2. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. JJ Grey & Mofro - Country Ghetto
5. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - This Is Somewhere
6. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
7. John Butler Trio - Grand National
8. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
9. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
10. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

I had to go to a listen off between Modest Mouse and Bruce Springsteen, but that's the way it turned out. Dashboard and Fire It Up were just to catchy to be ignored. I'm fairly confident about the order of my top-5 but after that I'm not so confident in the order. But it's my list, so whatever. As you can see, I also remembered a few of my other favorites. How were Grace Potter, JBT, and JJ Grey not on the list?

Song Recommendation - Sweet Illusions by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

2007 Show Review

Well, because I'm weird I keep a list of all the bands I see live. 2007 was a good year, even without attending Bonnaroo.

Alexi Murdoch - Headliner's Music Hall
Andrew Bird - Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Backyard Tire Fire - The Vogue
Charlie Louvin - The Brown Theatre
Damien Rice - The Louisville Palace
Dierks Bentley - Freedom Hall
Govt Mule - The Vogue
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - The Vogue
Jason Aldean - Freedom Hall
Jenny Devoe - The Vogue
Jim James - The Rudyard Kipling
JJ Grey & Mofro - The Bluebird
JJ Grey & Mofro - The Vogue
John Butler Trio - Headliner's Music Hall
Josh Turner - The Great Lawn at Waterfront Park
Kellie Pickler - Freedom Hall
Ki: Theory - Headliner's Music Hall
Man Man - The Egyptian Room
Midnight Movies - Headliner's Music Hall
Modest Mouse - The Egyptian Room
Nickel Creek - The Ryman Auditorium
Patty Griffin - The Vogue
Paula Cole - The Brown Theatre
Rascal Flatts - Freedom Hall
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - The Brown Theatre
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - The Brown Theatre
Ryan Shaw - WFPK Studios
Sarah Elizabeth Whitehead - The Rudyard Kipling
Shaggy Wanda - The Bluebird
Shooter Jennings - The Bluebird
Suzanne Vega - The Brown Theatre
Terremoto - The Vogue
The National - Headliner's Music Hall
Trace Adkins - Freedom Hall
Vietnam - The Brown Theatre

Since it's the end of the year, I'm obligated to also make a best-of list. SO, the best five live performances I saw were (in no particular order):

Damien Rice - Beautiful show. Damien Rice is surprisingly funny on stage. The highlight of the show was when he sang Cannonball without any amplification. Pretty impressive in a 4000 seat theatre.
Dierks Bentley - Not only did Dierks have a set of bluegrass songs within his larger set, but he came out into the crowd. Not pretentious rock star style with the stage in middle of the crowd, but jumped off stage on whim and ran around in the crowd. It was a really fun show.
JJ Grey & Mofro (at The Bluebird) - Small crowd (people are dumb). Small venue. Great party. JJ Grey got pretty drunk and at one point was lying on his back singing a song. It was great. The Bluebird is so small that the fans always end up buying drinks for the artists. Then it gets wild.
Nickel Creek - The final show of the Farewell For Now tour. At The Ryman. Incredible show. Enough said.
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - This was his second show at The Brown. He is as weird as he is an incredible musician. Meaning that he is really weird and really incredible.
Ryan Shaw - This was a WFPK live lunch and because they were playing it over the air, it was in this little recording studio with a tiny crowd. Ryan Shaw has great energy and made it really fun. Plus I got a set list. Plus, I talked to Ryan.

You probably noticed that my top five had six. Well, it's my top five, so if I want it to have six it can. It should be noted that I didn't get to see My Morning Jacket this year, and that is sad.

The most disappointing show was the Govt Mule show at The Vogue. While faithful, the Govt Mule fans are terrible. I was really excited for the show too.

Just saw Patterson Hood's reviews for shows of the year over on Jambase, and now I'm kicking myself for not picking up those sweet tix to see Bruce Springsteen at Conseco in Indianapolis. Maybe $100 a pop, was worth it. Maybe, I just remembered that I'm broke.

Song Recommendation - Aint Love Strange by Paul Thorn

Soundtrack To My Year - 2007+ Edition

As most people are well aware, I love music. And, because I love music I try to put a song recommendation on each of my posts. The recommendations aren't necessarily something that's new, but something I like and think you should like too. I understand that you may not. I'm cool with that. I may think you're dumb for it, but we can still be friends. Music is different to different people. Just because I'm hyper-opinionated about music doesn't mean that I don't respect your music. Ok, maybe it does mean that I don't respect music, but what I do respect is that you like music.

So, I've compiled the list of the music I've been listening to over the course of the past year (with a little 2006 added....since I started this website last December). I hope you enjoy it.

December 11th, 2006 - The Hardest Part by Ryan Adams
December 13th, 2006 - Make This Go On Forever by Snow Patrol
December 18th, 2006 - Empty by Ray Lamontagne
December 20th, 2006 - September When It Comes by Rosanne Cash
December 22th, 2006 - Bright Sunny South by Alison Krauss and Union Station
December 24th, 2006 - Lay Low by My Morning Jacket
December 25th, 2006 - It'll All Work Out by Tom Petty
December 31th, 2006 - Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

January 2nd, 2007 - Three More Days by Ray Lamontagne
January 8th, 2007 - La Ciegna Just Smiled by Ryan Adams
February 16th, 2007 - Wish You Well by Bernard Fanning
May 13th, 2007 - Imitosis by Andrew Bird
May 20th, 2007 - Two by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
June24th, 2007 - It Makes No Difference by My Morning Jacket
June 26th, 2007 - Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show
July 9th, 2007 - Laid A Highway by Tift Merritt
July 14th, 2007 - I Found a Love by Ryan Shaw
August 12th, 2007 - Losing You by John Butler Trio
August 14th, 2007 - To Go Home by M. Ward
August 19th, 2007 - Paranoia in B-Flat Major by The Avett Brothers
September 21st, 2007 - Poor House by The Traveling Wilburys
September 26th, 2007 - Somebody More Like You by Nickel Creek
October 3rd, 2007 - Sweets by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
October 5th, 2007 - Hair of the Dog by Shooter Jennings
October 9th, 2007 - Boy With A Coin by Iron & Wine
October 15th, 2007 - Intervention by Arcade Fire
October 16th, 2007 - Ah Mary by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
October 21st, 2007 - Cannonball by Damien Rice
October 29th, 2007 - On Palastine by JJ Grey & Mofro
November 13th, 2007 - Float On by Modest Mouse
November 16th, 2007 - House By The Sea by Iron & Wine
November 26th, 2007 - What Sara Said by Death Cab For Cutie
November 28th, 2007 - The Lighthouse's Tale by Nickel Creek
December 3rd, 2007 - Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn, and John
December 9th, 2007 - Southside of Heaven by Ryan Bingham
December 21st, 2007 - Full Moon Cigarette by Gran Bel Fisher
December 28th, 2007 - Wake Up by The Arcade Fire

I also created an iMix of these songs on iTunes. So, if you think you might like some of them, I'm making it about as easy as possible. A few are missing....I don't know what's that about. So, maybe it's not as easy as I would like.

Have a happy New Year, and here's to wishing you the best of luck in 2008.

The China Jungle

A Merry Christmas to all.

For some reason, I never read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in high school. Also, for some reason, I had the urge to read it. And so, while I was out in Vail I read it and it wasn't quite the book I was expecting. I went into it with the notion that the book's sole purpose was to expose the reality of the Chicago's beefpacking industry of the early 1900's. Yes, the book did talk about the use of rotting meat and human appendages purposely packaged with hog meat, but that was just a side story. The real story was what the life of an immigrant was like in the early 1900's. Or supposedly what the life what life of an immigrant in the early 1900's. Unfortunately, the story went up and down so many times, that eventually I couldn't help but think, "Get to the point." Well, unfortunately Mr. Sinclair did get to the point. The point turned out to be 60 (of 380) straight pages of Socialist (I think we see how well that worked out for the movement) propoganda to finish out the book. Kinda disappointing.

One thing I did take from the book is that there are a lot of similarities between 1904 Chicago and 2007 China. I'll lay them out for you. I'll even number my points (you know to make the extensive list easier to read).

1. Quality issues in respect to foreign countries - In the book, they say numerous times that the meat being processed in Chicago cannot be sold in Europe because of quality issues. So, although it is the cheapest, there are quality problems. Does that ring a bell?
2. Poor living conditions - The areas around these processing facilities were shanty towns. People that worked nights shared houses with people that worked days since they never saw each other. This is true in China today. A key difference is that often companies build dormitories for their workers.
3. A very small middle class - You either owned the company and were extremely wealthy or you worked for the company and barely made ends meet. This was true even for supervisors. Same is true in China today.
4. Long hours - Workers in the processing plants worked 12 hour days for 6 hours a day. Year round. That's unheard of in America in 2007, but commonplace in China. Sure, if you're an IT consultant at Crowe Chizek you might work 1,000,000 for one week at a time, but never year round.
5. Loss of an agrarian society - I was reading this book, and thinking you idiot. Move out of the city, work on a farm, live in a forest. It's not worth. Eventually the main character does, only to find that all the farm workers are moving to the city to find more lucrative work. That migration is happening as we speak in China.

So what does it mean? This was beginning of the American industrial revolution and a time when what we are as a country today as being formed. The effects of WW1 and WW2 can't be discounted though, because nothing helps an economy more than a war (that you eventually win). Today, I think the type of war can be different though. I think the war could come from fighting a disease or a space race, in addition to saving Europe from Hitler. So, it's not that much of a leap to assume that China will be in 100 years what America is today. All great civilizations fall. That's a fact.

Exciting news. I found a Google application called Google Analytics that is used to track traffic to your website, so you can target ads better. It's easy to use and pretty with charts and graphs and maps and all. It also tells you what city people are visiting you from, and the frequency of those visits. Since I've been using the application I'm pleased to announce that I average an ASTOUNDING 1 unique visitors per day. Simply incredible. This website is well on its way to becoming a cash cow for me. So, if Jake, Adam, Sara, and my sister want to go ahead and let me know what ads they would like to see. That would really help me with my effective advertising.

Song Recommendation - Wake Up by The Arcade Fire
(The Arcade Fire is #1 of bands I need to see live now)

To Vail and Back

The largest ski resort in the U.S., the most groomed terrain on the planet, seven back bowls, 300 days of sunshine, voted Number 1 for the 14th time in 19 years in SKI Magazine's "Top 50 Resort Guide" and we didn't ski. Nick, you're an idiot.

Let me explain. In business school they teach us that lots of fledgling businesses fail not because of bad products but because of cash flow problems. I know, that makes no sense. Let me explain (again). Say I make shoes. I sell a lot of shoes to a retailer and send them a bill to pay within 60 days. It is benefical for them to wait until the last day since their money is earning interest in bank somewhere. Since I'm a new company, I'm super close to the edge and need their money to buy more rubber and shoestrings to make more shoes. So, although I've been successful at selling my product, the cash flow isn't there and my company fails (I hear this happens to a lot of IU MBAs).

So, I told that long and somewhat boring....yet informational....story to say that I didn't go skiing because I'm having a bit of cash flow problems right now. That loan money is coming in January, I'm starting work in January, and my check for grading papers is coming in January.....but it's December. $81 for a lift ticket and $25 for ski rentals really doesn't fit into the budget right now.

We still had fun though. Vail is a pretty cool place in that it calls itself a resort, but is almost a little city. A little city where you can't drive on any streets and they all lead to the lifts (33). A little city with The North Face, Patagonia, and Burton stores. A big resort with upscale hotel rooms 30 feet from the lift. A little city in that the nearest movie theatre is 20 miles away, but they're in the process of building one outdoors (don't really know how enjoyable that will be). You could tell that every person that drove a bus, or worked in a subway, or took tickets on the Gondola did so just they could afford their ski passes.

It was a cool place. I don't know that I would want to drive two hours in the middle of night across the Rocky Mountains (note, You have to drive over and around mountains to get to Vail) in a Chevy Cobalt (note, Cobalts have the worst headlights ever) without cruise control (note, without cruise control you have press on the gas peddle when on the highway....weird). I want to go back. Maybe next time, I'll ski.

What's the deal with Jack Johnson releasing the single for his new album a full 2 months before the album is released. That's dumb. Radiohead finished their album, then sold it on the internet the next week.

I was about to grab a couple of Bruce Springsteen tickets at his show in Indy, but I balked at the $100 a piece price tag. Sniffle.

Song Recommendation - Full Moon Cigarette by Gran Bel Fisher

Bonnaroo, ATO, and Lost Highway

Rumor on the internet is that Led Zeppelin will be headlining Bonnaroo in 2008, and I'm hoping with all hope that this rumor isn't true. I mean, yea, I would love to see Led Zeppelin, but I'm going to be out West on THE road trip (you'll here more about this in the coming months) and, I would rather not fly back to Tennessee for the weekend. Which, I would have to do if Led Zeppelin was playing. I'm guessing that Alison Krauss and Robert Plant are already signed up to play based on the fact that they are touring together in 2008 in support of their Raising Sands cd, and Alison has played Bonaroo before. So, it wouldn't be that far of a leap for the rest of the guys (John Paul Jones played Bonnaroo last year) to jump onboard. I would love nothing more than an off year for Bonnaroo. A year where none of the artists interest me (rumor also has it that MMJ won't be playing Bonnaroo again because they wanna headline, that's good news to my ears). Here's to hoping.

As for today's song recommendation, Ryan Bingham is another artist in the Lost Highway family. I sent this song to DMassey because he's from Georgia and his old lady is from Texas, and I knew he would probably dig it. He said, "I enjoyed the hell out of that video. It made miss places." I could only reply, "It made me miss places too, and I've never even been to those places.

So, after finding another great artist from Lost Highway. It makes me wonder. Which is the better record company, Lost Highway or ATO? On one hand, you have ATO (owned by Dave Matthews) headlined by My Morning Jacket, Patty Griffin, Gov't Mule, David Gray and the recently added Radiohead. Lost Highway is fueled by a much more country sound with Ryan Adams (not for long), the later Johnny Cash stuff, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Elvis Costello, Tift Merritt, O'Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, the Night Train to Nashville compliations, and about 20 other artists. You can decide for yourself.

Song Recommendation - Southside of Heaven by Ryan Bingham

These Aggressions Cannot Stand

Recently, I was the victim of racism. Ok, maybe not racism. But definitely discrimination. The worst kind. Someone discriminated against me in a way that hurt deep down to my core. They assumed that I wouldn't try to smuggle drugs into a Modest Mouse concert. See, Sara and I had to wait in an extrodinary line to go through security to get into the The Murat. They were basically giving everyone the third degree. They made people take off their shoes. They searched peoples hats. They made people take their cigarettes to out of the package so they could search both of the cigarettes and the package. Then it was my turn. They took one look at me and my J Crew sweater and just told me to go right on through. I even had everything ready to take out of my pockets. Don't they know. I'm from the suburbs. I could have had a meth pipe or some coke in my pocket. I mean I didn't. But I COULD have. Don't they know what the drug lords look like. They don't look like dope slingers. They look like CEOs.

As you know, this past summer I worked at Humana (I know you know because as a loyal reader, I know you probably know everything about me). Anyway. The entire time I was there, consumerism was preached upon me. Consumerism is the education of the consumer so can make educated choices when it comes to healthcare. The belief is that the educated consumer will cost less to the healthcare provider, thus lowering costs (which raises net income for the same level of revenue, inflating the stock price, making the everyone happy). So, as an employee of Humana, I should know that being an educated consumer is important. I should ask questions. Well, a recent trip to the doctor showed that this was infact not the case. Not only did I chose the an expensive specialist(the premium for having the best), but whenever the doctor said he was going to give me a cortizone shot, I was all about it. An informed consumer would have asked how much that shot cost. An informed consumer would have asked what alternatives were available. An informed consumer would NOT have just said, "Ok." So what does this prove. It proves that converting people to be informed consumers is much more difficult than just tell them they SHOULD be informed. That they SHOULD ask questions. It isn't even enough to tell them the benefits of being informed. Imagine if the doctor told you that you should have a shot. You're probably going to get the shot. That's the state of healthcare today. Maybe the fundamental change in the industry needs to be more transparency between doctor and patient. Maybe that is where insurance companies should be making their efforts. I don't know. I don't have the answers. I'm just an uninformed intern.

Song Recommendation - Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn, and John

Nickel and Dimed

What's the deal with tipping? I've never had a job where I was supposed to tip, so admittedly this is a one-sided discussion. In fact, since I write and my constituents read I don't think it's even a discussion. So.....my thoughts. I feel lousy as a tipper to give someone a couple of bucks, or to throw my change into a tip jar. I feel like the tippee and I both know that I have an obligation to tip, and as such, I am giving them the least amount of money I can to get out of the situation with my integrity intact. So, this starts what we can call a death spiral of integrity. The tippee knows I have to give them $1 to save face. I just want to save face, so I give them that $1. But the tippee knows that they weren't being tipped because of their service but out of obligation. So now, the tippee is looking to receive $2 to know that they have provided good service. I know that $1 is no longer sufficient and now must pay $2 to save face. And so, we are left in a situation where the tippee and I are never satisfied. They will think that my $2 is a lousy tip, and I will feel like I just nickel and dimed this poor high school kid. People will always may the minimum tip they need to to save face. Even a big winner at a casino. They just want to be a bigshot. It has nothing to do with service.

Speaking of Nickels. This past Thursday, Sara and I made the trek down to Nashville for Nickel Creek’s last concert of their Farewell (For Now) Tour. I know, I know. You’re probably wondering, “What the heck does Farewell (For Now) Tour mean?” Well, I’ll tell you what I know. The lead musician in Nickel Creek is a mandolin player named Chris Thile. Chris Thile is also known as one of the top two mandolin players in the world. As such, he released his first CD at the age of 8. About the same time, his mandolin teacher had another student at the age of 12 by the name of Sean Watkins. Sean Watkins has a sister four years his younger named Sara. So, the two families met and a band with 3 kids and one dad playing bass was formed. Fast forward through two limited-releases and numerous music festivals to the year 2000 (right Conan, in the year TWO THOUUUUUsand). Their self-title major label debut produced by one Alison Krauss was nominated for two Grammy’s and they receive first commercial success.

Fast forward through two more releases (This Side and Why Should The Fire Die?) and their decision to take a break. Fact of the matter is that they have been a band for the past 18 years and they decided they couldn’t make a better CD than Why Should The Fire Die? so it was time to stop playing together. So they said 2007 was their last year and scheduled their Farewell (For Now) Tour with the last shows a two night stand at the Ryman in Nashville. The Ryman Auditorium is THE venue in THE country/bluegrass town, and I’ve long been wanting to see a show there. But I’ve been waiting. Waiting for the perfect storm of band and timing and Ryman. When I found out Nickel Creek was playing what could be their last shows there, I knew I had to be there. Thursday night. No problem. Six hours from school. No problem. Sara having class the next morning. No problem. I had to be there. So I went, and it was awesome. The Ryman has the best acoustics of all the venues I’ve been to and now tops my list of favorite places to see a show. Like I said, Nashville is a bluegrass town and a Nickel Creek show is bound to special guests. So, Nickel Creek brought friends (Bela Fleck, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Tim O’Brien, and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) onstage throughout the show and for their encore (which they did the right way and only played covers). I know Sara disappointed because she wanted Alison Krauss, but I thought the show was incredible. I’ve always thought that Watkins siblings were chumps and that Thile could have put anybody beside him and the band would have been the same, but after the show I’m much more impressed with Sean’s abilities on the guitar, and release that only those three could have been Nickel Creek. They did their last song (Why Should The Fire Die?) in style with no mikes or amplifiers. A great way for a great band to go out.

Andrew had free tickets to the show in Louisville and decided not to go. Now that's dumb.

Song Recommendation - The Lighthouse's Tale by Nickel Creek