Yearly Archives: 2001

2001 Music Awards

Now that the year is winding down, a lot of music publications are releasing their lists of best albums of the year. I thought it would be fun to mention a few favorite CDs that I listened to this year. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong by choosing any of these, so start listening and feed your soul.

Ryan Adams – Gold
Excellent rock & roll, and alternative country from the former front man of Whiskeytown.

Bjork – Vespertine
Put this CD on and revel in the icy, snow covered soundscapes that Bjork can paint.

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Winter solstice

Happy winter solstice! Well, at least for those of you living in the northern hemisphere. On this half of the planet, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and we have the least amount of daylight for the year. Native peoples living in the North America believed it was a time for renewal, a time to celebrate. Once the longest night of the year has past, the Coldmaker relinquishes it’s influence on the sky, the sun begins to travel north again and we will have another warm summer to look forward to. So in the spirit of the solstice, may your darkness get a little lighter everyday and may you enjoy warm, brighter things in the coming year.

Peace on Earth

It’s been three months since the terrorist attack, and the ruins at ground zero are still smoking and smoldering. I certainly don’t want to appear to be an ignorant American, but it just boggles my mind that people can have so much hatred as to cause that kind of devastation. To quote U2 (from their latest album):

Peace on Earth, we need it now. I’m sick of all of this hanging around.
Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain, sick of hearing again and again,
That there’s gonna be peace on Earth.

Hear it every Christmas time, but hope and history won’t rhyme.
So what’s it worth, this peace on Earth? Peace on Earth…

RIP George Harrison

Sad news in the music world today. George Harrison passed away. I think the first record I ever bought was the 45 of “My Sweet Lord” way back when I was in fourth or fifth grade. I’m truly sorry I never got a chance to see him perform live. If I would have to pick a favorite George Harrison song, it would be “Here Comes The Sun” from the Beatles’ Abbey Road. As far as albums go, you can’t go wrong with his masterpiece, All Things Must Pass. I plan on listening to that this weekend. Rest in peace, George. We’ll miss you.

Mike and Kirstin’s Wedding

Yesterday my nephew got married. It was great to visit with my family (some of which I haven’t seen for quite a while). We also had a lot of fun with the disposable cameras at the reception. Let’s just say our table decided to take some photos of the wedding guests from a different perspective. [Insert mischievous grin here] As soon as I get my own pictures developed, I’ll be sure and post a few of the better ones here on my site. Congratulations Mike and Kirstin!

E-mail down

I’ve been using e-mail on a regular basis since about 1993. I realized today what an essential part of my life it is. Because of a credit card mix-up, the regular payment to my hosting company for this domain got canceled. Admittedly, the mix-up was my fault (I neglected to update them on the new expiration date of my card). Anyway… because of that, my domain was essentially shut off all day today. It was then I found out how frustrating it is to not have access to my e-mail. It’s amazing how we can take technology for granted.

As you can see, my domain is back in business. However, I know e-mails I should have received have been lost in the cyberspace abyss. If any of you reading this sent me an e-mail today, you might want to send it again to make sure I got it.

O Brother

This weekend I saw the movie O Brother, Where Are Thou? for the first time. It’s a comedy set in the depression era south. The story is based on Homer’s Odyssey (yes, there is even a cyclops and sirens). It was a real hoot. George Clooney did a great job as Ulysses Everett McGill (the lead character). My favorite thing about the film is the soundtrack, filled with old-time country gems. Rent this one if you haven’t seen it yet. Then go get the CD.

Northern Lights 2

It must be Aurora season. Last night for the second time in nine days, I saw the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, this time I was closer to the Milwaukee metro area, so the display was subdued quite a bit by city lights, but there were definite streaks of red and green visible from my house. In case you missed it, the SpaceWeather.com site has some spectacular pictures of last night’s display in their Aurora Gallery.