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Queen

ESPN has had a banner running for the last few weeks promoting the halftime shows of the BCS College Bowls for their musical acts. One of them has been Queen + Paul Rodgers.

I am huge Queen fan, and really got into them again in 90/91 when they were re-releasing their albums on CD. I had almost completed my collection when Freddie Mercury died in 1991. I’ve had mixed feelings on this whole tour with Paul Rodgers not understanding why Queen would be touring again without their frontman, the legendary Freddie Mercury.

Who was this Paul Rodgers guy? Why was he touring with Queen, and why would Brian May and Co. resurrect Queen with a new lead singer?

Well, it turns out Paul Rodgers was the founder and lead singer for Free, Bad Company, and the Firm. He has an impressive resume. Now knowing his background, I can respect Queen’s decision to tour with him.

Browsing around Queen’s website, I came across their store where they offer their Official Bootlegs. While the collection is still growing, the price is amazing for what you get. For about $9 after translating the currency, you can buy live bootleg albums with up to 30 songs. Encoded in 192k WMA (192k = good, WMA = bad), the price is phenomenal for what you get. I’ll definitely be picking up a few of those in the days to come.

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Kelly’s due date has come and gone, so we will be welcoming in the New Year any day now with a baby.

Resolutions this year? A few off the top of my head:

  • Finish the basement
  • Clean my closet
  • Build a HTPC
  • Go to Guyfest
  • Get silwenae.net back up and running, including with Jinzora
  • Make a Podcast There’s a ton more, especially basement related, but I’ll just stop there.
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Public Relations is a machine

I try not to talk about work on the blog for a number of reasons, one being that I work in Marketing for a Fortune 100 company. There are times when my personal beliefs might clash with my corporate responsibilities.

However, with that said, here is a fascinating story about the power of public relations firms.

As someone who has used PR as a tactic, the article is pretty damn close to the truth. This paragraphy in particular struck me, and I thought the author’s conclusions about PR and the blogosphere are right on. I’ll leave you with the quote:

I didn’t realize, till there was an alternative, just how artificial most of the writing in the mainstream media was. I’m not saying I used to believe what I read in Time and Newsweek. Since high school, at least, I’ve thought of magazines like that more as guides to what ordinary people were being told to think than as sources of information. But I didn’t realize till the last few years that writing for publication didn’t have to mean writing that way. I didn’t realize you could write as candidly and informally as you would if you were writing to a friend.

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Basement Progress

Basement progress is slow, but I’ve enjoyed the first two days of my vacation.

There is so much drywall dust it’s amazing – I’ve vacuumed, and swept no less than 4 times, and still there is a coat of dust on the floor.

We’ve got the paint, did some shopping today and picked out the tile, carpet, and maybe some cabinets. Got the plastic and some painters tape, and tomorrow the real fun starts.

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On Vacation

Away from work for the next 10 days or so.

Time to make some progress on the basement!

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Will Resume Soon

Work’s been kicking my ass, and I’m traveling this week – blogging will resume soon.

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How-To Shave Your Head

Courtesy of Headshaver.org.

2 and a half years ago I debuted my new haircut, when I just had the stylist use the clippers on one all the way around. I’ve stuck with that since then, though I’ve gone no guard for the last few haircuts.

That haircut debuted right before a LAN party in Chicago 2 years ago sponsored by BFG. Their third annual one is next weekend, and in honor of that, I took the dive I’ve been talking about for the last year, and actually shaved my head.

We shall see what the reactions are this time.