Fixing Iraq

OK, so I've been thinking and I've decided that if I were elected president, here's what I would do to fix Iraq and begin damage control on our severely obliterated foreign policy and image.

Oh yeah, but they way, it is spelled foriegn policy, not foreign police.

So first off, we apologize to the world; "Sorry that we've been money-grubbing dicks. We apologize for all of the nasty shady and destructive crap that we've done." Next, we need to pony up to Iraq, "Sorry about that, we went there for oil and didn't know what we were doing and now we realy don't know what we are doing. It's a mess and we don't know how to fix it."


We then announce that we are beginning to pull out all of our troops in Iraq and they will all be gone within six months. Turn to the UN and say, "OK, sorry we were Dicks and just do what we want. How do we fix Iraq? We need your help and this needs to get done in six months.

All right, cool, now let's stop being one of the most in-debt countries in the world and get our deficit gone. Yep, there's theories about how that could harm us. Go and eat it. When has in-debtedness been good?

Sweet, now let's get social security and health care under control. Before I got married, my wife worked for Target and their regular family practice visit copay was $45. That's balls-out wrong.

Here's another interesting point I found out. An extremely conservative estimate of the cost of the War in Iraq is 1.5 trillion as of last month. That number doesn't include any of the hidden factors that really are currently being incurred and will continue to incurr which would actually balloon that figure.

If we had spent that 1.5 trillion on renewable energy research, we could just wave at the oil companies lots of middle east politics and say, "It's not been fun, but we've kicked our addiction." While 1.5 trillion would fix our problem, it would really have gotten us at the very least pretty damn close.

So, there's that to consider anyway.

-TK

More Politics

I don't consider myself a democrat. I would generally consider myself a liberal, though I do have some conservative views as well. I would also like to point out that the republicans threw up a good candidate (they won't, but it is possible that they could) that I would consider voting for him/her. I'm partial to democrats right now because they appear to be less insane. I will vote for the candidate who appears to be least insane, regardless of party lines.

-TK

My Political Rantings

So, here's an interesting fact, folks. Did you know that credit card company MBNA was the number one contributer to Bush's campaign? Did you know that MBNA WROTE!!!! the new Bankruptcy legistlation? Does that sound like a conflict of interest?

Is it interesting that we are currently sitting at by far the highest amount of national debt that we've ever had? Guess what? Dick and Bush don't have to worry about figuring out how to pay back this ridiculous debt accrued because they can't be in the white house anymore (I guess technically Dick could be, but let's not even consider that).

So...they created a massive maniacal mess and get to walk right out. Oh, by the way, if you're against the war, you're with the terrorists. At one point in time, Bin Laden was an ally that we armed against the Russians in Afghanistan. Our government has basically employed an arm and abandon policy in the Middle East for decades. Hmmm...I wonder why they hate us so much?

OK, I will absolutley give you that most of the leaders in the Middle East are just as crazy as Dick and Bush. Just as amoral. Just as tyrannical. Just as terroristic.

So, anyway, they get to walk away from that incredible mess....and then guess what? All those corporations that they have been feeding--oil companies are currently posting the highest earnings in history and the government still furnishes them with incredible subsidies. What?

OK, I keep losing track of my main point because I'm writing myself into further rages.
So, Dick, Bush and the rest of their appendages get to walk away from this mess (oh, this is good, too, let me add that Dick is currently hard at work trying to set up another sweet war with Iran) and, hmmm, would you be surprised if suddenly Dick was back at Haliburton--reparing these countries that we have blasted to hell?? I wonder what other teats Dick and Bush will be suckling upon once they're done in the White House?

I apoligize for the sensational writing. I will point out, however that everything up there is factual except for the future ponderings. I would never normally pay attention to a writer that is sensational because their views are probably very skewed. I don't expect you to listen to me either, but I would like to point out that this is a rant. Very cathartic I might add, though the frustration will probably not leave me for years.

Thanks for listening. We all need to unload from time to time.

-TK

New Music

I just picked up two CD's. People in Planes and Explosions in the Sky. I just checked them out while I was browsing at Down in the Valley. I'm really diggin People in Planes. Explosions in the Sky I haven't delved into as much yet, but is very promising.

What I like about PIP is that they take some cool little tangents in theirs songs that aren't predictable, but still work. Makes it so much more interesting. I haven't bought any new music in a long time, so this was nice. Check em out. Let me know what you think.

-TK

Mawwage

So,
In case you all haven't heard yet....I is getting married. To a woman. Cool, huh? I am marrying Sara-Bridgett Moore on May 18 aboard the Anastasia Riverboat on the St. Croix River.

We are landing at the wedding site after skydiving from the Gorman cesna airplane. I am a little nervous about this since we only have taken the 6-hour course that allows you to dive without the instructor for the first time. But so far the training has gone very well and we feel that it shouldn't be too bad because of we miss the ship, we'll hit water instead of asphalt parking lot or a tree or something. We bought a couple of those extendy hooks that you see at pools so they can fish us out in case we miss.

After that, we will fly off to Hawaii where we will bungee-jump into a deep moss-filled crater. There will be two sleeping bags, food, gear and the makings for a camp fire below. We will then begin to explore the small cave-system that begins in an opening of the southwest side of the crater.

I am very excited and as you can tell, we are very extreme people and thought that we would begin our lives as man and woman the way we met: in an extreme situation.

God Bless and much love.

-TK

P.S. Some statements above may not reflect properly into reality.

Food

I hate cooking almost as much as Bush! (George). So, in an effort to remedy this painful ordeal and remarkably, to save myself money, I have just enrolled in the Nutrasytem food delivery thingy. They delivery me food--breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and I give them money.

I am very interested to see how this turns out.

-TK

Amazing Album

I picked up Muse's Black Holes and Revelations a few months ago. This album is damn amazing. It's my best pick for 2006 right now.

Although Absolution was great, it shared a common problem with their previous albums in sounding too similar overall. This time around they keep you guessing as the jump from track to track, yet somehow manage to make it sound cohessive.

To me it sounds like a weird Space/Pop concept album although they were not intending it to be concept. But...the damn thing is just brilliant. The lyrics are scathing with some serious political slants and as always, they just bowl you over with the music.

Check out this album now. Let me know what you think.

-TK

Car Troubles

Man, my car stalled out today.

That's happened to me before in a different car, but I feel sad because this is the first time my beautiful little Toyota has betrayed my trust.

I always feel like such an idiot when things like that happened. I threw on my hazards and took out the manual to see what I could do. Of course I wasn't thinking too well so I just dropped the manual and flipped open the hood.

My engine coolant was basically empty so I high-tailed it to a gas station I saw nearby and shelled out a few bucks for some anti-freeze. I filled 'er up and to my surprise...she started without a hitch.

What had previously transpired is that my car lost all acceleration while driving on a highway, then regained it after a couple of seconds. When I pulled up to the next light it started puttgering, then gave out. Although I could restart the car, I got absolutely no power. Luckily my car is very small so I was able to push it to the side of the road across the intersection into a seldom-used frontage road right-turn lane and took my expedited trip to the gas station.

Not a terrifying experience, but I wish I knew more about cars. Ah well, what can you do?

Play on!

-TK

Coheed and Cambria

I bought Coheed and Cambria's new CD today because I've always liked the lead singers voice. It kind of reminded me of the lead singer from the Mars Volta and I dig that band so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm not exactly sure what I think at this point. It's a weird blend of sort of eighties guitar influence, but I still very much dig the lead singer's voice. The lyrics aren't amazing, but at least they're not always blundering into areas of retread or excpected cliches.

I'm gonna have to keep listening...it appears to be somewhat of a concept album.

Hmmm...

-TK

Music Listening

Lately I've been listening mostly to The Velvet Teen's The Fierce Parade. It is a great album, though it does slow down a little towards the end. But the first 2/3 of that album is just amazing. Please check it out.

Also, I've been thinking of turning my Myspace acccount into music account and throwing some of my own music up there. Whatcha think? Ah well...we shall see.

-TK

2nd guitar

I just got my second guitar back from being fixed. I've got a name for my other guitar (Jessica), but not one for this one. I really should come up with a name for it, but all my attempts have been lame and full of failure. But I shall endeavor to come up with one. But the way, it is a Soapbar II by PRS. If you can come up with something, just leave me a post, I would greatly appreciate it.

-TK

Hernia Sandwich

Hey,
I just had my hernia surgery today and it was great fun. I'm in a little bit of pain but nothing too bad. I've got this little ball of pain killing that runs in a little tube through the incision point. It keeps the pain down.

The surgery went very smoothly I guess and was right around two hours. Had to go in at 6am though, so that kind of sucked. But... survived and all is well.

-TK

Jessica's Surgery

I picked up Jessica (my Peavey guitar) today from Hoffman Guitar. They said they couldn't find anything wrong with it though they adjusted the pickups and when I picked it up, it sounded a helluvalot better to me...so for 31 bucks I was fine with the tone improvement.

I also dropped off my PRS Soapbox II and am getting a setup done on that. Also, the G-string kept detuning during shows and that was getting pretty annoying so they're going to check into that.

Only one day left of work until I have 11 off in a row. Yippeekayeaah!

Uh...no Brokeback.

-TK

Surgery Coming Up

I've got a damn hernia. Yippecayay!
Surgery is a week from Monday and actually I'm very excited because I've got a week off of work because of it. Many video games will be played, but I'm also happy 'cuz I'm finally gonna set up my home studio again and throw down some tracks. Hopefully much music will be written too.

My poor little guitar Jessica" is going into the shop because something's wrong with the high-end pickup. It's very tinny and very little is being picked up by the...well...pickup. Boo hoo. So...that's about it.

Oh Yeah, I've been listening to an assload of Jeff Buckley lately. That always happens to me. I just go through a phase. Been listening a lot to The Mystery White Boy tour CD and the 2nd CD of Sweetheart. I love New Year's Prayer. Man, we were so robbed! That record that he was working on was going to be amazing. I can just feel it. Most of the tracks aren't done--they're not developed fully, but he was pushing at his sonic boundraries and moving forward at a startling pace. Makes me sad. But...hey, if I die and go to heaven, I hope he'll be there with like a hundred CD's for me to go through. Well...I can keep wishing anyway...not that I want to die any time soon, but...urgghhh...I sense the onset of babbling...must go.

-TK

Long Time No Blog

Sorry folks for not updating in a long time. I've been very busy 'n stuff. Well, I've been listening to a record by The Velvet Teen that I really like. I can tell flat out that these guys listen to Jeff Buckley, because at least on this first record of theirs, if he' s not going for an homage, the lead singer is almost going for an attempted imitation of the Jeff. However, on their second record which definitely shows more polish, but ironically not as much variety, it seems as though he's at least changed his voice or matured a bit to begin to find his own style. Either way, I really love both of these CD's and the styles of both are wildly different. I like that. I guess they're working on a third CD, so I'm keeping my hopes going for that one.

Booo, my girl's in LA right now.

I went to my cabin last weekend and it rained the whole time, though a lot of reading was succesfully logged.

No more hurricanes!

I plead insanity. I want cookies. Give me milk to paint the walls. Yum Yum.

Sorry bout that. I think he escaped.

Anyway, I've been really diggin the new Better than Ezra CD. It's very catchy. As always, I love KG's voice. My favorite track right now is Overcome. It very much spotlights his voice and the music is just gorgeous. Very soulful. This is definitely one of their more artistic tracks taht they've done. It comes very close to dislodging Particle as my favorite BTE song. Another standout track (although I love the first two tracks as well) is Southern Thing. It's got some bite to it and it's like a split between the great pop of Closer and the artsyness of Garden. Check this damn CD out. Also, the production on this CD is just gorgeous. Listen to it with headphones on. The use of Stereo space and layering really shine here.

OK, that's enough for now.

Cheers!

-TK

Oasis and BTE

I picked up the New Oasis CD and it's actually really good. It's not a total classic or anything like that, but it's just really solid.
Although it's not a huge musical stretch, it seems to me like they're using a little bit more color in the music. A heavier use of falsetto helps to accomplish this as well as much more textural layering. I don't dig track 2 very much but everything else is really damn solid.

I'm also diggin on the new Better Than Ezra CD. Check it out. Overcome is my favorite track on the CD. That's dude's voice is just friggin awesome.
Also here, no real new musical ground is tread, but it's very solid. Although my favorites are probably tied at Closer and Garden...this is a pretty close second. Very solid. The production is top notch!

-TK

New Job

I got myself a new job, yo!
I get done and I'm not exhausted as all hell!

I'm gonna get a lot of writing and practice time logged. Hell yeah, baby!

Also, I moved to a new apartment cuz our old management sucked some serious ass. The new place is much smaller but way less ghetto. Our workout room is all busted up, though.

Hmmm...well I'm starting to be able to hear much better out of my ear although it's still not as good (I don't think) as when I went into the surgery, but it could be up to another 5 months until it is actually as good as it will get. Ho hum.

Oh yeah, and I got a girlfriend. (yay)

-TK

Medical Trauma

On Monday I underwent ear surgery because I've had a chronic ear infection for about a year. I woke up with a big frickin pile of gauze around my head and what looked like a cup strapped to my left ear. I couldn't hear anything out of my left ear. (well, hardly at all). This totally sucked, folks. I encourage you never to acquire a chronic ear infection. The painkillers they gave me just made me puke so I've just been alternating between ibuprofin and tylenol. I finally took the gauze off a couple days ago and was unpleasantly surprised to find that it really didn't help my hearing much at all. However, it has very very very slowly been getting a little better. I just need to bitch I guess. The pain is subsiding. I will survive.

On the upside, then next day I had a heart checkup and I found out that my heart is still beating and won't need to be replaced anytime soon.

The next day I had a dentist appointment and while I found I do need to get my wisdom teeth removed (yay, more surgery), I didn't have any cavities. So that's cool.

I'm gonna play a show tonight. I'm a little nervous as to how it will go because I can't hear so well...but actually when I've played guitar here in my room I've been fine...so it will probably be just fine.

-TK

New Music

I've bought a ton of music lately:

Beck's Guero,
Tegan and Sara's So Jealous,
Stereophonics,
Bright Eye's Digital Ash Digital Urn.

I was a little dissapointed with the Stereophonics cd. That song Dakota that's on the radio is frickin awesome, but the rest of the CD (with a couple of exceptions) is less than what I was hoping for.

The new Beck CD is outstanding. Very deserty.

The one I'm really surprised about, though is the Tegan and Sara CD--man that's frickin great. Go and pick this up. It's been stuck in my car CD player for days. The tunes seem pretty simple, but somehow a kind of complexity seems to emerge from them. Most of the songs are pretty short, but there are some really killer melodies and...well...just some great music.

-TK

News

So today I found out that we are definitely playing our first show in the Twin Cities. I absolutely love that. There really is nothing else in this world that I love more than performing.

So...anway, now that weather is getting better out...I don't mind my job so much...I think I just have a really strong aversion to the cold. I don't know if I could survive another winter, though. Our music thing just better take off.

The music that I'm listening to most right now is:
THE MUSIC--Welcome to the North
THE VELVET TEENS--Elysium

I'm gonna try and do a better job of posting here. I realise there's not much here, but hey...if I can update from the road on tour...how awesome would that be?
-TK