Oingo Boingo "Flesh 'N Blood" (GHOSTBUSTERS II version)

I've been obsessive about Oingo Boingo since I walked into a music store in the mall one day at the age of 5 and saw the cover-art for SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: THE BEST OF OINGO BOINGO. My mom picked it up while out doing errands, for my father, and I had never forgotten it, despite the CD being out of the house along w/ my father for almost 5 years before I rang up my father long distance and asked him if I could have it...He said yes and mailed it to me.  I didn't have a CD player at the time (this was 1995), and a friend of my mom's offered to transfer it to cassette (which I accepted).  I shortsightedly parted ways with it and re-bought it a few times over the years during a 10 year long streak of bad handling of money...(I'm still not great at it, but after almost 15 years I'd hope one would not expect less...)
Anyway.  The GB2 OST is not nearly as good as the GB OST (Yes, I know it's a cliche).  That's not to say I adore the GB OST...there are some good songs on it, but half the album at least is filler.  Even the track "Magic" by Mick Smiley is two songs featuring the word "Magic" and only one of them was heard in the movie, which may mean something if you want to remember the movie rather than just watching it again, but the song itself really is nothing special.  However, I do friggin' love the original Arista Records CD cover-art with the CD-logo on the bottom corner and the layout of the back cover-art...the shade of red on the front cover, heck even the shade of black is frikkin' perfect! The music on this CD is not all heard in the movie.  There's not a whole lot of songs in the movie and the soundtrack includes everything except the theme song for the 1984 original.  This CD would have been marketed as "Music From And Inspired by GHOSTBUSTERS II" had it been released in the mid-late '90's...instead it just says "GHOSTBUSTERS II SOUNDTRACK ALBUM" on the disc itself and the insert for the jewel case spine. 
Believe it or not, this is one of the songs that was IN the movie, although it was a different version, I think...what you hear in the movie is all instrumental and it's missing the chorus and some bits of the verses...I don't know if it was a remix or just a different recording altogether...
And, for me anyway, the cool thing, having been a fan of the movie this song is part of the soundtrack of/for since roughly the same time SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: THE BEST OF OINGO BOINGO was released, being a young child who was already a fan of GHOSTBUSTERS, is the knowledge that these two megathings of "me" are forever officially linked.

Touring.....The Story So Far(!/?)

I'm curious as to how bands who are on the road constantly have enough life experience with which to write songs around.  The term "song" seems up for debate, especially when you're around people who ignore the dictionary, but even when lyrics are included, the notion of a SONG can get kind of polluted often, IMO.  A lot of bands have minimal to no melody in their music, and sometimes a little trace of melody and a barely discernable backbeat and it's referred to as "catchy" and "poppy" in certain circles.  Build To Spill opens one of their albums with such a song.  Seattle-grunge founders Mudhoney made a similar album starter back in 1989, the same year Nirvana's BLEACH came out.  People who have no appreciation for pop music overlooked Nirvana's debut in favor of the druggy space dazed sounds of Mudhoney and their ilk, but music industry executives know a good thing when they see it and Nirvana was able and willing to take the world by storm with their direct and dynamic songwriting. All they needed was the help of MTV and FM radio.  Most radio stations for whatever reason back then anyway didn't bother playing music that wasn't on a major label...although that started to change it seemed around 1994...I read something somewhere indicating that the record label that released Live's THRWOING COPPER (Radioactive Records) was bought out by Universal Music, but most presses of that album mention no conglomerate in the copyright info.  And The Offspring's SMASH was released on an indie as well, and is still their most highly regarded album. That phase in the history of FM radio didn't last long tho and as far as I know those were the only two exceptions to the "major label only" rule that radio stations seemed to live by...
I'm anticipating a release by this band called The Story So Far, whose debut was so-so...their follow up is freakin' KLASSIK! and their 3rd album is pretty good too.  I'm a little nervous about their 4th album, but I believe they got what it takes to pull it off without pissing off a good chunk of their fanbase.  Their Facebook page seems to indicate they are STILL ON TOUR!  Their 3rd album came out in 2015, back in February or March, I think...why aren't they in the studio laying down music?  ARe they going to go on like Aerosmith and just live their life like it's a freaking party and then hire someone else to write their music?  Surely their pockets aren't deep enough to afford all that....
Anyway........didn't read The Bible yesterday...I'm feeling tired now, but I don't WANT to go to sleep...I've been feeling that way for awhile now...damnit, I need to go to the bathroom now, just went a little while ago, it seems like anyway...liquid comes in, it must go out...sad state of affairs, but so it is........

Just because it's called THE ROAD...

Mike & The Mechanics, which I have a natural knowledge of since the guitarist for Genesis from 1978-1997 (bassist for Genesis from 1966-1977) is the band leader/project coordinator, released an album a few+ years ago titled THE ROAD.  I had assumed it was a live album.  I gave out an irritated yawn, and said "I guess this is Aerosmith 2005-2011 all over again...". (Has it already been 4 years since MUSIC FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION was released(officially)?  It just seems like yesterday.  That's how disappointed I am in that album.)
I just realized after a casual eyeing of Genesis News Com, that the album titled THE ROAD is NOT a live album!  I finally listened to it a couple days ago.  It's got a negative-lukewarm average customer rating on Amazon.com for very good reason.  It's not a bad album, but it's far from noteworthy.  I'm not a fan of Mike & The Mechanics anyway, although they did put out some really good songs, primarily "The Living Years", "Silent Running" and "All I Need Is A Miracle".  There's probably a few others that rival or equal (maybe surpass) those, but I haven't come across them, at least not so as I remember.  I bought BEGGAR ON A BEACH OF GOLD during my ravenous e-bay days...I didn't like it enough to finish listening to it.  Albums are not something to cherry pick from, IMO.  If the 'skip' button is required, it shouldn't be sold as an album.  An EP or a 1-2 track standalone release is fine.  I don't know why the music industry, especially in the mid-late '90's when so many one hit wonders were abound, made it a hard and fast rule that the music consumer had to pay $10-$15 for ***ONE SONG*** or stick with the radio.  Thank GOD! for the internet, which has brought the prices of music down and made obtaining music you ***WANT*** to hear not as much of a chore.  I don't condone the original incarnation of Napster (which is now what Rhapsody calls themselves, Rhapsody being - for those in the dark there - a non-ad-supported version of Spotify...it requiring a monthly fee of $10+ a month was, from what I can tell, the reason it never gained the ubiquity of Spotify), but the result of their anarchistic behavior is something to relish in, at least in my case, being somewhat "poor" -- I put quotation marks on that b/c $875 a month apprx w/ food stamps factored in is not a terrible income, although it can feel like it in this age of consumerism and I realize people with more money have more value to the overall economy...people in my income bracket are basically bottomfeeders...I haven't done the math and I don't know what most minimum wage employees are taxed, but back when I was 14 or so, my mom did a math sketch and figured I'd be taking home roughly $850 a month, if I recall correctly...minimum wage went up, I think, at least in Missouri, since then...I don't know if ever went up nationwide since 1998, but either way, working minimum wage, in my cursory guestimate, cannot eqate more than $1000 a month, unless maybe you have a spouse and 2 or 3 kids...which lowers your taxes, understandably so, since traditionally someone in a marriage, usually the woman, can stay at home with the kids while the other person takes home the butter and has an extra $100/-+ takehome pay divided by 12 months...which I guess is practically nothing...I can't imagine being single and/or childless would make a person required to pay more than $100 annually in taxes unless their NOT making minimum wage...of course, people who get $0.25/hr beyond minimum wage deny they are working minimum wage...which is a joke, IMO...working for peanuts is still working for peanuts even if the peanuts in question have a 1/20" larger length...
Anyway....
Went to the doctor today.  I did not get any kind of diagnosis or even a guess of one.  I was told to take Mucinex, but my mom was too tired to buy any...or something...I don't have any money left to my name...my mom handles the household expenses because my sister lives a tad too far away to do it for her/us (we're both a little too fast and loose with our money) and for some b.s. reason I don't understand I'm less "responsible" than my mom...a notion that cannot be tested, as I've never been given any responsibility.  I opted out of driving b/c I realize I'm too easily distracted to drive.  Financially I did make some mistakes when I was younger, but what young person doesn't?  My sister bought a house when she was 24 and took a $15,000 hit on it, but that's OK while my credit card debt is NOT Ok... and I admit, I do have more credit card debt than I would like to have...and I have a whole host of debts that I gave up on paying a looong time ago after I wrongly aligned the timing of my purchases and my payments, which snowballed  into minimum payments of $100/mo rather than $30 a month, which kept adding up despite my attempts to get onto some kind of repayment plans...the only credit card company that *eventually* understood what I was trying to get across and connected me to the appropriate department was CHASE.  Capital One was of no help whatsoever, even though in their lawsuit -- they were the only ones who took me to court -- they cited as evidence against me some lie they included in my monthly statement indicating they can work with me if I'm having trouble making the minimum payment...all that debt equates somewhere in the $5K range apprx, which when compared with my income is out of this world...you know what's even more out of this world?  I didn't order sushi or rent a limo or hire a bodyguard and I ***STILL*** managed to spend all of that.  And I don't know WHAT I spent it on.  All I remember is taking my mom out to eat somewhere for mother's day and buying a DVD recorder, both of those things equated less than $200...Eek!

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...b/c I might get kicked off Amazon if I just copy/paste the texts...

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It's nice to see humanity in smart-mode.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: REDISCOVERING WHAT MADE THIS NATION GREAT is a title brimming with false hope.  This nation is not the be all end all of God's creation.  The be all end all of God's creation are His citizens.  "Heaven and earth will pass away", which means we'll still have to relocate when we (Christians) get into Heaven.  But God values us as individuals, not residents of Tea Time or Coffee Date or Gingerbread Marketsquare...location means nothing and the understanding of God's word means very little, although it is fun to try to understand it and it is personally rewarding for the time between now and when I see the Father and can dwell with Him intimately and experience His splendor in ways I cannot even imagine.

a new day has come...(that day is today)

Spent most of the service leaking like a faucet in dire need of repair.  I don't know why.  I guess I sorta do, but it's difficult to put into words...idk...I feel much better.  I prayed a not so reverent prayer to God around 6:30AM and felt more at peace reading His word, even though I still didn't understand much if any of it, at least as far as the Old Testament goes.  I am kind of curious as to the New Testament when Jesus said that heaven and earth will pass away but my words will endure forever.  I mean, words don't endure.  Words have contexts, and the context of Jesus' words were in the context of a temporarily earth-bound human's life.  Confusing.  It's that kind of thinking that gets me into trouble.  And it's why I'm not comfortable explaining why I feel better.  Maybe later.  idk.  But anyway...
Lend-A-Hand outreach/ministry is starting up soon again, I guess.  I think winter in Atlanta is due to end by early-mid next month and with all this climate discombobulation, it may even come sooner.  We have had a lot of spring-like days, but they've been spotted in scatters.  Weather's like a yo-yo.  It's toying with us!

I'll probably more consistently feel better about my earthly status as a Christian when I'm able to help out with that once every month for roughly half the year.  We wrapped it up in Sept of last year, after not doing it in August because of scheduling conflicts.  I really don't know why we didn't do it the following week or the week after that in August...unless I'm mis-stating that...it might have been scheduled for July and ended in August...I don't know for sure which month we concluded for the year on.

g'buy

"you ungrateful brat"

I feel the greatest obstacle in the road to Heaven is apathy.  I don't know what to do about it.  I hear about all Jesus did and he still does for a lot of people, and I feel a little awe, but that's where it ends.  I do not feel grateful.  I do not feel indebted.  I need to more wisely spend my time when the house is empty sans myself & felines and k9s, which is at least 1/3 of the week, usually...I keep piddling my minutes and hours away, before the whole day is wasted.  I feel like I"m hiding something and I don't know why, when I confess with my mouth, but my voice is barely audible...which makes me wonder if I really am repenting and if not, then how much longer will God put up with me.  Jesus stated that anyone who blasphemes The Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  I don't know what kind of blasphemy he's talking about.  Blasphemy is defined, in part, as under-valuing.  I know I'm not "giving my all", (incorrect phrasing, since mankind doesn't do squat and God does everything...(sarcasm...)).  I'm not "letting" The Holy Spirit do its work by living life like this.  I'm holding on to a lot of habits and hobbies that I am not worthy of possessing, much less spending my entire days on.
I guess I can wipe the sweat off my forehead based on what people have stated; a reformed Baptist noted a difference between the Gospels and the various books written by the Apostle Paul, stating something to the effect that Jesus paid for our sins, but The Holy Spirit is here to free us of our sin.  I guess when people use the word "hope", they're not talking about Heaven, but the hope of freedom of the bondage of sin?  I've never heard of hope being something that is a given.  someone gives you a bowl of ice cream, and you don't say "I hope for ice cream"; you say THANKS for the ice cream...and then hope the experience is repeated.  Where in any literature or speech is a gift referred to as a hope?  I who believes that science does not have all the answers any more so than the writings of The Bible do hope for various people in my life to accept the gift of salvation, but that's like hoping the end of the world doesn't ever happen, that we just go on in this pit of existence forever and ever.  My hope for other people's salvation is like hoping I win the lottery.  Yeah, it's a nice thought, and I don't rule it out as a happening...but that's not my decision.  God is not required or desiring to force people to accept their salvation anymore so than I am able to make Jerry Bruckheimer read my 20 page screenplay and enjoy it enough to pay me $35,000 (or more...) for the rights to develop it a full length screenplay turned motion picture.
 At least that's my thinking.  Maybe the roots of the word "hope" have tangled themselves over the centuries.  idk.  I read like 4 or 5 chapters of Exodus detailing all these inanimate objects and how they should be cut and stitched etc.  To me it just read like Snoopy speak, in the same tone of voice 95% of the time.  There were a few verses that deviated from the monotonous tone of it, but they spoke nothing to me personally.  The only thing I understood was the pre-amble about the contributions given by the Israelite community for the work detailed in those chapters.  And the only reason I got anything out of that was because of a footnote added by Charles Stanley, the "general" editor, stating something of the effect that God desires willful giving.  And it's been raising questions in my friggin' head.  I felt it's time to update my blog.  I realize this is a pathetic entry, especially for those who have kept up with my blog for a long while, but this is all I got for now.  I might have some more to talk about, but nothing terribly noteworthy.  I had 3K calories today and that's been my average daily intake for the past week or more now.  I need to exercise more.  And eat less...ugh...I disgust myself.