DirecTV Flung crap and missed

It took those pooh flinging monkeys at DirecTV two weeks, four phone calls, two hours + of phone time, and five fucking seconds once they actually got here to fix our fucking problem. 

Mrs. Stroock was pleased as it turned out her Eagles were on the local telly. We caught a quarter but otherwise watched no sports ball yesterday. Sorry, we don't need lectures on racism from a league like that. And we like the college game better. Mrs. Stroock's Penn State is ranked #6, well done Nittany Lions. We find ourselves anticipating the start of hockey season.

This pic of Joe's Bridge migrants looks like a scene out of The Great Nuclear War of 1975. We read another chapter yesterday and are once again pleased. We really don't feel like talking politics but maaaan. One is tempted to think everything going wrong is part of some coherent plan. No one is this incompetent, right? Who looks at this border fiasco and thinks, 'Stay the course'? Democrats, that's who. They're impervious to empirical evidence. 'Fireproof,' Tucker Carlson once called Gavin Newsom. 

It's election day in Canada. As goes Newsom so goes Justin, we suspect. The polls show a minority government for Justin, but who knows? The conservatives are so low-T, were they to win, we suspect they'd celebrate by making themselves some white wine spritzers and binging Providence. Canadian cons owe these people zero loyalty. This blog endorses Maxime Bernier. 

What Will's Watching, more Voyager: the more we see of her, the more we like Kate Mulgrew as Captain Katherine Janeway. Just a great name, by the way. She's a scientist who does a lot of her own work, unlike Picard who would just let the crew come up with the data. She'll fight if she has to and will talk smack as well. We like that too. Without looking we're sure there are plenty of articles bashing Janeway's hair. Her nondescript non hair style was smart. The producers didn't want Janeway's new seasonal haircut making Vogue or anything like that. It's almost like Janeway was a feminist without being a feminist. 

Lets get Guns N Roses Week off to a GnR start. Here they are performing November Rain at the 1992 VMAs. We remember watching it. Because a 20 piece orchestra, brass section, and back up singers weren't enough, they got Elton John to play with them. The result is epic..:

...epic in a way only GnR could be epic. The actual video cost something like $4 million to shoot. Axl needed a Hollywood set piece, oil tanker, coast guard and the world's most famous fashion model to realize his vision. 'No, I don't think it's excessive, Axl. Why do you ask?' If the outro doesn't make reader(s) think Thor, Zeus, Shiva and the gods of Heavy Metal have come together to battle for control of the universe then this blog has failed. 'You're not the only one...you're not the only one...'

Metal Monday, Psycho Lead Singer Edition

Ahhh Guns and Roses. Or if you prefer, Axl Rose you son-of-a-bitch!


The band was strong and talented enough not only to give metal a much needed shot in the arm in 1988, but to survive the Grunge Apocalypse of '92. Axl is one of the best vocalists in rock and roll, Slash an innovative and interesting guitar player, Izzy Stradlin a talented writer. Appetite For Destruction is a sharp edged classic while Use Your Illusion I and II are masterpieces. They are the soundtrack to my senior year in high school. Use Your Illusion I and II are easily the equal of say Led Zeppelin IV.

In fact, GnR should have been the Led Zeppelin of the 90's. Unfortunately Axl couldn't let that happen because he's a controlling nutcase, primadonna. I've hated the man for 20 years.

We all know the standards, November Rain, Estranged, You Could be Mine and many others. I  love the fact that I thought these songs were awesome before they became hits.

With that in mind we'd like to present a list of underrated GNR songs:

The Garden: Bluesy and menacing with a strong and heavy baseline. You can just tell that something evil is about to happen. Alice Cooper sings on it as well.

Locomotive: Great opening drum and bass line. Slash's guitar sounds like a train. The intro is great and the rhythm strong throughout. Slash's riffs in the bridge a great.

You Ain't the First: Izzy Stradlin's acoustic slap at lover. If you've ever been jilted, and you have, this song is for you.

Get in the Ring: The band slams the media. Why not? It's a fun song and one of those anyone can use in their own life.

Breakdown: Overwrought and epic, seemingly filled with wisdom, at least for an 18 year. Also a lot of fun. With piano, banjo and several sounds thrown in Breakdown is a musical explosion. The intro is fantastic. Throughout the song surprises.  We don't know another song quite like it.