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TOM SKARRATT if you read this, all my attempts to e-mail you at your work account get bounced, please let me know of another way to e-mail you!!!

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Worth Noting:

Pitchfork offers a tribute to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Brian "Head" Welch leaves Korn, citing a religious awakening

Our local paper talks with Neko Case

Will Apple buy Tivo? If so, why? Isn't Tivo like dead?

The CD has one foot in the grave, but vinyl is skill what the cool kids buy

DVD Talk has an excellent podcast about new and upcoming DVD releases

Did I mention that I have a podcast now?

Monday February 21, 2005

Hunter Stockton Thompson
1937-2005
Influential author, self proclaimed "Champion of Fun", and fellow Honorable Colonel of the Dark and Bloody ground, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his own life last night at his home in Woody Creek, CO. This is very sad and disturbing news for me. All those close to me know that I have been heavily influenced by the work and life of Dr. Thompson. From the first time I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at the age of 15, I have been a loyal fan, and a somewhat obsessed collector of all things Thompson. I guess I've felt a connection to him since, like me, he was born in Kentucky and longed for the acceptance and admiration of his peers. His unique writing style, which was labeled, "Gonzo Journalism", was an excellent example of how exaggerated and over-the-top accounts of the story could capture the truth much more clearly than reporting the facts. Reading his work was always an adventure-- a journey in which I was more than happy to buy the ticket and take the ride. There won't ever be another character like Hunter S. Thompson. Today's politically correct society wouldn't allow it. But that's OK. He said enough for all generations past and future. God bless you Dr. Thompson, I hope you're in a better place. Yes bubba, YOU STOMPED ON THE TERRA!

HST Links:
NPR remembers Hunter S. Thompson (audio)
Aspen Times' article on the death of HST
Excellent HST resource website
Friends of Thompson remember him (video)
HST's last published article on ESPN
HST lecture at UC Auditorium in Boulder, CO 11/01/1977 (Bit Torrent)

Wednesday February 16, 2005

Over the last few weeks, I've been listening to many different podcasts! I've been inspired and I'm in the process of producing and developing my own podcast program. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll have my first show finished and posted for download. Until then, here are some excellent podcasting resources:

Daily Source Code - From former MTV VJ Adam Curry
ipodder.org
Podcast.net
Podcast Alley
Podcasting News

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Worth Noting:

Former Superdrag frontman, John Davis, talks about his new solo album and his faith. (from Thunderstruck)

Jeffery Overstreet reviews the new Over the Rhine album.

Off City Limits is a new MP3 Blog that looks promising. (from Largehearted boy)

Robert Pollard is selling more stuff on ebay.

Stream the new Kings of Leon LP Aha Shake Heartbreak.

DVD Talk reviews the new Donnie Darko: Director's Cut

Say goodbye to DVD copying?!?

Sunday February 13, 2005
Lily Kate's Birthday Edition!!!

A year ago today, Sally and I were blessed with the birth of our daughter, Lily Kate Foster. Yesterday we celebrated this special occasion by having around twenty of Lily's friends and family over for a Luau! Lily enjoyed some delicious cake and she loved opening her presents! This past year has gone by so fast and it's hard to believe that she is already a year old. Sally and I couldn't be more proud of our little girl and we look forward to many more birthdays to come. Below are some photos from the Luau for Lily!

After the party was over, Lily stood by the door, wondering where everyone went. Don't worry my little girl, the party may be over Lily, but the celebration continues!

Friday February 11, 2005

Last October, Sally and I decided that it was time to have some professional photos taken of our daughter, Lily Kate. We looked high and low for a photographer that we felt could capture those little looks and smiles that really expressed her spirit and personality. However, little did I know that I worked with such a photographer. Melanie Elder has been has been working out of her home for the past year-and-a-half and has recently built a new studio in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. If you are looking for a professional and talented photographer, I highly recommend Melanie. She does incredible work.

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Worth Noting:

Band to Band has to be the coolest website I've been to for a long time. Think of a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for bands.

Robert Pollard.net has a new look and lots of exciting news!

My friend's Jason's band is opening for Wilco tonight! Good Luck JB!

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Worth Noting:

Coke Machine Glow has written a review on the yet to be released Robert Pollard double album, From a Compound Eye.

This is probably the coolest XBox mod I've ever seen. Maybe the coolest in the entire world.

USA Today has a nice article on Loretta Lynn doing her thang' with Jack White.

Slate reviews each of the commercials from this year's Super Bowl.

I always liked the Family Circus cartoon strip. However, this person obviously feels differently.

Thursday February 3, 2005

UNCLE PETER IS MOVING TO LOUISVILLE!!! Sally's brother and Lily's uncle will be moving to Louisville (60 miles away) this summer to do his pharmacy residency at Humana. This is very exciting news because now we'll get to hang out more often and do exciting things like sit on the couch and eat a banana. Seriously we are very proud of Uncle Peter and can't wait to spend more quality time together.

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March 24 is the launch date for Sony's PSP and will be selling for $249.99. Engadget has a great write-up about the launch as well as an in-depth look at the PSP.

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Plain and simple...I want this! And it's on sale!

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Worth Noting:

Robert Pollard's at it again with a ton of releases set for 2005. I got his comedy LP in the mail on Monday and I've already ordered Zoom.

I love sushi, however, I don't think I'll be ordering sushi from this place.

South by Southwest have updated their band list for this year's festival.

Drew Carey should sue over this!

Check out this guys feed back on EBay! Hilarious.

AdAge has posted the hilarious Starburst commercial that's a parody of Lionel Richie's "Hello" video.

Pitchfork has the 411 on the upcoming Spoon album.

Thursday January 27, 2005

If you have never seen The Dancing Outlaw, then you have missed out on one of the greatest documentaries of all time!! I probably have seen it at least thirty times and still find it absolutely hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. The documentary tells of the troubled life on Jesco White, son of the "greatest mountain tap dancer of all time". After his father was murdered, Jesco was left to carry on his father's name and become the second best mountain dancer. But "prob-rems" between Jessco and his family seam to only cause him more pain than joy. Happiness only comes to Jesco when he is dancing or singing Elvis tunes. Finally, this great film has been released on DVD. Now this DVD will never crack the top 100 in sales, but it should be number one on your list! So save the money that you were going to spend on Troy and go purchase The Dancing Outlaw, the official "biogaffy" of Jesco White!

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Worth Noting:

Pitchfork discusses Robert Pollard's latest comedy album and his upcoming solo album From A Compound Eye.

Robert Pollard's limited edition comedy album is SELLS OUT in two days! Fortunately for me, I orderd mine on the first day!

A Michigan woman is found guilty of DUI after three glasses of Listerine!! (But she past the breathalyzer test!)

Download the new song "Monkey" by Low

There is a new (well it's been up for a week) TEEN GIRL SQUAD at Homestar Runner!

Tuesday January 25, 2005

My best friend Jason is the bass player for Paul K & the Weathermen and they just received the news that they will be opening for Wilco on February 11th at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati. They also will be performing at South by Southwest this year! Wow, my friend the rock star! I couldn't be more happy and proud for him!

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The answer to that question is yes and no. The Foster household has gone through some sick days this past week. It all started when my daughter got the stomach flu last Wednesday. Two days later, my wife got it. Then finally, two days after that, I was the lucky recipient of the dreaded bug. Several months ago both my wife and daughter got their annual flu shots while I followed the lead of our commander and chief and opted to skip my shot this year so that it could be used on the young and the elderly. While my wife and daughter did have the vaccine, they still got the flu. However their symptoms were far less severe than the ones I experienced and they were back in commission much faster than I was. So make sure to get your flu shots! They do work...kinda.

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Worth Noting:

The Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard!!

Robert Pollard's first post-GBV release is a comedy album! Yes, a comedy album and it is a limited edition vinyl only release.

Two books that I'm reading now: Making Room For Life & Kick Me

My friend Bill is spending a week at MIT attending classes for technology entrepreneurs. Read about his week at his blog.

Guided by Voices' Austin City Limits performance can be downloaded as a DVD torrent at easytree.org. Warning: it's a huge file and you must register.

Thursday January 20, 2005

My good friend Eric sent me a link to Jowlers, proving that, yes, you can create a website about anything these days and people will look at it. It's a very strange and interesting world that we live in today my friends. "They should sell tickets for a ride like this."

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Worth Noting:

Watch then new Postal Service video directed by Jarred Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite.

Chromewaves reports that the new, as-yet-untitled studio album from The Strokes has been scheduled for release on June 14th.

Robert Pollard Dot Net Coming Soon!

Monday January 17, 2005

For the past few weeks, I've been totally obsessed with Freaks and Geeks on DVD. For those of you who missed the show during its original run on NBC, the show, set in 1980, offers a funny, yet honest look at high school life from the perspective of the unbeautiful and unpopular groups that, if we are truthful, most of us were probably a part of during our years in high school. I've watched all 18 episodes at least twice and have listened to all the commentaries for each episode (some episodes have TWO commentaries). Fans of the show will of course love this DVD set, however, fans of high quality DVD sets will love it as well. There are two versions of the DVDs, the retail six-disc set and the eight-disc Deluxe Edition. I've been watching the retail disc set using Netflix, however, with my birthday coming in March, I might have to add the deluxe set to my wish list!! For more info about the show, check out the official Freaks and Geeks website.

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Worth Noting:

Pitchfork looks at the career and final two shows of Guided by Voices.

Casa De Punk has a hilarious song for download.

The Arcade Fire were on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic'. Click here to see the video archive of the show. (From More Cowbell)

Too Much Free Time is a great site for television commentary.

Pimps of Gore has posted Vol. 2 of their 100 GBV songs.

Sunday January 16, 2005

And then there were four! This is by far the most excited I've been about the NFL Playoffs in years! Growing up in the late seventies you were either a Steelers/Terry Bradshaw fan or Cowboys/Rodger Staubach fan. I was and am still a Steelers Fan!!! I've been waiting a long time to get really excited about the Steelers and this year has been the season I've been dreaming about. Philly was the team I picked at the beginning of the year to make it to the Super Bowl so I wouldn't mind being right on that prediction, nor would I mind seeing them match up against my Steelers! I've got a strange feeling the my wife and daughter will not see much of me next Sunday!

Tuesday January 11, 2005

Apple revealed their newest creations today, the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle. Compared to similar products, both are very small in size and price. What I'm most curious about is the type of consumer that would purchase these items. Never the less, both are beautiful in their design, particularly the Mac Mini which I think will be the more successful of the two.

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Worth noting:

Filter offers their review of the final GBV show.

Pimps of Gore is a new MP3 blog with 10 GBV tunes for download with the promise of 90 more.

Pitchfork is back to providing daily updates.

Wednesday January 5, 2005

Nude as News has written a Eulogy for Guided by Voices! They have also made an attempt to list the Top 100 GBV Songs of all time! I don't agree with all their selections, but for the most part they selected some great songs from each album. And you just have to respect them for even attempting to compile such a list! Bravo.

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Season four of Alias comes on tonight and we're all pretty excited about it. Sally and I are late comers to the show since for the past few years our Sunday nights have been filled with Sopranos and Sex and the City. However, were hooked now and can't wait to see what kind of impossible situations Sydney will get herself into next!!!

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Over the holidays I had the opportunity to see a few movies. Here is a one line review for each:

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Classic Wes Anderson.

Oceans Twelve: Classic Steven Soderbergh.

The Incredibles: Classic Pixar!

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Finally today, for the torrent savvy: Wilco - NYE @ Madison Square Garden (from Largehearted boy)

Monday, January 3, 2005

HAPPY NEW YEAR from The Colonel and Rock N'Roll Lily!!!

To pay tribute to the late, great, Guided by Voices, Jack at jigglingwhisker has posted videos from their last show on New Year's Eve.

In other New Year's Eve news, the Chicago Sun-Times reviews the Flaming Lips, Wilco, Sleater-Kinney show at Madison Square Garden.

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DVD Talk, a website that does an excellent job of reviewing DVDs, has released their Top Twenty DVDs of 2004 list.

the colonel's top ten albums of 2004!

My Top 10 albums of 2004 are up over at Thunderstruck! Go check it out if you have a few. I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas! Just got home from driving all day and need some rest.

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