I Take Back What I Said A Week Ago..

Last night was by far my favorite moment of being a Cubs fan.

It's the closest thing I've felt to complete elation since my son was born - without that nagging fear of not knowing what the hell you're doing. It was pure joy.

On to either New York or L.A. Regardless, #LetsDoThis

Hair Metal Monday 10/12/2015

Too into watching the Cubs (hopefully) beat the Cardinals to put much thought into this week's entry, so with little to no effort here's Chicago's gift to 80's metal. I've been meaning to make a full post on these guys (their later music is phenomenal), but here's the original lineup of Enuff Z'Nuff in all their glammiest glory:



30+ Years As A Cubs Fan...

and last night was the happiest moment of all.

It was only the first step, and there's mighty big obstacle in the way just 300 miles south of Chicago, but this year has already been an amazing success. Whatever happens over the next week (or hopefully 2 or 3) I'll always look back on 2015 as one of the greatest baseball seasons of my life.

THIS is what makes all the years of misery worth it.

Hair Metal Monday 10/05/2015

This week's entry was Denmark's shot at 80's metal greatness, D.A.D.

Originally formed in 1984 and called Disneyland After Dark, the band was forced to change their name after putting out their first album 'Call Of The Wild' in 1986. Due to the success of that European only release, the band was signed by Warner Brothers and began working on their American debut.

Released in 1989 'No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims' quickly shot into the Billboard 100 and garnered major coverage in the US music press. The first single "Sleeping My Day Away" was a Headbanger's Ball staple and the band toured through 1990. Their second Warner Brothers album 'Risking It All' came out in 1991 but failed to capitalize on the success of the previous record. A combination of that album's lackluster sales, record company reshuffling and the emergence of grunge lead to D.A.D. being dropped in early 1992.

In the past 20+ years the band has stayed active in their native Denmark and Scandinavia, scoring several major hits and headlining festivals throughout Europe. Although they've never released another album in the US, they've established a loyal American fanbase and their subsequent records have sold considerably well for import-only releases.

(and most importantly, their song "Rim Of Hell" was the soundtrack to waaaay too many of my drunken nights in high school)

Sometimes discovering a band years after the fact can likely be just as exhilarating as when it happened. I've loved the Scorchers for a decade, but finally seeing them live has taken me to a whole other level. Oh to have have been old enough to have discovered them in 1983, but for now this will have to do. Thank fuck for YouTube, 

Business Casual

The last time I recall being told to wear "business casual" to work after I'd stopped wearing a uniform every day was a year ago. Unfortunately, all the business casual clothes I had were entirely too small. I got stuck wearing my uniform.

Fast forward to today. We were told to wear business casual again.

After the last 4 and half months of punishing my body to improve myself I was looking forward to wearing the clothes that wouldn't fit just 12 months earlier. No luck.

They were all too big.

Hair Metal Monday 09/28/2015

This week is a band who was sort of featured once before, but not in this incarnation.

Jailhouse got a lot of press due to having 3 former members of the band Rough Cutt in their lineup. Rough Cutt had released a couple of major label albums but never caught on past a small cult following. 3 years after their breakup they regrouped as Jailhouse and released their first (and only) EP, a live album titled 'Alive In A Mad World'. The first single "Modern Girl" got heavy MTV rotation, but they called it quits less than a year later before completing their full length debut.

Several years after Jailhouse broke up they reformed again as Orgy and had a massive hit with a cover of New Order's "Blue Monday".

Hair Metal Monday 09/21/2015

This week's entry is one of the most controversial band of the 80's, but one who's best work came after they toned down the antics and became a "serious" band.

W.A.S.P. exploded onto the LA scene in 1983 taking the shock rock theatrics of Kiss and Alice Cooper to the next logical level. Blood, raw meat, fire and naked women on torture racks were all staples of their live set. Their lyrics were also designed to shock - "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)" was supposed to be their first single before Capitol records pulled the plug and refused to release it. The band put out 4 albums between 1984 and 1987, each getting further and further down the evil + sex + violence rabbit hole. By 1988 vocalist/guitarist/main songwriter Blackie Lawless had had enough. Battles with the PMRC, boycotts from religious groups, death threats and declining sales convinced Lawless it was time for a change.

Spending almost a year in the studio, in May 1989 the band released their masterpiece. 'Headless Children' stripped away the image and the sex and violence lyrics were replaced by songs about depression, the horrors of war, the fear of nuclear holocaust and the dangers of an over reaching government. Rarely had one band done such a complete 180. First single, "The Real Me" (a cover of The Who classic) was declaration of independence. A rallying cry that they'd severed ties with their past. The results lead to their biggest critical and commercial success.

The Morality of Mobile Content Blocking

Last week Apple released iOS 9, and among their usual yearly updates and new features one in particular stood out: content blocking.

Anyone who's spent any time on the web in 2015 knows how annoying and creepy advertising and tracking have become. I've posted about it several times, but until now there's not been much you could do about it on mobile.

While on the surface it feels like a no-brainer for users to install a content blocker, the ramifications of using one are deeper than it would seem. I'm all for blocking full page ads that cover the entire window and tracking cookies that are borderline spyware, but as of right now iOS content blocking is an all or nothing affair. The sites that have non-obtrusive ads that are relevant to their readers will be effected the same as the bottom feeders who don't care at all.

I want to support those who are actively trying to do the right thing. Sites that I love, respect and read daily all make their income from serving advertisements, and I want them to continue to earn a living. I hate that they'll be punished for the negligence of sites that don't give a shit. I wish I knew the answer. A more robust content blocking API would work, but how many normal non-geek users would take the time to tweak the settings? How many of those same users realize they're taking money out of the pockets of legitimate publishers? Hell, how many would even care?

The only way to protect your online experience and not hurt the good guys would be to level the playing field. Convince everyone that ads and trackers that don't harm the internet as a whole are the way to go. That's probably an uphill, un-winnable battle though. Until then it will be a cat and mouse game where the scummiest of the bunch try to find new ways to lower their standards even further all while damaging not only their readers but websites that respect the user experience.