Old News

Corn Demand

A while back, I set my radio alarm to turn on at 6:30am to the local NPR station.  Yesterday I heard one of the truest statements I've ever heard about the ethanol boom.  From the article:

...the straw that broke the camel's back is the demand for biofuel.

"The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV tank with ethanol will feed one person for a year," Brown says. "And what we are seeing now is the emergence of direct competition between the 860 million people in the world who own automobiles and who want to maintain their mobility while the 2 billion poorest people in the world simply want to survive."

It's about damn time that people start realizing that ethanol is not the answer.  GW's mandates on ethanol production have caused demand and cost of corn to triple in the last two years.  It is to the point now that corn costs so much that ethanol plants can not make money without the government subsidies because the corn costs more than what the ethanol is worth.

Corn futures were up another 6 cents/bushel overnight.  Up, up, up it goes.

At the Ohio Beef Expo

At the Ohio Beef Expo Shorthorn sale.

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Another evening with Susan Werner

A week ago tonight, I made the three hour drive to Massillon, Ohio to see Susan Werner at the Massillon Museum.  The venue was a nice little art gallery.  It was interesting to browse through it and see the local collection.  The concert was in the first floor gallery where they had just cleared a section and set up chairs.  I’m glad I wasn’t any farther back than the fourth row, because it was difficult enough to see Susan through the heads in front of me.  There were probably 60-70 people there.        

This was the fourth time I’ve seen Susan in concert.  She absolutely amazes me every time.  Her humor, wittiness, and talent puts me in a state of awe every time I see her perform live.  When she began the show by singing the beginning of “(Why Is Your) Heaven So Small” a capella, it gave me chills because it sounded so good.  After she sang it, she dedicated the song to Mike Huckabee and the crowd got a good laugh out of that.

After performing all the songs from her latest album, The Gospel Truth, there was an intermission for people to get their wine refills and browse the galleries.  I’m glad she did all of the songs from her current album, as I missed them last time when she was in Ohio because I got the show late.  This album is best described as an agnostic gospel album.  It’s filled with the doubt and questioning that I quite often feel, but also hope and the gospel-sounding music that I enjoy.

I have previously uploaded songs from a few of her albums.  You can find them here.  After the intermission, she performed a lot of her older songs, including Time Between Trains, May I Suggest, Barbed Wire Boys, Big Car, Chicago Any Day, Stay On Your Side of Town, I Can’t Be New, Philanthropy, and Movie Of My Life.  There were also two other songs that I think are fairly new “I Have Debt” and “Accustomed To Her Face”.

Here are a few of the photos I was able to take between the heads in front of me:

If you have a few minutes to spare or you’re trying to procrastinate doing something productive, check out these videos on youtube:

Susan Werner - live folk music footage

Susan Werner - 'The Gospel Truth'

Susan Werner - jazz/cabaret medley

Then there's some fun videos on youtube that are good too: Susan and Trina Hamlin rehearse in a truck and how to scramble eggs.

Everything lost can be found but your time

Last night I walked at the lake during sunset on the warm Friday October evening.  It was beautiful.

The sun setting in the west behind an open field that people were using as a remote-control airplane landing.  To the east was the lake with sailboats and wave runners.

A grandpa, a dad, and two kids were fishing from the shore.  Families were riding bikes and walking dogs.

I couldn't help but smile at how great life can be.  What a drastic change of thought compared to earlier in the day when I was consumed by a pounding headache and stress from another day of work during harvest.

At that point last night, I didn't think things could be any better than what they were.  Until this morning.

As beautiful as the sunset was, the sunrise at the lake was probably better.

I had arrived just before the sun had started to peek.  The fog was heavy over the airplane field.  The water on the lake was still and smooth until a lone fisherman came through on his boat causing ripples that kept on long after he had come to a stop.

The three other people I had come to in passing on the quiet morning were friendlier than the self-absorbed folks from last night.

I think I'll make a date with the lake again for tomorrow at 0730 hrs.

Mmm... yeah.

"I'm gonna love you till my dyin' day."

One of the new Brandi Carlile songs, "How These Days Grow Long", written by guitarist, Tim Hanseroth.

What's it worth?

So the company is switching the employee cell phone plan from Nextel to Verizon Wireless.  I wasn't on the original Nextel plan since I wanted to keep my own Verizon.  Plus, I was on my mom's Verizon account and she paid it, so it was "free" to me anyway.

Motorola W385

Well, I decided to switch to the company plan which will cost me $10 a month for service.  This will save Mom some money and only cost me ten bucks.  Here's the shitty part.  The text messaging plan that I would need would be the basic $5 plan.  Well, Doug from personnel, wants to take the easy way out and have people on the "all or nothing" plan of $15/month for texting so he doesn't have to babysit everyone to make sure they don't go over their limits.  If you don't sign up for the $15 plan they will disable text messaging on your phone.  This really pisses me off.  I can understand where he's coming from because I wouldn't want to check the bill for a couple hundred phones, but damn it, I know I don't need that big of a texting plan!

I don't know if I'll keep text messaging or not.  I may suck it up though and do it.  Only $25/month for cell phone isn't bad anyway.  Besides, I did get a pretty decent raise last week.

The new phone I'll get is the one on the right.  A Motorola W385.  Appears to be a decent enough phone.  I sould get it sometime this week or next.

Brandi Carlile in sequins?!?

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death.  ABC is doing a special tonight called "Elvis: Viva Las Vegas" which airs at 9pm eastern/8pm central.

The special will include newfound Elvis footage, artists and celebrities discussing Elvis's impact, and performances by select artists.

I will be watching for two reasons.  1) Elvis was simply amazing.  2) Brandi Carlile will be one of the artists performing.  She'll be singing a duet of "Love Me Tender" with Chris Isaak.  Rumor has it she'll be wearing a purple sequined outfit that was originally made for June Carter Cash.  Now that is a must-see.

Vox Hunt: Music - No Vocals Allowed

Share a great instrumental song (or one that would have been better as an instrumental).

Ballad For Adeline.  Or Ballade Pour Adeline, if you prefer the French.

Ballad For Adeline

Richard Clayderman - Ballade pour Adeline

Audio to the left, piano only.
Video to the right, piano and orchestra.

Hipster Olympics

Funny stuff.

Vox Hunt: Music - My Current Favorite

Share your current favorite song or music video.

Pride and Joy - The Ark @ Ann Arbor, MI - May 9, 2007

Back in May, Brandi Carlile starting singing a new song called Pride and Joy.

I immediately fell in love with the original acoustic version.  Here's a live recording from May 9, 2007 at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

However, as the song developed, it has turned into a rock song.  At first, I didn't like the rocking version because I was so in love with the emotions in the acoustic one.  But!  How can you not love this performance of Pride and Joy from September 6, 2007 in Eugene, Oregon, with the two minute jam session at the end?

The lyrics to Pride and Joy can be found here.

While you're checking out new Brandi material, watch these brand spankin' new songs the band is doing on the current tour that started last week:
Love Songs (Brandi plays piano!)
How These Days Grow Long (Sweet catchy song that Tim wrote.)
I Write These Words (Catchy tune about writing songs.)
That Year (Sad song about a friend who committed suicide 10 years ago.)
Madman Across The Water (A rocking Elton John cover!)