The Avenger

Been using the Instapot like crazy, so not as much slow cooking as I normally do. For slow cooker I love a good pot roast - get something with some decent fat that will render slowly and make some ridiculously tender meat at the end (cut with a fork). Throw in the veggies you like - potatoes, carrots, celery is what I use - some spices and diced onion for flavoring - some beef broth to add some liquid. Great hearty meal at the end of the day and you have everything in one - meat, starch, vegetables. Yum!

Was wondering if anyone else had seen the movie "Buffaloed" - I just watched it last night on Hulu. Looks like it came out in limited release February but the world kind of fell apart soon after so I was unaware it even existed until it showed up on my Hulu suggestions. Funny little film about a girl who grew up in Buffalo but always wanted to get rich and get out. While the movie takes plenty of shots at Buffalo, it also has a bunch of cultural references to the city that only a Buffalonian would understand. Lots of Bills references and merchandise everywhere, even a scene where they are supposedly at the Ralph for a game. Chicken wings are everywhere and there's a great scene where a judge and lawyer get into it over Anchor Bar vs. Duffs that had me laughing. Anyway, I've seen no comments here about it so I'm guessing this movie flew under the radar for others as well - if you've seen it let me know what you thought.

Geoff Tate is no joke and seeing him live is believing. I actually saw them on the Warning tour and got to meet them when they came through on the opening spot of the Metallica tour (college radio was a blast - free shows, band interviews, man - those were the days). Possibly the most impressive Tate performance was the Take Hold of the Flame video from Japan - live and the last show of a full concert - even after singing a whole show Tate could belt out that song with effortless power and control - just blows you away....

Arch and Barlow are definitely great singers - neither really got the credit their voices deserved, possibly because prog metal didn't have the broad appeal of some of the other genres (and much of Barlow's stuff with Iced Earth came at a time when many thought metal was dead, killed by grunge). I used to listen to Fates Warning quite a bit but mainly the stuff from the Ray Adler era (Adler is no vocal slouch, either). Much of the vocal accolades for prog metal went to Geoff Tate and you certainly can't argue that he was undeserving, especially when you listen to the Queensrych EP - Queen of the Reich and Lady Wore Black - damn......

The new album is very solid - been listening to it quite a bit. This is definitely high on my list of things I'll listen to when I want to listen to something that isn't as heavy as I normally listen to. If you haven't seen it yet check out the record release concert he played with his wife in Nashville last week - he played the entire album and told some good stories - you can find it on Youtube. I must say, I do prefer the songs when he has Amanda playing fiddle - too bad the album version has so much less of that.

Bunghole Liquors, the pride of Salem, MA.....

I'm almost exclusively a metal guy but I caught this performance by Jason Isbell on the Daily show and was impressed by this song and his songwriting - very impressed with the talent and think the fiddle sounds really good in this song.

Pantera - Walk

Wow - that video will kill grandma faster than covid-19.....

Regret 1 - spent the summer working for Mercury records and pretty much being able to see any show in town for free by calling contacts at other labels. A friend of mine from Epic calls and invites me out - one of their new acts is in town and he is supposed to take them around and entertain them. I pass because I'd been to shows the previous 3 nights. The band: Pearl Jam Regret 2 - Doing college radio I had the opportunity to interview lots of bands. One summer I worked it out to interview Ronnie James Dio when he was coming to the old Darien Lake Amphitheater. I was so psyched - I have always been a Dio fan and had always wanted to meet him. Before I leave for the show I get a call from his wife and manager, Wendy saying due to thunderstorms the show is cancelled and Ronnie can't even do the interview because they are leaving early to get to the next show - I was completely heartbroken. Biggest Letdown - Saw Soundgarden in NYC in 1994 - the night of the OJ chase because Chris Cornell came out on stage to say that the cops were chasing OJ. Venue was the Lexington Ave Armory in Manhattan - the worst place I have ever been to for a show. Not only was the temp inside about 110 degrees, but the acoustics sucked the sound up into the ceiling. The band was playing and you literally could not tell what song they were playing - awful. Village Voice review of the show was titled "Soundgarden Seen But Not Heard at Armory" - that summed it all up.

We all just need to stay home and take a dose of this.... Hibernol

Wow - and bars are closed in MA - nowhere to go to cry into your beer.......

Schools, churches, public library all shut down here (north of Boston). If you want to see what is coming our way, look at Italy and some of Europe - they are 10-14 days ahead of us. Once people start to get sick and/or know others who are things are really going to close down rapidly. Sadly, Tuesday will see bars full of yahoos celebrating St. Patty's, a terrible decision.

Waaaaay OT but my grandparents hid a classmate of Anne Frank's - happy to say she is a very old woman who has lived in California since the war ended.....

Exactly. Can't see theaters staying open - who wants to go sit with a group of strangers for a couple of hours under these circumstances? Studios are going to hold back their releases because they don't want the poor box office results and poof - theaters are closed. I imagine the same will hold for most retail like malls - people son't want to go out and shop, stores don't want to have to deal with employees who don't want to be there and may be ill themselves. Grocery stores and pharmacies will stay open, but Hot Topic? I have a feeling people are going to really withdraw and not go out much. Starbucks says they may only do drive through - I think a lot of other places will do the same - you can get food/drink via the drive through but the main restaurant will be closed - nobody wants to eat there and they don't want to go crazy cleaning it every hour. These are going to be some unique times - I think back to my grandparents living in Nazi-occupied Holland and how you didn't go out unless you had a very specific thing you needed to do....

Sanctuary - cool late 80's band with a fantastic singer. Warrel Dane was a trained opera singer with a 6 octave range and man could he belt it out - check out the video starting at about 1:25 After 2 albums the band broke up and Warrel went on to front a band called Nevermore which utilized a different vocal style. Sanctuary came back in 2017 with a new album that was pretty good but sadly Warrel died in December 2017 and that was it. At least we have some really cool old stuff to listen to and just shake your head....

Truly an amazing woman and proof that some people are really good with numbers just as others are musical geniuses. That John Glenn personally asked that Johnson double check the computer's calculations prior to his space flight speaks volumes about her capabilities and how trusted she was. You've lived a remarkable life when you reach the century mark...or earn the Presidential Medal of Freedom...or be an integral part of sending man into space...or breaking color and gender barriers with your talent and abilities...or have your life made into a hit movie...Katherine Johnson did all of those things - bravo!

With all the talk about this topic I've found that the side you're on seems to correlate pretty closely with how tall you are. As a taller person with long legs, I hate it when people recline and I almost never recline myself (what's the point - you get about 5 degrees in coach these days). I have had the person in front of me recline and it sucks - my knees are pretty much all the way up to the seat in front of me to begin with, so when someone reclines the seat is actually digging into my knees - it's painful and goes beyond the minimal comfort I think I should be afforded as a paying passenger, That said, it's an airline problem, not the problem of the person in front of me - they were sold a seat they were told they could recline. I'd love to see the airlines just block all seats from reclining so that everybody knew what to expect and we didn't have these battles breaking out - they're ridiculous.

Nothing I could say could probably ease your pain but I send my condolences. Take comfort in hearing that she had been given care to make her comfortable - I believe at the end it is not about all the extraordinary measure you take to gain only small amounts of time, but that you are comfortable and at peace and it sounds like that's what your mother had.

Clues reference "4 score and 7 years ago..." which is 87, Gronk's number. Totally Gronk. Fun show - mindless, but one of the few my wife and I watch together. Sadly, I'm so old that even after they unmask some of these people I'm like, "Who?". I don't keep up with the Youtube/influencer scene or the latest mumble -rap hits so there a whole slice of "celebrities" I could run over with my car and have no clue who they are....

I guess I'd put myself in the snob category. I really don't much care for wings outside of the traditional Buffalo flavor - teriyaki, etc. I'm cool if you don't dip them in anything, but if you do, make it blue cheese. Outside of WNY I find that most wings are just wet and swimming in generic hot sauce - a wing has to be crispy! Sauce yes, but not soggy soup... Lot of places outside of WNY also seem to have super tiny wings - come on man, no sparrow wings..... Also, if you present me with a breaded wing (outside of KFC or fried chicken as opposed to wings) I may just have to beat you senseless with a drummie.....

LOVE Code Orange. Reba is a force - the first woman to ever have her own signature ESP guitar. Bleeding in the Blur is a great track and shows that she needs to do more lead vocals. Coming from Pittsburgh I assume these guys are probably Steeler fans.

I remember listening to Rush growing up (couldn't escape them if you listened to Canadian rock radio - Q107, anyone?) and hearing for the first time that drums were't just an instrument to keep the time/beat of the song and provide a backbone to it. Neil Pert play an instrument that defined the song, just like the bass and the guitar - it was really amazing to hear what he did musically with the drums to bring life to a given song. I know he inspired many - may that be his legacy.....

Fun Fact - the last time the Bills drafted the 22nd player in round 1 it was JP Losman....man I hope things have changed......

Yeah - that pronunciation was so bad that if I had just heard it without seeing it spelled out I wouldn't have known what they were talking about - and it's only blocks away from where I've been staying almost weekly working for a client in Toronto.