Everything posted by Paul Wesley
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Songs that sound like nothing else
Sugarcubes is a good answer. Buddy of mine played “Birthday” for me after it came out. Didn’t sound like anything else.
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Pick a 3 digit number on covid cases on Google
100% this. I had a brief moment after the Capitol riot... maybe a fair % of Republicans are going to come back to a fact-based reality. I thought surely an attempted coup right here in America would be the event that caused the schism between reasonable people who want small government and the lunatics whose political beliefs consist essentially of fairy tales (birthers, Seth Rich, Dominion voting machines, Obama's death panels, laboratory-manufactured viruses, fake pandemics, Hunter Biden's laptop, etc.). Nope.
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Guitar Effect Pedalphile Thread
That’s awesome
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The Guitar Pron Thread
Trekii makes cool shit, including a preamp where you can run anything through a Leslie cabinet: https://trekii.com/products/leslie-speaker-accessories/uc-1a-pedal-110v.html That used to be on my "wish list" but the guitar pedals that simulate a rotary speaker have gotten really good, and there's other stuff I'd rather have for that $$$.
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The Guitar Pron Thread
Me: 1990-ish Ibanez RG-550 with mirrored pick guard ...which would be a bigger loss than you might guess
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The Guitar Pron Thread
Temperature falling, your family is freezing, and you have to keep the fire going or die. You have to burn one instrument that you own. What goes in the fire? Caveat: Let’s assume you’ve already burned the banjo(s)
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All these ex-Republicans on Surly
#stopthesteal
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How Fox News works
The idea that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose is so fucking outrageously stupid, and so utterly preposterous.... People who die of narcotic overdoses just fall asleep and stop breathing. They definitely, positively do not writhe, moan and desperately gasp, “I can’t breathe!” And as fucking ridiculous as that assertion is, it is a thousand times more offensive... what with the fucking video of the cop suffocating him and all. Fucking lies and treason. It’s beyond shameful.
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Guitar Effect Pedalphile Thread
"There's a hole in Daddy's tone, where all the money goes..."
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Super Bowl halftime
I understand that we can't have every SB guest be a classic rock artist for middle aged white guys. It's not the genre that I take issue with. I agree with jimmyjazz that outside of 2 hits, that guy's music is profoundly pedestrian and forgettable. Why would you think that guy could fill 20 minutes by himself? Obviously, he wasn't up to the job... and it's not like he made up for the shortcoming with great rhythms, choreography, or a compelling stage persona. That show.... fucking ugh, man. A stadium full (ok, half full) of fans, and you run off the field and into a Vegas-style shoebox and spin around mugging right into the camera for a couple minutes, then do a mosh pit thing with the diaper-on-the-head guys for a couple more minutes. What the fuck is that? The happiest guys in America today have to be the Black Eyed Peas, who were often named as worst halftime show ever until yesterday. Next year: How 'bout Snoop and/or Willie?
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Super Bowl halftime
I apologize to J-Lo and Shakira.
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Identifying Trump rioters
So very fucking tired of seeing the word "shaman" in headlines and in news stories. I need an app that automatically replaces that word with "treason clown."
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#6 Texas at Oklahoma State - 2 PM, ABC
I hate to bitch about announcers and/or refs on every game thread, but I don't think I've ever watched a first half where the announcers talked nonstop while saying almost nothing about the game in progress.
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Identifying Trump rioters
Rush has always been more about promoting Rush than about being a Republican. And he’s always been a lying liar who lies. But he used to at least ostensibly espouse conservative principles- small government, personal responsibility, “family values,” etc. (ignoring here his decades of voracious narcotic abuse, procured at least in part by his undocumented domestic worker. Also ignoring Mr Family Values carrying viagra not prescribed to him on a vacation with a woman who is not his wife. I could go on). I mentioned this on the Rush thread: I keep an a.m. radio in my laundry room tuned to those stations, so I catch snippets of his show pretty regularly (I like to know what my right-wing uncle and those like him are consuming). And I can tell you that his show has long been full-on treasonous propaganda. Rush has spent years mocking and attacking Mueller, and later mocking anyone who suggested that Trump’s Ukrainian collusion was improper. And he’s spent the last few months openly strategizing about what maneuvers Trump and McConnell could pull to overturn an election and stay in power.
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Carpetbagging weasel faced smarmy little bitch, Ted Cruz
Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? The thing that strikes me about the last 5 years of Ted Cruz is this: It's pretty obvious that he's just constantly trying to gauge which direction the political winds are blowing. And his opinions are 100% based on his analysis of what policy/position will result in giving himself the most power - both within and outside of Texas. During years where the wind is constantly in one direction (red-state Texas gonna red state), it's easy to mistakenly conclude that Cruz's positions *might* be based on principles. For example: four years of vigorously defending Trump, including his "not guilty" impeachment vote after Trump brazenly solicited Ukraine's help in smearing a political opponent. But when Cruz can't tell which way the wind is blowing, we see what a complete and total lapdog he is. Like in 2016 where he calls out Trump and then a week later, he starts phone-banking for his conqueror. Or in 2021 where he goes all-in on a "stolen election" lie, tries to be *the* senator to overturn democracy in other states, followed days later by his "God Bless America!" tweets in support of Biden. He's really an amoral piece of shit whose only concerns are gathering more power for himself, enjoying a life of privilege, and having a fucking great parking spot at Dulles. My wife recently reminded me of this clip during the 2016 primary, where his position is anti-Trump (just before becoming decidedly pro-Trump). In retrospect, it's an incredibly revealing and remarkable four minutes of video.
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The Guitar Pron Thread
You're welcome. Glad you found it. Some of my favorite movies are low-budget documentaries that just happen to capture a lot of brilliant moments, and "New York Doll" definitely does that.
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How Fox News works
Willie Horton Obama is a foreign-born Kenyan muslim W's terror-o-meter (*daily* banner headlines in the weeks leading up to 2004 election) "total muslim ban" black lives matter protests ("Corey Booker!!!") migrant caravans covered daily until 2016 election (then COMPLETELY dissipated literally overnight) to this latest pre-inauguration "caravan" The message from the R's to their base, unfailingly amplified in the days before elections: "Be afraid. Brown people are coming to kill you" (or at the very least, to be lazy and get free shit).
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How Fox News works
top of the hour, banner headline on Fox right now: "Thousands of migrants headed to US border" And endless shots of migrant riots as they clash with Central American police. buzzwords: "fraudulent documents" "caravan" "Remember Obama put children in captivity in 2014" So... "both sides" icing on the giant cake of fear getting served up to the olds.
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The Guitar Pron Thread
I don't know if we're talking about the same documentary, but the one that follows Arthur from Salt Lake City to London for the reunion organized by Morissey (I think it's "New York Doll").... that's one of my all-time favorite music documentaries. He has that I-fried-my-brain-when-I-was-young thing happening... like Ozzy Osbourne, but somehow more childlike and endearing. A transvestite rock star drug addict -- now trying to live the Mormon "word of wisdom" while playing a reunion concert. Pretty entertaining.
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That perfect song and why it is so
Good topic. My nominee... Gimme Shelter Sonically, it isn't especially well recorded or mixed (even when compared to its same-year peers). It has a pretty dramatic tempo change... which seems accidental and not planned. You can hear the band cheer "Whooo!" in the seconds after the Merry Clayton voice crack... which I'd argue was the high water mark for rock music. I can think of a lot of songs that represent better writing, better lyrics, better melodies, and grander themes, but I can't think of a better rock song.
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The US Capitol has been Breached [Action and Developing stories]
On a recent 538 podcast, they speculated on a theoretical Republican primary held tomorrow... Mitt Romney vs Trump. Someone guessed 85-15 for Trump, which sounds about right. To state the obvious: the current pro-Trump polling among the GOP *even after the murderous riots* shines a light on how thoroughly the party has lost its fucking mind. Anderson Cooper summed it up really well when he observed that GOP congressmen refuse to do the right thing lest they risk giving up the fantastic parking spot they currently enjoy at Dulles.
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A story about a pathetic man's downfall [34 Felony Convictions]
I was expecting the mass pardonings this afternoon.
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#4 Texas vs #13 Texas Tech - 8PM ESPN2
fuck these refs we should be up 15
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#4 Texas vs #13 Texas Tech - 8PM ESPN2
GTFO
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Trump Impeachment 2: Insurrection Boogaloo
So many traitors.