as big of an apple fanboy as i am, i too am skeptical about the actual usefulness of such a device.

i love my iphone, i love my macbook pro. so why do i need an ipad?

games? i have a wii, a ps3, a psp, and a macbook. so why do i need an ipad?

books? i have books. i dont travel an hour to work on a train, i dont fly across country once a month. and ps i dont read many books.

it has a pretty screen? everything has a pretty screen these days. you can get 32″ lcd tvs for $500 that have pretty screens.

i think people are buying it because of the feel.

it feels like the future.

if they sold it like “have the future… today… for $500” then maybe id be curious. but they’re pretending like this is the present.

there needs to be a killer app. of course.

super nintendo didnt attract any attention till it got super mario bros.

making hamburgers in your kitchen wasnt interesting till george foreman got involved.

likewise the ipad needs something that can take full advantage of whatever its magic possesses till the masses, like me, will be willing to shell over the hundreds of dollars plus $30 a month for 3G, that we eventually will free ourselves from.

until then i’ll just tool around the culdesac on my seqway and wonder whatever happened to virtual reality.

and im thinking that johnny keeps it real and id like to keep it real but i fail and fail

and i think about all the fails ive been responsible for

and all the fails ive seen on tv, mostly by the Cubs this week.

and then i see David Letterman on tv trying to do his monologue with no voice cuz he has a cold.

fail.

and i think about kids. all these people want me to get married and have kids.

and for the most part the people have been right about most of the things theyve advised me on throughout my life.

and i was the jerk who was all, sushi? gross! (for decades)

but they were also the ones who said what are you doing dating 19 yr olds, but you know what, those girls taught me lots too.

and then i think of secret blogs, and secret lives, and undercover helicopters, and

secret powers.

of love.

and i think why would i want a little baby to have to muddle through all of whatever all of this is, on the daily.

when i get off work i think two things: i should eat healthy. and i want kfc.

and i think about my day and the weird things i dealt with and i think, i deserve kfc.

and i think, who wants to live to 80?

only way i wanna live to 80 is if there was a book called “look what we did after 80”

and inside the book was stories about people who had a three way kiss for the first time after 80, people who drove without seatbelts while speeding over 100 mph after 80 for the first time

while texting

and people who busted some sweet ass poetry about being over 80.

seems to me that you’re playing not to lose after 80, and ugh to that sorta game.

we are alive people. magically. being alive makes no sense. it defies logic.

walking around on two feet, let alone running, is completely illogically nonsensical magic.

forget jumbo jets.

so here we are cartwheeling in a world of magic and the dumbest thing we do

is play not to lose.

the saddest thing we do is act conservatively.

life is but a cabaret old chum

dont be dumb.

our pal danielle has been unemployed for a while and its super hard on her

but she keeps it real, especially in her blog where she lets all her emotions out.

today she got this very interesting anonymous comment. pretty much not at all what i was expecting.

Been unemployed for 18 months. Didn’t qualify for unemployment. Finally got a job with Disney making $7.35 per hour to replace $52k. Took Jag back to dealership. Losing house. (Feeling better yet?) Oh, did I mention I have my Ph.d.? Two kids and a wife? My walk with God keeps me going. Hopefully, I can get a second job as a security guard. Today is my son’s 16 birthday. Hoping we can survive Orlando until he graduates in two years. Hang in there. Many are hurting right now and those who aren’t are worried sick that they soon will be.

just another reminder at how tough the times are right now.

i miss you

know why im happy today?

1. its 82 degrees
2. im employed
3. you are here reading my blog
4. i have my health
5. cuz the Cubs are gonna win their first game of the season today

and cuz my mommy loves me

tell me why youre happy

me, i was in the mens room in Cabazon relieving myself of our less than amazing easter brunch. Cabazon of course being the town known for its amazing fashion outlet stores where most of the time you dont get amazing deals, but sometimes you dont.

i had entered a stall after this big dude left it and friends dont ever enter an enclosed number two stall after a guy who looks like hes a hells angel exits. apparently he had an even worse easter brunch than i had.

it was an aroma id never smelt before. and being as old as i am i thought i had experienced everything.

it was startling and mildly fascinating. strike that, nothing about it was mild.

anyways i sat down and pulled out my iphone because, i dont know about you, but i cannot use the mens room without reading something. so i checked in to my twitter stream to see what the world was up to.

and then i felt it.

rolling.

shaking.

more rolling.

it was strong but not frightening.

i looked up and around me to see if anything was bound to fall on me and i realized i just may be in a pretty safe place – reinforced walls, nothing hanging above me, nothing to fear – so i hung in there feeling secure.

so i tweeted something like “omg earthquake. happy easter!” and a second later i saw that Everyone else on my twitter feed also tweeted. so i took a screen shot of my phone

and then another.

the funniest tweet was from mother of four and Dancing with the Stars host Brooke Burke who tweeted some obscenities that i am only allowed to link to because the busblog is a family blog

my truest was on the other side of the outlets and because we have gone through dozens of these types of quakes we didnt even txt each other to see if we were ok because, duh, we were ok – THERE WAS SHOPPING TO BE DID

and because of the high holy days the outlets HAD to close at 6pm (instead of 8pm).

so thats my story of the devastating quake.

experienced in a stinky mens room.

first hand reporting that you dont get anywheres.

youre welcome.

in order

Soundgarden, Arcade Fire, Devo, Cypress Hill, Green Day,
The Strokes, Wolfmother, Gogol Bordello, Drive By Truckers, Lady Gaga,
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Phoenix, Social Distortion, Jimmy Cliff, Mavis Staples,
The Black Keys, The Cribs, Rogue Wave, Spoon, The New Pornographers,
The xx, AFI, Erykah Badu, Metric, Blitzen Trapper,
Grizzly Bear, Minus the Bear, Deer Tick, Yeasayer, X Japan

meanwhile check this out, Lolla VIP goes for $850 which gets you a three-day wrist band and this:

* Unlimited access to Lolla Lounge North and South
* NEW for 2010: Access to VIP golf cart shuttles for transport between Lolla Lounge North and South
* Viewing platforms of the Main Stages with premium sightlines
* Beer, wine and specialty libations all day
* Catered food servings daily
* Daily gourmet Happy Hour with guest chef tastings by Chicago’s top chefs
* Mini-spa treatments
* Reserved Lolla Lounge air conditioned restrooms
* Shaded and relaxed lounge seating
* Much more…

so who’s with me? 8/6-8/8 Grant Park, Chicago

i give you the greatest baseball story ever

this is the unbelievable (but true) story of one Dock Ellis

a young black pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates who one day

accidentally

took LSD the day he was supposed to pitch.

he took the mound, and threw the best game of his life

A NO HITTER

how rare are no-hitters? so rare there were only two thrown all season last year, both in July.

both thrown on acid. jk.

kurt kobain blew his head off

and we haven’t had a great band like nirvana since. his death affected my life more than his life, because in many ways it proved that Gen X was exactly what they said we were: idealistic slackers who hated phoniness and were far more freaked out by success than failure.

i cant say that the nirvana show i saw at the forum was the best show id ever seen, but it was good, and i was glad to have gone. but i will say that this suicide note was the best one ive ever read. and i hope i dont ever read another one.

To Boddah

Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand. All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, the ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things. For example when we’re backstage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowd begins, it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seem to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd, which is somehting I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve

tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do, God believe me I do, but it’s not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. I must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasm I once had as a child. On our last 3 tours, I’ve had a much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know! I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miseraable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become. I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along and have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess. Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody, baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out then to fade away. Peace, Love, Empathy. Kurt Cobain.

Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your altar

Please keep going Courtney,

for Frances.

for her life will be so much happier

without me. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU