John Fisher

1) And next season . . . .3-D glasses for everybody!

One of this season’s new amenities in Safeco Field is the giant video screen --  It’s the biggest screen in baseball. It’s larger than two NBA courts side by side. Seriously – it’s 200 feet wide. Its surface covers more than a quarter of an acre.



The M’s home opener isn’t until April 8, but you’ll be able to get your first look at the screen this Monday.  They’re having have a Safeco Field open house and they’ll show the M’s season opener from Oakland on the big screen.  You can get into the ballpark for free, parking is free, the roof will be open, and there’ll be food specials. Hey, the first garlic fries of the season.

Here's the scoop on the screen from KOMO News:

2) Hey, if you can waste an hour watching Hoarders, you can spare 42 minutes for Dark Side of the Moon

Ever since iTunes arrived, people tend to listen to music track by track rather than a whole album start to finish, right? Well, in the UK, a growing number of music-lovers have decided to take action and honor the integrity of the full length album with Classic Album Sundays.  Groups of music fans get together at a pub, dim the lights, put a classic album on a turntable, and listen all the way through. No talking. No texting. No bathroom breaks.

From a BBC story on the trend (Are Record Clubs the New Book Clubs?):

For music critics such as Neil McCormick of the Daily Telegraph they were totally justified. "These are works of art at their greatest level. You can pick up a Dickens book and read a little bit of it and get some pleasure but you will not get the same pleasure as you would picking it up and reading it from beginning to end  . .  They've created works that have a beginning, a middle and end, that have nuances, themes, that take you on a journey that's as great as any novel, any opera, any drama."

One of the greatest crimes he feels is to split up the suite of songs at the end of the Beatles' Abbey Road, because each song drifts in to the next. The little tune "Her Majesty" is a simple little coda to ease the tension left by the Beatles farewell to their fans, the song "The End". At the end of the song there is a gap and a final crashing chord, then to relieve the tension comes 23 seconds of this little acoustic ditty. On its own it begins half way through that final chord. "It makes no sense," says McCormick. "To split them is simply shocking, meaningless."

Some of the favorites so far include the Ziggy Stardust album by David Bowie, Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, and of course Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. In other words, albums that are more than just one hit song and 10 tracks of filler. You wouldn’t be doing this with a Britney Spears album. And if you're worried about getting antsy, remember that in the days of vinyl, most albums were no more than 35 or 40 minutes long. You can sit through that, can't you?

3) Because there's never a Shop-Vac around when you need one



You may be past the minivan stage in your life, but for people who still haul kids around, you know that even one child can completely trash the inside of a car over time – and if you have multiple kids you practically need a hepatitis shot to ride in the car. This is something I've learned fairly recently, since I became a father just a year and a half ago. Crumbs, wrappers, toys, bodily fluids . . . who the hell knows exactly what's on the floor down there?

Well, at the New York Auto Show, which opens today, Honda is showing off its new 2014 Odyssey minivan which comes with its own built-in vacuum cleaner!  Genius!

HondaVAC is a real Shop Vac built into the van's rear cargo hold. The hose can reach throughout the cabin all the way to the front seat, and with the engine off it’ll suck for a full 8 minutes -- more time than you get for a buck and a half at the self-serve car wash. Right now the built-in vacuum is only in the top end $40,000 model of the Honda Odyssey. But this is an idea that’s destined to take hold throughout the auto industry. Kids or no kids, there are a lot of slobs out there. (Next time you're killing time in the ferry line, take a peek into a few cars and see how people live).  This feature may actually eradicate some diseases. I'm surprised the Gates Foundation isn't behind it.

Take a look:

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If you've every colored Easter eggs with one of those kits you buy in the drug store, you'll know exactly what Patton Oswalt's talking about here:

 

1) You're at the beach. It's hot. You're sweaty. If only there was a way to smell like bacon.

We have a lot of innovative companies in the Northwest, and near the top of the list is J&D's Foods, who gave us Baconnaise bacon-flavored mayonnaise, Bacon Salt, and Bacon Pop popcorn. Now these geniuses are unveiling  a couple of new items for spring. For sizzlin’ hot weather, they offer you Bacon Suncscreen. They say it keeps even the most delicate skin protected from harmful UV rays with SPF 30, and "smelling like something delicious has been cooking for several hours." Which is just the way you want to smell at the beach.

The other new innovation? Well, you knew it had to happen – or maybe it didn’t: Bacon Condoms.



"Designed to Make your meat look like meat – and generously coated with baconlube™, an ultra premium Bacon flavored personal lubricant." Okay,  I like bacon but this would be a tough sell for Mrs. Fisher. Nonetheless, kudos to this local company for constantly pushing the envelope and redefining bacon's role in our lives. 

Visit their website for more.

2) Sure, Maui's great, but do they have  a camel named Mona?

You might think that when it comes to island vacation destinations, we might not fare so well here in the Northwest, just because of our less-than-triopical climate. However, TripAdvisor ranked the top US islands, and the results were surprising.

Maui was number 5, Anna Maria Island and Marco Island in Florida were 4 and 3, Kauai was number 2 and topping the list as the best US island is . . .San Juan Island. TripAdvisor says

“San Juan might not be a tropical retreat, but this scenic scape proudly features beaches, orca pods and one of the country’s largest lavender farms. Lime Kiln Point State Park is the perfect place for whale watching, while Pelindaba Lavender Farm will set you up with a lifetime supply of the fragrant purple plant. The bustling Friday Harbor is a jackpot of restaurants and shops, plus unique attractions."  Like Mona the camel?

Congrats, SJI. Although, no offense, but this time of year I still might prefer Maui.  See you in August, though.   Here's the whole list.

3) And that's why they call him The Boss

Most bands, when they go on tour, work up a set list of 15 or 20 songs, and do almost the same show every night, maybe changing up a couple of tunes just to keep it interesting.  Well, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band aren't like most bands. Bruce has just reached the one-year mark of his Wrecking Ball tour, and he has set a record for himself: he’s played 202 different songs on the tour. That's the most ever for any tour he’s done.  Last night in Melbourne Australia he played 17 songs that he didn’t do the night before. That's unheard of.  Most bands don't even know 202 songs, let alone perform them over the course of a single tour. 

Here's the setlist from Tuesday night March 26 in Melbourne:

Badlands
We Take Care of Our Own
Cadillac Ranch
Wrecking Ball
Downbound Train
Death to My Hometown
Hungry Heart
Spirit in the Night
My City of Ruins
The E Street Shuffle
Red Headed Woman
Because the Night
She's the One
Open All Night
Working on the Highway
Darlington County
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Thunder Road
* * *
We Are Alive
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

And the next night -- Wednesday March 27:

Long Walk Home
Radio Nowhere
My Love Will Let You Down
Better Days
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
Out in the Street
Factory
Lost in the Flood
High Hopes
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Candy's Room
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
Pay Me My Money Down
I'm Goin' Down
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Rising
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
* * *
Jungleland
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
American Land

By the way, Bruce wraps up his Australian tour this weekend, then the European leg of the tour starts in Oslo at the end of April, and runs through July, and maybe THEN he’ll take another trip through the US, maybe including Seattle or Tacoma this time.  Maybe.

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I didn't want March to end without playing this one, because it's National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. (You're supposed to get screened regularly if you're 50 or older. I had my first colonosopy a few years ago, and it's really no big deal.  If you're squeamish about it, you don't have to be. Really.) Anyway, here's the Canadian duo Bowser & Blue with their tribute to the colorectral surgeon.  Enjoy:

Jim Carrey teamed up with Funny or Die for a music video called "Cold Dead Hand," which mocks gun enthusiast and former NRA president Charlton Heston. Well, really, it mocks anybody who's a little over the top about guns. 

As Huffington Post reports, the reviews are mixed:

Why don't you make up your own mind? Check out the video here:

1) "Sorry, sir, there's a $5 cover at all N gates today"

If you’ve been to Sea-Tac Airport, you’ve no doubt heard the announcements from local musicians like Sir Mix A Lot and Brandi Carlile. Now, the airport has started to feature actual musicians playing actual music, live. It’s a 12-week experiment where local musicians will play in the terminals between 10am and 2 pm 5 days a week. You'll hear all kinds of music from jazz to blue to folk, although it'll probably be on the mellow side -- don't want to agitate already-fragile passengers. And if this video is any indication, we're going to be in for a lot of cover songs:

You can read more about the Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative here.

2) This year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be very Seattle-esque



We have more details about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony next month, and the Northwest is well represented. Rush will be inducted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and his Foo FIghters bandmate Taylor Hawkins.  Pearl Jam's Mike McCready and Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains will perform with Heart, who will be inducted by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Jackson Browne and John Fogerty will perform on behalf of Randy Newman, who will be inducted by Don Henley. Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson will perform in honor of the late Donna Summer. ANd this could either be a hilarious reunion or a train wreck: Cheech and Chong will induct producer Lou Adler.  The actual ceremony is on April 19; you'll be able to watch it on HBO on May 18.

And while you're waiting for that, let's revisit Ann and Nancy Wilson's breathtaking tribute to Led Zeppelin at the Kennedy Center Honors:

3) Trying to convince yourself to quit smoking? There's an app for that.

Is somebody close to you a smoker, and you’ve been trying to gently persuade them to give up the habit? Maybe this will help.  It’s a new app form the UK’s National Health Service  -- the Smoking Time Machine takes a picture of your face and  shows you how you’ll look in 20 years if you keep smoking, and if you quit smoking.  The idea is that the 4000 chemicals found in cigarettes will wreak havoc on your skin. So it’s a reality check for young smokers.

I tried it, and as you can see, in 20 years I’m going to look pretty decrepit whether I’m a smoker or not. Apparently the biggest impact of 20 years of smoking will be gray skin.

Here's the link.

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Listen carefully to former SNL regular (has-been) and Weeds star (pothead) Kevin Nealon . . .. he has a way of slipping subliminal messages into his comedy.

1) Seattle high school senior bags $10,000 and a Letterman appearance



The Seahawks didn’t go all the way this season, Gonzaga flamed out in the NCAA tournament, but we do have a champion here in the Northwest . . . .Andrew Borracchini is an 18 year old grocery bagger at Metropolitan Market in West Seattle, and he won the Best Bagger Contest in Las Vegas last month. He picked up 10 grand for that, and last night he was on The Late Show with David Letterman. Andrew and Dave had a little bagging contest on the show, which as you might expect was rigged for comedic purposes, but still – congrats to Andrew Borracchini, O'Dea High School senior and a a real champion from the Pacific Northwest.

2) A fireworks-free Fourth in Seattle? It could happen

A few weeks ago, the folks at One Reel, the non-profit that produces the Family Fourth fireworks at Lake Union, launched a campaign to come up with the money to put on the show this year. They said they need half a million bucks by the end of the month. They posted a little pie chart to show how donations were progressing, and unfortunately that thing hasn't changed munch since they put it up:

So far, they have about 50 grand. Which means they still need  . . . $450,000. And the end of the month is . . . .Sunday. So, right now, things are not looking good for the fireworks on Lake Union.  And that’s too bad, because that probably means more amateurs shooting off rockets in their backyards. And that’s annoying. If you've got deep pockets and you'd like to help, go here.

3) If you can build a better condom, Bill and Melinda Gates would be very grateful



Here’s a question you may have asked yourself: "Why can’t somebody develop a condom that people really want to use, one that actually enhances pleasure?” Well, guess who else is asking that question? Bill & Melinda Gates. I guess even billionaires think condoms can be kind of a pain. Oh, wait, it’s not for them. The Bill & Melinda Gates FOUNDATION is offering a $100,000 cash prize to the person who can develop a condom that’s significantly easier and more pleasurable to use, which they hope will encourage more condom use and therefore reduce unplanned pregnancies and HIV around the world.

The one major drawback to more universal use of male condoms is the lack of perceived incentive for consistent use. The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom, creating a trade-off that many men find unacceptable, particularly given that the decisions about use must be made just prior to intercourse.  Is it possible to develop a product without this stigma, or better, one that is felt to enhance pleasure?  If so, would such a product lead to substantial benefits for global health, both in terms of reducing the incidence of unplanned pregnancies and in prevention of infection with HIV or other STIs?



Here's the link. So get to work, budding scientists. And I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but I don’t think the answer is “flavors.”

No, not Bob Marley the dead reggae singer -- Bob Marley the comedian, who got a little intimidated when he went to buy a new car.

1) News flash! Something interesting happened at a golf tournament!

Did you watch any golf on TV over the weekend? Me neither. But this shot at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was pretty cool. Sergio Garcia’s ball got caught 15 feet up in a big tree, and y’know, you gotta play it as it lies, so Garcia climbed up into the branches of this massive tree, his caddy handed him a club, and he swug the club backwards and knocked the ball back onto the green. They should have more of this in golf:

2) Howard Schultz invites investor to sell his Starbucks stock



Did you hear Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, shut down a stockholder at the Starbucks annual meeting last week? This investor tried to argue that the company’s support for gay marriage was hurting business.  And Schutlz said he wasn’t backing down on the issue.

Okay, so he did sell the Sonics to those clowns in Oklahoma City.  But you gotta give him credit for doing the right thing on this issue.

3) Dust off your turntable -- Record Store Day is coming

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Record Store Day – this is a day to celebrate independent record stores every year, and tons of bands create special limited releases just for this day. Usually most of this stuff is from alt-rock and indie bands, but a lot of classic bands are putting cool vinyl out this year. Here's the list so far from Ultimate Classic Rock:

Aerosmith – ‘Aerosmith’ – 12″ 180-gram vinyl
Aerosmith – ‘Get Your Wings’ – 12″ 180-gram vinyl
Aerosmith – ‘Toys in the Attic – 12″ 180-gram vinyl
The Animals – ‘The Animals is Here’ – 10″ LP
The Animals – ‘The Animals Are Back’ – 10″ LP
The Band – ‘The Last Waltz – 12″ LP
Bon Jovi – ‘Bon Jovi Live’ – 12″ picture disc
David Bowie – ‘Drive-In Saturday Night’ – 7″ picture disc
David Bowie- ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ – 7″ vinyl
Cream – ‘Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005′ – Three-LP vinyl box set
Deep Purple/Type O Negative – ‘Side by Side: Highway Star’- 7″ vinyl
The Doors/X – ‘Side by Side: Soul Kitchen’ – 7″ vinyl
Bob Dylan – ‘Wigwam’ – 7″ vinyl
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – ‘The First Five: A Picture Disc Collection’ – Box set
Grateful Dead – ‘Rare Cuts & Oddities 1966′ – 12″ vinyl
Jimi Hendrix – ‘Hey Joe’ B/W ‘Stone Free’ – 7″ vinyl
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – ‘Album’ – 12″ vinyl
King Crimson – ‘Going Schizoid With King Crimson’ – CD and collectables set
Paul McCartney and Wings – ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ – 12″ vinyl
Pink Floyd – ‘See Emily Play’ B/W ‘Scarecrow’ – 7″ vinyl
R.E.M. – ‘Live in Greensboro’ – CD
Rolling Stones – ’5 X 5′ EP – 7″ vinyl
Small Faces – ‘Green Circles’ – 7″ vinyl
Small Faces – ‘Here Comes the Nice’ – 7″ vinyl
Small Faces – ‘There Are But Four Small Faces’ – 12″ vinyl
Ringo Starr – ‘Ringo’ – 7″ vinyl box set
Frank Zappa – ‘I’m the Slime’ B/W ‘Montana 7′ – 7″ vinyl

Record Store Day is Saturday, April 20; I'll remind you again just before it happens so you don't miss out on these collectibles.

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 . . . and then I saw this:

Travelling to Paris this spring? Here are some tourist tips from Steve Martin:
 

1) Maybe this will make us the world class city we're always talking about

What would you think about Seattle hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics? Apparently Seattle officials are entering into "informal talks" with the U.S. Olympic committee – I guess just meeting casually at a Starbucks, wearing polo shirts and khakis  --  just to get an idea of what would be involved in taking this on. I think we already know what would be involved: a traffic nightmare, and a lot of money!  They do say a lot of our infrastructure improvements will be finished by 2024, like the Alaskan Way tunnel, the 520 Bridge and the Link Light Rail expansion, and we could use lots of existing venues, from Safeco and Century Link Field to Husky Stadium to Comcast Arena in Everett and ShoWare Center in Kent (a stately Olympic venue if there ever was one!) and they could even give Emerald Downs a makeover for equestrian events.



I really don't want to be a wet blanket, and I know we're always looking for ways to prove to ourselves that we are, indeed, a "world class city," but I'm very skeptical that Seattleites would really be okay with the expense and the hassles that an endeavor like this would entail.But maybe I'm wrong -- I'd love to get your thoughts on The Mountain's Facebook page.  Did I mention the traffic?

2) In case you've run out of ways to drop a few grand in Las Vegas



If you’ve always had dreams of rock stardom, maybe you need to go to Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas.  We’re only two weeks away from your chance to jam out with Def Leppard. I guess they do these camps all the time, but this one is really big – over the course of four days, you’ll be placed in a band and  mentored by real musicians, you’ll hang out with the members of Def Leppard, you’ll see them play live at the Hard Rock in Vegas, and you’ll play live on stage at the end of the weekend, performing the songs you learned at camp. Oh yeah, and it costs $5,999. Maybe this will get you revved up for it:

If you've got an extra six grand burning a hole in your pocket, get all the details here.

3) Step away from the NCAA Tournament, leave your house, and go to a movie this weekend

Going to see a movie this weekend? Well, there's Admission. Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen . . . . A straight-laced Princeton University admissions officer makes a recruiting visit to an alternative high school run by her former college classmate, and she's on her way to romance and fulfillment. And I guess the child she gave up for adoption 18 years ago shows up, too. Here’s my question – do you want to see Tina Fey do drama? I’m not sure that’s what people want from Tina Fey. So, possible conceptual flaw in this film.

And then there's Olympus Has Fallen. Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, and Ashley Judd.  The White House (Code Name: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped. The only guy who can save the day is a disgraced former Secret Service agent who's trapped in the building, so it becomes his mission to retake the White House, save the President and avert global disaster. It’s kinda like Air Force One, only it's not in the air. And -- spoiler alert – just like in Air Force One, I hear the President ends up punching out the terrorist. With his bare fists. It could happen.

Remember Andrew Dice Clay? The Diceman? The Sklar Brothers sure do, and it's not a happy memory.

1) Facebook changes again -- but this time it's good

Here’s yet another change coming to Facebook, but I think you’ll like this one. It’s something you see all the time if you’re on message boards for bands or support groups or whatever -- it's REPLIES. Right now, If you post something on Facebook, and people comment, and you want to reply to a comment, you have to just add a comment at the bottom of the thread. Now you’ll be able to post a reply to a specific comment, and it’ll show up right under that comment. This is good; it'll make for a more direct conversation. It starts on Monday, and it’ll go wide by June. So far they’re just rolling this out on Pages, like radio stations, and profiles with more than 10,000 followers. So if you want to use replies on your personal page, you’re probably gonna need to make more friends. TechCrunch has more about the changes here.

2) The next U2 album may be coming sooner than we think



Here’s the most encouraging tidbit we’ve seen yet about the next U2 album. The band’s bass player, Adam Clayton, says they’re working with uber-producer Danger Mouse right now (he’s produced the Black Keys, Norah Jones, and Beck) and Clayton said his U2 bandmates "very much want to have a record out by the end of the year, September, October, November. That kind of time… We’re really trying to get into territory that we’re not comfortable in, if that makes sense…” It’s been four years since the band released No Line on the Horizon and these are the most promising comments since last July when Bono said “We’ve had the best three weeks in the studio since 1979…” I'm sure  recording can be a daunting task for those guys. I would think when you’re U2, there’s a lot of pressure not to put out a lame album. People have certain expectations. So the fact that they're using Danger Mouse is encouraging. It means they're not locked into a formula.

3) Dark Side of the Moon -- an American treasure?



This month marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 741 weeks, and sold 15 million copies in the US. To mark the occasion, the Pink Floyd website will be streaming The Dark Side Of The Moon all the way through starting Saturday night.  (In case there’s someone on the planet who doesn’t know what it sounds like?) The band is also encouraging fans to send messages and photos related to the album via Twitter using the hashtag #DarkSide40. The tweets will automatically cause a side of a specially-designed moon at pinkfloyd.com  to darken. And right now on their website they’re showing new variations on the legendary "prism" album cover – they’re going to combine the designs to form a digital poster that you'll be able to download.

And -- perfect timing --  Pink Floyd's masterpiece is one of 25 Sounds of the 20th Century being added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress today for long-term preservation due to its "cultural, artistic and historic importance." (And because it’s fun to sync up with the Wizard of Oz when you’re baked.) Also going in: Chubby Checker's "The Twist," Simon & Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence album, and the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. No offense, Pink Floyd, but hey, doesn't Britain honor its own artists? What are you doing in OUR library of congress? I hate to sound like Bill O'Reilly here, but shouldn't that be for American records? How about putting Pink Floyd in the Library of Parliament in London? (Actually, I don't even know if there is a Library of Parliament in London.)

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Gary Gulman wonders how Spencer Gifts stays in business.

1) Who are the richest musicians of all time?

Business Insider factored in inflation and compiled the stats on the wealthiest musicians ever.  They say:

You can easily guess the wealthiest living musicians, but how do they stack up to the richest musicians ever? It helps to emerge at the right time (the late 1960s and early ‘70s or the mid- to late-‘90s, the two moments when the now-shrunken industry was at its largest), make shrewd investments (in publishing and elsewhere, but also by capitalizing on one’s own brand), and working across different media platforms (television, film, and touring). Adjusting fortunes going as far back the the pre-rock-and-roll era for inflation, we made some surprising discoveries.

Counting them up from #10, here's the list:

#10 Michael Jackson $350 million, despite some bad investments and paying off a few families to make some unpleasant accusations go away.

#9 Jimmy Buffett who may be barefoot on the beach, but he’s worth $400 million.

#8 Dolly Parton  She sang "9 to 5" and they say she does have an impressive work ethic.

#7 Jay Z Not just a musician but a CEO and a basketball team owner.

#6 Maria Carey The wealthiest living female musician (and a judge on "Idol.")

#5 Shawn “Diddy” Combs, rapper, enterpreneur, vodka enthusiast.

#4 Bing Crosby who was worth half a billion dollars because of his entertainment empire – besides making records and movies, he owned everything from TV stations to horse racing tracks.

#3 Bono, who’s worth $600 million – he also knows how to invest wisely.

#2 Paul McCartney whose Beatle royalties as well as the 25,000 other musical copyrights he owns make him worth $800 million.

#1 And the richest musician of all time is . . .



the guy who gave us Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera and Cats . . . Andrew Lloyd Weber is worth $1.2 billion. Sure, it's great to be a billionaire, but isn't it hard to sleep at night knowing you inflicted Cats on the world?

Check out the whole list in detail here.

2) Spring is here! Time to thwart bicycle thieves

Since it’s the first day of spring, let’s be optimistic and pretend that biking weather is almost here. If you've ever had your bicycle stolen, you knowit's not fun. A Chicago-based startup has a solution -- a gadget that alerts your smartphone when your bike is tampered with and makes it easy to notify the police. The Bike Spike  attaches to your bike and tracks its location through your phone or computer . . .and the device also has an accelerometer so it can detect a crash, pinpoint its location and let key people on your contact list know that you're down. Parents could also be alerted when kids ride outside of a set "safe zone." These guys are trying to raise the money on Kickstarter to get this thing going, so check it out here.  It seems like a pretty good idea.

3) But how does a rainbow paint scheme affect your resale value?

This is kind of heartwarming.  You know those evil people at the Westboro Baptist Church who for some reason like to protest at the funerals of dead soldiers with anti-gay banners and chants? A guy who founded a group called Planting Peace bought the house across the street from the Church headquarters in Topeka, Kansas for $81,000 and he just painted the entire outside of the house in the colors of the gay rights rainbow flag.

This is from the Planting Peace website:

For too long, the Westboro Baptist Church has been targeting the LGBTQ community with messages of hate and discrimination. Often, protesting American soldiers’ funerals and organizations that support equality. This faction preaches extremism in our communities and directly targets our youth. To combat their messages of hate and to support equality and anti-bullying initiatives in schools and in our community, Planting Peace has established the Equality House in Topeka, KS.

Located directly across from the Westboro Baptist Church, the House is a symbol of equality, peace, and positive change. The house, which is painted the colors of the Pride flag, will serve as the resource center for all Planting Peace equality and anti-bullying initiatives and will stand as a visual reminder of our commitment, as global citizens, to equality for all.

We invite you to support our movement and encourage you to donate today to these equality and anti-bullying initiatives.

For too long, the Westboro Baptist Church has been targeting the LGBTQ community with messages of hate and discrimination. Often, protesting American soldiers’ funerals and organizations that support equality. This faction preaches extremism in our communities and directly targets our youth. To combat their messages of hate and to support equality and anti-bullying initiatives in schools and in our community, Planting Peace has established the Equality House in Topeka, KS.

Nice to throw a little of that right in the faces of those people showing up to do their perverted work every day.   And jeez, $81,000 for a house in Topeka, Kansas? That sounds like a nice place. What’s the weather like there?

Henry Cho has a dumb friend.

Fred Rogers would have been 85 today. I missed his shows as a little kid, but when I was in college I worked behind the scenes at our school's public TV station, and every day before we produced our 5:30 news, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood played on the control room monitors, so I probably saw all his shows later than most kids did --  while working my way through college.

Anyway, now that I have a kid of my own (here he is throwing sand into Lake Washington . . . )

I can better appreciate the gentle and straightfroward way Mister Rogers talked to the kids who were watching him, and how he took them into this magical world where he encouraged them to use their imaginations but also to be themselves.

If you haven't seen this remix, it perfectly captures the spirit of the man.  Enjoy:

The matchups are getting tougher in March Mountain Bandness.  I mean, U2 vs. The Doors? I love 'em both!  But I never got a chance to see The Doors, and I have seen U2 a few times, including here in Seattle at Qwest Field (as we called it then) back in June of 2011. And that night, as part of U2's typically over the top stage production, we saw one of the most beautiful, emotional, spine-tingling moments I've ever experienced at a concert -- when Bono dedicated "Beautiful Day" to Gabby Giffords, and then her husband, NASA Commander Mark Kelly, checked in from the Inernational Space Station.  Brilliant, and breakthaking:

You vote the way you want. Me, I'm going with U2 in this round. To check out the matchups and cast your vote, go here.

1)  The iPhone app for people who don't trust their friends, family, or coworkers

Here’s an iPhone app for you if you're juuuust a little bit paranoid about your so-called friends or loved ones. It’s Big Brother Camera Security. Once you set this app up, anyone who picks up your iPhone is asked to enter a passcode. If they fail to enter the correct passcode, the camera takes their picture using the front-facing camera. They get another try, and the app takes another photo, if they once again fail, the app instantly emails you both the photo and the location of your phone.

So it’s a little like the Find My iPhone app, but it also busts whoever’s taking a peek at your phone. Honestly, I hope you’re surrounded by friends and coworkers you can trust . . . but if not, you can grab this free app here.

2)  Transparency: Good for government, and windows, but not so good for Yoga clothes

Do we have any women yoga students out there? Do you have any yoga pants from Lululemon?   Perhaps the women’s black bottoms in luon fabric, in the tighter fitting silhouettes? Purchased the first week of March? Well, there’s a little problem with those yoga pants – they’re basically see-through. Lululemon says the weight and longevity of the black bottoms are fine, but the coverage is not. They’re a little more sheer than they’re supposed to be, which means whoever’s behind you during your downward dog is going to see something that’ll make them say "OmmmmmMy God!" They’ve pulled those pants from their stores and they’ll give you a refund or exchange if you take your defective ones in.  Here's the FAQ from the Lululemon website.

3) The first Steve Jobs movie that's coming out will be a comedy

The release of the Steve Jobs movie starring Ashton Kutcher has been pushed back, another Jobs movie from Aaron Sorkin (who wrote The Social Network) is still being written, so now it looks like the first Jobs movie we’ll see is a 60-minute film from the comedy website Funny Or Die. It’s going to be called iSteve, and it stars Justin Long, who was in those Apple ads – he was the guy who said “I’m A Mac.” Jorge Garcia, better known as Hurley on Lost, plays Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The director says in keeping with the spirit of the internet, they didn’t do a lot of research – they basically got all their background from Steve Jobs Wikipedia page.  iSteve will premiere online on April 15.

Andy Kindler hits several topics here, but you have to set your brain to the year 2003, when texting was less common and Queer Eye was the newest TV sensation.

1) For uber-fans of Stevie Nicks, a new documentary will run one night only in Seattle



We're still more than two months away from Fleetwood Mac's gig at the Tacoma Dome March 20, but here's a little something to tide you over until then. It's a documentary about Stevie called In Your Dreams, and if you're a hard core fan, you're going to want to see this. It's about Stevie's life, and more specifically about the making of her last solo album with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. Here's the trailer:

They're showing the movie one night only in Seattle, Tuesday April 2 at the Guild 45th theater in Wallingford. You can buy advance tickets now here.
 

2) How about morphing your face with, say, a dog's face?

If you've ever saw the movie Face/Off with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, you'll understand the concept here.  It's an app called Face Stealer.  You can basically replace your face with someone else's. The app comes with a small collection of pre-loaded faces, like Albert Einstein and President Obama, or you can find your own images to use, and sort of morph one into your face.  I actually did it with the dog image they provide, and as you can see, I make a pretty lovable pooch.

Face Stealer is free; it works with any iOS device with a front-facing camera, and even lets you share your freaky creations on Facebook or Twitter.

3) A device to make breakfast better

I’m always telling you about high tech apps and gadgets like the one above; well here’s one that’s a little different. I know this sounds kind of weird, but there’s a new gadget that just might change the way you eat breakfast – it’s the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker.  You put an English Muffin, maybe a sausage patty, some cheese, a slice of tomato, whatever, in this thing, and pour an egg in, clamp it shut, turn it on, and 5  minutes later you have a breakfast sandwich. It’s hot, it’s delicious . . .It’s like a homemade Egg McMuffin, only with fresh ingredients that you pick. They say the machine is easy to clean, and it’s $29.95.  You can see it in action here: 

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Todd Barry has a misadventure with technical support when he tries to upgrade some software.

1) New planet discovered . . . in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood

2) Maybe this means spring is almost here

Mariners single-game tickets go on sale tomorrow (Saturday 3/16) at 10am. They’re pricing the tickets dynamically – the earlier you buy, the cheaper the tickets, and they say 90% of all single-game tickets will be offered at or below 2012 prices.  No service charge if you buy at the Safeco box office or Mariner’s team stores. So you might want to grab tickets while you can for Opening Night April 8 against the Astros (also magnetic schedule night), or Bat Night, Early Father’s Day Travel Mug Night, Felix Hernandez Perfect Game Bobblehead Night, Dustin Ackley Gnome Night, or Ken Griffey Jr. Hall of Fame Bobblehead Night. I’m going for American Spirit Cigarette night -- always a fave with the kids. All the details are here (not about the cigarette thing -- that's fake.  But everything else is real, and it's here.)
 

3) The taco that saved the American economy

Have you heard this story about how Taco Bell has created 15,000 jobs in the US thanks to its Doritos Locos Taco? The  neon-orange, meat-filled taco, wrapped in a Nacho Cheese Dorito shell, was The Bell's biggest hit of 2012; they sold over a million of these babies every day. A million!  Every day! They’ve just unveiled the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, which can only improve their sales outlook, and they think they’ll add 2,000 new restaurants in the next 10 years. Taco Bell is single handedly propping up the American economy!  Muchas gracias, Taco Bell!

As March Mountain Bandness continues, today brings some really tough choices for you, the voter.  For me, also a voter, it's an especially hard decision because I've been lucky enough to see both of these legendary British bands back in the day, and they were both a huge part of why I fell in love with rock & roll in the first place.

First, there's Led Zeppelin. When I first heard Zeppelin's early records they almost scared me -- they were so intense and raucous. But I knew they really scared my parents, which of course made me love Zeppelin even more. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I saw them in the spring of 1977 at the Pontiac Silverdome outside of my hometown of Detroit.  The place was a giant cavern (the home of the Detroit Lions at the time) and even though the weather was wintery, they didn't seem to be bothering with heat, because it was freaking cold in there. We waited in line outside in the frigid Michigan weather for a couple of hours, only to find that it was nearly as cold inside the place. Anyway, at least I can say I saw Zeppelin. It was their last U.S. tour, and of course they called it quits after John Bonham died in 1980.

Here's Zeppelin in action at Seattle's Kingdome in 1977. (As always, great acoustics in there!)
 

And speaking of bands who lost their drummers, there's The Who. I LOVED The Who as a kid, and I still think Who's Next is one of the greatest albums ever. The only time I saw The Who live was on a grimly historical night: December 3, 1979 at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. I was working for a radio station in Columbus, Ohio, and we'd taken a busload of lucky listeners down to Cincinnati for the Who concert. Unfortunately, this was the night that 11 kids died in the crush of fans when they opened the doors of the mostly general-admission venue. We didn't know this at the time, nor did the band, until after the show. Obviously this was way before cellphones, so when I called the radio station on a pay phone to do a post-concert report before getting back on the bus for the drive home, the people at the station were in a panic. They'd gotten frantic calls from the parents of all these kids that were with us, and they were understandably freaking out after seeing TV news reports about what had happened.  Luckily, everybody in our group was okay and we made it out of there safe and sound.

Here's The Who at the top of their game from Who's Next in 1971:

This is a cautionary tale that I like to play before major holidays that involve alcohol, like St. Patrick's Day. Jim Breuer looks at drinking from the stomach's point of view.

I thought this sounded just about right for Friday morning . . . .

If you know a Metallica fan, they have to hear this:  A Palm Springs DJ has put together a mashup of every time Metallica's lead singer James Hetfield says "YEAH" in a song. That's it -- just 3 minutes and 15 seconds of screaming "YEAHs" for your listening pleasure. If you'd like to play the whole thing and really irritate the person in the next cubicle, here you go.  Turn it up!

1) "Siri, call me a cab. I'm too wasted to drive, as I'm sure you know."

You knew this had to happen sooner or later. A company is bringing out a little device that you plug into your smartphone to test your blood-alcohol level. The Breathometer is about the size of a keychain; you plug it into the headphone jack of your iPhone or Android phone, launch the app, blow into a little hole, and find out if you should call a cab instead of driving home. (Really, the thing should just call a cab for you --- it IS plugged into your phone.) Anyway, the Breathometer will cost about 20 bucks when it comes out in January . . .although since it’s a startup, you can pay more to support the company and get your Breathometer sooner. (I guess it’s too late for St. Patrick’s Day, though.) Details here.

2) Concert tickets? Check. ID? Check. Cell phone? Check. Mouth guard? Check.



The Guns 'N' Roses tour is in Australia this week, and it started with trouble the first night when Axl Rose threw his wireless microphone into the crowd in Perth and it broke a fan’s two front teeth. Darren Wright said “With the bright lights and explosions, I couldn’t see anything. The next thing I knew, I was whacked in the mouth. I thought I had been punched. I was quite stunned and it took a few seconds to realize what was going on. I could feel bits of teeth in my mouth. Then someone is climbing through my legs to grab the microphone.” He said he has no hard feelings towards GNR; he just wants the band to pay to get his teeth fixed, which he figures will cost about 5,000 bucks. Hey, at least Axl was there on time.

3) When you've completely run out of useless things to spend your money on . . . .

I found a funny little product that might be a good gift for someone you know who’s always listening to music on their phone or an iPod or whatever. It’s ear buds.  But the left one looks like the top of a yellow pencil with a pink eraser, and the right one looks like the pointy end of the pencil, with the lead  . . so when you wear these things, it looks like a pencil is sticking right through your head. Funny, right? Magic Pencil Earphones are a real thing that costs 50 bucks.  Hey, Mother's Day is May 12 . . . .
 

In today's head-to-head matchups for March Mountain Bandness, you've got a couple of bands that I alwasy thought were similar in one important way: Although they're capable of rocking quite intensely, both Guns 'N' Roses and Def Leppard also have a fondness for great melodies in a lot of their music.  It's not just loud noise for the sake of loud noise -- there's some finesse to their music. (I know what you're saying -- Guns 'N' Roses? Finesse? What are you smoking, John?)

But I give you Exhibit A -- the title track from Def Leppard's 1987 album Hysteria.  Three years in the making, a period of time that included a car crash that cost the band's drummer, Rick Allen, his left arm, I think this is a great example of what makes Def Leppard an above-average hard rock band, and it's one reason they're getting my vote in the March Mountain Bandness brackets.

Tommy Johnagin hits a lot of topics in a short amount of time, including getting in a fight, having children, and taking a car to the mechanic. Enjoy:

When you ask non-actors to do some acting, you often get pretty shaky results. But this year's crop of commercials for the Mariners show that the team has some pretty charismatic stars on the roster.

As they explain on the Mariners website:

Felix Hernandez abandoned his "Little Felix" partner this year and goes with a "hot sauce" he promotes, along with his fastball.

Dustin Ackley gets burdened down with lucky charms from fans. Michael Morse, Michael Saunders and Kyle Seager unveil some surprising undergarments that help them stay relaxed on the field and Ibanez pops up at the last second for a fan with a magic genie lamp.

Shortstop Brendan Ryan and closer Tom Wilhelmsen share their spotlight with a 2,000-pound buffalo, which made for an interesting film session.

"I got out there early enough to meet the buffalo," Wilhelmsen said. "When I felt him breathing on my arm, it was pretty intimidating. He was a big boy and I guess they can be quite violent. The guy was saying, 'I'm the only buffalo tamer in town. Everybody else is dead. Got killed by the buffalo.' That's when I went to the dugout."

Ryan stayed on the field with the big bison, fielding ground balls and shooting scenes in close proximity to "Harvey" for nearly two hours with what the shortstop claimed was little trepidation.

"He had friendly eyes, you know?" Ryan said. "We had a connection. There was an understanding."

It's got to be tough to keep these fresh every season, and to be perfectly honest,  I think that some years they seem as if maybe they're trying a little too hard, but I feel as if this year's batch is just right. Watch the whole package of 2013 spots here and check out a few of my faves below:

And here are some behind-the-scenes outtakes. Pretty funny:

Read more about the new M's commercials here.

It's not nice to make fun of the way other people laugh. Unless you're TJ Miller.

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2) Your car has a brain, and now you can tap into it

Here’s a cool device that uses your iPhone to save you time and money if you drive a lot.  You know, every car has an onboard computer, and service technicians can plug into that computer to diagnose problems when your check engine light comes on. Now you can buy a little thingy that plugs into  your car’s data port and communicates wirelessly to your phone. It's called Automatic Link, and the company says:

The Automatic Link activates every time a driver turns a car on or off, and it generates a trip report showing where a car went, what its fuel efficiency was on the trip, and what that equates to in gas costs. It also displays weekly trends and timelines that can be shared with other owners of the same model of vehicle. As a driver continues to use the device, it generates a weekly driving score report, logging things such as rough braking, speeding, and rapid acceleration. Users can then alter their driving behaviors in order to improve fuel efficiency going forward. Automatic Link also uses GPS information to gauge the price of filling a car's tank by cross-referencing nearby filling stations, gas prices, and the current gas tank level.

This video shows you how it works:

So basically, Automatic Link keeps track of where you’re going, how much fuel you’re using, how efficiently you’re driving (like whether you’re starting and stopping too quickly) and when warning lights come on, it can tell you what’s wrong and in many cases you can use your phone to reset the warning without having to take the car in for service. The Automatic Link costs 70 bucks, at the moment it only works with iPhones, and here's their website.

3) Now you can own the great Eagles documentary, and a lot of other Eagles crap

if you didn’t catch the excellent documentary The History of the Eagles that was on Showtime last month, we have a release date for the DVD – It’s April 30.. It is a three-disc set containing parts one and two which ran on Showtime, plus Eagles Live at the Capital Centre - March 1977 on the third disc. It will be available on DVD and Blu-ray with Surround Sound and it’ll contain a photo  book. But wait -- there's more.

A limited-edition deluxe version will contain three Blu-ray discs; a 40-page case-bound book featuring still photos from the film; 10 archival-quality photographs of the band and a specially created lithograph of the band’s desert-bleached skull icon. It will all be encased in a specially designed foil-stamped and embossed box with a Native American blanket-inspired liner, wrapped in a leather tie, and fastened with a bone button. So, not overkill at all. But don't let all that swag distract you from the fact that it really is an entertaining film, and even if you're not a huge Eagles fan, it's fascinating to get some insight into the personalities of the guys in that band.  Check out the trailer:

... you're wrong!

As March Mountain Bandness continues, and you have to make some tough choices about which bands will advance to the next round, some matchups are no-brainers. I mean, Pink Floyd vs. Superttramp? Come on! No contest, right?

Let me just take you back to the winter of 1979. I was living and working in Columbus, Ohio, and we had just gotten the new Pink Floyd album The Wall at the radio station. This was back in the day when record labels sent enough copies of new albums for everybody at the station to get a freebie, and mine was actually on cassette (handy for in-car listening back then.)  I popped it into the slot on the dash of my yellow '77 VW Rabbit and headed out on a very snowy afternoon for a drive through the Ohio countryside so I could get to know this much-anticipated new release.

Suffice it to say: Mind blown.  The Wall is still an album that raises the hair on the back of my neck every time I hear it, as well as taking me back to that winter day in 1979 when the snow blew all around me as I listened for the very first time. For me, this is still the peak moment of the record:

And don't even get me started on Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Meddle . . .. . well, you do what you want. I'm voting for these guys, and I think they'll be there for the finals.

Check out the brackets and cast your vote in march Mountain Bandness here.

1) Will you publicly pledge your allegiance to the Seattle Sonics?

Are you excited about the possibility of the Sonics coming back to Seattle?  REALLY excited? ‘Cause Chris Hansen, our big rich billionaire buddy who wants to bring Sonics basketball back to Seattle, is going to ask you if you want to get on the Priority Ticket Waitlist.  KING5 says starting Thursday, you can go to sonicsarena.com and register your interest in season tickets – and if you were a season ticket holder way back in the 2007-2008 season, you’ll have a chance to sign up for your same seats in Key Arena, which would be the teams temporary home for a couple of years. I guess Hansen would like to demonstrate to the NBA that there is lots of fan interest in the return of the Sonics as he goes head to head against the group from Sacramento that wants to keep the team down there. I don't think you're actually commiting to anything, or being guaranteed anything, if you sign up -- but a demonstration of lots of fan interest has got to help our case here in Seattle.

2) Two Brithish legends of rock are putting out new music today

Eric Clapton’s 21st studio album comes out today.  Old Sock contains 12 songs, but only two originals. Clapton admits he prefers doing other people’s songs. He says, "I've always considered myself as being an interpreter anyway.  I could do albums of covers for the rest of my life. I don't have to write songs . . . .Normally, I would just happily play in a cover band. That would suit me fine."  The new record has guest appearances by JJ Cale, Steve Winwood, Chaka Kahn of Rufus, and Paul McCartney; Slowhand’s tour starts Thursday in Phoenix, but unfortunately that’s as far west as he going  -- it’s Phoenix, and then he heads East.

Then there's David Bowie. He's back today with his first new album in almost 10 years. The Next Day is Bowie’s 30th studio album, and he’s excited because he knows he’s done something good when he gets that special feeling. "There's a certain kind of excitement that I couldn't really explain that with the rest of the guys in the band you kind of know that what you're doing is really, really hot and it's really good. It has something unusual to say. It's an indefinable quality. That's one of the best things about music, is that there is a point where you can't articulate what's going on, and that's why it is music.."  Sadly for us, Bowie  doesn’t plan to tour except for a one-off appearance here and there. He’s excited, but not excited enough to get off his couch and actually tour.

3) These bands coming to the Northwest will let you relive their live show over and over

You know Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd are hitting the road this summer, right? The first of their dates together will be at the White River Ampitheater on June 20 and if you go, you’ll be able to walk away from the concert with an individually numbered, high-quality recording of the show you just heard. For $30 you  can reserve a CD, which comes with a bonus “rockumentary” CD that includes band interviews. They’ll burn it and have it ready for you to pick up as you leave the show. So don’t get too baked and forget about it until you’re back in Lake Forest park . . ..  "Dude, my CD! Turn the car around -- we have to go back to Auburn!"

Babies and wives: some family-oriented comedy from Jeff Cesario.

I had to stop into the station for a few minutes over the weekend, so I brought my 18-month-old son Dawson with me, because he likes to see where Daddy goes to work. As we were leaving, "Sunday Brunch" was blasting on the overhead speakers in the office, and Dawson spontaneously started shaking it to the music. Then he walked over and inspected some posters on the wall, and wandered over to a little audio mixer that he spotted sitting on the floor. The kid loves knobs and buttons, so of course he had to take a closer look at that. Then, as we were getting ready to leave, he stopped at the wastebasket, took a look inside, and confirmed that it was "yucko."

1) Spring ahead, fall  . . . . . down?

Today is one of the most dangerous days of the year – and it’s all because of daylight saving time.Even though it starts on Sunday, experts say the most acute effects occur on the first Monday after clocks spring forward. In other words, today.  Heart attacks are more likely in the first week after daylight time starts. There are way more traffic accidents. Workplace accidents are more common -- and more severe -- on the Monday after switching. Suicides go up. At the very least there’s more cyberloafing – sleepily surfing the web instead of actually being productive at work. (Okay, that's not really going to hurt anybody, unless you're an air traffic controller.)  ANYWAY – be careful out there, especially on the road . . .because even if you think you’re okay, everybody else is driving around in a daze. The solution might be to stay on daylight time all year round, so we wouldn't have to go through these painful transistions. Why not? Here in the Northwest, we can use all the extra daylight we can get. Read more here, if you can stay awake.

2) Finally! A way to analyze your own urine, with your phone!

If you’re super diligent about your health, or maybe a little bit of a hypochondriac, here’s an  app for you . . it’s called UCheck, and it lets you take a urine sample with your smartphone. I know what you’re thinking . . . hey, won’t that wreck my phone when I dip it in the cup? Actually, it turns out you pee into a cup, put a color-coded urinalysis strip into the cup, take of photo of the results, and then the app does its thing.

Uchek can detect up to 25 diseases, including diabetes and  urinary tract infections. It  can also measure levels of glucose, proteins, ketones, and more. So basically the app just analyzes the test strip, but they claim it can interpret the results way more accurately than humans can. The app will cost you 99 cents BUT a packet of strips and a color-coded user guide is $20. And that's where they get you -- the dang test strips. It's like razors and razor blades. They suck you in with a good price on the razor and then you're spending a fortune on blades. More on Ucheck here.

3) As if Safeco Field didn't already have the fanciest cuisine in the major leagues

Here’s kind of a nice amenity to look forward to when Safeco Field reopens for M’s baseball next month.  According to Eater Seattle, Anu Apte,  the woman who owns and runs Rob Roy, a swanky cocktail bar in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, is going to create the cocktail menu for Edgar Martinez's new bar just off left field. Edgar’s Cantina will feature Edgar’s own mezcal, El Zacatecano, in its margaritas, as well as some original drinks created just for the venue . . . .and you’ll be able to stand in the bar, drink these fancy cocktails, and watch the action. Apparently there’s more to stadium cuisine than just garlic fries and beer . . . .Read more here.

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I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, and when I was a kid, Bob Seger was THE MAN. Long before he hit it big across the country with Nght Moves in 1976, we were rocking to Seger classics like "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "Heavy Music," "2+2=?", "Ivory," "Noah" . . . . .all huge hits on Detroit radio in the sixties, and probably for the most part unknown to the rest of America. Seger and his band (aka the Bob Seger System) acutally used to play highschool dances around Detroit when I was barely a teenager. The guy's been at this for a long time.

Now, you can probably make a case that Seger's best days are behind him. He hasn't made any breakthrough music in a long time. But since he's paired up against Steve Miller in March Mountain Bandness, I thought I'd step in and let you know where my allegiance lies. Sure, Steve Miller is a great guitarist and has some undeniable classics to his credit . . . and, much like Seger, he's not making new music that anybody's flipping out over these days.

For this midwestern guy, though, Bob Seger wins his bracket because . . . . well, because his music is the real soundtrack of my formative years. Sure, the Beatles and the Stones were everywhere, but along with all those Motown records, in Michigan, Bob Seger was ours.

Check him out here sometime in the mid-1960s, lip-synching his hit on some cheesey teen music show:

Check out the matchups, download and print the brackets, and cast your vote now in March Mountain Bandness.

1) Go ahead, stop believin' -- Journey might be done making albums.



The members of Journey say they might be done recording new albums.  Their last record, Eclipse, didn’t sell very well, and now they’re asking themselves, what do we care? Keyboardist Jonathan Cain says they can get along just fine on their classics.  “We have a great catalogue here. We’ve got a lot of songs that we're not even playing. So, we're like, 'What's the point of makin' a new CD right now?'" Well, it does give concertgoers a chance to head out to use the bathroom and buy a beer.

No matter what happens, they'll keep touring, because they found such an awesome lead singer to replace Steve Perry. And beginning today, you can see his saga in a new movie: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey. It’s the rags to riches story of Arnel Pineda, who went from poverty in Manila, in the Phillipines to replacing Steve Perry as the lead singer of Journey after the band discovered him on YouTube singing in a cover band.

The movie has a week-long run at the SIFF Cinema Uptown on Queen Anne in Seattle, and it’ll also be available starting tomorrow on most on-demand services . . . .check with your provider. It looks pretty cool.

2) Hey, this isn't just a crappy old doll -- it's a crappy old antique doll

You know, MOHAI, Seattle's Museum of History and Industry, is in its new home on South Lake Union . . .and Saturday is Bring Your Artifact to MOHAI Day.  Bring in your historic artifact, photograph, document or piece of complete junk and experts will help you figure out what you’re dealing with.  They say they’re not doing appraisals, so it’s not exactly like  Antiques Road Show on PBS, but they can tell you if you’ve got something that’s worth something or not. And by the way, they specifically say no firearms or large furniture allowed.  So don't even think about trying to haul in your prized vintage mahogany Civil War musket cabinet, okay?

3) You have been warned: 8 ways your clothes could be dangerous to your health

Do you have big weekend plans?  Maybe getting all dressed up and going out? Keep in mind this list that I found – 8 ways your clothes could be dangerous to your health. For instance -- and I think this would be mostly for the ladies -- thongs can cause urinary tract and vaginal infections.According to this article:

Along with being painful and annoying, it turns out that these undergarments can harbor bacteria in the most unwelcome of places. You should go for full cotton underpants, especially when you’re sleeping, to decrease the chances of infection.

Sexy!  There's lots more -- belts that are too tight (especially after a big meal -- I think that one's for us dudes), skinny jeans, too-heavy earrings, and pointy high heels.  Before you do any damage, check out the whole list at Huffington Post. 

Can you blame us for sticking with fleece and Gore-tex around here?

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Here's a funny little project I discovered on the NME website. A guy in Chicago named Mark Fischer was fascinated with the old Paint program that used to be part of Microsoft Windows, and he's made a hobby out of finding classic album covers that have been redone with MS Paint, collecting them, and sharing them on his website.

He says:

While some users 'cheated' by using a tracing function in the program, most attempted to recreate the covers freehand with just a mouse or the touch pad on their laptops. Some gave themselves a limit of five minutes to recreate the most recognizable essentials.

Take a look:

To see dozens more, go to PublicCollectors. Crazy!

Don't forget to stay on top of what's happening with Mountain music:  join the club.

Ah, the joys of parenthood. Jeff Foxworthy explains.

Today it's an all-rock & roll edition of THE FEED:

1) Legendary Ten Years After guitarist Alvin Lee is dead



Alvin Lee, the former singer and guitarist in Ten Years After, died on Wednesday after complications from a routine surgical procedure. He was 68. His band was very blues based – this historic performance at Woodstock pretty much sums up what the band was all about, although their biggest hit was the much tamer "I’d Love to Change The World" in 1971.

His family has posted a statement on his website saying, "We have lost a wonderful and much loved father and companion. The world has lost a truly great and gifted musician."

Lee started his professional career in 1962 in The Jaybirds, hitting their stride in the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, shortly after The Beatles achieved success there. The band relocated to London in 1966 and eventually morphed into Ten Years After. Their early albums were mainstays on U.S. progressive rock radio, and that support enabled them to tour the States 28 times in seven years stating in 1968, which was more than any other U.K. band. This success was further fueled by their appearance at Woodstock and its subsequent film.

Lee left the band in the mid-'70s and launched a solo career, and he was still making music right up until the end. He released his last album, Still on the Road to Freedom, last September.

2) The Big Man's family is suing his doctors

Clarence Clemons was in many ways the backbone of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. The sax player’s family is suing the doctors who treated him just before he suffered a fatal stroke in 2011. They say that the Big Man’s docs in Palm Beach, Florida, failed to make sure Clarence got a blood-thinning medication prior to hand surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, and that led to the stroke that killed him. They’re also suing the Palm Beach Cancer Clinic – Clarence’s widow Victoria says she found him lying on the floor of the clinic, confused and unable to speak the day after that hand surgery. Clarence was 69 when he died  . . .and this just makes you want to remember him in his prime, doesn’t it?

Check out this video tribute his wife posted after he died:

3) Dream On if you think Steven Tyler's giving up his fight against the paparazzi

Life can be tough when you’re a legendary rock star and you can’t even get a little privacy in your 4.8 million dollar vacation home on Maui. That’s why the Hawaii state senate just passed the Steven Tyler Act, which aims to protect celebrities from the paparazzi. Now the bill goes to the Hawaiian House.  WIth support from fellow Maui homeowner Mick Fleetwood, Tyler suggested the law to his senator after he claimed photographers had caused undue emotional distress to his family by publishing private photos of him and his girlfriend, Erin Brady.  As Steven testified, “Being a personality, no matter where we go we get shots — it’s part of the dealio. But when I’m in my own home and I’m taking a shower or changing clothes or eating or spending Christmas with my children ... it hurts.”

Here's some of Steven's testimony, with Mick at his side for moral support.
 

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Wanda Sykes loves animals . . . more than she likes certain people. 

Luckily, not everybody took so long to figure out their part, or they would've been in that studio for days.  Here's how it all came out, complete with the name of each singer:

 The bottom line is that since the song's release in 1985, the USA For Africa project has  raised more than $63 million for famine relief, so the song did its job. Obviously, it was the 1980s -- Huey Lewis, Cyindi Lauper, Dionne Warwick . . . . you get the idea.  There's a great behind-the-scenes look at the recording sessions here, and here's the full list of artists who were part of this whole thing:

Conductor

• Quincy Jones

1) "Ladies and gentlemen, please stow your pocket knives and pool cues until the aircraft has reached cruising altitude and the captain has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign . . . ." .

Some new rules about what you can take on a plane: For the first time since 9/11, you’ll be able to carry small knives, golf clubs, hockey sticks and pool cues into the cabins of commercial jets.  The TSA says these changes will bring the US in line with international carriers’ list of prohibited items, it’ll cut down the wait at security screening, ("sure, bring anything you want through here!! Just keep it moving!") and let agents focus on big threats that could actually take down a plane. Understandabley, the flight attendants union isn't too happy about this.

Realistically, nobody’s going to hijack a plane with a Swiss army knife. But fighting for overhead space is bad enough as it is, let alone when pepole are trying to find space to wedge their hockey sticks in up there.  And how long will it be before some drunk, angy passenger on a crowded, delayed, flight reaches up to pull his nine iron out of the over head bin? That’s a recipe for disaster.

2) Why won't the feds just leave us alone and let us have our legal weed?

Legalized marijuana here in Washington State (and in Colorado) isn't sitting well with some old-school drug enforcers. A group of 8 former DEA chiefs wants to nullify the laws here and in Colorado that legalized pot last year. They’re afraid there’ll be a domino effect and other states will legalize it too. Ooh, scary.  And the problem with that is . . . .what? A shortage of Cool Ranch Doritos when thousands of Washingtonians get the munchies? I think former DEA chiefs have a vested interest in keeping pot illegal so there’s something to keep their DEA cronies busy. Hey, fellas, how about if you quit protecting your turf and just let us have our weed. We voted for it. If you don’t like legalized marijuana, don’t smoke it.

3)  "I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany."

Good news:  Ron Burgundy returns! They’re about to start shooting Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues with Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Christina Applegate, and  new to the cast . . . Kristen Wiig from SNL. And --breaking news -- Harrison Ford just joined the cast of the sequel. 

He’s going to play a crusty old legendary newscaster in the vein of Tom Brokaw. It’s good clean idiotic fun, and it should be out around Christmas.

Here's a teaser:

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First we hear that the Blue Angels might have to cancel this summer because of sequestration. Now the Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Union are iffy, too. One Reel, the non-profit that's been putting on the fireworks for 25 years, says they need $500,000 to do the show this year. They've already lined up a few corporate sponsors -- Starbucks, Talking Rain, and restaurateur Tom Douglas, but they're asking for donations via their website. They have a little pie chart that shows how it's going, and so far the donations add up to only one little slice of pie, which is not good. (Well, pie is good, obvioulsy, but you know what I mean.) 

The deadline is March 31. Funny, on the same day the Forbes billionaire list comes out, we get this news.  You'd think one of our Northwest rich guys would have an extra 500K in a pants pocket somewhere. Come on -- Gates? Bezos? Ballmer? Allen? Nordstrom? Anybody? Who's in?

Eric Clapton's new album Old Sock comes out a week from today, but starting this morning, you can listen to the whole thing thanks to those rockers over at the Wall Street Journal. They're streaming the whole thing right now -- 10 covers of classic tunes that mean a lot to Clapton, plus two new tracks.

The WSJ Speakeasy blog says:

Clapton stretches out on a variety of sounds and styles, pulling up the reggae undertones of Taj Mahal’s “Further on Down the Road,” taking an uncharacteristic honky-tonk turn on the country standard “Born to Lose” and dabbling in vintage show tunes on the 1937 Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein ballad “The Folks Who Live on the Hill.” Old Sock has plenty of more familiar fare, too: the new song “Gotta Get Over” is a big, bluesy rocker soaked in electric guitar and soulful backing vocals, while Clapton limbers up his slide-guitar skills on a version of Leadbelly’s classic “Goodnight Irene.”

For the most part, it's EC in laid-back mode, but what I noticed on first listen is how great his voice sounds. A little world-weary, sure, but strong and confident. It sounds like healthy living over the last couple of decades has really paid off for Slowhand. Click here to stream the songs.

First, the Apple rumor (and this comes out of China, so you can believe it, I guess . . .’cause that’s where the little children actually make the phones with their tiny fingers)  . . .  The iPhone 5S will allegedly appear this June, or July, or maybe August.  So this would be an evolution of the current iPhone 5, with one big breakthrough – a fingerprint sensor beneath the phone’s home button that would let you unlock the phone without a password. (So whatever you do, don’t burn the ends of your fingers and ruin your fingerprints.)

Now, the non-Apple smartphone news:  Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S4 will use eye-tracking technology to let you scroll through web pages on the phone without touching the screen. The phone watches your eyes, and when your eyes hit the end of a paragraph, new paragraphs will come into view. That’s what they say. I hope there’s a way to make the phone close its eyes once in awhile. I’d like a little privacy when I’m playing Words With Friends in the bathroom. Samsung’s going to unveil the new phone a week from Thursday in New York City.

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Yup, that's the old Seinfeld place.

Check out the home of The Simpsons:

Or go retro with I Love Lucy:

It's all the work of a Spain-based interior designer named Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde; the series is simply called Floorplans. Probably the most amazing thing is how large some of these places are, expecially the New York apartments of the Friends crew and Carrie Bradshaw of Sex And The City. Slightly unbelievable, but hey, they needed to get cameras and lights and stuff in there, I guess. Frasier had a pretty nice place in a Seattle highrise, too, and Will & Grace lived in one of those remarkably spacious NYC pads. You can take a look, and check out all the other  floorplans, here.

Maybe you heard last week how Pete Townshend crushed a little girl’s dreams at a Who concert in Canada? The seven year old was sitting on her dad’s shoulders with a homemade sign that said “smash your guitar, Pete.” And Townshend scolded her and her father from the stage -– he said  “Don’t wave that sign. Just don’t wave it at me. Don’t bring your children [and] use them. And then he mouthed “F@&# off” to them. And the video went viral.

Now, according to Ultimate Classic Rock., Townshend has apologized.  He got a letter to the family that said, "I sympathize with you both, and I am most certainly not angry. I was not angry on stage either. I was in rock star mode, the big mouth. I could have handled it differently.” He even wants to try and meet the father and daughter and apologize in person. Read the full stoy here, and watchPete scolding from the stage here.  Or watch the whole thing, including a fan video of an epic live version of "Who Are You" here:

 

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