A Real Life Rock Star

This week has been filled with numerous shopping trips to try to find the perfect outfit for Dave. He is scheduled to be in a photo shoot tomorrow morning at 7 (which is almost laughable) with his new band he is performing with.

Finally the ensemble is complete.

The theme turned out to be very Chris Robinsonish. It was mentioned by a female friend that Chris Robinson doesn't make the girls swoon (because he looks dirty and smelly). I think she is blatantly wrong. Dave and I both have personal proof that is in fact incorrect.





And check out these freaking shoes!



We also tried to get him in the role with being young punks. After a night of cosmic fog bowling...............................



We went back to the crib and played as a quartet until the neighbors started banging on the walls. Apparently electric guitars are especially loud when the amp is leaned against the wall and it is 2 am. Who knew?

All the while, Sigmund is indifferent.



I wish Dave luck, since he even went to the lengths of tweezing his eyebrows. He is well prepared. Now all he has to do is wake his ass up at 5:30 and get out the door.

One last one for good measure! That is one rockin' mofo.

Dave Carducci Post Update

I'll have all the pictures and stories from Dave's mid-west tour this Sunday. (And Dave I'll send you a CD of all the photos....email me your address).

Do You Have a Garden City Physician?

Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mi may have the resources to promote an extensive campaign about the quality of their physicians with their tagline, “Do you have a Beaumont doctor?” But how does Beaumont truly rank among hospitals in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties?

The Report on Health Care Performance done by www.vitalmichigan.com, does not have Beaumont rated so highly. The report, which looks at the management of heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, infection prevention, mortality and safety has Beaumont only rated in the top 25% in heart attack management, infection prevention and safety volume. In fact in the management of heart failure Beaumont ranks in the middle 50% and in the treatment of pneumonia ranks in the lowest 25% among hospitals in the Metro Detroit area.

One hospital that out-performed Beaumont in the management of these diseases was a small community hospital, Garden City Hospital. Garden City scored in the top 25% in the measured categories of heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, infection prevention, mortality and safety and in the top 50% in safety volume. The only other hospital in the Metro Detroit region that scored this highly was the University of Michigan; and Garden City still out-performed U of M in the management of pneumonia.

These measurements are largely based on discharge instructions and early in-patient care. For example, a patient discharged after a heart attack should receive certain medications, such as an ACE inhibitor, aspirin, Plavix, beta-blocker and a statin. If these medications are not prescribed for patients then the patient’s care is considered sub-optimal. Therefore, one problem with a report like this is assuming that all individuals should be treated the same, which may not necessarily apply to every individual patient.

The competition among hospitals has reached a nauseating point, with Beaumont insinuating their institution is the only one that can save someone’s life and Oakwood stating they can have a patient treated almost before they enter the emergency department. However, these hospitals do not measure up to other hospitals in the management of heart failure, heart attacks and pneumonia.

There is one hospital that does manage these diseases better than most hospitals, although they do not have the resources to offer elaborate marketing campaigns. That hospital is Garden City Hospital. Do you have a Garden City physician?

Moving On

My stay in the EL was just as I expected. I got to see some friends and go out to some of my favorite places. Of course, I drank much too much! Yesterday the weather was gorgeous! Chris was able to take a little time out of his studies to have a Peanut Barrel lunch with me. I appreciated that. Other highlights included Oberon, arcade basketball, Caleb golf (which is golf infused with Miller Lite) Oberon, red pepper hummus, haircut, and Oberon. Somehow, I am managing to get out of town without having El Azteco. I am not sure if I am breaking some sort of law here. After dinner last night, I am not sure I could handle it though.

It is off to that state to the south to distract EZ from her studies and to see Dave Carducci perform.

That is, after I pack up all of the crap that I left at Caleb's when I moved. Hopefully my parents won't mind storing some of my garbage for eternity.

Does anyone have any thoughts or plans for Friday night. I think I heard something about AZ having Saturday off, so maybe Friday would be a good time to do something in a semi-fun to full out fun fashion. AZ is unable to be reached for comment, I tried.

One for Monday morning

It has been a while since anyone from the Alliance has posted. AZ is much busier than I am, and I am just in my own little world.

I finally have my bearings straight and have found all of the things nearby that I need in my life. I also found a little bit of fun this weekend. It has been a while since I went to a show that wasn't the Wednesdees, which by the way, will be playing again on Saturday, July 14th at the Berkley Front in Berkley along with our very own Dave Carducci.

I staved off the insanely hot weather by staying near a pool or in air conditioning. That was not much fun, but was no worse than when I lived in Dallas. Dallas was like that for weeks in a row though.

Friday took me on a tour of my roommate's life. She just took off on tour with Rocco DeLuca and the Burden. I had only heard a little bit of him before at my roommate's prodding and wasn't sure what I would expect. To my surprise, (and with the help of Mary, I got to the Henry Fonda Theater quite easily) Thanks Mary! I ate a very amazing chicken schwarma pita from a run down joint. Then I waited in line. Then I was complimented about my T-shirt from three separate individuals. (I was afraid I wasn't hip enough for the Hollywood scene, huh). One girl especially liked it, but that was going nowhere because I didn't feel like having to give her a ride to high school on Monday.

The first opening act began. It was a woman by the name of Sara Bareilles. She played jazzy, bluesy, poppy, soulful, amazing piano and voice creations. She was also very easy on the eyes, which always helps. She sounded like a happy Fiona Apple with energy. I was thoroughly impressed, and maybe a little smitten. You should check her out at: www.sarabmusic.com
Her CD just was released July 3rd. I especially liked when she said to buy her CD, download it from iTunes, for free from the internet, or burn it from a friend. She was just so happy to share her music. That inspired me to buy her CD. She was lovely enough to chat after the show and sign it for me.




Rocco Deluca was pretty good as well. (there was a 2nd opening act, which does not even deserve a mention this long) Prior to the show, I commented on how some of his stuff sounded a bit like Muse. Afterward, I think it is more the falsetto singing alone that I drew my comparison from. When Rocco played his soulful songs he was a bit intense. When he turned a few of them into extended jam sessions, I was a little drawn away. Much of it was over-distorted effect laden noise. I also think he over uses his high register. That being said, he has great range and great soul. I just thought the extended sessions were a little obnoxious. I wish him, and my roommate all of the success in the world on tour.

That brings us to Saturday.

Saturday I was back in Hollywood at the Hollywood Bowl. There was a big HUGE ticket fiasco in which I officially withdraw my thanks and appreciation to Mary given above and also the thanks and appreciation that will most likely be due to Mary in the future. I am kinda sorta just kidding, maybe. There isn't enough time or space here to get into it now.

The Decemberists were playing a show and being accompanied by the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. But first was Andrew Bird. (Before that there was Band of Horses who didn't deserve even being called by name....BORING) Perched high above the Hollywood Bowl (Due to the aforementioned FIASCO) Andrew Bird took the stage. It was one of the most amazing things I have heard musically. He is such a busy artist and really makes all of his instruments (including his whistle) produce magical music. When his set was up, Renee and I concurred that we could have listened to him for the rest of the night.

Then came The Decemberists. Who knew they were such a wildly popular band? They had 15,000 people thoroughly entertained. It made us feel old and slightly out of touch or place, I am not sure which. The show was excellent. The orchestra backing gave it a kind of fullness that turned the concert into more of a performance spectacle. As they finished their encore, I got a dreaded phone call confirming that Mary dropped the ball and heard Camille tearing up our two box tickets that she had set aside for us over the phone. Although we laughed and joked about it, the fact of the matter is regardless of where we sat (although up much closer in box seats would have been unspeakably cooler) it was so much fun and provided immense audio pleasure. Our murderous plots of Mary simmered down to inflicting great bodily harm and eventually settled at random moments of general discomfort.







I made it safely home both times without incident.

I enjoyed my Sunday away from Hollywood and back in the comforts of the valley. I had a great dinner from the Marmalade Cafe and enjoyed a spectacular beer that I have never seen or heard of before. It was Firestone Walker Double Barrel Pale Ale. It is brewed out of Paso Robles, CA. Delicious!

I Hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully, I will see many of you soon.

fast and furious grocery shopping

I went to Ralphs today to get some stuff for the BBQ on Wednesday. Luckily I forgot my list in the car. I ran out to get it and ran into Vin Diesel on the way back in. This wasn't even special Ralphs, like Britney's Ralphs or the one that had the shootout this past week. Whatever. I got my gettings and waited in line to check out to the likes of "I would walk 500 miles....". It made me think of Emily, naturally.

Goodnight.

Are You F*cking Serious?

No way. No way.

I guess I'm not too surprised. Just extremely upset and disgusted.

George W. Bush is an incompetent President. He has lied to the public in order to go to war with Iraq. The two elections he has “won” have been heavily disputed, with multiple recounts showing he would have lost in 2000 and accusation of extensive voter fraud in Ohio in 2004. His Vice President is a power hunger man who tramples the Constitution for personal gains. Administrators in the White House have fired judges because their political beliefs were not in line with those of the neo-conservatives. This administration is about as bad as it gets with abusing power, secrecy and lying.

And now President Bush has commuted I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby. The man who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative and faced up to 30 months in prison will serve no time thanks to his buddy getting him off the hook. So add to the list of abuses commuting prison sentences.

President Bush explained, "I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison. My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting."

Wow! Probation and fines! That is harsh. But President Bush has always been a bad-ass when it comes to getting tough on crime. For example, he was very harsh when he was the Governor of Texas; he executed 141 people during his time in office all the while protecting the sanctity of life too.

How much longer will this jackass be President? (I know until 2008, but can’t he just leave early and apology for being so bad?)

Not even a week......

Less than one week into my LA experience, I got my first parking ticket. Who would have thought that it would take more than 21 minutes to walk around the corner, go into the bank, and deposit some checks? I certainly didn't. Maybe I should have paid the $1.50 per 15 minutes in the garage as opposed to the .15 in the meter. Damn. It isn't even a good story. US Bank just sucked monkey ass like Ivan Rodriquez did today.

Getting down to Business

I bought a bed yesterday. I only had to sleep on the floor for one night. I could have slept on the couch, but whatever.

I finally got around to putting up the pictures from my trip on Picasa. I didn't edit them out, so there are some pictures of the same things. If you are bored and want to take a look, go here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cooleyjo

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. I am batting 1.000 on gorgeous days since I left Michigan.
I should probably start looking for a job.

Boo.

I apologize for the technical difficulties

There was a big error in my Picasa and all of the pictures that I have put in previous posts have been erased from the blog. Although I am trying to restore some of them, it is a long and tedious process that I am not so sure I can follow through on. If there is anything anyone is missing seeing, let me know. I will post them in a web album and you can view them for eternity.

Don't worry Jacob, this little glitch is not making me switch from Google to the dark side.

The Trip.... per Co-pilot.

At last we have made it to California. Temptation was resisted, meaning Las Vegas was not visited. It is probably a good thing, since the Pilot is unemployed. I hear that Vegas is not a good place for the unemployed. Plus, we didn't want to get everything stolen out of our vehicle.

This is a recap of the trip, narrated by me of course.



I wanted to drive, but naturally Jon didn't let me. He can be a real dick.





So, I took my seat next to him, as his trust co-pilot.





Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska were especially boring. So, I will pretend those didn't happen.


I see some mountains!!!!!




I wanted to go and party with Jon and Matt in Boulder, but he made me stay at home and rest up. I guess he was planning on letting me drive if he was too tired. Again, I think it was just because he can be a real dick!

He got up early though and went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was gorgeous!







Oh my goodness, I haven't seen snow in June before. Weird.






Then I saw the Continental Divide. Apparently my pee will run off in different directions depending on the angle I use.





That was an exhilarating day. Off to Utah. We went to Moab, to see Arches National Park. There is an awesome microbrewery there aptly named the Moab Brewery. They even let a monkey drink a Hefeweizen!
Here I am at Arches.




In addition to cool rocks, they have some cool trees too.




Holy Shit it is hot! It got up to 104 today!




Jon caught me pooping. The thing is, it was so hot, I think I passed out.




Well, apparently that was the end of the trip for me. I was 100+ degrees again the next two days at Zion. Maybe Jon was mad about me pooping on the vegetation. Maybe he was actually concerned about my safety due to the heat. I think, once again that he is a dick and forgot to take pictures of me at Zion. What an ass!

Return of the Mack

DJ's birthday party was super fun. There could possibly be a postdated blog to cover it. I have obtained pictures of the much talked about Mack of Monroe. I believe that AZ made mention of him, and I am certain that Morgan put it in his observations. I have obtained photographic evidence of referred to douchiness.

Without further adieu, here is the Mack himself.....

The most uninteresting blog ever

What is wrong with this picture?

After 7 very refreshing Hefeweizens at the Moab Brewery, and a delectable dinner, I walked outside to a very sunny and balmy 96 degrees. That is down from the 104 that it was earlier.
I ask myself, "Why do you need to drink 7 pints of beer by yourself"? Myself replies, "They were on special, delicious, and the hotel is right next door". I answer, "makes perfect sense".

Hope you all had a good summer solstice. Hopefully tomorrow is only 103, so I can enjoy the great outdoors without sweating through three shirts.

The answer to the original question, absolutely nothing.

No TV and No Beer make Andy Something, Something...

I’m not much of a natural dancer, but I’ve got a friend who’s a natural dancer. You could call her a jumping bean. She’s got ants in her pants and she’s gonna dance.

So JC is now gonna represent a Western front in the Blog Alliance. Kinda like when this here blog began in March of 2006. Everything comes full circle I guess.

I don’t know what that means.

The New York Times recently had an article discussing the town of Porter, New York. This small farming town in Northern New York tried to expand their liquor license for a restaurant, but in doing so accidentally banned the sale of alcohol throughout the entire town. For some stupid bureaucratic reason, in order to expand the sale of liquor there, there must be five questions of 300 words asking residents how they feel about selling alcohol in the town. Apparently the wording was so confusing, the residents voted no to all five questions and now the town faces losing the ability to sell alcohol anywhere within the 37 square miles of the town. One general store in Porter relies on alcohol for 78% of its revenue. I could not imagine living in a town without alcohol or having to vote to expand the license to sell it. That’s one of the great things about Wyandotte, Mi (among many). I enjoy any town where the bar-to-church ratio is roughly two-to-one, 69 bars to 34 churches. Maybe the residents of Porter can come visit Wyandotte. There is an art fair here from July 11-14.

Wow that paragraph had many twists and turns. What I was trying to say is I like beer.

Speaking of July 14, remember the Berkley Front; Dave Carducci and the Wednesdees! Doors will open at nine and it is a very fun place to see a show. Great atmosphere for good rock ‘n’ roll. Also, mark on your calendars Dave’s other shows: June 30th, Café Classics, Monroe, Mi 7PM (get there early); July 3rd, the Modern Exchange, Southgate, Mi 8PM, $7; July 5th, the Downtown Monroe Car Show, Monroe, Mi 8PM; and July 12th, Frankie’s Inner City, Toledo, Oh, 8PM, $5. And the Wednesdees have a show July 7th, the Old Miami, Detroit, Mi 8PM.

Again that paragraph was very busy. For a good summary go to www.davecarducci.com and http://myspace.com/thewednesdees.

I officially start work next Monday. Yeah, I know it’s just orientation, but I get paid and just filled out my paperwork for all my health insurance. So lay-off me. I’m excited about it, but nervous about the hours. Anyhoo…enough about me.

When Lil’ Bush debuted on Comedy Central last week I was very excited. After watching it I was amazed. Not so much because it was really good, but just because it was very, very, very, very mean. Almost too mean. And I can’t stand Dubya. I’ll watch it again tonight, because I like seeing Dick Cheney bite the head off of birds and drink their blood (that’s probably something he does in real life), but damn is this show downright mean.

Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, cut and run from the Republican Party yesterday. He was originally a Democrat (interestingly because he has close to 13 billion dollars), but changed political affiliations in order to become the Mayor of New York. What a flip-flopper. He’s a very interesting man, and I actually agree with many of his politics. There was a nice article in Time recently about Bloomberg. You all should check it out if you get a spare moment.

Terry Hoeppner, the former head coach of the Indiana University football team, passed away yesterday morning after battling brain cancer. He was 59 years old.

Farewell Lansing

As of 2:01pm, I bid Lansing Michigan adieu.

Theblogalliance goes amputee

The drummer from Def Leopard's only got one arm.

Theblogalliance is so over pizza

Theblogalliance goes to Winterfest

Hold on little girl
Show me what he's done to you
Stand up little girl
A broken heart can't be that bad
When it's through, it's through
Fate will twist the both of you
So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Build up your confidence
So you can be on top for once
wake up who cares about
Little boys that talk too much
I've seen it all go down
Your game of love was all rained out
So come on baby, come on over
Let me be the one to hold you

I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Why be alone when we can be together baby
You can make my life worthwhile
And I can make you start to smile

When it's through, it's through
Fate will twist the both of you
So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

Theblogalliance gets people pregnant

Ah, push it
Ah, push it

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

Get up on this!

Ow! Baby!
Salt and Pepa's here!

[Now wait a minute, y'all
This dance ain't for everybody
Only the sexy people
So all you fly mothers, get on out there and dance
Dance, I said!]

Salt and Pepa's here, and we're in effect
Want you to push it, babe
Coolin' by day then at night working up a sweat
C'mon girls, let's go show the guys that we know
How to become number one in a hot party show
Now push it

Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - push it real good
Ah, push it - push it good
Ah, push it - p-push it real good

Hey! Ow!
Push it good!

Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Oooh, baby, baby
Baby, baby

Yo, yo, yo, yo, baby-pop
Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss
Better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed
Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard like I wish you would?
Now push it

Push it good
P-push it real good

Ah, push it
Get up on this!

Boy, you really got me going
You got me so I don't know what I'm doing

Ah, push it

Theblogalliance gets sexy

To The Tick Tock Ya Don't Stop, To The Tick Top Ya Don't Stop

Come inside take off your coat,
ill make you feel at home
Now lets pour a glass of wine
coz now we're all alone,
I've been waiting all nite
so just let me hold you close to me
Coz i've been dieing for you girl
to make love to me

Girl you make me feel real good,
We can do it till we both wake up
Girl you know im hooked on you
and this is what i'll do,

(I wanna love you down)
I wanna sex you up,
All nite, (you make me feel good)
I want (to rub you down)
I wanna sex you up,
Let me take off all your clothes.
Disconnect the phone so nobody knows.
Let me light a candle,
So that we can make it better.
Makin' love until we drown.
Girl, you know it feels real good.
We can do it 'til we both wake up.
Girlyou know I'm hooked on you.
And this is what I'll do.

Make sweet lovin' all night long...
(I wanna sex you up)
Feels so right it can't be wrong...
Don't be shy girl rescue me...
(i wanna sex you up)
Open up your heart and I'll set you free...

Theblogalliance goes religious

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

When you call my name its like a little prayer
Im down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know Ill take you there

I hear your voice, its like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes, oh God I think Im falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

When you call my name its like a little prayer
Im down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know Ill take you there

Like a child you whisper softly to me
Youre in control just like a child
Now Im dancing
Its like a dream, no end and no beginning
Youre here with me, its like a dream
Let the choir sing

When you call my name its like a little prayer
Im down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know Ill take you there

Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery
Just like a dream, you are not what you seem
Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer, Ill take you there
Its like a dream to me