Soundtrack to the End of the World is a group blog that creates, well,  
soundtracks to the end of the world. They're up to number 78 as I  
write this. That's a whole lotta focus on the end of the world. I  
admire their persistence.

Me? I'm just going with 5 songs. (And 5 I stayed away from.)

Here's the list:

1. 'Frantic' by Metallica

This was a tough call. LOTS of choices available from the Metallica  
catalogue. The 'Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tock' refrain is a  
perfect end of the world refrain.

2. 'Where Is My Mind' by the Pixies

Confession: I associate this with the end of the world because of it's  
prominence at the end of 'Fight Club.' It's my freaking list, and if I  
want to include something for derivative reasons, I'll do it.

3. 'Harder to Breathe' by Maroon 5

This one seems appropriately titled for end of the world festivities.  
Plus, I really wanted to throw something in with Adam Levine's vocals,  
and 'Iran to You' with Andy Samberg just didn't fit.

4. 'Hang Me Out to Dry' by the Cold War Kids

Another great end-of-the-world title. And how can you not love  
listening to a little Cold War Kids as nuclear missiles bear down on  
you? The irony is delicious.

5. '21 Guns' by Green Day

Saw this one live a couple of weeks in Nashville. I'd post the video, but it's heavy on @T3design and I screaming the lyrics.

Here are 5 that didn't make the cut:

1. 'It's the End of the World As We Know It' by REM

WAY too obvious.

2. 'What the World Needs Now Is Love' by Jackie DeShannon

It's the end of the world. There's no time for long-term goals at this  
point.

3. 'Tubthumping' by Chumbawumba

The likelihood of getting knocked down but getting up again is quite  
low this time around.

4. 'Live and Let Die' by Guns 'N Roses

I rejected the Paul McCartney version straightaway. Too pretty, plus he recorded it with Wings, and that makes it even prettier. This ain't a time for pretty, folks.

The GNR version gets the boot because no one will actually live, so that won't work.

5. Anything involving a 'Rascal' or a Flatt.'

I don't think this choice really needs commentary.

(download)

Finally diving back in the podcast world after a MUCH too long hiatus. Flying solo vs. recording a dialogue is a challenging dynamic, but I kinda think I like it.

During the 'cast I quote Greg Horton (@expastor on Twitter), Clark Griswold and Alec Baldwin, so it's worth a listen for those little nuggets alone.

Two things to cover this week:

1. A review of Your Religion Is False by Joel Grus, one of the more entertaining books I've read of late.

2. Graduate of Monroe College Sues School for Not Finding Her a Job

Enjoy!

I'm unclear on the connection between 'God's love' and 'roofing.' Maybe I'm a little slow on the draw...

1. Your have an overwhelming number of @ replies. Please don't turn my Twitter stream into a series of context-free replies that only you and one other person understand. If you're gonna use many @ replies, at least provide some context.

2. You're clearly a self-promoter only interested in gaining a bazllion followers so you can say you have said followers.

3. You actually tell me on a regular basis what you're doing now. I don't care that you're having lunch with @namethatwillmakemelookimportant. In fact, I kinda think you're a douchebag for bringing it up.

4. You're, um, just not that interesting. Here's an exercise for you: Go back through the last couple of weeks of your own posts. Ask yourself, 'Would I have found that interesting if I'd read it from someone else?' If the answer is no, you may want to think about taking the personality in for the 32-point checkup at Jiffy Lube.

[Note: I know it's 'tweet,' not 'post,' but face it--'tweet' is a ridiculous term. I don't like it. At all. I'll call it a 'post' if I damn well please.]

5. It's obvious you found me through an auto-follow program.

Hypothetical example: Suppose I just happen to use the word 'trebuchet' in a post, and the next thing I know I'm being followed by 42 year old Gus from Decatur, Illinois who is an expert in all things related to Dungeons and Dragons. Old Gus decided he'd just run himself a little auto-follow program, and it triggered when I was flexing my linguistic muscles by writing, 'It's like he's slinging 13 day old leftovers with a trebuchet onto his neighbor's backyard picnic table.'

So Gus gets all wound up because, hey, 'Here's someone new to follow who may share my deep love [read: creepy obsession] of fantasy role playing. Maybe he'll even have a thing for scantily clad and incredibly lithe female dark elves.'

Sorry, Gus. Dark elves don't do it for me. Move along. I'm not following you back.

 

Not quite sure why I landed on the subject of funerals today--particularly not my funeral. It was quite a great day all around. But land there I did, and that led to thinking about which songs I'd like played at my funeral. I want my funeral to be a celebration, not a sad affair, and my song choice reflects that.

Chime in with your choices in the comments. I'd love to look over your shoulder to see what you pick.

1. 'I'm Too Sexy' by Right Said Fred

My ghost is haunting anyone who doesn't at least smile when this one plays.

2. 'Danger Zone' by Kenny Loggins.

I confess this one may be a little too over the top. Depending on how I head to the Great Unknown, I concede authority to nix this one to those planning the ceremony.

3. 'Closer' by Kings of Leon

This is a bit of a slow song, which might make people unduly sad. However, it's a song about a vampire. In the context of a funeral, that's quality humor.

4. 'I'm on a Boat' by the Lonely Island

Little Known Fact: This song is actually a metaphor for the experience of heaven.

5. 'Reach for the Sun' by the Polyphonic Spree

Letting myself get a little sentimental here, but I think this would be a darn fine song to play at the end.

Songs I Rejected for Inclusion:

1. 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zepplin

Too slow. Too long. Sorry Rob. You have the best rock voice of all time, but you need to trim the song back by about 4 or 5 minutes.

2. 'Higher' by Creed

No.

3. 'Ride the Lightning' by Metallica

Are you freaking crazy? That's SICK! How dare you suggest this be played at a funeral?

4. 'Bring Me to Life' by Evanescence

Tempting, but no. Seriously . . . VERY tempting.

5. 'Closing Time' by Semisonic

Great song, but it's probably a bit overdone at funerals already.

Ducks eat free at Subway.

I found myself watching Madden Nation yesterday. Not familiar with it?
It's an ESPN reality show with several guys traveling to various
cities to compete in head to head Madden Football games on the XBox
360.
 
If you're thinking, 'That sounds like absolutely riveting television,'
you would be exactly not-even-close-to-correct.
 
But occasionally, I'm in the mood to watch a train wreck, so watch I
did. Annnd I jotted down a few notes. Here are the high points:
 
1. Two guys getting ready to play each other Took. Time. To. Stretch.
before the game. Yes, they did.
 
2. Quote from one of the stretchers when he went up by 2 touchdowns:
'I'm feeling good. My stick work is phenomenal.' Of course it is.
 
3. Each week, someone gets voted off or kicked off or leaves. Not sure
how that works. Didn't watch long enough.
 
But it saddens me greatly that most of these guys gave up promising
careers with Best Buy and Radio Shack to participate in this, only to
have their dreams of a championship dashed by another player's
phenomenal stick work.
 
4. Jeff Garcia made a cameo. Played a pick up game with one of the
players. Garcia described him as having a 'calm before the storm
personality.' I'm pretty sure Garcia meant either the guy seemed
incredibly stoned or had the personality of a dead chicken. Maybe
both. But I could be wrong.
 
5. Calm-Before-the-Storm Guy had a ballcap on backwards. The back
(facing front) said 'The Truth.' The front (facing back) said 'The
Corporation.'
 
I wondered for several minutes about what this statement could mean . . .
 
The Truth . . . But it's facing the wrong way . . . Is he making a
statement about his rejection of epistimological foundationalism?
Maybe his support of Robert Nozick's 'View from Nowhere'? Maybe even a
rejection of the Law of Noncontradiction?
 
And The Corporation . . . On the front of the cap but facing backwards
. . . Is this a commentary on the lack of awareness of Corporate
America vis a vis the working class? Perhaps a prediction about the
future efficacy of Corporate America in the face of Thomas Friedman's
Flat World?
 
And what about The Truth and The Corporation set on opposing ends of
the cap? Are the two antithetical in Calm-Before-The-Storm Guy's mind?
Is he is possibly pointing out that the truth hides from the view of
the corporation or that the corporation by its very nature attempts to
hide from the truth?
 
Or perhaps . . . just maybe . . . he's a video game junkie who just
kinda liked the hat precisely because he had no idea what the hell it
meant, but it seemed kinda cool. I won't be tuning in next week to
find out.

via GraphJam.com

One of my neighbors has a drives-me-up-the-freaking-wall plate on the front of his car.

'The Original 3 [a la Dale Earnhardt]: The Father, Son and Holy Ghost.'

Two words: Classy