thegreatbrandoni's Xanga

Why not boycott oil companies?

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:00:11 GMT

Well, according to the Energy Information Administration(http://www.eia.doe.gov):

Can I tell which country or State the gasoline at my local station comes from?

For several reasons, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) cannot definitively say where gasoline at a given station originated:

1. EIA does not collect data on the source of the gasoline sold at retail outlets.

2. The name on the service station sign does not tell the whole story. The fact that you purchase gasoline from a given company does not necessarily mean that the gasoline was actually produced by that particular company's refineries. While gasoline is sold at about 169,000 retail outlets across the nation1, about one-third of these stations are “unbranded” dealers that may sell gasoline of any brand2. The remainder of the outlets are “branded” stations, but may not necessarily be selling gasoline produced at that company's refineries. This is because gasoline from different refineries is often combined for shipment by pipeline, and companies owning service stations in the same area may be purchasing gasoline at the same bulk terminal. In that case, the only difference between the gasoline at station X versus the gasoline at station Y may be the small amount of additives that those companies add to the gasoline before it gets to the pump.

3. Even if we knew at which company's refinery the gasoline was produced, the source of the crude oil used at that refinery may vary on a day-to-day basis. Most refiners use a mix of crude oils from various domestic and foreign sources. The mix of crude oils can change based on the relative cost and availability of crude oil from different sources.

So, maybe I could've let you go out there and buy gasoline from only certain gas stations in hopes to either stop the import from certain countries or lower the gas prices, but I believe that ignorance isn't bliss. The misunderstanding is that oil companies extract or import, refine and then sell that specific oil, or that if you only bought from certain gas stations that they wouldn't have to eventually buy their fuel from other oil companies anyways. The only suggestion I've heard that could actually work is to strengthen the U.S. dollar, and that my friends has no easy solution either. If things get worse before they get better we'll just have to realize that driving has become a luxury and we'll spend our money on the increasingly expensive necessities because those items all had to be driven into town on trucks.

What's the best '80s band of all time - or, at least, of that decade?

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:29:18 GMT

This is a really hard question to answer. I spent most of my life in love with 80s music. I'm going to go by the question and not pick a solo artist, so that helps me by eliminating choices like Michael Jackson, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Billy Idol. That still leaves a ton of great artists that released albums in the 80s.

Alright, there are some bands who I really dig and came out with at least one really good album, which includes: Pixies with Doolittle, The Smiths with The Queen Is Dead, Guns N' Roses with Appetite for Destruction, AC/DC with Back in Black, Starship with Knee Deep In The Hoopla, that last one is a little embarrassing. But, there were bands that came out with great album after great album in the 80s, and that's who I'm going to have to choose from.

Bauhaus recently released their first studio album since the 80s - Go Away White. But, before that every studio album was released in the 80s, including: In The Flat Field (80), Mask (81), The Sky's Gone Out (82), and Burning From the Inside (83). It's impressive the amount of good music they produced in 4 albums in 4 years.

INXS is another band that released their first studio album in 1980 and recently reemerged. Their reemergence had much more hoopla, though, with the picking of a new singer on national television. Their 80s albums were: INXS (80), Underneath the Colours (81), Shabooh Shoobah (82), The Swing (84), Listen Like Thieves (85), Kick (87). They've gone on to release another five albums and are planning on releasing their 12th album this year. My favorite INXS album is Kick.

The Cure's first studio album came out my birth year 1979, but the bulk of their recordings occurred in the 80s. Their 80s albums were: Seventeen Seconds (80), Faith (81), Pornography (82), The Top (84), The Head on the Door (85), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (87), and Disintegration (89). My favorite album of theirs continues to be Disintegration, which oddly as well as the INXS one is their last 80s album.

U2 released their first album in 1980 and haven't stopped yet. Their 80s albums were: Boy (80), October (81), War (83), The Unforgettable Fire (84), The Joshua Tree (87), Rattle and Hum (88). Oddly enough all these bands would make my all time favorite bands lists, but U2 honestly is the one band that I can't truly say peaked in the 80s. October, War and The Joshua Tree are amongst my favorite albums by them but All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb are really good as well.

Queen is the last band I will mention. They were well into their careers with already 7 albums released in the 70s, but they released a number of albums in the 80s, releasing only two after that. Their 80s albums were: The Game (80), Flash Gordon (80), Hot Space (82), The Works (84), A Kind of Magic (86), and The Miracle (89). It's very hard to pinpoint Queens best album, but I think their best 80s album is A Kind of Magic.

For me The Cure, INXS and The Smiths epitomize the 80s. Bands I'd pay to see now: Bauhaus, The Cure, U2. U2 astound me with their staying power and the fact that year after year they can write fantastic modern music. The band that I'd say deserves to be recognized as the best band of the 80s, though, would have to be Queen. Their influence is astounding. Their music was larger than life. They were irreplaceable.

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Vampire Weekend

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:54:14 GMT

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend has received a lot of hype starting well before they released this album. They are actually a really good follow-up to The Little Ones. Whereas The Little Ones are performing with Ra Ra Riot on their current tour, Vampire Weekend actually derived their name from a movie by the same name they did with Ra Ra Riot. They also are a very infectious pop band. That's pretty much where the similarities end, though. Vampire Weekend has a more varied influence more like The Cat Empire or fellow New Yorkers White Rabbits than the straight pop sound of The Little Ones. These three bands all share one influence as well: Ska. Madness definitely comes to mind when listening to this album. The other influence is South African music which is most apparent in how Chris Tomson sounds more like a percussionist than a drummer, many have made the comparison to Paul Simon's Graceland. All-in-all Vampire Weekend has a very well crafted sound, producing a clean and crisp album that's so good it's hard to pinpoint the best songs. Oxford Comma, A-Punk, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, One, I Stand Corrected and The Kids Don't Stand a Chance are currently my favorites, but it does little to tell you that since they make up half the album.

The Little Ones

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:18:03 GMT

The Little Ones - Sing Song

This album came out late 2006, but I didn’t find it by January when I made my list of best albums from 2007 or else I would’ve made an exception to get it on there. It’s perky pop rock that makes you want to dance and smile and clap your hands. It’s just really fun, happy music. Every song on the album is catchy and infectious. You’re not going to find anything really deep on an album like this, the song Cha Cha Cha actually has a whole verse of la’s. It’s a perfect summer album, singing along with the top down.

P.S. They have a new 6 song EP due out this year, available mostly on their tour with Ra Ra Riot which starts this week. I hope to make it out to one of their shows in May. We shall see.

that's so gay

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:48:00 GMT

"When a few classmates razzed Rebekah Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as, 'Do you have 10 moms?' she shot back: 'That's so gay.' " Associated Press

Rice received a written reprimand in 2002 for using the phrase. Her family is now in court to get the reprimand off of her permanent record. I'd like to know whether or not the classmates received a reprimand for making fun of her being mormon, there is no mention in the article (which tends to point towards the fact that they weren't). I'd say that a phrase that really has nothing to do with the homosexual orientation except for the fact that the phrase has been used to describe them. It's something that would possibly be offensive to homosexuals, but I highly doubt it. They've used the phrase on Will & Grace and other gay-friendly shows.

I also think words used in a different context than what would be prohibited shouldn't be punishable. When I was in Catholic school we'd read bible passages that used the word "ass" to mean a donkey, this of course wasn't punished. There's so many things that kids do and say to eachother that probably should be punished usually go without reprimand. It just seems that with cruelty a norm in the school atmosphere that they wouldn't have time to reprimand little things like a student using a popular phrase that is in no way an outright offense to someone.

Another Writing Exercise

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:50:27 GMT

Day 11

Late night city streets were the perfect backdrop for dancing. Smooth flowing motions under the stars. The soft moonlight reflecting off the delicate features of your lovers face. The neon signs patterned against their stringy brown hair. Swinging around a metallic pole. The knock of your shoes against the hard cement. The rough ashpalt that forces quickened steps. This is life. This is love.

Writing

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:14:10 GMT

I'm currently reading The Portable MFA in Creative Writing and working through The Write-Brain Workbook. I'll therefore be doing some interesting, sometimes silly, writing exercises. I figure I should post them here for your reading pleasure or pain.

DAY 1 -

Sometimes I feel just like a gerbil, running around and around on his wheel! I Try to move forward, but continue on the carousel of life. The people watching. My family waving each time I pass. It's nonsense, I know. I just can't help feeling like I've been here before. Life is moving on without me and everyone is insensitive to my struggle. Laughing, smiling, waving, and saying "look at him go". Is it that they don't see or that it's all they expect from me? This is not how I want to spend the rest of my life.

Sometimes I feel like I'm on a plane. The world is below me. I'm floating about the clouds as the earth moves on. I don't know my destination and am unsure I want to be traveling there. Maybe life is better when you're grounded.

DAY 2 -

New Year's resolutions make me hopeful. They speak of new beginnings. I can start again. Everyone desires some kind of change. With the new year they see a way to make it happen. Yesterdays and yesteryears are in the past. If you desire change, now is the time. Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around, so they say. Any day, any time we can change directions. Radical changes can occur.

Real change is so hard to do, though. We get into routines and roles that can't be easily broken. Each habit took time to form. Some habits seem to be essential parts of who we are. Over and over again we're told to embrace and come to terms with our bad qualities. Love them, even; understand them as part of the fabric of who we are. To change, though, it seems that we should deny that those things are you. I think we need to separate ourselves from them to move away from them. Over time you will be able to look back and barely be able to see them.

Now that is change. When someone can say to you "remember you used to..." and after thinking for a minute or two you reply "oh, yeah. That's true".

MFA Exercise 1 -

"Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around." The line had come back to him again. It's not often that a line from a movie has resonance, but after seeing Vanilla Sky this one had set with him. He wrote it down so he could think about it better. Writing things down always seemed to help. It gave him a better perspective.

He was flying. It was only a dream, one he dreamt often, but this was different. He flew down and swept up a girl into his arms, carrying her away as others looked on. It was the first time he had control. It was the first time he used his power with someone. It was the first time others noticed him flying.

The phone rang. No one answered again. He left a message for his friend. "Hey, we talked about hanging out tonight. Just calling like I said I would. Let me know when you're ready to go." It was the second time he's called tonight. It was probably the hundredth time his friend had flaked on him; Warranting the question "Why am I friends with him?" And the better question "Am I friends with him?"

He sat outside the coffee house sipping coffee, smoking, and sketching in his art pad. This was multitasking at it's best. He liked being alone. It was freeing. It may be time to connect, though. It was time for others to see him fly.
He moved to ash his cigarette when movement caught his eye. He looked up to see his friend approaching.
"Hey, sorry about the other day," his friend said.
"It's no problem," he lied.
"Well, I found out you were here and thought I'd come join you, since we haven't been able to get together in a while." he said, offering a smile.
He smiled back, gestured with his hand to take a seat and thought to himself, "every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around."

It was enjoyable to get writing again. I both enjoyed and hated the restrictions set on the exercises. Most of you will probably tire of this, but it gives me something to do with them.

I'm Back

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:25:38 GMT

Well, Xanga, it's been a while, but I'm coming back old friend. You're going to help me get back into writing on a regular basis again.

Current events:
I'm reading Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice.
I've been researching Scientology.
I'm also reading Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living Your Full Potential by Joel Osteen.
I recently rented "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Lady in the Water".
And much more that I shall eventually bring up and flesh out.

Hello, again, my friend. Hello.

Tuesday Night's Alright for Fighting

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:12:02 GMT

So, CSI is over and now w e watch Wonderfalls. It's a very interesting show. I find it amusing, but I find everything amusing. I always think about what the other Jews thought when Moses told them a bush told him to free them. In this show people seem perfectly alright with the concept of inanimate objects speaking to Jaye.

Anyways... it's not CSI, but I think w e might make it through.

Los Angeles Religious Education Congress

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 09:01:47 GMT

Well, I'm back from L.A. It was good times. I left at 2am on Thursday morning for Youth Day and the kids went back to Fresno that night while we stayed for the rest of Congress. Highlights:

Food: everyone who knows me knows that I'm a lover of food. Los Sanchez is one of my favorite mexican food restaurants and we go every year while down in Anaheim. This year we didn't, because they closed (thankfully they're reopening soon, but still)... it sucks.

But we did find the most amazing buffet. It was called International Buffet & Grill. For $13 I received a $30 buffet. If I were to price the food that I ate, I saved at least a hundred dollars. They had sashimi, sushi, mongolian bbq (fish, steak, whatever you wanted them to bbq for you, even better than Chukchansi), clams, oysters, crab, scallops, frog legs, at least half a dozen types of shrimp, craw fish, unique fruits (like kumquats), peanut brittle, ice cream, and many of the normal asian foods. I was most impressed with the sashimi, clams, scallops, peanut brittle and stuffed crab.

Next we tried a brewery called JT Schmid's in Anaheim. They had large portions, pretty good beer (I had the amber) and sweet potato fries. I haven't had sweet potato fries since Java Cafe (in the tower district) shut down. I had the fish and chips and it was amazingly good. The cole slaw was nasty though, but I rarely rave about cole slaw (Claim Jumper is the exception).

Other than that, it was normal eating, except that Saturday night at the "Prayer Jam" they had free Haugen-Daas. Isn't that crazy? It was so cool.

Music: Matt Maher was awesome! Righteous B was great! Everyone else was good.

Speakers: Fr. Tony was amazing as always! Mark Hart was really good! Terry Hershey always has great stories. Edwina Gateley is an amazing woman. Fr. Joe Kempf is always really good and uses a puppet. And Sr. Anne Smollin was hilarious!

What I got out of the weekend: Lots, I'll be sharing more shortly.