Paul Krugman rescues what would otherwise be a pretty ignorant and misleading conversation about the attempt by the government to rescue our economy.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Inauguration - Whoa!
So, we arrived in Washington D.C. on Sunday night. We stayed in Reston, VA. It's a short bus ride to the nearest Metro station in West Falls Church. So, Monday morning, we took the bus to the Metro station, and then took the subway into D.C. We had to be there early to pick up our inauguration tickets from our Congressman, Tom Cole. We also wanted to scope out the situation on the mall.
Well, the line to pick up tickets was super long. We waited in a line for about an hour before realizing we were in the wrong line. There was hardly any security or police presence. Nobody really knew where they were supposed to be. But, after getting in the right line, we made it in and got our tickets. We were in the "silver" section, which is not the best, but at least we had tickets!
We met up with some friends and had lunch at a place I've been thinking about since the last time I was there years ago. It's called J. Paul's. When we ate there years ago, they had the best crab cakes I've ever had. They were about 95% crab meat. This time, they weren't nearly as good. They were just as bread-y as any Oklahoma crab cake. Kind of a let down.
We went back to Reston pretty early to get some sleep.
Tuesday, inauguration day.... The first bus was supposed to run at 4:00AM. We arrived at the bus stop at 3:45. Unfortunately, the bus didn't show up until 4:30. We made it to D.C. by about 5:15. As soon as we got off the train, we were faced with what would come to define the experience: WALL-TO-WALL PEOPLE!
It was insane! There were so many people!!! Security was lame again. We stood in line for a few hours, waiting to get to the security checkpoint, only to find that right as we reached the front of the line, the whole system broke down and people started pouring in from all directions. We weren't even required to show the tickets that we waited in line for, before going through "security".... I put security in quotes because there wasn't much of it. I had expected to be patted down and metal detected... Nope. I was asked to unzip and open my coat for a quick visual inspection and that was it. I heard later about lots of people with tickets being shut out of the area that they had tickets to. The official excuse was that all of those coats took up more space than they thought they would and the sections filled up too fast. That was bullshit. It was the "security" breakdown that caused these sections to fill up with people who probably didn't even have tickets. I felt bad for people who didn't get in. But, we did, so no dwelling on that!
Yeah.... It was really, really cold.
We were about 200 yards from the stage. Not as close as we had hoped... but, with the insane number of people there, we were happy to get in at all.
Plus, there were big jumbotron screens for us to see everything up close.
The size of the crowd was unbelievable. And, the vibe was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was like being at a party with 1.9 million really good friends. Everyone was soooo happy!
I'm sure that you all saw the inauguration on TV.... Needless to say it was a powerful, touching moment in our nation's history. We were really proud to be a part of it!
After the inauguration was over, that's when the real insanity began. Everyone trickled in over the course of a few hours. But, when it was over, everyone tried to leave at the same time. There were giant masses of people moving through the streets like some kind of singular organism. It was intense.
We followed a tunnel to the opposite side of the Mall. Then we headed towards Georgetown with an eye to finding a less crowded Metro Station.
We made it out and went back to Reston to watch the parade and the analysis on television. We had already spent nearly 10 hours standing in the cold. It was an amazing experience.
We got some video. But, for the most part, the best video has already been shown on television. I probably have some footage of 1.9 million people booing very loudly every time they showed Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney or GWB on the Jumbotron. That was pretty intense.
I had mixed feelings about the booing. It seemed a little disrespectful at such a grand and important event. Krystal put it in perspective, though... She basically said that we'd spend the last 8 years getting screwed by these assholes and this was our first opportunity to let them know how we felt about it in an arena where our voices couldn't help but be heard.
So, yeah... fuck 'em. I gave GWB the bird as his helicopter flew over our heads when he was gettin' outta Dodge.
Free at last!
Well, the line to pick up tickets was super long. We waited in a line for about an hour before realizing we were in the wrong line. There was hardly any security or police presence. Nobody really knew where they were supposed to be. But, after getting in the right line, we made it in and got our tickets. We were in the "silver" section, which is not the best, but at least we had tickets!
We met up with some friends and had lunch at a place I've been thinking about since the last time I was there years ago. It's called J. Paul's. When we ate there years ago, they had the best crab cakes I've ever had. They were about 95% crab meat. This time, they weren't nearly as good. They were just as bread-y as any Oklahoma crab cake. Kind of a let down.
We went back to Reston pretty early to get some sleep.
Tuesday, inauguration day.... The first bus was supposed to run at 4:00AM. We arrived at the bus stop at 3:45. Unfortunately, the bus didn't show up until 4:30. We made it to D.C. by about 5:15. As soon as we got off the train, we were faced with what would come to define the experience: WALL-TO-WALL PEOPLE!
It was insane! There were so many people!!! Security was lame again. We stood in line for a few hours, waiting to get to the security checkpoint, only to find that right as we reached the front of the line, the whole system broke down and people started pouring in from all directions. We weren't even required to show the tickets that we waited in line for, before going through "security".... I put security in quotes because there wasn't much of it. I had expected to be patted down and metal detected... Nope. I was asked to unzip and open my coat for a quick visual inspection and that was it. I heard later about lots of people with tickets being shut out of the area that they had tickets to. The official excuse was that all of those coats took up more space than they thought they would and the sections filled up too fast. That was bullshit. It was the "security" breakdown that caused these sections to fill up with people who probably didn't even have tickets. I felt bad for people who didn't get in. But, we did, so no dwelling on that!
Yeah.... It was really, really cold.
We were about 200 yards from the stage. Not as close as we had hoped... but, with the insane number of people there, we were happy to get in at all.
Plus, there were big jumbotron screens for us to see everything up close.
The size of the crowd was unbelievable. And, the vibe was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was like being at a party with 1.9 million really good friends. Everyone was soooo happy!
I'm sure that you all saw the inauguration on TV.... Needless to say it was a powerful, touching moment in our nation's history. We were really proud to be a part of it!
After the inauguration was over, that's when the real insanity began. Everyone trickled in over the course of a few hours. But, when it was over, everyone tried to leave at the same time. There were giant masses of people moving through the streets like some kind of singular organism. It was intense.
We followed a tunnel to the opposite side of the Mall. Then we headed towards Georgetown with an eye to finding a less crowded Metro Station.
We made it out and went back to Reston to watch the parade and the analysis on television. We had already spent nearly 10 hours standing in the cold. It was an amazing experience.
We got some video. But, for the most part, the best video has already been shown on television. I probably have some footage of 1.9 million people booing very loudly every time they showed Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney or GWB on the Jumbotron. That was pretty intense.
I had mixed feelings about the booing. It seemed a little disrespectful at such a grand and important event. Krystal put it in perspective, though... She basically said that we'd spend the last 8 years getting screwed by these assholes and this was our first opportunity to let them know how we felt about it in an arena where our voices couldn't help but be heard.
So, yeah... fuck 'em. I gave GWB the bird as his helicopter flew over our heads when he was gettin' outta Dodge.
Free at last!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Inauguration post coming soon...
I'm at the airport in DC, on my way home after a crazy few days at Obama's inauguration. I'll have a much more extensive post including pics and video when I get home, get shaved and showered and catch up on some rest.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Swamped
I'm finding it difficult these days to find time to blog. Krystal and I have some really great trips coming up and I'm working feverishly to get as much work done as possible before we leave. I'm also planning to build a studio this year. I had no idea how much work is involved in planning something like this. I really HATE the "business" aspect of my work. That part really gives me headaches. But, I absolutely LOVE the music part of what I do.
We've been working on an EP release for Scar Party. Things are coming along swimmingly. I expect to have all of the tracking done in the next few weeks. Mixing and mastering should be a quick and painless process. So, the first Scar Party EP will come out in the Spring. Yipee!
I'm also planning the next installment of the Locals Only Series. It will be held on Saturday, March 7 at Conservatory in OKC. This one should be outrageously huge. I know a few of the bands that are playing... but, I'm not telling yet!
Next week, I'll be in DC for the inauguration of Barack Obama. We managed to get lucky and get tickets from our otherwise pretty useless Representative. Out of 1400 requests, we got 2 of less than 200 tickets that they had available. Should be a wicked sweet trip. Can't wait for crabcakes at J.Pauls!
When we return, I'll only have one week in town before our anniversary trip. During that week, I'll be pulling tripple duty in the studio. I'll have daytime sessions with The Mean Spirits, who are in to work on an EP release. Then, I'll have evening sessions with Bryan from Negative Negative. He's putting the vocals down for their first EP release. After that, I'll have late night sessions for putting the finishing touches on the tracking for the Scar Party EP. Whoa! What a week!
But, at the end of that week, I start the longest vacation that my wife and I have ever taken. We're going to Grand Cayman for 15 days!!! Holy crap! We're staying in a condo of some sort, steps from the beach! Man.... I've really been looking forward to this vacation. And, you can bet that I'll enjoy every second of it. Because, I know that when we return, I'm gonna be up to my neck in studio construction headaches.
I'll try to be a little more regular about this blog.
We've been working on an EP release for Scar Party. Things are coming along swimmingly. I expect to have all of the tracking done in the next few weeks. Mixing and mastering should be a quick and painless process. So, the first Scar Party EP will come out in the Spring. Yipee!
I'm also planning the next installment of the Locals Only Series. It will be held on Saturday, March 7 at Conservatory in OKC. This one should be outrageously huge. I know a few of the bands that are playing... but, I'm not telling yet!
Next week, I'll be in DC for the inauguration of Barack Obama. We managed to get lucky and get tickets from our otherwise pretty useless Representative. Out of 1400 requests, we got 2 of less than 200 tickets that they had available. Should be a wicked sweet trip. Can't wait for crabcakes at J.Pauls!
When we return, I'll only have one week in town before our anniversary trip. During that week, I'll be pulling tripple duty in the studio. I'll have daytime sessions with The Mean Spirits, who are in to work on an EP release. Then, I'll have evening sessions with Bryan from Negative Negative. He's putting the vocals down for their first EP release. After that, I'll have late night sessions for putting the finishing touches on the tracking for the Scar Party EP. Whoa! What a week!
But, at the end of that week, I start the longest vacation that my wife and I have ever taken. We're going to Grand Cayman for 15 days!!! Holy crap! We're staying in a condo of some sort, steps from the beach! Man.... I've really been looking forward to this vacation. And, you can bet that I'll enjoy every second of it. Because, I know that when we return, I'm gonna be up to my neck in studio construction headaches.
I'll try to be a little more regular about this blog.
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