SICK DAY

Sometimes It Snows In April

2006-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:00

Great Prince tune, one of my favorites...unfortunately, it's true...as I type this in beautiful Malvern, Pennsylvania, a mini blizzard is taking hold outside. April 5th. Brilliant. Looks like it won't stick, but still...as Samir says in Office Space..."THIS IS A FUCK!"

Mouth Of Wilson Live

2006-04-04T15:36:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll, Mouth Of Wilson is playing its first show at the Jersey shore this Thursday, April 6th, at The Saint in Asbury Park. We are the early slot, currently slated for an 8:30pm show time. Hope to see you all there.

Disgusting

2006-04-04T15:31:00.000-04:00

This is quite disturbing, all the more weird to me as the center of this controversy is Superior Twp, Michigan, right outside of Ann Arbor, where I used to frequent a driving range.....

Dog decapitations shock Michigan town

At first, piles of skinned animals, mostly foxes and coyotes, turned up on the edges of dirt roads in this semi-rural community outside Ann Arbor.

Though gruesome, they looked like little more than the work of a sloppy trapper too lazy to properly dispose of the carcasses.

Things took a more shocking turn on March 16, when what appeared to be someone's pet was found along with more skinned coyotes. The Rottweiler had been decapitated and its feet were bound with duct tape.

Since then, eight more dead dogs, including three without heads, have been discovered by residents and investigators with the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

Despite a reward that has swelled to at least $18,000 with donations from community members, officials have so far been unable to determine even who the dogs belonged to.

The mysterious dog deaths -- now being investigated separately from the wild animal carcasses -- have rattled this picturesque Washtenaw County township, dominated by empty fields and wooded preserves and dotted with old, red barns.

Who does this sort of thing? I mean, I don't know of any Chinese restaurants in the area......

New Car

2006-03-01T00:43:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so tomorrow morning I will begin my Saab ownership era, let's hope it's a good one. I haven't been posting much AGAIN but I was a little busy what with the studio almost wrapping up and....oh yeah, the aftermath of my head on collision with a county owned snowplow. It's a cool car, I can tell I will fall in love with it. It's a 1986 Saab 900, so that's cool, it's got high miles, some signs of wear, but a whole butt load of character. Wish me luck.

Alabama Burning

2006-02-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

I don't know what the hell this is all about, but it is quite disturbing....

Fires burn 4 more Alabama churches

BOLIGEE, Alabama (AP) -- Fires damaged or destroyed four more Baptist churches across the Alabama countryside Tuesday, less than a week after a string of five blazes that were ruled arson.

"I'm not prepared to talk about the evidence yet ... but common sense tells you there is a clear indication these fires are going to be linked," FBI acting assistant director Chip Burrus said in an interview with The Associated Press in Washington, D.C.

Rich Marianos, a spokesman for the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency, said more than 50 agents were assigned to the case in Alabama.

"This is our No. 1 priority nationally," he said.

Among the churches damaged was Morning Star Baptist in Boligee. Member Johnny Archibald said smoke was pouring from the church when he arrived around daybreak.

"They had kicked the door in," he said. "Evidently they had set the pulpit on fire and went out the front door."

Tuesday's fires took place at churches off rural roads, about 10 to 20 miles apart. They were in a cluster of three counties, about 60 miles from the Bibb County area where the five other churches were burned early Friday.

This is exactly the kind of shit my beloved Alabama does NOT need. No one ever talks about the fact that Birmingham is the headquarter city for more of the nation’s top 50 largest banking institutions than any U. S. city outside of New York City, or the state of the art medical facilities of UAB, or the aeronautics and space research done in Huntsville, second only to NASA's headquarters in Houston, or having one of the best restaurants in the United States, or the many state parks and scenic beauty that abound across the state. Nope, we've got ignorant hicks burning churches, which only serves to enforce the rampant negative stereotypes that stain Alabama's reputation. Hopefully, they'll catch these assholes soon, but until then, I fear I can look forward to more negative press and rushes to judgement caused by religious fervor by a minority of extremists. And New Jersey thinks IT has it bad....

Global Warning

2006-02-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

I love running across stories like this on a Monday morning.....fitting, as we had one of the warmest January's on record this year.....

Global warming boosting Greenland glacier flow

Scientists predict that global average temperatures will rise by between one and six degrees Celsius this century unless urgent action is taken now to cap and reduce carbon emissions.

Even a rise of three degrees could result in cataclysmic species loss, melting polar icecaps raising sea levels by many meters and wholesale famine and disease.

Greenland is only part of the picture, and there is also evidence of local warming and melting on the giant Western Antarctic ice sheet.

Scientists said on Monday the world had to halt greenhouse gas emissions and reverse them within two decades or watch the planet spiraling towards destruction.

The first phase of the global Kyoto protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions runs until 2012, and negotiations have only just started on finding a way of taking it beyond that.

The United States, the world's biggest polluter, has rejected both the protocol in its current form and any suggestion of expanding or extending it.

Oh joy. This of course comes on the heels of Bush's 2006 Budget proposal which focuses mostly on....yep, you guessed it, increasing military spending and the war on terror. Two thumbs up for our biggest projected deficit. Knowing the Democrats, we'll win in 2008 and get stuck with the bill. Figures.

Jesus H. Christ...

2006-02-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Wow, I must admit, I know stupid. Believe me, I do. I like Benny Hill. I watched The Day After Tomorrow. Larry is my favorite stooge. I am a Lions fan. But this here has to be the most stupid, most shockingly imbecilic bit of tripe I've read about in a long ass time.....still, what scares me most is not that this exists, but that there is a strong chance it will succeed.

NASCAR, Harlequin Gear Up for Love Stories

Strange bedfellows, indeed. Or maybe not. If it's true that opposites attract, then a licensing agreement between Harlequin Romance novels and NASCAR Inc., should be a marriage made in heaven. The first offspring of this new union, a racetrack romance entitled In the Groove by Pamela Britton, goes on sale Tuesday — just a few weeks before the Daytona 500 on Feb. 19. Two other NASCAR-themed love stories will be published this year: On the Edge by Britton in September and A NASCAR Holiday by Kimberly Raye, Roxanne St. Claire and Debra Webb in November. At least 17 more, by various authors, are planned for 2007.

I can't help but think of Joe Dirt, when he kisses that hottie at the oil field and is like, "hey baby, you can keep that Skoal...."

"NASCAR very much portrays themselves as a family-oriented sport, and most romance fiction is about commitment and about the promise of happily-ever-after," says Gayle Wilson, president of the 9,500-member Romance Writers of America.

HA! This shit just gets better and better....but, if you're me like, you are wondering what this In The Groove storyline might possibly entail, besides maybe some sloppy heavy petting in the back of a shitty Monte Carlo to the tune of Tim McGraw's "Drugs or Jesus"? Domestic violence and some good ol' fahsioned subjugation? Surprisingly, no.

In the Groove features down-on-his-luck NASCAR driver Lance Cooper and ex-kindergarten teacher Sarah Tingle. They meet when his car hits her. She gets a bump on the head. He's driven to distraction. When he looks at Sarah, Cooper "feels like he has been shocked by a loose spark plug wire."

Well, folks, the world is officially coming to an end. This rant brought to you by Miller High Life and AutoZone. Yeehaw.

Mouth Of Wilson Tour Dates

2006-01-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

MOW in concert
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

Also, Mouth Of Wilson is in the studio getting the record nearly finished. We've cut down our live appearances until this is done, but we do have some shows coming up that we would love for you to attend......

FEB 3 / TRIUMPH BREWERY / New Hope, PA
FEB 10 / JOHN & PETER'S / New Hope, PA
MAR 10 / JOHN & PETER'S / New Hope, PA
MAR 17 / THE CONDUIT / Trenton, NJ

Cheers.

All New Mouth Of Wilson Website

2006-01-31T12:27:00.000-05:00

New Website
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

Thought I'd share that Mouth Of Wilson has its new website up and running, have a look around, it's where you can find everything you need for all MOW related activity.

The Official Mouth Of Wilson Website

Gee, This Never Happens

2006-01-31T12:14:00.000-05:00

God, this is awful, and it keeps happening. There something about being a postal worker that just sets people off. Is the working conditions? The repetive nature of the job? I always wanted to drive one of those cool cars that my mailman got to pimp, it can't be THAT bad....I always figured it would be the DMV that got this type of job notoriety...I mean, that place gives me the fucking creeps, and half the people that work there I could swear might be zombies...Dawn of the Dead indeed...shit, that reminds, I have to get my address changed on my driver's license....ooo boy.

Ex-postal employee kills six, commits suicide at Calif. mail plant

“We do not believe there is any additional threat to the community,” Anderson said.

The Monday night rampage sent dozens of employees running from the sprawling distribution center and prompted authorities to warn nearby residents to stay indoors.

Now if they could just get those pesky mudslides and skyrocketing housing costs under control.....

Michigan Back In Top 25

2006-01-31T12:04:00.000-05:00

Michigan Back In Top 25
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

Damn....it's been a while since the Michigan Wolverines basketball team has been a success. Actually, it's been a friggin rough go, minus the odd NIT title, but no one really cares about that.

So I'm very pleased to be able to say that Michigan is actually ranked in the Top 25 again!

After a pair of victories against top 25 programs, the University of Michigan men's basketball team has been voted into the national polls for the first time in eight years. The Maize and Blue have earned national rankings of No. 21 from the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. The last time the Wolverines were among the nation's top 25 was at the end of the 1997-98 season when the Wolverines were No. 12 in the final polls (March 10, 1998).

Michigan's 15-3 start is the best for the Wolverines since the beginning of the 1992-93 season (16-2). The Maize and Blue's 5-2 start in conference play, which puts them tied atop the Big Ten standings, is the best since 2002-03 (6-1). The 15 wins for the Maize and Blue already surpasses last year's total for wins (13) and the five conference wins eclipses last year's total of four. Earlier this week, Michigan won back-to-back games against ranked opponents for first time in 12 years. U-M defeated 11th-ranked Michigan State (72-67, Jan. 25) and 23rd-ranked Wisconsin (85-76, Jan. 28), a feat that has not been done since 1993-94.

The newly ranked Wolverines will continue their Big Ten regular season with a pair of road contests at Penn State, Wednesday (Feb. 1) followed by a road game at Iowa, Saturday (Feb. 4).

Awesome, the last time I got really excited about Michigan hoops was my senior year in college (1998) when we won the inaugural Big Ten Tournament and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Of course, we cheated a little so that banner had to come down, but it was cool. I'm hoping for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen, it's been ages since I've really had my team in there with a chance to do something magical.

Movie Marathons

2006-01-31T11:57:00.000-05:00

Mmmm....Jello Shots!
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

One of the best things about moving to Hopewell, besides having a liquor store across the street, is the recent couple Movie Marathons my friend Meredith and I hosted at my new pad. The first, a Rocky Marathon, was a success, and last weekend, we had the second, a drunken idiot comedy marathon. Of course, the real reason we all do this is to play copious amounts of beer pong in my attic and get trashed. It's an awesome time and a great way for all of us, as extremely busy individuals, to get together, catch up, and let loose. The next one is already in production, it will involve more beer pong, a poker tournament, and a Halloween theme where everyone has to wear a costume.....stay tuned, make your reservations now....

This New Way

2006-01-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well, hello all, Sick Day is now back in action after some much needed time off. I have been extremely busy with the band, the studio, work, and the occasional bout of extreme and crippling depression and loneliness. Thank you to my friends, in particular, the band, Meredith and Mike for getting me through without me completely breaking down or losing my mind.

So, on to rosier things in 2006.....

Yesterday, I hosted the second Movie Marathon at my place, and as last time showed, you throw beer pong into the equation, and fewer movies are watched, this time, we got through Wet Hot American Summer and The Big Lebowski....it was an excellent day of drunken idiocy and outside of a run in with a ceiling which was cleverly treated with some frozen sausage, no one was injured and everyone had an excellent time. Mi cabesa, no me gusta. Ay yay yay.

So, yeah, I'm back bitches. I never did my Best Music of 2005 section so I suppose I may do that. Today, I watch football. Joy.

Merry Christmas!!!

2005-12-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

Here to a happy holiday season and 2006!!!!

I haven't been posting much of late, sorry to those who have been asking about it, my mind is elsewhere and simply don't have the energy right now, other commitments notwithstanding.

I'll be back sometime in the new year, until then, Sick Day is on temporary hiatus.

Thanks for reading!

Top 15 Albums of 2005

2005-12-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

Ah, being the list freak that I am, I will soon be counting down my Top 15 records of 2005. I'll do one a day, so if you don't own these, you damn well should. That will be all, have a great weekend. If you'll excuse, I have to go blow my nose and cry while I attempt to get my ears to pop. Peace. Cough.

Lions In Disarray....Simon Plans To Eat Crow

2005-12-01T16:33:00.006-05:00

How could it be any worse?
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

Well, it's December and along with Christmas, cold weather, long lines at Best Buy, and egg nog, one thing I can always count on is that the Detroit Lions will be out of playoff contention. What sucks MOST is I really believed the team would contend for the NFC North this year. So did others, and heads have started to roll. Earlier this week, the Lions fired coach Steve Mariucci and now interim coach Dick Jauron has named Jeff Garcia the starter, effectively ending the Joey Harrington era in Detroit....2-14...3-13....4-12...5-11...5-11...this year...???? who knows....what I know is I'm tired of my team being a fucking joke to the rest of the NFL and me being a joke for liking them. I watch almost every game, and from 2001 through 2004, I saw a grand total of, you guessed it, 14 wins...IN FOUR SEASONS. Jesus. It's been a long haul and I feel there's a lot of talent on the team, so not all is lost. But fuggin a, I could use a little optimism here. Perhaps a lot of the young guys will get some playing time and be hungry for wins as they fight for starting positions next year.
Yeah, we'll see. I'm staring down the barrel of a thrid straight 5-11 season. Whoopty-fucking-doo.

News Of The Weird

2005-12-01T16:17:00.000-05:00

Another odd story I came across, this one courtesy of loyal reader Mike....

Fate Unknown for NJ's 60-Foot Beer Bottle

I know I've seen this, it must be from the Sopranos. Speaking of, I can't wait 'til that starts again, I suppose since it's been a year and a half, another 3 months ain't that long to wait.

Tequila Mockingbird

2005-11-23T10:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not quite sure WHY someone would think it wise to do 19 shots of Tequila in 90 minutes. He probably wasn't and it probably involved a woman. It's doesn't help when the bartender is egging you on either....

Bartender jailed for lethal tequila

A 32-year-old Norwegian bartender was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday for serving a customer so much tequila that he fell into a coma and died.

According to a district court in the southwestern city of Hokksund the bartender, whose name was withheld, pleaded guilty to serving 34-year-old Leif Henning Nilsen 19 shots of the strong Mexican liquor in 90 minutes at the Spiseriet restaurant in May 2004.

Nilsen lost consciousness and died three days later.

The court said it could not hold the bartender accountable for the death itself, but sentenced him to prison for illegally serving alcohol to a clearly intoxicated person.

The ruling said the bartender intentionally contributed to the excess by drinking shots of water, tricking the victim into what he thought was a drinking contest.

See, now, that's just wrong, 'cause anyone who drinks tequila knows you grow wings with that shit. Never challenge a man's abilities with a full stomach of liquor. Jeez. If it wasn't for the whole "water shot" bit on the part of the bartender, I'd say it was the dead guy's fault, but that shit spells negligence.

Now he's in a box. Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

Amenthol

2005-11-21T17:40:00.000-05:00

The stupidity of some people just never ceases to amaze....

Smoker tried to open airliner door

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- A French woman who is terrified of flying admitted in an Australian court Monday that she drunkenly tried to open an airplane door mid-flight to smoke a cigarette.

Sadrine Helene Sellies, 34, was placed on a good behavior bond after pleading guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sellies was traveling on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to the east coast city of Brisbane on Saturday when the incident occurred at the start of a three-week Australian vacation with her husband, the court heard.

She walked toward one of the aircraft's emergency exits with an unlit cigarette and a lighter in her hand and began tampering with the door, prosecutors said. But a flight attendant intervened and took Sellies back to her seat.

As a smoker, I get it, but honestly, how did she think this was going to work out? She should stick to tampering with smoke detectors in the lavatories like any depraved smoker stuck on a flight from Australia........

I Love The Onion

2005-11-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

FAITH HEALER LOSES PATIENT DURING ROUTINE MIRACLE

WAYCROSS, GA—A routine laying-on of hands ended in a fatal cardiac embolism for a worshiper at the One, True, Glorious, Excruciated, And Risen Christ Traveling Gospel Church Sunday. "Losing a fellow Christian is always the hardest part of this job," attending faith healer Harlon Pearcey said. "I invoked the name of the Holy Trinity to drive the sickness out from the poor sinner's heart, but sadly, a blockage in the sinner's pulmonary artery stopped God's love, and much blood, from getting through." The American Faith-Healing Association issued a statement saying that Pearcey followed trinity-invocation and snake-handling guidelines during the procedure

Mouth Of WIlson Live!

2005-11-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

Hey kids,

Time for my semi-regular update of upcoming shows for my band, Mouth Of Wilson, or M.O.W. as the kids are saying. Here ya go, if you can make it out, that would be sweet, and stuff. Plus, December is an off month for us (well, show wise yes, we'll be finishing up in the studio)---

SAT / NOV 12 / TRIUMPH / New Hope, PA
FRI / NOV 18 / GRAPE STREET / Philadelphia, PA
SAT / NOV 19 / THE CONDUIT / Trenton, NJ

Also, if you haven't signed up for myspace, now is the time, it's free and what not, and you can check out more about us! I have taken over page management duties, so check it out, there's some new content. www.mouthofwilson.com will be up as soon as our web person recovers from Hurricane Wilma in FLA. D'OH! Good luck with all that, as my friend Jilly likes to say.

How Many Michigan College Students does it take to screw in a light bulb?

2005-11-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

Since I went to school in Michigan, I found this funny. It's very true.

At Michigan State it takes two thousand. One to change the bulb, and the other one thousand nine hundred ninety nine to riot and set it on fire.

At Michigan it takes three. One to change it and the other two to talk about how they did it every bit as good as an ivy leaguer.

At Grand Valley it takes four. One to do it and three to discuss how Grand Valley is as good as a Division I school.

At Concordia it takes ten, one to change the bulb and the other nine to sit around and watch because it is the big entertainment of the evening.

At Ferris it takes zero. They are all too drunk from the night before to care whether or not the lights are on.

At Eastern it takes four. One to change the bulb, one to steal the new bulb from the store, one as a look out, and one to drive the getaway car.

At Central Michigan it takes nine. One to screw it in and the other eight just screw each other in celebration.

At Wayne State it takes zero. Who wants to be in Detroit after dark anyway?

At Western it takes twelve, two to figure out how to screw it in and ten other drunks to find an ugly enough lamp shade to match their school colors.

At Adrian it takes zero. There is no electricity in Adrian, only cows and corn.

At Northern it takes five. Four to strap on snow shoes and hike 10 miles to the nearest store to get the new bulb and a 30 Pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and one to screw it in.

At Michigan Tech and Kettering University it takes twenty. One to change the bulb and the other nineteen to find a new way to engineer it so it never has to be changed again.

At Hillsdale, Albion, and Kalamazoo it takes zero. They have Mommy and Daddy pay someone to do it for them.

At Saginaw Valley it takes five, one to bring the weed and four to smoke it while they all imagine they screwed it in.

At Oakland it takes zero, they can't afford light bulbs just like they cannot afford a football team.

At Macomb it takes zero, they live at home, mom and dad control the lights.

If That's Movin' Up, Then I'm Movin' Out

2005-11-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Man, what a weekend. I spent all day Friday, part of the day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday moving out of my place in Plainsboro into the sweet, old, possibly haunted house in Hopewell (I hope it's the Lindberg baby)....

I'm a little sore, but not too bad, my buddy Mike and roommate helped out so it was cool. I may get some pictures up of the place, it rules. Back to the grind.

No Love Lost

2005-11-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought I had seen it all....

Mike Love is suing his cousin and former Beach Boys bandmate Brian Wilson

You would think one of the most influential acts of all time, certainly in US history, could avoid this sort of thing. Oh how the times have changed.

Honoring True Courage

2005-11-02T11:20:00.000-05:00

Today, Rosa Parks is being buried in Detroit, Michigan. Of course, Rosa Parks is hailed as the spark if the Civil Rights Movement in the Southern States that eventually, 9 years after Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, pinaccled with a Civil Rights Bill that procured equal civil rights for all Americans. It's hard for me to think of a more noble fight that was undertaken in the 20th century that had such a tangible impact on so many Americans. A simple action like what Rosa Parks did can truly spark a revolution. As we remember her, I'm glad to say I'm an Alabamian, as she is a true American hero and it was there that much of this good fight was spearheaded.