I Can Kill You With My Brain

It seems like more and more things have gone high-def or digital in the last few years.  One of my favorites has been digital radios in cars.  If you are listening to a digital radio station with a digital radio, you get some bonus information sent to you.  Most of the time it’s the name of the song, the artist/band, and possibly the name of the radio station.  I don’t listen to the radio too often, so I find this feature especially nice.  When something comes on that I have never heard before, the radio can tell me exactly what I’m listening to right away.  I’m not dependent on the DJ feeding that information to me.

Both of my cars have digital radios that offer this feature.  On my Prius, I have to push a few buttons to find out what song is currently being played.  On the other hand, my Torrent constantly displays the information sent down with the digital signal, so I only have to glance in the direction of the radio to learn the name of my new favorite song (well, it will be my favorite for at least the next 5 minutes).  It is really quite convenient.

As great as this technology is, someone has found a way to abuse it (in my opinion) and make money off of it.  There is a digital radio station in my hometown of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, that does not send the name of the song and artist to digital radios.  It doesn’t even send the call letters of the radio station.  The only information they send is advertisements for local businesses.  This is particularly bad in the Torrent, as it turns the radio into a mini-billboard in the center of my dashboard.  I look over to learn the name of a song or adjust the volume for a Lady GaGa single, and instead I learn about a deal on fried chicken at Ma & Pa’s Grocery.

I don’t have a problem with radio stations showing advertisements on digital radio screens when they are on a commercial break and advertisements are playing, anyway.  However, I’m not a fan of them hijacking my dashboard and sending nothing but advertisements to it all the time.  That behavior crosses a line for me.  At least I can always get away from the ads by choosing another station or even turning off my radio entirely.  Their plan has now backfired.  Instead of having another listener who gets some extra advertising, they have a former listener who will not receive any of their ads while paying too much for fried chicken.

I know I’m just playing into their marketing hype, but the Slap Bet on “How I Met Your Mother” is one of my favorite recurring jokes of all time.  Stay tuned – another slap is coming…

Somehow the subject of werewolves vs. vampires came up at my lunch table at work the other day.  Even though this subject was addressed quite well in the “Underworld” movies, my lunch group wanted to have their own discussion about it.  A very interesting question was raised early in the discourse: what kinds of vampires and werewolves were we talking about?  Vampires like those found in “30 Days of Night” or “Twilight?”  Werewolves like the one in “An American Werewolf in London” or like those in “Van Helsing”?  There are so many different types of both combatants that the outcome of the battle would change dramatically based on which ones are actually representing their kin in the fight.

Of course, the conversation turned quite silly.  Someone mentioned the wolves should be like Michael J. Fox’s character in “Teen Wolf”.  Someone else mentioned that the vampires should be like The Count on “Sesame Street”.  Everyone laughed a bit and then started picturing this battle in their minds.  But my mind couldn’t go there, because I couldn’t possibly see it as a battle.  I argued that if all the vampires and werewolves in the world were like these two types, there couldn’t possibly be war between them, but only peace.  I can only picture these “warring” creatures being in a peaceful, almost symbiotic relationship.  In actuality, they’ll need each other.  Why?  The Teen Wolf werewolves would want to play basketball and The Count vampires would want to keep score.

This song is a little heavy on the ‘yeah’s, but they are fun to sing (read: scream) along to when you’re listening, so I left them in this lyrics transcription. They really help to set the mood of the tune. Plus, that’s just the way Eddie Vedder sings a lot of his upbeat tunes, and Pearl Jam’s “The Fixer” is no exception.

I can really relate to this song. I love to help. I love to cheer people up. I love to try to fix things when they’re not right. But mostly, I love…

~ ~ ~

yeah, hey, hey
When something’s dark, let me shed a little light on it
When something’s cold, let me put a little fire on it
If something’s old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When something’s gone, I wanna fight to get it back again

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When something’s broke, I wanna put a bit of fixin’ on it
When something’s bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
If something’s low, I wanna put a little high on it
When something’s lost, I wanna fight to get it back again

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If there’s no love, I wanna try to love again

I’ll say your prayers, I’ll take your side
I’ll find us a way to make light
I’ll dig your grave, we’ll dance and sing
What’s saved could be one last lifetime

hey, hey, hey
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah

Fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m sure some of you have caught this already, but it’s too good not to post.  And if you have seen it already, it’s certainly worth a second (or third) viewing.

Last week, Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Emmy Awards.  At one point in the broadcast, Dr. Horrible interrupted the broadcast.

For those of you keeping track at home, this is the link that I was referring to yesterday.