Got a minute? Or seven?

Ti-i-i-ime, is on my side...well not really. Who has time to sit down and spend the day clicking away at a keypad for about 20 seconds worth of readable tripe? Umm, me apparently. But it's getting harder to not only find the time, but to find some subject that hasn't been regurgitated to death over and over to the point that the yawn escaping your mouth at this very moment won't be replicated about seven or eight times before you are done reading it. So, to save time, of which The Guitarman has none, he will give you a fresh new look. A (hopefully) recurring new theme that will be dubbed, "7 Topics in 7 Minutes." So you can see a topic and skip it if you can't take any more. But, unfortunately you just took a minute to read this, so the inaugural voyage will be more like "7 Topics in 8 Minutes". Yea, doesn't really roll off the tongue now does it?

Chickenfoot
I know what you're saying. "Huh?" That's what I said until I heard the first album by this new "supergroup". Not really along the lines of Asia, but with the mind blowing guitar of Joe Satriani, I had to take a chance. Yes he blows my mind regularly, and with a slightly pudgy Sammy Hagar having not lost the pipes, it's one of my favorite new listens in a while. Throw in the former Van Halen stalwart Michael Anthony on bass, along with Will Ferrell's evil twin on drums, (he even makes really convincing Will Ferrell faces and all), the CD is worth the money, assuming you are a dinosaur like me and actually still BUY the CD.

Illinois PoliticsLesse, a full 90% of the state senators who voted in favor of ComEd's rate hike got personal donations to their campaigns from the megalith. Throw in the fact that 18 senators were called off the floor just before the vote, and then somehow had their votes cast by someone else, in some cases the opposite way of their position, and you have what is becoming a three ring circus. Wait, did I say becoming? That's an insult to three ring circuses everywhere.

Death
Can't even pick up the paper anymore without reading about senseless killing every friggin' day. Today, a 14 year old girl stabbed to death in her own home when she surprised a burglar. We seem to be breeding these soul-less monsters like rodents. Where do they come from? I guess no matter how hard you try to parent, you're gonna get a Dahmer or a Gacy now and then, but these days armed thugs seem to be taking over the world. Can we try a little harder to raise our children to at least, I don't know, grow old without killing someone along the way?

Baseball
ABOUT FREAKIN TIME!!!! The Cubs have finally broken the spell and won The World Series!! Wait, I think that was my dream last night. Rats. Maybe we can trade Quade and Zambrano to St Louis for LaRussa and Pujols. Damn, still dreaming.

Death Pt II
I have a heart. I feel for the family's loss. But just as we try to understand the minds of the murdering ghouls that roam the streets of Chicago, we scratch our heads at the stupidity that leads to tragedy as well. A carload of 10 family members heading across the country to NJ for a funeral. A deer in the road. A semi-truck driving right behind the family. And not a single seat belt being worn by the occupants of the van. Including a 6-week old baby strapped into a car seat, but the car seat not strapped into the vehicle. Seven deaths that were preventable. Not a single thought among anyone to strap in? I'm sorry, but that's just plain stupid.

Homophobes
Got into a great tit-for-tat this week with Jim Finnegan, president of Illinois Choose Life and James M. Komaniecki, Project Manager, Illinois Defense of Marriage Initiative. I have nothing against their crusade to make sure the rest of us follow their agenda of a perfect life for us all, but took issue with their stance that being gay is a "life choice" that can be unlearned. Their solution is to march young people to the church for counseling to sway them of their lifestyle choice. One thing I have come to realize, is that no matter how ignorant these people can be in their misguided views of today's world, you can't win an argument with someone who's only defense is "God says so."

Well that's it readers. That's 7 topics in 7 minutes. What you say? You actually counted? I confess, that was only six. The caffeine is wearing off and I haven't had any breakfast yet. If I have learned one thing writing this blog, it's that inspiration requires food.