Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Dream Theater's actual set list from Orlando

Below is the actual set list from Dream Theater's show at Hard Rock Live in Orlando on July 25, 2009. It was the second date for Progressive Nation 2009. Scale the Summit opened the show, and they were followed by Big Elf. Zappa Plays Zappa was the third act, followed by Dream Theater. The Dream Theater photo was taken by Shawn L. and uploaded to my twitpic account.

Friday, July 24, 2009

My Dream Theater Set List


I will be in Florida, and while there I will be checking out Dream Theater. The band typically changes up its set list every night. Here is what I would like to hear:

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

At the end of the day, the American people ...

At the end of the day, the American people seem to be falling out of love with President Barack Obama when you look at RasmussenReports.com Presidential Approval Index. Obama's numbers are slipping in Virginia and Ohio. What once appeared to be an invincible Democratic lock might be showing signs of weakness. Still too early to tell, but the trending is interesting.

Along similar lines, Bryan Schaaf and I wrote a story about U.S. Rep. John Boccieri's vote on cap and tax; he was not sold on it before the vote but ended up supporting it (see the story here and high-quality video here). Most of those motivated to comment on the story opposed the vote.

Boccieri remains popular among many I talk to because he spends a lot of time in Wayne County and is accessible.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

CNSNEWS.com talks with Boccieri and others

CNSNEWS.com caught up with U.S. Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH) and others recently to ask about how they would vote on the cap and trade legislation, which depending upon whom you believe, will solve global warming (oh, I mean, climate change, consultants have said quit using the phrase "global warming" because of all the negative connotations, wonder why) and create millions of green jobs, or it will cost Americans thousands of dollars a year in higher energy costs and cripple American business.

Boccieri recently sat down with some of the staff from The Daily Record to talk about why he voted for the legislation. The story and video from that interview (which included managing editor Lance White, reporter Bryan Schaaf and me) will appear in an upcoming edition of the newspaper.

However, the video below is from CNSNEWS.com and was taken before the vote. Boccieri is first up.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Declaration of Independence Word Cloud



Here is how our Declaration of Independence appears in a word cloud (thanks to Wordle and @maitri). To see the word cloud on Wordle.net, go here.

Are You Grounded?



I am heading to Florida later in July to see family, friends, have fun and to preach. The sermon is titled "Are You Grounded," and it comes from 1 Chronicles 21. Above is how the sermon looks in a word cloud. (Word cloud courtesy of www.wordle.net)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Listen to new Dream Theater album

Monday, June 22, 2009

Obama: He'll fill your car with nuts and corn



Thanks to @conservogirl for sharing this one.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Obama: Where did his love go?

Can you hear President Barack Obama singing these lyrics from Diana Ross and the Supremes, "Baby, baby, where did our love go? Oh, don't you want me, don't you want me no more?" Well, he should be given RasmussenReports.com shows Obama in negative territory in the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Obama's approval index is (-2) with 34 percent strongly disapproving of his performance compared to 32 percent strongly approving his efforts so far, leaving 34 percent somewhere in between. Statistically, Obama is not doing poorly. As previously noted here, the numbers are relatively balanced: one-third likes, one-third hates and one-third can go either way.

However, the negative approval rating is remarkable when compared to the favorable treatment the president has received from the media. Consider this from the Pew Research Center earlier this year:
Overall, roughly four out of ten stories, editorials and op ed columns about Obama have been clearly positive in tone, compared with 22% for Bush and 27% for Clinton in the same mix of seven national media outlets during the same first two months in office, according to a study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The study found positive stories about Obama have outweighed negative by two-to-one (42% vs. 20%) while 38% of stories have been neutral or mixed.
There now seems to be some chinks in Obama's armor. Despite overall positive reporting from the media, people are able to get another perspective on Obama and his administration from places like Fox News and blogs like Hot Air, not to mention Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on the radio.

As the shine wears off the new administration and as the honeymoon transitions into the marriage, Obama's numbers will continue to fall. It seems more people are fed up with the bailouts, don't like the fact that Obama and the courts circumvented standard rules for bankruptcy and are leery about the true cost of health care reform and the stimulus plan.

If this continues, look for Republican gains in the House and Senate come 2010.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Stepping out over the lhine



Here is Over the Rhine performing Trouble. I have been listening to them since 1993, but I have never managed to see them live. I am still holding out hope. Until then, there is this video ... and all of their releases.