My Favourite Music

Karen kind of hinted at my preferred music in a recent post in her blog. It's true, to look at me, I look like a very clean-cut, quiet, conservative guy. But I really don't like a lot of the mainstream music. The music I really like is very dark and sometimes quite depressing. In no particular order, I would say my 10 favourite groups/artists would be:

• Rammstein
• The Smiths/Morrissey
• Bauhaus
• Depeche Mode
• Ministry
• New Order/Joy Division
• David Bowie
• The Cure
• Skinny Puppy
• Sorry I can't think of a 10th that would rate with the above list.

So why do I like this kind of music?

The first thing that attracts me to certain music is the way some music can just overwhelm your senses (even if it is not played at full volume). The wall of sound that is a New Order, Ministry or Rammstein song as it hits you and carries you with it. Or how about the industrial and very complex sound of Skinny Puppy. Then there is the downright spooky sound of the Cure and Bauhaus.

It was a dark and stormy night. Karen and I had only been going out for a
while and we were on a very dark highway in the rain. I put Bauhaus on. "Bela Lugosi is Dead" creeped Karen out so much that after 5 minutes she asked me to put other music on.

The other thing I listen for is good lyrics. When I listen to the Smiths or Morrissey, I hear very depressing (i.e. Girlfriend in a Coma, Panic, How Soon is Now, November Spawned a Monster, etc) lyrics, set to music that is quite often upbeat. Depressing music really cheers me up the most -- in fact much more than happy music. I think hearing Morrissey sing about being miserable makes me realize that no matter how bad I think things might be, my life is not as bad as a Smith's song.

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
but heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
and heaven knows I'm miserable now

In my life
why do I give valuable time
to people who don't care if I live or die

Two lovers entwined pass me by
and heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
and heaven knows I'm miserable now

In my life
why do I give valuable time
to people who don't care if I live or die

What she asked of me at the end of the day
Caligula would have blushed
"You've been the house too long" she said
and I naturally fled

In my life
why do I smile
at people who I'd much rather kick in the eye

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
but heaven knows I'm miserable now
"You've been the house too long" she said
and I naturally fled

In my life
why do I give valuable time
to people who don't care if I live or die

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

I'm also very private about the music I like. We probably have all had to drive with people (family, friends, coworkers) who like to subject you to their favourite music over the course of a long drive. (Now, I know there are people out there who love Jazz, R&B, Country -- both New and Old -- and "Adult Contemporary" but I am not one of them.) However,when it is my turn to drive, the radio is usually off and I prefer to talk with my passengers.

When I'm in the car with Ben though we crank up the Rammstein.

Favourite Music in High School

I saw this on another blog and decided to put it here. Here are the instructions:

1. Go to http://www.musicoutfitters.com
2. Plug the year you graduated high school into the search engine at the top left of the page
3. Copy all of the songs from the Top 100 list.
4. Bold the ones you actually like.
5. Italicize the ones you never heard of (or don't remember)
6. Slap it in your LJ or Blog

I also added the UK Top 50 from the same year for added flavour. (I found it through a google search.) I could not find a Canadian list but I did find a list from my favourite radio station at the time.

US Top 100

1. When Doves Cry, Prince
2. What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner
3. Say Say Say, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
4. Footloose, Kenny Loggins
5. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), Phil Collins
6. Jump, Van Halen
7. Hello, Lionel Richie
8. Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Yes
9. Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
10. Karma Chameleon, Culture Club
11. Missing You, John Waite
12. All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie
13. Let's Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams
14. Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen
15. Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
16. The Reflex, Duran Duran
17. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
18. Jump (For My Love), Pointer Sisters
19. Talking In Your Sleep, Romantics
20. Self Control, Laura Branigan
21. Let's Go Crazy, Prince and The Revolution
22. Say It Isn't So, Daryl Hall and John Oates
23. Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins
24. Joanna, Kool and The Gang
25. I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder
26. Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell
27. Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder
28. 99 Luftballons, Nena
29. I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman
30. The Glamorous Life, Sheila E
31. Oh Sherrie, Steve Perry
32. Stuck On You, Lionel Richie
33. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John
34. She Bop, Cyndi Lauper
35. Borderline, Madonna
36. Sunglasses At Night, Corey Hart
37. Eyes Without A Face, Billy Idol
38. Here Comes The Rain Again, Eurythmics
39. Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
40. Sister Christian, Night Ranger
41. Drive, Cars
42. Twist Of Fate, Olivia Newton-John
43. Union Of The Snake, Duran Duran
44. The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll, Huey Lewis and The News
45. Hard Habit To Break, Chicago
46. The Warrior, Scandal
47. If Ever You're In My Arms Again, Peabo Bryson
48. Automatic, Pointer Sisters
49. Let The Music Play, Shannon
50. To All The Girls I've Loved Before, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
51. Caribbean Queen, Billy Ocean
52. That's All, Genesis
53. Running With The Night, Lionel Richie
54. Sad Songs (Say So Much), Elton John
55. I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis and The News
56. Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
57. Love Is A Battlefield, Pat Benatar
58. Infatuation, Rod Stewart
59. Almost Paradise, Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
60. Legs, ZZ Top
61. State Of Shock, Jacksons
62. Love Somebody, Rick Springfield
63. Miss Me Blind, Culture Club
64. If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News
65. You Might Think, Cars
66. Lucky Star, Madonna
67. Cover Me, Bruce Springsteen
68. Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot
69. Breakdance, Irene Cara
70. Adult Education, Daryl Hall and John Oates
71. They Don't Know, Tracy Ullman
72. An Innocent Man, Billy Joel
73. Cruel Summer, Bananarama
74. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung
75. Give It Up, K.C
76. I'm So Excited, Pointer Sisters
77. I Still Can't Get Over Loving You, Ray Parker Jr.
78. Thriller, Michael Jackson
79. Holiday, Madonna
80. Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us, Ollie And Jerry
81. Nobody Told Me, John Lennon
82. Church Of The Poison Mind, Culture Club
83. Think Of Laura, Christopher Cross
84. Time Will Reveal, Debarge
85. Wrapped Around Your Finger, Police
86. Pink Houses, John Cougar Mellencamp
87. Round And Round, Ratt
88. Head Over Heels, Go-Go's
89. The Longest Time, Billy Joel
90. Tonight, Kool and The Gang
91. Got A Hold On Me, Christine McVie
92. Dancing In The Sheets, Shalamar
93. Undercover Of The Night, Rolling Stones
94. On The Dark Side, John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band
95. New Moon On Monday, Duran Duran
96. Major Tom (Coming Home), Peter Schilling
97. Magic, Cars
98. When You Close Your Eyes, Night Ranger
99. Rock Me Tonite, Billy Squier
100. Yah Mo B There, James Ingram and Michael McDonald

The UK Top 50

1. DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?, BAND AID
2. I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU, Stevie Wonder
3. RELAX, Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4. TWO TRIBES, Frankie Goes To Hollywood
5. CARELESS WHISPER, George Michael
6. LAST CHRISTMAS c/w EVERYTHING SHE WANTS (REMIX) Wham!
7. HELLO, Lionel Richie
8. AGADOO Black Lace
9. GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Jnr
10. FREEDOM, Wham!
11. WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO, Wham!
12. I FEEL FOR YOU, Chaka Khan
13. WHITE LINES (DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster & Melle Mel
14. WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney & the Frog Chorus
15. 99 RED BALLOONS, Nena
16. THE POWER OF LOVE, Frankie Goes To Hollywood
17. THE REFLEX, Duran Duran
18. LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
19. AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW) Phil Collins
20. WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? Tina Turner
21. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, Jim Diamond
22. NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS, Paul McCartney
23. I WANT TO BREAK FREE, Queen
24. HOLE IN MY SHOE, Neil
25. TIME AFTER TIME, Cyndi Lauper
26. RADIO GA GA, Queen
27. TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS, Giorgio Moroder with Philip Oakey
28. WHEN DOVES CRY, Prince
29. DOCTOR, DOCTOR, The Thompson Twins
30. SELF CONTROL, Laura Branigan
31. THE WAR SONG, Culture Club
32. GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, Cyndi Lauper
33. THE WILD BOYS, Duran Duran
34. I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME, NIk Kershaw
35. LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL, Howard Jones
36. NELLIE THE ELEPHANT, The Toy Dolls
37. PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE), U2
38. AUTOMATIC, The Pointer Sisters
39. JOANNA, Kool & the Gang
40. THAT'S LIVING ALRIGHT, Joe Fagin
41. WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD, Nik Kershaw
42. STREET DANCE, Break Machine
43. SMALLTOWN BOY, Bronski Beat
44. BREAK MY STRIDE, Mathhew Wilder
45. THE RIDDLE, Nik Kershaw
46. DR BEAT, Miami Sound Machine
47. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY, Deniece Williams
48. NEVER ENDING STORY, Limahl
49. CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN), Billy Ocean
50. WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO), Hazel Dean

CFNY (Toronto) Top 84

1. Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves
2. U2 - Unforgettable Fire
3. Simple Minds - Sparkle in the Rain
4. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
5. Bronski Beat - Age of Consent
6. Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
7. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome To the Pleasuredome
8. Thompson Twins - Into the Gap
9. The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow
10. Jane Siberry - No Borders Here
11. Howard Jones - Human's Lib
12. General Public - All the Rage
13. Blancmange - Mange Tout
14. Talk Talk - Its My Life
15. Bruce Cockburn - Stealing Fire
16. Alphaville - Forever Young
17. Style Council - My Ever Changing Moves
18. David Sylvian - Brilliant Trees
19. Alison Moyet - Alf
20. OMD - Junk Culture
21. Ultravox - Lament
22. Flock of Seagulls - Story of a Young Heart
23. The Cure - The Top
24. UB40 - Geffery Morgan
25. The Stranglers - Aural Sculpture
26. Waterboys - A Pagan Place
27. Fad Gadget - Gag
28. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hyaena
29. Art of Noise - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise
30. Parachute Club - At the Feet of the Moon
31. Tears for Fears - Mother's Talk
32. Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth
33. Joe Jackson - Body and Soul
34. Tina Turner - Private Dancer
35. Billy Idol - Eyes Without a Face (12")
36. M+M - Mystery Walk
37. Tom Robinson - Hope & Glory
38. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
39. INXS - The Swing
40. Eurythmics - Sex Crime (1984)
41. Savage Progress - Celebration
42. Icicle Works - The Icicle Works
43. Level 42 - True Colours
44. Big Country - Steel Town
45. Aztec Camera - Knife
46. Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly
47. Wang Chung - Points on the Curve
48. The Spoons - Tell No Lies
49. R.E.M. - Reckoning
50. The Fixx - Phantoms
51. Pukka Orchestra - Pukka Orchestra
52. Lotus Eaters - No Sense of Sin
53. Shriekback - Jam Science
54. Men Without Hats - Folk of the 80s
55. Divine - You Think You're a Man
56. SSQ - Playback
57. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
58. The Alarm - Declaration
59. Silent Running - Shades of Liberty
60. Juluka - Stand Your Ground
61. Icehouse - Sidewalk
62. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
63. Images in Vogue - Rituals
64. Orange Juice - The 3rd Album
65. Matt Bianco - Whose Side Are You On
66. Scritti Politti - Absolute
67. Nash the Slash - American Bandages
68. Dalbello - Whomanfoursays
69. Wham! - Make it Big
70. Comsat Angels - You Move Me (12")
71. Danse Society - Heaven is Waiting
72. Fiction Factory - Throw the Warped Wheel Out
73. Human League - Hysteria
74. Luba - Let it Go (12")
75. David Bowie - Tonight
76. Rough Trade - O Tempora! O Mores!
77. Elvis Costello - Goodbye Cruel World
78. Sherry Kean - People Talk
79. The Cars - Hello Again (12")
80. Paul Young - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
81. Mark Knopfler - The Long Road
82. Benjamin Russell - Miracle (12")
83. Prince - Purple Rain
84. Julian Lennon - Valotte

Two of my favourite quotes

The corporate world is a funny place. It seems to take otherwise rational and likeable human beings and turn them into strange caricatures. When I mention this to people, some know what I mean and others can't see my point. It really boils down to two camps -- those who act the way they want to act, and those who act the way that they think their peers or superiors want them to act.

In my job, I visit a lot of different companies and meet a lot of different people. In general I find that people who live and work outside large metropolitan areas are more "real" -- they are more personable, friendly and understanding. Most of the people I find in larger cities and companies are the exact opposite.

I think that this second set of people tend to be more insecure. These people all in some way exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:

1. The need to be superior - These people always question everything you say and if they find a way to correct you, it is the prize that they can hold over you for the rest of the time you work with them. It does not matter if you are right on everything else, you were wrong once and they had the insight to see it. This is actually quite comical in the IT sector when you see the "geek wars" even among co-workers. It's the geek equivalent to picking the alpha geek or silverback (as in gorillas).
2. The need to be right - Have you ever met someone who is right all the time? I've met a number of such people and they hold their heads up high every time they are proven right and you never catch them when they are wrong. However, ask their co-workers. It seems these people from the invertebrate section can change their minds (and loyalties) so quickly that they are always right and never ever held the other opinion (unless a more powerful person takes that stance and then they bend back).
3. Always needs to say something - I used to work for a company where the 3 hour conference call was not unheard of. Now, I'm a person who loathes any type of meeting that seems to go on and on without a point. The people who pissed me off the most on these calls were the ones who sat silent throughout the call and then -- just as the meeting was wrapping up -- decided to put in their incoherent 2 cents worth for the next 10 minutes or so. I came to realize that their self-worth was based on them having said something -- anything -- during the meeting so that they can claim that they added to the conversation.
4. Never make a decision - I have had the misfortune of working with and for people like this. These are people who are in positions where decisions are expected and required and they refuse to make them. Usually they hide this in the form of "consensus building" or "individual development" or "getting advice from superiors". All of those are good things and have their place, but when the chips are down and a decision has to be made, those practices can also act as elegant stalling tactics. These Teflon-coated experts do this for a reason -- if the decision is wrong they can always cover themselves by blaming the person or people they "got input" from.

This entry has become a lot longer than I had originally intended. I was trying to come up with a lead-in to two quotes I believe came from Winston Churchill. Every day at work I think of one or both of these quotes as I apply them, or see their lack of application in others. You will have to excuse me if I do not get them the exact way they were spoken.

"It is better to be silent and thought a fool then to open up your mouth and remove all doubt."

"Every once in a while, people stumble across the truth. Most of the time they pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and continue on as though nothing had ever happened."

While I'm at it, I'll throw in Einstein's formula for a success:

Success = X + Y + Z

where

X=Work

Y=Play

Z=Keep your mouth shut

The Helpful Ghost

My son got one of his first school assignments as homework last week. He had to write a paragraph describing what changes he would make to school for it to be ideal for him. They got time in class to do it, but with it being a written assignment, it came home to finish.

He had managed to come up with a point-form list of improvements (things like nocturnal schooling, being able to hear but not see your classmates, etc) but he was having problems building them in sentence form.

Karen told him to use his creativity to come up with the sentences. He looked at her and told her that his creativity had died. She told him to keep trying anyway.

A while later, he showed her the progress he had made. He was almost done. She told him that she thought his creativity had died. Without missing a beat he said:

"Yes. But its ghost comes back and helps me out sometimes."

When time drags on....

Yesterday we went to our favourite games store to trade in some of the games we don't play anymore, and get some new ones (can't leave without new ones...). Everything was going well, I gave the clerk my games, gave him the ones we were buying and made the transaction.

Let me point out here that we were very hungry at this point. We had decided on which games we wanted going in and figured on a 5-10 minute time period to complete our business and go have lunch.

Once everything was done and my debit card debited, and the transaction rung in, the clerk paused, a look of shock came on his face and he told me that I was actually entitled to more of a trade in value since I traded in more than 5 games. So, I scratched the card and it worked out that he owed me another $5.50.

This is where his brain stopped working and time stood still.............

He looked at the other clerk and asked her what he could do. She was busy with other customers, but turned and told him to cancel the transaction, refund my money and start again. In fact she said it three times over the next 20 minutes.

Here's what he did:

1. Stared at the register. This apparently didn't work.
2. Tried to give me a $5.50 store credit. Hmmm, some person had programmed their system so that it would not let him give me money for no apparent reason.
3. Stared at the register in case it had changed its mind. The other clerk repeated her earlier instructions.
4. Started to enter a return for the items I had just purchased. Looked at the receipt for the games I traded in. Apparently the message on that was to stop since he then cancelled that transaction.
5. Stared at the register again. They seemed to be having a contest because the register stared right back at him. Who knows what he saw that time.
6. Asked the other clerk again what to do. This was the third time he heard the same thing.
7. Stared at the register some more. Obviously it had not heard the other clerk and was not in a cooperative mood.
8. Then the light bulb came on. "Sir, would you consider one of the $7.99 Xbox games? I will give it to you for free." He was obviously very proud of himself to find a way out of this. Ben actually found a $7.99 pre-played game that looked half decent. It will probably be a trade-in in due course. I took it back to him. He rang it in.
9. Stared at the register some more. I think they were communing this time and the register told him something. I think the answer was NO.
10. Ran to the back room after "I'll be right back, sir".
11. He came back and completed the transaction after appeasing the cash register with an offering of money. I'm pretty sure he paid $3.69 of his own money just to get me out of the store. For some reason the system would not allow him to discount a game for no apparent reason.

You know, there were times when I was tempted to tell him just to forget it, but the customers being served right beside me by the other clerk were getting their extra trade in. I just think that if I had been served by her, then everything would have gone smoothly or - at the very least - she would have been able to follow her own instructions once she discovered the mistake.

When the three of us hungry souls finally got out of there, Karen looked at me and told me it was all her fault. I asked her why. She said that she was just thinking that morning that time never goes by slowly for her anymore. She always seems to have the opposite problem where it goes by way too quickly. This was the fates reminding her of how slow time can pass.

Getting to know each other

Yesterday was my son Ben's first day of school. He is in an accelerated class this year so half the class were completely new this year since they all came from different schools (the class is a grade 5/6 combined so the half that is grade 6 were there last year).

As an introductory exercise, each kid was asked to write two truths about themselves and one "fib". Ben wrote:

1. I am evil.
2. My favourite sport is hockey.
3. I love computer games.

He was quite upset that he only fooled one person. The rest correctly figured out that the "fib" was number 2.

My son always seems to cheer for the bad guy. When we were at Disney watching a "heroes and villains" parade, his loudest cheers were for Darth Vader. He also likes the Evil Overlord list I have linked on my page. It's a must-read for all future evil geniuses.

Double Take

This happened yesterday and while I can honestly say I wasn't offended, this situation brought home how attitudes can change quickly...

I was helping out a colleague finish an assignment at one of our customers. The customer is a fairly good sized community hospital in a town of about 50,000 people.

Well, the job we were doing required us to walk through almost every part of the hospital. Yesterday we had to get into one area called "Workplace Safety and Rehabilitation" but it was after 4:00 and it was closed. We managed to find a security guard to let us in and while my co-worker was checking out some offices, I noticed the small basket on the reception counter.

You probably know the type of basket I mean, it usually has mints, wrapped candies or jelly beans. Well, I do have a sweet tooth so I went to take a look. To my surprise, they were condoms - flavoured condoms. (My brain paused for a moment to take this in and verify what I saw).

Now, I was stunned (seeing as I had been looking forward to an edible sweet) but it made me realize just how much they are now a part of society.

It did make me wonder what kind of Workplace Safety issues they have at the hospital.