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So I’ve been on an enormous Beatles kick the past week or so and I can’t seem to shake it. Their songwriting was just so brilliant and I can’t believe I didn’t listen to them more before. I could listen to just the Beatles for the rest of my life and feel satisfied. Anyways, if you haven’t really listened to the Beatles, do so. Now. I liked them and respected their music conceptually, but I realized I hadn’t listened nearly enough to them in the past so I got the new stereo remastered set from my friend and my world was rocked. I wish people could still write music like them, they were way ahead of their time. The more you listen to them, the more you can hear the influence they had on later artists and how even today, people try to replicate their style. And I can’t say enough about Paul McCartney’s bass lines.

Also, I recently acquired the hardware necessary to access some old hard drives so I started looking at what I hadn’t listened to in a while and two bands jumped out at me: Superdrag and the Juliana Theory. Superdrag was a band popular in the mid to late 90’s and they have a sort of punkish 60’s feel to their music. You can definitely hear the Beatles and Beach Boys influences, but then the next song really lets you know it was written in the 90’s. Either way a very cool band that had a come back tour last year and I think they’re back together again. The lead singer, John Davis has a very cool testimony and his solo album was excellent too.

The Juliana Theory was a band that never really got too famous outside of their fan base, but nevertheless put out a few excellent albums before breaking up and moving on. If you’re into the pop punk sound, they’re worth checking out. They are having a reunion tour, but unfortunately, the closest location is in Philly…maybe I’ll have to take a little road trip…

My wonderful computer is now working again; actually it’s been working for a few weeks. The motherboard stopped working so I sent it in to ASUS for repair…they sent it back to me and I don’t think they did anything, although it was in “repair” for a couple weeks. I had basically decided by then to chuck it and buy a new one, but I thought I might try one quick thing: I reset the clock on the motherboard using jumpers and that fixed it. I can’t believe they didn’t even try that before sending it back. Anyways, now that it works, I can actually upload pictures and what not, which means I should probably take more pictures, which inevitably means the hunt for new gear. Next on the list for me is probably one of the old Canon 28-70mm f/2.8L’s or something in that vein. I’m tempted to get some strange prime lens also, but I think at some point I’m going to have to get a lens that covers at least part of the normal zoom range…but those lenses are boring. I also need to get a new flash because mine is no longer working…the list never ends. I really should stop buying things too.

In other notes, since my last post, the Dallas Cowboys have gone on quite a run and hope to knock out Minnesota this Sunday. I love it when people talk about players having “breakout” seasons or “coming out of nowhere” especially on the Cowboys because a bunch of them I’ve been eyeing for a while. For instance, all Cowboys insiders knew Miles Austin was the heir apparent to TO’s vacated #1 WR slot this past offseason. Jerry Jones even stated explicitly that he wasn’t worried about the loss of production because of his faith in Austin. Also, I’ve been watching Doug Free carefully since he was drafted, strongly believing he would one day start on our O-line. Now all we have to hope is we don’t lose him before Flozell retires. Also, anyone who criticizes Jerry Jones as a “meddling owner” doesn’t know jack about Cowboys history. First, the Cowboys dynasty of the early 90’s would not have been possible without him. The difference between him and some of the other owners is that he actually knows what he’s doing. Not only the owner, but also the general manager, he was the one who picked Aikman and Emmitt Smith to complete the trio known as the “Triplets.” Jones was the one who had the balls to fire Tom Landry. His decisions and choices haven’t always worked, but he transformed the Dallas Cowboys from a mediocre franchise with poor fan attendance and support into “America’s Team” with one of the largest fan bases in the US. I’m willing to admit that the dynasty he created was probably cut short by his own actions and inability to compromise, but without him there would have been no dynasty to speak of. Continuing as the Dallas Cowboys GM to this day, people often criticize him for being on the sidelines at important moments in the game and being too visible, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I don’t know how much farther the Cowboys will go in the playoffs, but I can say that position for position they are one of the strongest teams in the league. I’ve been burned too many times in recent history to have much faith, but I like the way our defense is playing, especially our front seven. Now that Anthony Spencer is coming along, I have to say we probably have the best outside linebacking corps in the league right now. With Mike Jenkins playing well and most importantly, tackling well, we don’t have to double up all the time on receivers. Sensabaugh also seems involved in every play in the secondary; I don’t know where he comes from but he seems to be constantly flying across the field. I would say the key right now to the Cowboys winning on Sunday and later in the playoffs is the consistency of Felix Jones. When he is healthy and running comfortably, he has insane potential. Unfortunately, every time he steps onto the field I’m afraid he’s gonna break in half. If he can stay in the game and continue to run like he has been the past few games, he has the potential to break free for a long run every time. He has had way to many long runs called back for penalties, and I think part of the reason may be he’s running too fast for his blockers (just my theory, I don’t think anyone else has said that yet). They’re not getting their bodies turned quickly enough to keep up. He seems to be using his blockers way more effectively now as well, which can only make him more dangerous. Minnesota’s D is not what it was last year, but it’s still strong. What has improved the most for them is their passing game, which is huge since AP has not had a great year, relatively speaking. The Cowboys D has not allowed a 100-yd rusher all season, so it’ll probably come down to Favre’s arm and ability to stay upright with the Dallas pass rush coming at him. We’ll find out on Sunday who wins that battle.