Review of An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. Incomplete, and has disputable facts, but well intentioned.

Read the book Super Freakonomics and find out more about the disputable facts Al Gore presents in this movie. There are other errors in this flick that aren’t even mentioned in Steve Dubner’s book. However, I assume Gore was well intentioned when he did this, and that much means a lot. When working to improve something, we to be more careful that we do not make mistakes when presenting our arguments, as sometimes that can be the downfall of a noble cause. And, while there might be errors, it is downright silly to discard this. Thanks Al Gore. Better luck next time!

Review of Greg Howe- Introspection. Greg Howe’s Best *****

Hey kids! Get this album. Then say, excuse me teacher, “You said it had to be jazz or classical in order to be good music. Greg Howe is perhaps the greatest guitarist ever, and this is my favorite album that he has.

Review of Maimonides by Sherwin Nuland ***** - Excellent!

Nuland takes his atheism right out of the book and is a good reporter. I learned so much about the history of Jewish medicine through reading this book, especially that Maimonides was influenced to a great deal by Greek medicine. It was interesting to find that he would heal by any means necessary. His presentation of Maimonides is quite endearing, as this man understood that it was more important to save a life even if it caused the healer not to observe the Shabbat. Also, a big take home message for me is the association of healers with Judaism, and that the word rabbi, usually translated, “Teacher,” can also be translated as, “Healer.”

Review of Queensryche - Greatest Hits New to Queensryche? You’ll Love It! But, You’ll Want More ****

This entry in their catalog needs another disc or two in order to fit all of Queensryche’s better songs on it. I am a huge Queensryche fan, primarily because their vocalist has a tremendous set of pipes. The rest of the music is excellent to, but there is not nearly as much showmanship with the rest of the band, as with the vocalist.

Review of Samsung SGH-a107 ***** Title: Old Trusty.

I Can’t Speak More Highly of This Phone. I have tried more expensive phones, but this one is just right because I like a simple cell phone with internet capabilities. I love its almost only text browsing. That is, you will be able to view some pictures in color, but not with a great deal of clarity.

I use my SGH-a107 for text email, text news (like NPR or CNN), and as an emergency phone. Usually, I spend about $25 on it every month, but if there is a $15 card, I can get away with spending that much. A 100MB package should do it for the first month, and then with rollover, you can buy less expensive internet packages. It is almost impossible to use up 100MB on this phone, and I use my internet daily for hours on end.

Sometimes my hands are shaky, and that makes typing on one of those mini-keypads on the more expensive phones nearly impossible for me. Not only that, this phone fits in my hands well. That is, when I use other phones for hours on end, my thumbs hurt. However, with this phone, there is no pain. Once you get used to its typing features, typing a message on it is a snap! Thanks Samsung and AT&T! I have had this phone now for a few years and still love it!

Review of Niacin (music not supplement), self-titled

***** Review Title: Enjoy Honing Your Listening Skills

If you haven’t heard of Billy Sheehan or Dennis Chambers, then you are probably out of touch with the best of today’s musicians. Don’t worry, if you are in touch with who is the best and listen to them, you will probably be listening to music by yourself. Often hip sounding music doesn’t draw crowds that commensurate the actual coolness of the music. Niacin doesn’t exactly have a big fan base. If you love music, and I mean loving music not so that you fit in, but because you like combinations of notes, various chord voicing, or the beat, you are well on your way to appreciating a band like Niacin. However, it is true that people that like pop music sometimes like these things to. So really, the question is whether or not you want to improve your ears while listening to great music? Pop music is too fad driven it to ever be much assistance in improving one’s ears. Why would you want to improve your ears? Asking that question is like asking why some people go to the gym. My guess is that you won’t be able to find Niacin in the store. They are just too rare. However, if you are looking for something that will challenge your listening skills, this is a great album. And, yes, I would describe Niacin as hip, and my affection for them is certainly greater than one I might have for a math equation.

Review of B.B. King, 21st Century Masters

***** A Good First Impression Made from a Genre I Usually Don’t Like!

Much of the music I listen to is cerebral. It is difficult to comprehend. And, what’s more, listening to it is often exhaustive to the ears, as it is both busy and highly mathematical. Sometimes I need a break in the mix, something a little softer that can tone it down a notch without sounding moronic. These sorts of albums are hard to find, in my opinion, and I am glad to have this one. Sure, I probably won’t get as much use out of a B.B. King album as a Pat Metheny album, but there is something self-defeating about always selecting an album that is the absolute hardest to get bored of. That is, sometimes every now and then, I like a bit of pop structures provided that they aren’t the moronic stuff commonly pumped out by DJs on the radio and in clubs.

As far as popularity goes, B.B. King is popular enough that I have friends that are fans of his music. And, even though I am a musical isolationist, it didn’t bother me that B.B. King has enough fans that he can draw a crowd.

I generally don’t like the blues, but this one surprised me. There were 2 main reasons why I purchased this album. The first is that I have surmised that any good cd collection should contain an entry from B.B. King. The second is that B.B. King has recorded some songs written by my great uncle, my Uncle Vaughn, a country music song writer who made it into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and that interested me in B.B. King. Really, I had no excuse for not having a B.B. King album.

Blues chord structures are often too simple or to repetitive to draw my interest, and that is the reason I own so few albums that go in the blues section of record stores. For example, I absolutely detest Stevie Ray Vaughn. This is my first B.B. King album, and I was glad to hear that he didn’t fall into the boring same old same old blues combinations. You can tell a same old same old blues fan because such a person thinks that because if it is blues it is good. Definitely, just because something is the blues doesn’t automatically make it good, or sophisticated, etc.

The songs on this album are crafted, and thoughtful. Some people haven’t given it 5 stars, and perhaps these are people that have listened to a few more of B.B. King’s albums and think that they could have selected a better mix for a greatest hits album. This is my first B.B. King album, and I love it. There is definitely an element of sophistication to this sound, and as for someone who typically doesn’t like the bands that fall under the heading, “Blues,” in the music store, this album still had the capacity to blow me away.

21^st Century Masters, B.B. King, blues