Whoa, it's been a long long time since I was here, ha! After having a kid I kind of curtailed a lot of online time, and even worse my work's online restrictions got a LOT tighter.

But hey, we could definitely use some company! When you have a kid at our age, friends don't come easy. My wife grew up in Louisville so she knows her way pretty well, and I've picked up a fair bit these last 4 years. Send me an email at ssigritz@gmail.com and we can figure something out! And don't worry, finances aren't amazing for us either, so it'll never really be extravagant!

It was great! Robert Altman's last film before he died, it stars Meryl Streep, Maya Rudolph, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, John C Reilly, and a surprisingly incredible Lindsay Lohan. Garrison Keller also plays himself!

It's not much of a central plot, but the film follows the "last show" of Prairie Home Companion before the theatre is bought and demolished. The Angel Of Death visits and affects the characters in different ways, and Tommy Lee Jones plays the bitter but understanding man who bought the theatre.

Seriously though, watch it. Ebert has a great essay for his Great Movies series, too.

I grew up in Vandalia and left to go to school in Louisville, visits to Dayton and my old high school are just sad now.

Aww damn, that's in my top 10 movies of all time.

Agreed completely, I'm rarely political and don't usually like to go the "rah! all corporations are evil!" route, but it really is unsettling here that the civil rights of a corporation were held up over those of women in general. This shows us that over half the SCOTUS views women less as people than the corporations that employ them.

> I shouldn't have to hire Lutherans. I was raised Catholic

Well in all fairness, Lutheranism is basically diet Catholic.

But otherwise I agree absolutely, I know the actual facts behind what BC stuff Hobby Lobby didn't want to support wasn't as big a deal, it's the implication of the decision that's absolutely terrifying.

Welp, Kentucky and Ohio both getting the shaft. But I can't say I'm surprised. A lot of my friends and family are teachers, and it's crazy how much the public schools are getting slashed in both states, but especially Ohio.

I left Reddit to avoid this level of bitchy condescension and semantic bullshit. Don't respond to me.

That's a mighty large assumption of me based on a little comment in a little website. I can appreciate Cohen's poetry as well as any other poet, and I can consider him a great even if he doesn't hold a candle to ee cummings or Frost.

Don't use my appreciation of Cohen as a means to condescend, you're assuming the entire breadth of my knowledge and appreciation of poetry based on a throwaway comment.

Mainly welfare programs, culture, English prominence, and aesthetics. We looked into Scandinavian countries too but they're so hard to get into from the US.

I sat my wife down to read it telling her that it was the funniest thing. Of course I know she HATES puns. So 2 hours later she finishes and just gets so mad. From the other room I hear, "Are you fucking kidding me?" and I laughed all night. I still tease her with the punchline.

And yeah, it's great that this long, deep, philosophical story ends with the greatest anticlimax ever.

Whatchu doin' later? ;)

One of my favorite pieces of music criticism, totally nailed my opinions on it!

And it's my goto to try to explain that album to people. Though unfortunately his name tends to elicit a "lol Lulu" reaction online nowadays.

I liked New Sensations and it actually got some pretty good reviews. I am planning on doing Sally Can't Dance, though. Someone recommended Metal Machine Music, and while I respect it, I just can't imagine trying to wring a review out of it.

Feelgood may not be the most accurate tag for this...

But nonetheless, fantastic song by one of the best to pick up the mic! Lou Reed is an absolute legend.

Oh don't get me wrong, I know it was there from the beginning, but it was still largely a "party" scene. Afrika Bambaataa's politically conscious songs were still very party-oriented, and Grandmaster Flash actually wasn't comfortable with The Message being on the album because he considered it too different from the style. The synthesis was definitely there from the beginning, but it really gained prevelance in the early 80's when there was more importance put upon the lyricism.

This is part of why I always considered Hip-Hop and Punk to be sibling genres. They didn't arise out of political reasons, but they gravitated to them so easily.

Well it did start as party music. But to discredit party music as mindless is too hurtful to the genre. Basically, Hip-Hop's instrumental origins come from DJs taking the "break" or the instrumental rhythm part, and repeating them, crossfading them with other song's breaks, and adding turntable tricks along the way. The lyrics in this case came from the DJ announcing moves to the breakdancers.

This had a lot of importance because breakdancing was seen as a way of expressing and getting rid of aggression, rather than through violent means. These blockparties were an important part of the culture and of breaking down tension.

This was eventually mixed with Hip-Hop's vocal influence: poets like Gil-Scott Heron and America's take on the Jamaican art of "toasting" as popularized by Bootsy Collins and Bob Dylan. When these two forms combined, that's when the New School Of Hip-Hop really formed, where artists like Run-DMC and LL Cool J took both aspects and combined them into a completely new sound.

If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend the doc Rhyme & Reason. It's on Netflix, and follows Hip-Hop from its inception in 1975 up until 1997 when the doc was made. They interview a bunch of legends like Ice-T, KRS-One, Pharcyde, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Notorious BIG, Ice Cube, Ras Kass, Q-Tip, Arrested Development, Da Brat, Salt & Pepa, Wu-Tang, Redman, and so many more.

If not for his music, he'll at least be remembered as one of the greatest poets of our time. His lyrics and his voice are transcendent.

I just drew this happy little pig

http://imgur.com/s1hjqsn

That's all I've got.

"heh" is usually about as far as I go, because when it's the internet or texting, things don't usually strike me well enough to laugh out loud.

But when I'm texting my wife or someone I'm really close to, smileys abound, and XD is definitely common.

Well I do have a degree in the Culinary Arts, but I'm not sure how much weight that would have outside of the country. I appreciate the help, though! I really wanted to avoid moving before my family.

We started doing this a couple years ago, and we've got plans in the works. The hardest part is just making sure immigration will go smoothly and we'll have a job and place to live.

That's a shame, the last thing I wanted to do was have to separate from my family for so long.

That's definitely the ideal and what I really want. But baby steps.