Coheeed and Cambria : Neverender Show in NYC

Samantha, Jimmy, Bee and I witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime rock event with one of our favorite bands this weekend. Coheed and Cambria are doing a rare feat of rock strength and it all started in New York this week. On Wednesday, they started the "Neverender" tour which is billed as "4 Nights. 4 Albums. Live in Concert." Each night, they played an album in complete sequential order. We saw night #1 and #4, which, in album terms, is Second Stage Turbine Blade and No World for Tomorrow.

Usually, most bands will have a set list that is rehearsed and perfected to bring out on tour. 

Coheed defy the impossible by performing EVERY song that they put into their albums. On the first album, they have a secret song called "I, Robot" that is way, way at the end of the disk and you ev

en have to listen to some dead air just to find it. I'll admit it wasn't one of my favorites and I actually had recently left it off my iPod. The live version was many times better than the album ver

sion, hands down. Word is that they will be producing a box set with all four nights on DVD and CD. Getting it!

The ticket price is kind of steep ($30 + fees) for only an hour and a half of rocking. Taking into consideration the train and subway tickets, we paid a pretty penny to go see these guys, but I can vouch that it was well worth it. Samantha had a good time as well. She got a bit annoyed with the crowd of sweaty people always bumping into you, but who doesn't? The wacky-backy smoking and sitting on the floor was very unnecessary. Sam loved it when the drummer threw his sticks out into the crowd after the show ended. Looking forward to the Halloween Party!

The $700B Bailout, Paying for the Sins of Others

Two months before this history-making downturn in our nation's economy, Samantha and I were having dinner at the Red Oak with my parents and my Aunt, who works in commercial real estate. 

We were talking the possibilities of owning a house in the near future. Market prices were in decline and we had just gotten hitched just a month ago. Starting prices of a decent house (with property) in Jersey can run you from a third of a million dollars and up. At the moment, the standard mortgage will require a 20% down payment, which means we would have to somehow put up around $30,000 just to get started in the house.

My Aunt provides an alternative: there are loans, especially for first-time buyers that offer a very low down payment, somewhere in the tune of 3%-5% down. Of course, the catch being you pay much more for the house in the long run, given the higher interest and the larger principal. We ultimately came to the conclusion that it was smarter to wait it out until the prices finally bottomed, giving us some time to save up for that big down payment.

My story illustrates the point that has caused this current financial crisis. Irresponsible lending to irresponsible people. Risky investments were taken by the banks. People who could not afford a house were given one under unethical pretenses and ended up defaulting. So who is really at fault? And does anyone deserve a "bailout" or a life line? Do you give a mulligan to people for making bad decisions on both sides of the fence?

Honestly, I don't think anyone deserves any bailout for these bad investments. The lenders were unethical in their sub-prime lending. The folks taking out the mortgages should have taken some due diligence in fully understanding their financial commitment. Not to say I am paranoid that everyone is out to screw you, but how can you deny the proof in this hole that we've dug for ourselves? People were swindled and now ALL of us are paying for the fleecing. If no one is willing to take the responsibility, we all suffer.

By the way, I am looking to cash in on the profits of all the companies that we bail out once they gain their footing. Why? Well, we're absorbing their losses, aren't we? If we're going towards a socialist economy, lets all bask in the glow of the windfall profits of oil companies. Wouldn't that be grand?

"Stay at Home" Week, TV Shows

We were out one night with a group of friends, at Houlihans, I believe. In the group, there was a couple that we had met for the first time. Normally, I'm not the type for small talk. All of the "what do you do," "what are you into," "ain't the weather nice" chat really seems too trite for me to even bring up without a little piece of me dying inside. What's nice about socializing in the group atmosphere is that you're kept talking until everyone can get on the same page and find a common topic to converse about.

That night, it happened to be that a certain TV show was up for discussion. Then, we started talking about "our shows." A couple, married or otherwise, ends up having a set of TV shows that are watched on a regular basis. I think it my have even replaced the need to have "our song," like in the days of yesteryear. Since this is prime time for new TV season premieres, I have decided to post a list of the shows that me and Samantha are looking forward to watching in the upcoming months.

• The Office, Season 5 (Tom & Sam)
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 4 (Tom & Sam)
• Grey's Anatomy Season 5(Sam & Sam's Mom)
• One Tree Hill (Sam, John and Erika)
• I Love Money (Sam & Tom)
• American Idol (Sam & Erika)
• So You Think You Can Dance (Sam)
• The Hills & all other crap shows on MTV (Sam)
• Jon & Kate Plus 8 (Sam)
• NFL and NBA (Tom, if Sam already has not commandeered the remote)