Peace Out...

Minnesota. We had fun. See you in a couple years. Stay sexy.

Love,
Pete.

Dear Tall Tony and Fuller,

forgive me for not hanging out the other night. I have been working like a Japanese beaver lately, and playing a lot of golf. (i'm getting it while it's free.) Is it still possible to hang out before i leave? are you still in the cities fat one? again, forgive me.

Gas...

prices have been through the roof lately, as i'm sure you obviously already know. I noticed it went down to $3.75 today and i got kind of excited. i remember three years ago Drew, Luke, Mark and myself took a road trip out to California. the price of gas then was around $2.50 in minnesota and most of the way out there. give or take a few cents. i remember when we got to Malibu we found that gas was over $3 a gallon and we were out of our minds that it was that high. Never would i have guessed we would be paying about $4 a gallon for gas.

i've been parinoid about gas lately because of my new truck. which gets pretty good gas milage for a truck. 22 mpg. but it still takes $70 to fill the tank. quite the dent in my wallet. but i was thinking this afternoon how we hate the price of gas. i keep hearing people ask, "how can those big shot oil bastards keep raising the price of gas? aren't they rich enough already?" i myself was one of these people asking that question. (and i do know gas prices are up because a single barrel of oil costs like $120) BUT, aren't we kind of getting what we've been asking for since the whole global warming issue came up a few years ago? i mean, america has been begging people to take the bus/subway/car pool for the last few years. right? when gas was cheaper people drove to work alone, didn't even consider taking the bus or subway. right? well what if that's ACTUALLY the whole idea behind the high gas prices?! what if the government (or oil companies) saw how much Americans were consuming so they decided to do something about it. what if this has been their plan (gradually raising gas prices) the whole time to force more people to be smart about traveling?

so even though it really sucks paying $70 to fill my gas tank, it has certianly forced me to AT LEAST thing of alternative ways to work, and has made me think twice about taking unnecessary trips. it has forced me to make the most of my gas. and i'm sure i'm not the only one. god help us if i am. but this IS kind of what we americans have been asking for, isn't it?!

also, thinking of that same idea, cigarette prices are at an all time high as well. probably to get people to stop smoking. however, i'm not sure that i agree with this. smoking is bad for your health, yes, but still who is anyone to tell me what i can and cannot put into my body? i saw on the news yesterday that in one place (i can't remember where exactly, California somewhere i think) that the price of a pack of cigarettes was $8 a pack. i don't know, i just don't like the idea of somebody else telling me (or strongly suggesting) what is right for me to eat, drink, smoke, etc. if a guy has a hard day at work and wants a smoke, i say have your smoke. but, it is what it is right now, and i bet smokers are at least smoking their cigarettes more slowly, eh?

Bo Diddley...

passed away a few days ago. Now, i would be a liar if i said i listened to him. I've heard some of his music and i know who he is. if you showed a picture of him to me i could tell you that was Bo Diddley. I know he was a pioneer in rock 'n roll, but i read something the other day that rubbed me the wrong way.

i found this in the New York Times (online) the other day.

"Still, for all his fame, Mr. Diddley felt that his standing as a father of rock ’n’ roll was never properly acknowledged. It frustrated him that he could never earn royalties from the songs of others who had borrowed his beat." (Whole article here)

Now, i don't know about you, but don't you think that mr. diddley should be happy enough that he's even considered "a father of rock 'n' roll?" I mean, i'm sure he worked hard at the music he produced, and if it weren't for him who knows where rock 'n' roll would be today, but to me if i came up with a rock beat that pretty much all of rock followed, i would be flattered, let alone complain about not getting paid for it when another band uses it. when the first musical note was ever played music has progressed. it always has and it always will. there needs to be building blocks for that progression to build off of, and mr. diddley came up with one of those beats. here's what that beat sounds like. i'm sure you've heard it.



Here is U2 using that beat. modified a little of course. or progressed as i like to think of it.



i;m sure somebody could come up with a good argument against me here, but i guess i like when people are humble. ya know, a ... "god, i can't believe the beat i created became SO popular that nearly every rock band uses it in some way. it's unbelievable. just hearing that beat used by others is thank you enough." i don't know, maybe i'm way out of line here. maybe he's right to be pissed about not getting paid for others using his beat. after all he did invent it. but if it weren't for the blues and other music before him, would he have come up with it? the way i see it he progressed the music before him, and his music is being progressed everyday. it's give and take.

i think bo diddley has gained something better than royalties, he will never die. his beat will live on in the music. when people hear U2 or the Beatles or Tool or AC/DC use that beat, that's Bo Diddley.