Cory's Spot: Tires: Les Schwab

My lovely 17-year-old pickup had tires that were probably half to lots-more-than-half as old as the pickup itself. I kept getting flats, which were luckily manifest in the form of slow leaks, which allowed me to keep pumping more air in at random gas stations until I could get them fixed. In getting these various flats fixed, I always went to Les Schwab and sat around cursing their slowness whilst eating free popcorn and waiting for them to finish. I then went back to driving my pickup with my newly freely repaired tire (because I told them I'd be back to buy tires from them when I finally gave in to the inevitable) until the next incident. OK, so I exaggerate on the frequency of these events (it happened twice – both times to the front right tire) and I left out the fact that second time I actually let the tire go completely flat. I then had to prop it up – on a jack that didn't actually fit under the frame without lifting the pickup up to slide it under – for several days until I decided to take the time to have my spare tire fixed (which also happened to be flat) so that I could put in on and drive my pickup in for new tires. Of course, in order to get them to fix the spare without charging me, I had to tell them I'd be back within a matter of hours to buy all new tires, which I actually did. Turns out my old tires were also really squishy, even when fully inflated, and it's much nicer driving around now – I don't have to fight against the lack of power steering quite so much to turn.

I've also left out the fact that I have a 90-days-same-as-cash account at Les Schwab that I've had to use far too often. First for a new battery for my car, then for four new tires for my car, then for a new battery for my car (less the warranty trade-in value on the old battery), then for two new tires for my car (less the warranty trade-in value on the tire that went flat on the interstate), and lastly for four new tires for my pickup. You'd think I'd be bitter about the battery and the tires that went out before their times, which I am. On the up side, the friendly tire guys at Les Schwab now jump nicely any time I pull in to have a flat fixed for my tires rotated, and I don't have to tell them I'll be sure to buy from them next time just to get the work done for free, because they can see I already bought the current tires from them.

The point to this rambling monologue is that for a non-mechanic with a dinky hand-cranked emergency jack and no jack stands, air compressor, or other handy tools, Les Schwab is a good place for tires.

And yes, I did write this post immediately after the "Mosh" post. Go figure….

Cory's Spot: Music Video: Eminem – "Mosh"

It seems that at one time I had something important to say about Eminem's "Mosh" video. Naja…it may not have been important, but at least it wasn't any less important than anything else I've chosen to post on. I guess the long and the short of it is that that video is an anti-Bush statement with as strong an emotional impact as anything else I've seen. The Gorillaz-esque video certainly provides an eye-catching visual to go along with Eminem's lyrics, which, by the way, are as eloquent and on-topic a rant as I've ever heard from Eminem. I'm particularly impressed with the reveal of the twist – that Eminem's army isn't marching to violently express its opinion, but to exercise the right to vote. While I don't agree with the vote Eminem was encouraging (and I'm satisfied with the outcome of the presidential race), I have to give him credit for powerfully stated argument.

P.S. Sorry about the delay on this one, Tara.

P.P.S. Go figure – the one time I write two posts, one after the other, and the server goes down in between so I can't post this one until much later.

Cory's Spot: CD: Anastacia – Anastacia

Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part, any given artist only releases one eponymous album. That being the case, it would certainly stand to reason that said album would be the most indicative of that artist's sound; the most personal; the best release to date. In the case of Anastacia's latest, I'm afraid that simply isn't the case. Anastacia reminded me of everything from Linkin Park to Ace of Bass, but "her" sound seemed to be missing. After a bit of research, I discovered that Glenn Ballard co-penned several songs; combined with the numerous unnamed guest voices, it's no wonder Anastacia doesn't seem to really own this album. That’s too bad – I've enjoyed her previous releases, but this one, while not a terrible listen, just didn’t work as well for me.