It's 1:14 on a lazy Friday afternoon, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. I'm in hell. Meh, no biggie. Not gonna put a damper on my cautious and jaded optimism.

You see, I've made a discovery. That discovery is, I haven't updated this page in a horribly long time. Are you blown away by the revelation yet?

For those of you having prayer vigils over my soul, you'll be pleased to know that my WoW addiction is fast subsiding, after coming to the startling realization that people in MMOs are the same sort of people I run into in real-life. In a word, jerks. (Way to keep the language clean, huh?)

Instead, I've been immersing myself in tabletop RPGs. At least then you get to pick the jerks you play with. And a nicer bunch of jerks I never could wish for. Plus there's that whole deal of actually being an RPG. I picked up Eclipse Phase and am very eager to once again start my own campaign.

Also, I discovered I'm a bass player. For now at least. What precipitated this discovery? I knew it was next to impossible to sing and play bass at the same time. I chose to conveniently forget this fact. Lo and behold, it works! So I'm working on assimilating...er, I mean collaborating with other musicians to form some sort of collective and actually do something musically speaking.

So when you see my name on the top of the Billboard charts, millions of screaming fans hoping for a mere glance of me, pinch yourself, because you're obviously dreaming. And quit dreaming about that kind of stuff, it's kind of creepy.

Still, should be fun to actually have a creative outlet and get my music out to dozens, nay severals, of fans (apologies for the plagiarism, Strong Bad.)

I guess while we're on the subject I should pimp my new music site at http://www.muziboo.com/backwaterj. Very much a work in progress (still looking for a way to bypass the arbitrary 3-minute limit. I may have to actually spend money or something) but there it is. I'll try to get some stuff up that's less than a decade old. Expect that in the next ten years or so.

Well, until 28 months later, signing off.

Hi, my name is Jason, and I'm a World of Warcraft addict.

I've been trying to get this thing under control, but it's insidious. It gets under your skin. Yes, I know it's not "real" RP, but wait. . . a whole world where you can hide behind a mask of anonymity, questing and gaining heroic power, all without ungluing your posterior from the comfortable computer chair. . . Must. Play. WoW!

There's really something sinister about the draw of the game. I mean, granted, the drunk returns to the bottle, the proverbial dog to his own vomit, but neither booze nor barf can suck you in, captivate you for 8-9 hours at a stretch, and leave you simultaneously passing out from exhaustion and hungering for more.

So call this a plea for attention, a cry for help, a warning, a sarcastic endorsement. Call it what you will.

But please, if you happen to be on Feathermoon and run into a troll named Zinzammim, /slap him. Tell him to get his butt off the computer and experience the amazing fantasy realm called Actual Reality. And while you're at it, sign his guild charter.

There, I've come clean. That's a weight off my chest. And if the anonymous online community doesn't keep me honest, who will??

And still the cravings tear at my brain, at my flesh. God help me, I've created a monster!

A troll. Named Zinzammim.

Heck with this, I'm gonna go play WoW.

Can we sell out our grandkids for a brief financial respite?

"Yes we can!!"

But should we?

Look at this on a personal level: if you're having financial trouble and are deep in debt, what's the first thing you do? You cut spending. You stop borrowing money you don't have and you pay back what you owe! So why can't we as a nation wrap our collective brain around this extraordinarily simple concept?

To review: over eight years, George W. Bush spent $1.3 trillion dollars in Iraq. That's sad and tragic; I don't think anyone's arguing that point.

But consider this: Barack Obama is now taking out an $800 billion loan for this "economic stimulus". Meaning he's spent over half of what Bush spent in eight years. . . in the space of two months!

As Joe Biden so aptly said in Obama's own campaign: "That's not change, that's more of the same!" Growing disillusioned with W took years; Obama's managed it in mere weeks. Way to sell that message of hope!

My proposal: if we really want economic change in America, let's as a nation set an example of fiscal responsibility and get our own debt in order before trying to bail out others. I mean, I like giving others a hand as much as anybody, but bailing water into a sinking ship?? That's just madness!

Don't get me wrong; I'm no Republican and I'm not trying to trash Obama. But I do think the responsible, long-term solution is to raise taxes, cut the fat out of government spending, and bring ourselves as a nation into the black. If there's to be an economic stimulus, let it come out of the pockets and paychecks of the politicians that vote it in, not from future generations that have no say in the matter. What was the old saying, no taxation without representation? If we're to survive and prosper as a nation, we need to cinch in the belt and suffer through the hard times with what we have.

After all, there's no changing the fact that we're still 10% of the world's population sitting on 90% of its wealth! So let's stop crying "recession", whining about the resources we "don't have", and start being responsible with what we've been blessed with!

Sure, there will be casualties. But maybe it's time for a few corrupt and wasteful institutions to die so those more fit to run a business can take over. For better or for worse, that's how the system works.

Or we could keep doing what we're doing, acting like a spoiled teenager who's just got his first credit card, keep spending money we neither have nor intend to repay, and speed our country's slow and gradual demise. Get the popcorn, it's the fall of Rome all over again!

Either way, should be exciting.

For the record, I rake in a whopping $20K a year, ride a 20-year-old motorcycle because I can't afford car repairs, and live in the basement of my mother's house and I AM ASKING FOR A TAX HIKE. . . provided 100% of that money goes to repay our national deficit. I am ready to put my money where my mouth is.

And something tells me I'm not alone.

So, backwater j is back in business. And by that I mean the studio. And by that I mean the garage, with my trusty D3200. Which is really just as good if not better. Saving 30 or 40 bucks an hour (at least) promotes peace of mind, which promotes good music. Or at least that's how the theory goes.

"So what's on the agenda?" I imagine you asking. So glad you might have asked. I'm actually laying tracks on a cover album, as well as a digital do-over of Better than Life. That's right, no more Porta 02 tape hiss. You will be sorely missed.

"Wait...covers? Old stuff? What's that all about??" I imagine the handful of somewhat interested fans saying. "We wanna hear something new!"

Well, so do I. But you have to see where you've been to see where you're going. This gives me a chance to brush up my chops, recording and otherwise, for a brand-new release tentatively slated for late 2009.

And I'm already discovering my new woodside recording monster is capable of so much more than the Tascam 4-track I laid to rest several years back. And without even dumping tracks!

So I'm having a lot of fun with the many luxuries of the recording industry. Stuff like background vox and lead guitar tracks. Also expect the iphone to make an appearance or two.

What kind of cover tracks to expect? Well, it'd be crude of me to drop names. But hey, when has that stopped me before? I'm working on stuff by Ben Folds, Cold War Kids, Jonathan Coulton, Weird Al Yankovic, Muse, and Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives, as well as a few closer-to-home tracks. Those in-the-care already know what to expect from Better than Life 2.0. Or do they? I just gave myself a good old-fashioned blister laying bass tracks on Primal. And of course, I now have the added bonus of tracks to spare, so the finished product should be somewhat more sophisticated than the original.

Of course the finished product will be posted on teh interwebs as soon as possible, and updates will be posted here when that happens.

Job 14: 7-9:

"For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant."

No preaching, no message. This just came to my mind and it means something to me. Hopefully it means something to somebody else in this crazy old ether we call the web.

I type faster than I thought. Or have way too much free time. In any case:

( it's a point-and-click adventure! )

-j-

There's something intrinsically wrong about waking up at 8 am because you can't sleep any more. So I'm back in Concord and three hours behind and suddenly realizing how many loose ends I have waiting to entangle me and suck the life essence from my helpless limbs.

But hey, as my governor said, that which does not kill me makes me stronger.

So between the hurricane that came in with a whisper and left with another whisper, having a brother-in-law that is in no way step, and this aching suspicion that the entire airline industry is out to get me (hey, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't), all in all it's been an experience to remember.

'Course I ain't leaving those of you who are interested out. I have pages of badly-scrawled travelogue that, as soon as they are transposed, will be joining the rest of the clutter on the internet for your viewing pleasure (????)

Suffice to say, I'm safe, I'm tired, and I'ma go get ready for work so I can finally wind down.

Hey, just letting anybody who cares know, we're on St. John Island and we're all fine. More to come when I have an actual keyboard to deal with.

I am filled with some combination of anticipation, trepidation, boredom and angst as I contemplate tomorrow's trip.

When my sister first told us that she was getting married in the Virgin Islands, my gut response was: "What, are you crazy??!!" However, after several months of contemplation, I was forced to reconsider. My response became: "What, are you crazy??!! ...I'l do it!" I mean, what can I say, it was an excuse!

And so, having spent more money than I've spent on a trip....well, ever, I sit here wondering what will become of me on my first foray off the continental shelf. And hoping that planes aren't prone to that whole "falling off the edge of the earth" thing that so plagued ship travel back in the day. And wondering how on earth I'm gonna smuggle my Guinness aboard if you can't have more than 3 ounces of fluid. Freezing, perhaps?

And, naturally, for a post-engaged bachelor such as myself, such occasions are always bittersweet. I want to be happy for the spouses-to-be (and on record I think she couldn't have chosen better) but a dark, bitter part of me inevitably gets all emo, thinking "that could've been me". And then the voice of sanity rises up, full of relief and gratitude, saying. "Wait, that could've been me!" Whew! Dodged a bullet there. Way to take one for the team, sis!

Be that as it may, as I said, it's an excuse. And while I realize in the grand scheme of world geography it's not that far away, to me it feels like taking a foray into Africa or Australia, or maybe even outer space. Except with less things that want to eat you. So I plan to hang loose and have as much fun as I can cram into eight days and a limited budget. Snorkeling's definitely on the agenda. Nothing like getting away from all the fish to. . . look at fish. But still. Other than that, drinking lots of beer and enjoying the local scenery (read: Caribbean ladies. Just 'cause I can't touch doesn't mean I can't look) are definitely on the agenda.

But mostly it'll be a time to not think about work, hang out with family I haven't seen in a while, or family I have seen but we've all been too busy with other crap to just hang out and be ourselves. You know, just unwind and recharge the batteries. And I'm starting to think, you know, this might not be all that bad. God knows it's time for a vacation.

So I'll be out of touch for a while. Not that I wasn't out of touch to begin with. Try not to let the internet explode in my absence. Or at least make sure it's a cool explosion.

So for lack of something more interesting to share with the interwebs, I guess I'll post some recent song lyrics. Copyrighted material, use by permission, blah blah blah

Where's Your Halo?

You spend your whole life searching for an easy, an easy way to die
Inscribe your name upon the walls of the halls of amnesia
What a waste! What a way to go! If you're in heaven then where's your halo?
God, no! Won't follow that road 'cause you can't live forever
if you can't live here below, if you can't live here below

ch:
I wanna fly like a bird right out of this place
Wanna wipe that smile off the government's face
Wanna be who I want, please who I want to please
It won't be easy but it never was
Toss that line to a house in the sky
Wanna climb like forever but I'll never get tired
Wanna go where I want to go in this heart of gold
They don't control me and they never did

When the Men in Black go on vacation, will there be an invasion?
And will we even know when the heads of state give place to the new administration?
What a laugh! What a waste of time! Will we notice when we're run by the hive mind?
Is it unjust? Is it unfair? If you're a slave to this world
you might as well be a slave to theirs, you might as well be a slave to theirs (ch)

When evil people lord it over evil people coups will get you nowhere
So retort what you can't reform and just go with the flow 'til there's no tomorrow
What a waste! What a way to go! If you're in heaven then where's your halo?
God, no! Won't follow that road 'cause you can't live forever
if you can't live here below, if you can't live here below