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Original Music Scene
Common sense?
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Fact, fiction, or funny
Opinion
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| | | | | From the editor:  If your family is anything like mine, you probably have members of your family spread out all across this beautiful country. In our day to day lives, you don't notice it much, but in the holiday season it becomes as apparent as a pesky pimple at the tip of your nose. My best holiday memories are the ones where the entire family (we have a very large family) gets together for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year's dinner, kids running around in chaos, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, standing in groups discussing politics quietly (well at least quieter than the kids screaming and running through the house) catching up on everyone's busy lives. It's a time for kids to brag and parents to brag about the kids, measure up to the nieces and nephews that were crawling one year and towering over you the next. It is a time to make promises of getting together during the year, that you most likely won't keep, until next year's family gathering. You watch your family develop a kind of unspoken hierarchy, where each generation moves up the ladder to "elder" and takes on the responsibility of looking out for the upcoming generations. The "elders" understand it is a time to cherish, while the young ones look forward to the chaos, and the teenagers stand around awkwardly acting cool and like they don't want to be there. Not yet understanding they are moving up the "elder" ladder and preparing to take their place in the family "chain". I always looked forward to updating my "elders" on my latest job, activity, career change, introducing my latest companion. I still remember introducing my wife to my family at one of these gatherings, and I remember how much I looked forward to having her meet all these great people. So I will miss the opportunity to embarrass my kids now by bragging about them, and being able to watch as they build family memories of their own. I will miss the opportunity to be the "elder". These are the traditions we pass on to our children and we hope they pass on to their children. We get together here with my wife's family and it is wonderful but I can't help thinking this time of year it would be nice to have all of our families close by. It is the blessing and curse of having the means and opportunity to live anywhere. So my wish this season for everyone is for you to be able to have as many family members possible at your holiday gathering, and that our children will learn from us how important family is. Because as we know, they will someday find out that family is everything. Thanks for your few minutes of support each week! If you missed the first 18 editions of SoundCheck don't fret. Just go to www.richhandband.com and go to the R.O.T. tab and click on the link for any edition you would like to see. Send us your news, funny stories, or anything you think your friends would find enjoyable. Please only G, PG, or PG13 material. As a favor, We are asking you to forward this newsletter to a friend. Your help is appreciated! Kind Regards, Rich Hand Flounderer and CEO My Opinion click here... | | | | The weeks most interesting Hey "dude"! All you ever wanted to know about the word "dude". They even study it in college. I think I went to college at the wrong time! Adware, Spyware, and similar companies are ruining the internet experience for legitimate (traditional) ways of advertising. In my opinion my computer is my private property and I don't want anyone downloading anything onto it without my permission!! They should be run out of business. Consumers should boycott any advertiser that uses this type of tactic for advertising. So when an ad pops up think BOYCOTT. Don't buy their product and send a brief e-mail to let them know your feelings. Everyone together let's spell, ; STAY OUT OF MY COMPUTER! Original music scene & not so original... I spoke with the front man of the "Peasants", Pete Cassani, about the upcoming CD scheduled to be released spring 2005. I will ask him questions as the process develops and bring the answers to you right here. He is a man of few words but those words usually describe his feelings with vivid description. He writes with passion and usually writes from experience. Visit his web site to find out more about Pete and the Peasants at www.thepeasants.net. Rich: "If you had to describe a theme that runs throughout the songs for your upcoming CD, what would it be?"Pete: " Sex and Politics." Rich: "Your last CD had powerful guitar riffs and solos, will your new CD offer the same rockin material?". Pete: Yes and no. The last record was a lot of mid tempo rock. Very straight ahead. This record will have mid tempo rock, a 1920s swing style song, an acoustic ballad, a metal song, some Santana-esque songs, a blues and whatever else I come up with in the next month or so. So there you have it. And if I were a betting man I'm sure Pete's talking about "G" rated sex and benign mild mannered politics. Check out his web site before you place your bet! The "Gazette" Review : "Something 4 Everyone" - Click here to read the entire review!! 
Common sense? Ah! Inner Peace... By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found inner peace.
Dr Phil proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished; and, before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of both Prozac and Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, some saltines, and a box of chocolates.
You have no idea how freaking good I feel. Quote of the week: " I don't want to get to the end of my life and find I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." - Diane Ackerman Did you know? Iraq is a lot different in our soldiers eye than the media's lens... My wife's a Nurse, so it is no surprise to me they rank high on the list of the most ethical professions according to this years Gallop Poll. Also not surprising is that newspaper journalists rank very low. Just look at the 2004 election and it is plain to see why!! Fact, fiction, or funny Dating in the "Cyber" age: Daddy, how was I born?
DAD SAYS:
Ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway!
Well, you see your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on
MSN.
Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a
cyber-cafe.
We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a
download from my hard drive.
As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of
us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button,
nine months later a blessed little Popup appeared and said:
You've Got Male Hardee's introduced it's new "Monster" burger to the cries of the calorie police, anti food police, and anti capitalist crowd, but couch potatoes across the country combed their couches for loose change to get a "Monster" burger of their own! One couch potato was said to have found "piles and piles of loose change" that he quickly turned in for fresh dollar bills to purchase one of the new delectable treats. He said he hadn't had a reason to get off the couch in years, but this event was "special". You have to check out this link to JibJab.com! A great suggestion from my Uncle Richie! Cooking with Clinton!!! They have some hysterical cartoons!
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