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Hey folks. Been awhile, and this is just a drive by, but I wanted to stop in and wish all my old friends here a very Happy Holiday Season. :) Me and CeeJ have been great. We're winding down the last few months before we can buy our RV and live on the road permanently. Got about six or seven months left before that begins, and we can't wait. Been living on the road, off and on for the last few years, but I'll be getting a nice retirement package soon, and will make it a permanent endeavor. Talk about stress relief, eh? So most of our online time these days is spent at Facebook, where we're either just having fun, or working on our photography and travel pages. Feel free to look us up at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joness-Journies/105882906147113 and share in the past and coming adventures. Haven't seen a tour since S&A, but we plan on doing a few for the second leg of CA's. Hope to see some of you out there again. Happy Holidays.

Don't have a bird, they didn't PLAY. So-called funny man, Seth Myers, did his Weekend Update and listed three RRHOF inductees (Rush, Public Enemy,and Donna Summer). "Who are those other two? Said by fans of any one of those". Good laugh.

Twenty albums in, you have to ask: what’s left for Rush to prove? A band that have already been through and gotten over their ‘questionable’ period, characterised by excessive synthesizers and the sudden mastery of levitation, in record time and returned to that driving proggy rock that defined classics like 2112 and Moving Pictures. Since the hiatus and return of legendary drummer Neil Peart after a huge personal tragedy, the band has cautiously returned to recording music, in the form of 2002′s Vapor Trails and Snakes And Arrows five years later. Both albums were distinctly Rush and both contained some great tracks, but they weren’t quite the return to form that fans had been waiting for. The build up to Clockwork Angels was taken at a leisurely stroll as well. Five years have passed since their previous release, with the only real murmur of new material coming in the form of the Caravan EP which featured slightly differing versions of the opening two tracks here. With time came impatience and with impatience came expectation — but the most glorious or cynical thing (depending on your outlook) about being a band as a big as Rush is that even if Clockwork Angels was sub-par, enough fans would champion it as the second coming just because of the name on the front. Thankfully, Clockwork… is nothing of the sort. In fact, it marks the return of the kings of prog-rock, giving them another album to really act as a jewel in their crown. Based around the story of a young man and his changing attitude towards life and the infamous Watchmaker who keeps track on all that happens in this steampunk world, Clockwork‘s concept isn’t an essential part of enjoying it, each and every track can also be enjoyed as a standalone piece outside of the context. For instance, ‘BU2B‘, on the surface, tells only of the upbringing of the main protagonist but can also be taken as an interesting insight into the subjects of fate and karmic retribution, only cementing Neil Peart’s status as a legendary lyricist. However, it’s the music that makes the biggest impression. Whether it be the obnoxious grooving stride of ‘Seven Cities Of Gold‘, the pulsing rock of ‘Caravan‘ or the relatively straight-forward anthem in ‘The Wreckers‘ — the band’s bass driven prog never becomes anything less than stunning. Every nuance and rhythmic flourish is measured and thought out, with each member bouncing off each other perfectly and showing the kind of unspoken teamwork that can only come about from nearly 30 years of playing together. ‘Headlong Flight‘ is a perfect example that brings to mind some of the bands early 80′s, lengthier material, while maintaining an uptempo feel and still providing plenty of moments for instrumental wizardry. Other highlights include ‘Carnies‘, a track that could’ve gone horribly wrong considering it’s unfortunate and cheesy ‘carnival’ theme. Instead, barring the unnecessary introduction, Rush manage to create one of the biggest riff driven tracks on the album, that switches seamlessly between surging, bluesy riffs and tasteful, delicate leads courtesy of the oft-neglected Alex Lifeson. Also, the version of ‘BU2B‘ contained here isn’t far removed from it’s original, only containing an additional acoustic intro, but it is by far the stand out track. The main riff sounds monstrous and when completed by the relatively frantic guitar playing and Geddy Lee’s distinctive vocals, it’s compelling in a way that urges you to reach for the repeat button the moment that last vocal harmonies fade away. Clockwork Angels is nothing short of a masterpiece — a real tour de force of what progressive rock is and how it should be done. Anyone who would call themselves a fan of Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Primus or any number of progressive bands would do themselves well to get immerse in the latest release of a band that arguably inspired them all. So what do Rush have left to prove? Well, nothing to anyone but themselves. To prove that, even with an average age of 59, they can still outdo many of those bands that call themselves fans and they can still exceed expectations when needed. Rush’s Clockwork Angels gets… 5/5 http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/03/rush-clockwork-angels/#more-29821 :smoke: :clap: :guitar: :haz: :rush:

Happy Holidays Necro!

Good to hear from you! Have a good one!

Happy Holidays to all!

Ken and Ceej, It's been very long! I too don't come here that much, but so glad I did. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. Always, Lin

YO! Good to see you guys back! Merry Christmas to you and yours! :cheers:

I found this post on Reddit by one of the grieving families. I think it deserves to be read: Other people have made comments in the thread claiming to be Newtownians but no proof was supplied. Here's the link if you want to read more. EDIT: The font came out super small for some odd reason.

For the record, these are the comments to which Parker took offense. “For me, you don’t ever want to be defined by the color of your skin, You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person that you are, your character, your personality,” Griffin continued. “That’s what I strive to go out and do. I am an African-American in America. That will never change. But I don’t have to be defined by that.” Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/15/espns-rob-parker-suspended-remarks-about-rg3-and-r/#ixzz2F8iFbMA1 Maybe Mr. Parker should familiarize himself with MLK,Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech". Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

This is the worst elementary school massacres in U.S. History. It completely disgusts me. I am not an Obama fan at all but even he made me tear up while he teared up at his press conference. My 12 year old just came into the room crying over the deaths of the 20 children. I gave her a huge hug and told her that I loved her. She made me cry again. This world is getting worse and it will keep getting worse. "It is what it is whatever?" There is no God that's for sure. Through all the madness humans should still have the right to bare arms. 47% of Americans own a gun. Right before Christmas really? The insane are taking over the planet. Love your children and hold them tight. If you are too young and don't have children then hug your parents and tell them how thankful you are that you have them in your life. Guns are just the tool in this terrible incident. In China the same thing happened yesterday, except the guy used a KNIFE. I'm horrified that people would do this. You know what makes it worse? The news outlets went in and despite the administrators of the school forbidding it, they interviewed the children during school hours. Those kids can barely comprehend the horror of what they just experienced and grown adults barged in to make them relive those memories that they can barely process just so they can get tears on camera to boost ratings. My heart goes out to everyone affected. I really hope the media stays away from the families so they grieve in their own way.

It's the best since either Signals or P/G. I can take pieces of the albums after them and make a better album than CA but I don't think any of them can hold up to CA by themselves. Interestingly, I'm writing this while watching Time Machine listening to Faithless and what a snoozefest that song and a lot of Snakes really is.

I believe it was Cliff Burnstein, in B.T.L.S, who said a lot of the supposed geeks who grew up listening to Rush are now in positions of power... Producers, directors, writers...they have championed for the band.

Just installed a small leather belt holster on the inside of the center console arm rest in my car. Was really wanting something that I could also slip my gun filled Remora holster down into as well, so I could just pull the holster out and slip it in my waistband...but it's almost impossible to find something that will easily release that holster since it is designed to grip on it's own with no hooks or anything. http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/6078/p1040417t.jpg