Gas Prices and the Presidential Election

Four years ago I wrote about how gas prices would magically come down during the Presidential election cycle. You can see my posts HERE and HERE.

The premise of my posts at the time was that oil companies and the energy sector of our economy has enjoyed such spectacular and historical profits with Republicans in the White House that they would be willing to take a hit for a few months to help ease one very painful economic issue that most Americans ascribe to "the economy"...and therefore, in theory, lessen their likelihood to turn out to vote or to vote for Obama on the need for a better economy and more likely to be open to vote for McCain.

Based on my personal experience at my local gas pumps that year, I can say that I was right in my prediction about prices.

For the exact same reasons, I now predict that gas prices will rise steadily over the next several months and into prime time election season. To be clear...the energy sector wants a Republican as president for the major deregulation and massive tax breaks they believe a conservative will bring to their industry. Therefore, it benefits them for the electorate to have a reason to be mad at the Democratic incumbent and more likely to vote for the Republican alternative. Gas prices are such an ever day reality in virtually every Americans' life that a steady or steep  rise would really hurt. So, I think oil companies will find ways to raise prices during this election season.

Sure, you'll hear about the threat of a nuclear Iran, reduced refining capacity in the U.S. and general screwed up global economy as reasons. And yes, some of those things do have an impact on gas prices here in the U.S. But think about this: four years ago we were in "hot" wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the absolute depths of the economic crises...and prices at the pump when down!

No, what you need to do is compare all that international and infrastrcuture reasoning with the motivation of US energy companies to sustain record profit margins on a quarterly basis...and my opinion is you see the primary reason for gas prices going up now. It's a long term strategic play by big oil to do what they can to maximize the chances of a Republican winning the presidency...and more seats in Congress if possible.

So to close, gas prices at the local Shell station near my house in the Seattle area at $4.09 per gallon today, March 13, 2012. I'll check back with you in the early summer and then October to see where we're at and if I'm correct on my prediction.

"New" Pictures from France

Similar to a recent post I did on "new" pictures I had found (or more accurately re-discovered) when going through my shots of Southeast Asia, so now have I done the same with the collections of photos I took on our trip to France in 2007.

Indeed, upon review I found some that I did not at the time consider for my book on our trip nor for Flickr, but that now I think deserve an airing.

Below are a few as teasers, but you can see the selection at the top of my Flickr Photostream now and as part of my France set.

 

Insights On Most Viewed Posts

I was looking at statistics for which posts to this blog have received the most hits and views "all time."

What I found was interesting in several ways...

The most viewed single post on this blog by a long shot is one that I wrote, ironically, on the topic of which photos from my Flikr Photostream were getting the most views. The title of this all-time eyeball getting post was "Naked, Gay, Vietnam, Taj...and Don't Tread On Me." The title is literally a descriptive list of the pictures getting the most looks on Flickr.

Not much of a post really as it just runs down the top 10 most viewed pictures and my quick thoughts on why these pictures might be getting views.

But oh that title. Turns out as you know...there are A SHIT LOAD of people online looking for either just naked pictures of people or naked gay people. And that headline was too much for them to pass up a look. I know...surprise, surprise.

So you know, "naked" referred to a picture I took of the naked bicycle riders in the annual Solstice Parade in Seattle. And the "gay" picture referred to was a shot of a person participating in the Seattle Gay Pride parade, not naked. And the other items were

The rest of the top five most viewed were mostly travel essays that I wrote or an album review. This restored some amount of hope in me for humanity and I was pleased to see some alignment between what I enjoy writing about and people's interests in viewing things on my blog...

• Indeed, clocking in at the second most viewed post was my post about Diane and my travel to Egypt - in particular our stay in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
• Next on the list was one of my pieces on our trip to Romania, focusing on Bucharest and Snagov.
• Then an album review. I wrote my thoughts the release called Euphoric Heartbreak by one of my favorite bands, Glasvegas. Good to know some people appreciate good, new music!
• And then rounding out the top five was a post I wrote about our stay in Savannah, GA back in 2009. In the post I talk about the sights and great food we experienced in the city.

All that said, to help generate more traffic, I'm considering adding "naked" or "gay" to every single title of the posts I write and put on this blog. You know, like...

• Naked, Gay Report on Travel to France
• Naked, Gay Album Review of Latest from U2

What Republicans Are Campaigning On

The following is certainly presented in a confrontational way, but if you go line-by-line and take out the emotion of it, I'm hard pressed to see any error here.

This is indeed a list of prominent issues being discussed daily by front-running Republicans seeking the Presidency. In many cases, these are actual quotes from one of the candidates.

Finding Good Modern Rock and Roll

For anyone interested in rock and roll music, the USA is a wasteland...or at least that the way it seems. For example, look at a recent Billboard "Hot 100" list of songs.

By my count, there are only THREE performers on that list that even come close to rock and roll - Coldplay, Foster the People, and the Black Keys. You'll never mistake any of them for AC/DC, the Who, Chili Peppers, the Clash or similar. But, they are at least on the outer edges of being rock and roll. Other than that, it's all soul divas, techno synth rap, some country and, well, that's about it. 97 percent of the list is that.

Sure, there are "legacy" acts that still find success even if they aren't on a hot 100 list. You know, U2, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Metallica and similar. But people, these are bands who came into being and fame a good 20-30 years ago. Whatever they do now - good or bad - tends to be hailed as "rock is still alive." I don't think so. I think it says that some people from 30 years ago really are talented and have continued to come up with quality rock that nostalgia hounds continue to eat up. Hell, I'm one of them.

But, this does not mean rock is still "alive" in my opinion. For that, it would take new groups with new songs regenerating the form anew pretty regularly. You don't see that much...at least not on the surface of things.

This leaves me often wondering where the good, new rock and roll is. I'm talking about new music by bands or performers starting out now...or within the last few years lets say. Turns out: a) it's out there, but b) it's hard to find.

Indeed, you have to do some homework, take a few risks and explore to find them. You have to, as Joe Strummer said, be "diggin' the new."

With that in mind, below are several new/recent bands that I've invested time in and think are the real deal. They key to me is that while they all exhibit their influences, they bring something new to the table in their sound primarily. I've done the work so you don't have to...

• Mona - a combo of sounds from this band out of Nashville, this is a modern, new, talented, legit rock band in the best sense of it.
• Howler - gritty with some pop hooks, this Minneapolis band is just coming on the scene and I'm liking them.
• Funeral Party - rock and roll from today's Los Angeles - not a re-hash of 1980s Whiskey A Go Go Sunset Strip big hair LA rock.
• The Gaslight Anthem - NJ band belting out well crafted rock using just the basics - guitar, drums, bass and heart felt vocals. The real deal.
• Glasvegas - thoughtful, epic, emotional rock that takes on issues far beyond the normal set of topics.
• British Sea Power - arty, angular, powerful rock music put together with sometimes odd and disconnected lyrical themes. Makes you think.
• The Courteeners - from Manchester, this band's sound is somewhere between Oasis and Blur with a little Morrissey drama thrown in.
• The Joy Formidable - female lead singer and guitarist belting out a powerful rock that reminds me a bit of Nirvana, but slightly more poppy.

Will we be talking about any of these bands in 10-20 years? Likely not given the odds of what it takes the "break trough" especially in the musical environment of the USA. But, that's not exactly the point I'm trying to make. No, I'm saying...real, vital and new rock and roll is indeed around. It lives in the moment, on stage and online rather than on the radio. You have to look to find it. But when you do, it's just as "alive" as ever. Get going people.  Rock on.

Mona Debut Out Now

The self titled debut album by Mona is out now on iTunes.

As I understand it, it'll also be out on CD and vinyl next Tuesday.

Great band, really good album. Check it out!

Happy Leap Day

Today is Feb. 29...a "leap day." This is a day added to the calendar every few years to make up for the slight inaccuracies of matching up the sun, moon, stars and the rotation of the Earth with the  calandar system we use.

I picked up this definition from Wikipedia:

Although most years of the modern calendar have 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, during which an extra 24 hours have accumulated, one extra day is added to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.