The Shoe That Shocked The World

By Samuel Mattei

We all remember the journalist from Iraq named Al-Zeidi. The one who threw his shoe at President Bush. It was a day for comedians to make money, newscasters to have something fun to talk about and for the citizens of Iraq to feel like they were able to get their voices out just a little more through an act of hatred.

This moment gave the people of Iraq pride. So much so that a tribute has been made in honor of the incident.

On January 29, 2009 a monument the size of a couch was put on display in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The monument was a shoe made from copper and fiberglass.

It is made by artist Laith Al-Amari who claims that the giant shoe is not political but "a homage to the pride of the Iraqi people."

The shoe was put up one month and fifteen days after Al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush. Screaming "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

Think back to April 9th 2003. A huge day in history. America had invaded Iraq already and to make a statement, they tore down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad. What were the Iraqi people doing then? Throwing shoes at the statue!

Throwing shoes at people in the middle east is well known as a sign of true hatred. Putting this giant shoe up in the middle of Iraq is the equivalent of The United States putting up a statue of a giant hand with the middle finger up on the White House lawn.

Bush dodges two shoes link http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/chain-of-fools-escapees-poleaxed/2009/01/29/1232818622434.html

Worst Escape Ever

By Samuel Mattei

When stories like this arise I sometimes wonder if it's right out of a supermarket tabloid. You know, the black and white ones they put near the check out counter that have picture's of Bat Boy or a woman who had 3 alien babies.

Well this is not out of a tabloid magazine. It is a true story that happened in New Zealand.

Two men were handcuffed together in court. Regan Reti at 20 years of age was recently convicted of 2 years in prison for assault. Tiranara white who is 21 decided stealing a car while on parole was a great idea. Then got caught.

When taken into the court room the two criminals came up with a master plan to escape. They ran out of the court room as fast as they could, believing they would be able to get away.

Little did they know the law had someone on their side helping out right across the street. Their help was about thirty feet tall and made of metal. That's right, a light pole.

The two criminals forgot they were chained together at the wrist. One man went to the left of the pole, the other to the right. Followed by running into each other and falling down to wait for the police to take them back to court.

This may possibly be one of the most pathetic excuses for a getaway the world has ever seen. Luckily for us, it's funny as hell.

The next week the men were back in court. This time facing charges of fleeing from police. Regan Rita had a month added to his 2 year sentence while White is going through psychiatric evaluations (shocker I know).

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/chain-of-fools-escapees-poleaxed/2009/01/29/1232818622434.html VIDEO OF THE EVENT!

The Loss of a Loved One

By Samuel Mattei

This article has been requested several times. Mainly from the same person.

The trick has been trying to think of a headline to describe who I am about to write about. This young man has a terrible addiction. A terrible addiction to ducks!

The addiction all started when Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel was only a child. He grew up on a farm in Collingdale Pennsylvania. Well it was actually just a house with a large backyard and some overgrown grass.

One day Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel was playing with his little mermaid doll when he heard something coming from a bush.

When he walked over to see what it was. He found a duck egg hatching.

Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel named the duck Lennon. Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel and Lennon went everywhere together. School, shopping with his mom, vacations to Jacksonville and Rhode Island. They were inseparable.

One day Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel was walking home from school. He had to make Lennon stay home because they were going on a field trip to The Zoo. When he got on his street he saw something on the top of his roof.

Lennon was distraught. He did not know what to think. Did Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel leave him for another Duck? Where could he have been all this time?

Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel yelled to Lennon to stay put. After hours of pleading with Lennon not to jump, Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel was forced to call the fire department.

All was well once the fire department rescued little Lennon from the roof top.

Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel did not know what to do. It was time to move to a new house in Ridley that didn't allow animals.

He was convinced that it was time to let Lennon be free.

Above is a picture of Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel letting Lennon free into the wild where no one would ever upset him again. The photo is indeed blurry due to the photographer having to take the photo from many yards away in hiding. Stephen Gregory Michael Ann Bisel had rented out the park for privacy purposes.

As you can see the duck is running away. Stephen tried to chase it and fell, screaming AH MY NOSE as Lennon swam to his new family.

Top 10 Most Overplayed Bands On The Radio

By Samuel Mattei

Here in the Philadelphia area we have four rock stations on the radio. One of them being a classic rock station so they have their list of tracks so play so this article is less about them.

While sitting at work the other day with the radio on. I realized something. It's not the first time I realized it, but it's the first time i really thought about it.

Most of the bands they play are amazing. I don't think anyone would doubt that. I may not like all of them but i still give them my props in coming so far in their industry, it's not an easy thing to do.

The problem is for the listeners, once the band is in, their usually in for a long long long long time.

This would be fine if they played more then 5 or 6 of the songs that band has put out in the past one to thirty years.

I don't know if it's the same all around the country. For my Philly area I compiled a list of the ten most overplayed radio bands. Keep in mind, all great bands, not all my favorite, but great none the less.

10. Starting with Mr. Save The World himself and his band. Yeah you all know who I'm talking about right way, U2. Bono and The Edge have been doing in for years. With a catalog of all types of songs. The average listener known 3 songs.

9. This band should not even be played on rock stations. It should be left up to the hit stations to play them. These guys date their music before the lyrics even start. Linken Park have been around since the early 2000's and have kept the same recipe for their music ever since.

8. This is one of my favorite bands of all time. Their last album didn't get the greatest review, but i enjoyed it. Green day has been around for a lot longer then most people think, dating back to their album 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours album which has 0 songs played on the radio. This is due to it not being released in the mid to late 90's.

7. The lead singer of this band shows more emotion in his singing then anyone else out there. Pearl Jam has been making hits since the days of Kurt Cobain (who actually hated Pearl Jam). The only songs you may hear by them without a CD is Alive, Jeramey and Black.

6. Despite all his rage he is still overplayed. Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins didn't expect people to hear them telling everyone that The World is a Vampire every day for the next decade.

5. A band that has never been separated from the radio. The Offspring have been making punk pop classics for years. A great new album has shown that.....radio still wants to play their same old songs every hour.

4. The Foo Fighters have one of the most accomplished lead singer's of all time. He was the drummer for Nirvana, lead singer and vocals for The Foo Fighters, drummer for Tenacious D. After the Foo Fighters arguably put out their greatest record ever recently, we will be hearing enough of them to know every vocal of all 4 of their songs that exist to the radio DJ.

3. The Heroin loving group from California. Hit after hit the Red Hot Chili Peppers manages to keep their fans listening......... to Californiacation and Under the Bridge.

2. I crowned them The Kings of Metal last week and I stick by that. But the Sandman has been coming at me for far too long and the second the amazing opening is over, the station is switched. Metallica has their place in rock music, but they also have a great new album, lets hear it.

1. The number one band I'm sure everyone can guess after a minute of thinking. Hint... It smells like teen spirit. Nirvana is by far the most overplayed band of all time in my region. Understandable because it's a great band, legendary lead singer, defined the 90's rock scene, killed the 80's thank God. And since Kurt has been dead for so long, were not going to get new songs. But please let's here some different Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit is great and so is In Bloom but we could use something else to cruise to.

Runners up: Guns n' Roses, Bon Jovi, Coldplay

Well there it is everyone, my list of top ten most played bands on rock radio. If anyone has a problem with this list or thinks I forgot someone just let me know.

The Joker Lives on Through Tragedy

"We thought things like this only happened in the United States and now we see that in Belgium, in a small village like this ... that such a thing could happen, it is very, very bad."

The words of a shocked man from Belgium after hearing the news of the terror in his town.

On January 22, 2009 a man in Belgium was arrested for attacking a pre-school. He injured twelve and killed three people.

Those lost in the attack included a 9-month old girl, a 6-month old boy and their 54-year old caretaker.

These attacks happen all over the World, many of us do not even think twice after we hear a story like this. Especially since it happened in a Country that most people could not even point out on a map.

The reason why I choose to write this article is because it had a very odd circumstance. The circumstance being that the suspect in the case......believed he was The Joker. Even using the famous phrase that has become a trademark. Why so serious?

Yes, that's right. The Joker from the international blockbuster The Dark Knight.

Everyone knows the story of Heath Ledger. He played a lead role in one of the biggest movies of all time right before overdosing on drugs. The legend that he became too obsessed with his role in the movie and that's what killed him.

Obviously his role in the movie had a lasting effect on people. A very deadly lasting effect on some.

The man who has now been named as Kim D. was arrested while riding a bike though the town of Dendermonde after striking his first target. He was easy to spot since he decided to paint his face resembling The Joker.

In the man's bag authorities found knives, an ax, a fake pistol and a list of 3 other pre-school's Kim D. was planning to attack.

Six of the ten children who were slashed have now been released from the hospital. The other children will soon be able to go home. Two adults were also wounded but will be sent home after some more treatment.

Kim D. is said to have lived alone at the time of the incident and was unemployed. Though people who had regular contact with him said he was obsessed with film's.

So far Kim The Joker D. is not cooperating with police.

The date of the incident holds a special date for this killing that is no coincidence. January 22, 2009 is the one year anniversary of Heath Ledger's death.

He's Still Alive? Well That was Awkward

How would you feel if you were on a sports team and you just heard about the loss of one of the greatest players to ever wear your team jersey? You all pray for him and his family, you grieve, you have your moment of silence.

Then you get an announcement from your coach. "Guys we made a little mistake. He's actually still alive."

Well that's what happened in London last week to an amature soccer team.

The obituary came out for 86 year old Tommy Farrer. Instead of the team calling his family to tell them how sorry they were for his loss, they decided to not say anything and give him a moment of silence.

Before the moment of silence the coach of this soccer team called Tommy Farrer's wife to say he was sorry for his departure. Glady Farrer responded saying that he had indeed departed, but only to the market to get a newspaper and that he would be back soon if he wanted to talk to him.

Farrer found the whole situation to be amusing, figuring it was some kind of practical joke. He would like to simply forget the whole thing every happened, appropreriately saying "let it die."

Fleet Foxes/Self Titled Album Review

By Samuel Mattei

The Indie band Fleet Foxes came out with their first full length album on June 03, 2008. The album was praised by critics and magazines.

Fleet Foxes (which many of you may have never heard of) have done a substantial job at staying under the radar.

The self titled album was named the number one record of the year by organizations such as Mojo, No Ripcord, Under the Radar, Wireless Blogger, Pitchfork Media and The Times. The album was also represented in the top ten albums be several other media outlets.

The first thing about this album that pops out at you is the cover art (located at the top of this article). A 1959 painting by Pieter Bruegel The Elder titled Netherlandish Proverbs.

After my first listen to this new album, I have decided to never listen to it in it's entirety again. The album truthfully had me falling asleep at the wheel.

While some songs where amusing and oddly addicting, others were long and drawn out.

The picture I got in my head while listening to this album was a group of hippies sitting around in a circle in the mountains smoking pot. The kind of music where maybe if your 100% sober your missing something.

Fleet Foxes underground success has moved them into the limelight for music critics. Even had their band name printed on the cover of a recent issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.

The band has made it clear that they did not expect any of this fame. They grew up mostly as kind of loners.

I will take nothing away from this band as creative musicians. It is obviously a tremendous album. Just not my cup of tea.

Fleet Foxes Self Titled Album receives 3 out of 10 stars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes

International Abortion Ban Lifted

By Samuel Mattei

After 36 years and one day, the rules of abortion have once again changed. But who's really counting. Of course I am speaking of Roe Vs. Wade

On January 22, 1973 Congress ruled to legalize abortion. Since than the rules have been changed by every President except for George Bush Senior.

The first abortion ban after Roe Vs. Wade came in 1984 due to Ronald Regan. Nine years later when democrats took office with Bill Clinton, the ban was lifted. The most recent change before Thursdays events came in 2001 when George W. Bush put the ban back into effect.

This ping pong game of politics is showing no sign of ending. On Thursday President Obama lifted the ban.

To be "fair" to everyone taking time out of their day to read this (thank you all) I would like to state both Democrats and Republicans stance on this controversial issue and their reasons for it.

Since they are in office right now and hold a majority of seats in congress, I will start with the Democrats.

The Bush Administration put forth a policy that forbid American taxpayers to give any money to international organizations who either A.) Performed Abortions or B.) Gave out information on abortions.

This angered liberals and democrats because this policy was denying help to legitimate organizations. Some of these organizations being ones that offer medical help to those who feel they are in need of an abortion and that help those who have other health problems. (HIV/AIDS)

The most popular reason being the pro-life supporters. These particular people simply believe that it is a woman's right to choose what happens to her body.

Now to the Republicans. The Republicans have been in favor of this ban since it was put into place in 1984. It has been known as the Mexico City Ban.

They support the Mexico City Ban because they believe it is morally wrong to kill a child who does not have a choice to live or die.

The Republicans have argued that along with being morally wrong, it is also financially wrong. Obama is willing to put out our taxpaying money to other countries who are doing something morally and in a biblical sense just plain out wrong.

They have also argued that the United States still does spend millions of dollars each year giving money to international organizations who do not perform or give out information on abortions.

California Democrat Nancy Pelosi (not the most liked out of the democratic party) states that "This will help save lives and empower the poorest women and families to improve their quality of life and their future."

While Indiana Republican Mike Pence called it "morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans to promote abortion around the world."

Barack Obama lost a large amount of votes from the religious right who believed he would be the most liberal President of all time when it came to Abortion. Which as it's turning out he very well could be. Technically by saying this they are mixing religion with politics, which some believe should never be done, other says it's the only way.

President Obama made the choice to sign the paperwork out of the prying eyes of the media. While some will call this a smart move, other's will call it cowardly.

As someone who has not followed this issue as some of you have. I believe that both parties have legitimate reasons for banning or un-banning abortion.

The fact of the matter is that most of us will never and could never understand how life is in impoverished countries. The arguments will be made that "she went and got pregnant, it's her fault."

Yes. In many cases in our country and other first world countries that is the truth. Not in all cases, but in many. But this is not the case in a village in Africa where woman are taken advantage of with nowhere to turn each and every day.

Even when the ban comes back one day, we should still give information about abortion. Being ignorant about the subject will get us nowhere. Abortion is one of those issues that is not going to go away whether it is illegal or not.

Governments if they choose must make their own decisions on how to handle this delicate issue. The next time you see a story on the news on abortion, put yourself in the shoes of people all around the world, not just your slutty next door neighbor.

Rise Against: Appeal To Reason Album Review

By Samuel Mattei

Formed in 1999 out of Chicago Rise Against quickly became one of the most well known hardcore metal bands on the scene.

2004 became their biggest year with their first breakout album Siren Song of the Counter Culture. In 2006 Rise Against came out with their biggest album to date The Sufferer and the Witness.

They earned a large underground following due to the way they kept their music the same and were not switching up their styles. Fans came to expect a certain sound from Rise Against and they have delivered every time.

On October 07, 2008 Rise Against came out with thier most recent studio album titled Appeal To Reason.

Appeal to Reason followes the same criteria that The sufferer and the Witness did. They still have there regular vocals along with some emotional screaming in between. The album also comes with some faster bass lines. The band will still be known as "one of those bands who likes to think."

Lyrically the new album is similar to their other albums. They reference broken homes, feeling of abandonment and the rejection that comes with all of it.

The first single off Appeal to Reason is Re-Education Through Labor. The single has received a decent amount of radio play around the country. This may not make many Rise Against fans happy but the band has to eat.

Speaking of Rise Againsts eating, when a buyer of Appeal to Reason opens their copy something different will fall out of the case. A Peta advertisement will catch your attention quickly with a picture of a green cow. The advertisement reads "MEAT'S NOT GREEN" "SAVE THE PLANET-GO VEGETARIAN."

This is all in Rise Againsts support of Peta. They have several times explained their feelings on eating animals and the torture these animals go through. They are full fledged vegetarians.

The best and most influential song on Appeal to Reason is not your typical Rise Against song. It's actually acoustic. The song Hero of War goes through the military life of a young man. A young man who is suckered into joining the military by a recruiter who tells him he could see the world and get paid for it. All he would have to do is carry a gun.

The curious young man joins up. Throughout the song he goes through the peer pressure of torturing prisoners of war and killing a female who was only trying to surrender.

The song is not anti-troops or anti military. It is simply telling the story of what happens of certain people when they go into situations such as that one.

Appeal to Reason is Rise Againsts best studio album yet. Full of emotion and hard hitting metal riffs. It will go on to up their reputation as a legitimate rock band for years to come.

Appeal to Reason receives 9 out of 10 stars.

UNOFFICIAL HERO OF WAR VIDEO/GRAPHIC CONTENT/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeEGwk3qoj4&feature=related

An Exhibition Of The Celebration Of The Human Form

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The Community Arts Center is Wallingford/Swathmoore is currently housing "An Exhibition of the Celebration of the Human Form Art Show."

The show features dozens of paintings throughout their showroom.

Below are the names of the pieces of art along with type of art, artist and the price.

The Community Art Center is Located at 414 Plush Mill Road in Wallingford. The exhibit will be open until February 6th, 2009.

1. There's Something Between us by Victor Grasso/Oil and Linen/$3,500

2. Easter by Eleanor Day/Oil on Canvas/$3,500/Best in Show

3. Chronicle by Linda Guenste/Oil on Linen/$2,800

4. The Catch by Victor Grasso/Oil on Linen/$10,000

5. Bird Doctor by Paul Downie/Acrylic/$700

6. Intermission by Teresa DeSeve/Pastel/Not For Sale

The End of Guantanamo Bay

By Samuel Mattei

Guantanamo Bay also known as "Gitmo" will officially be closed within the next year. Guantanamo Bay is the oldest naval base The United States has which is outside of the actual United States. It's also the only United States Military base located on Communist soil.

Gitmo is located in the Oriente Province on the southeast corner of Cuba. The United States bought the 45 square mile area in 1903.

Since 9/11 The Bush Administration has used Guantanamo to detain prisoners who were possible terrorist. This worked until information was released that The United States military officers were torturing prisoners.

The main type of torture being "waterboarding."
Waterboarding has become a huge issue through the United States. Questions asking is this really torture? Have come to surface.

The idea of waterboarding is that you are strapped down to a table, bed, etc. unable to movie. A wet cloth is put over your face, this makes breathing difficult. Followed by water being poured onto your face. Giving the victim the feeling of drowning to death. They also will sometimes pour the water directly into your mouth with no rag.

After much pressure from human rights groups, congress (held mostly of democrats) voted on allowing waterboarding to be used on Gitmo detainees. The voting took place on February 13, 2008. a 51-45 voting score showed that waterboarding would now become illegal.

Today January 22, 2009 during President Obama's second day on the job, it was announced that Guantanamo Bay would close within the next year. President Obama has already signed this executive order and 2 others.

The second being the ban of any kind of torture. All interrogation techniques must now come from the Army Field Manual.

The third executive order states The Interagency Task Force must review all of the detention policies and procedures to make sure they are "up to date."

The controversy is now becoming... how do we prosecute the suspects who were in Guantanamo Bay. Some say that The United States Legal system can deal with it just as the justice system deals with any crime.

Others say there is no way this could work. These are terrorist who have one main objective which is to kill anyone who does not agree with them.

Closing Gitmo is something that President Obama helped run his campaign with. He has stuck to his word. He is doing whatever he can to separate himself from the Bush Administration.

The Guantanamo Bay controversy will not stop anytime soon. Time will tell if President Obama has made the right choice of how to treat our captured terrorist.

Graphic Content: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a4KCtE8mTw

Preston and Steve's On Air Scare

By Samuel Mattei

GADZOOKS! If you come to Philadelphia on any given day and ask what radio station to tune into, you will hear only one answer, 93.3 WMMR. The biggest attraction to WMMR is the award winning morning show Preston and Steve. On January 14th the highly regarded radio program in Philadelphia had listeners turning up their volume saying "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?"

Around 10:30 am Steve Morrison, known as the funny bald guy who looks like Mr. Clean on steroids, tried holding back a bad cough. Followed by a hard fall to the ground from his chair. Members of the show were worried after seeing his head bounce off the floor.

Preston Elliot who is Steve's long time partner on The Preston and Steve show reacted as anyone would after seeing a friend go down. "O CRAP." Luckily this did not make it to air due to the time setback radio requires.

The rest of the crew did what they could to help. Preston, Casey boy, Nick and Marrissa did whatever they could to bring Morrison back to consciousness while Kathy ran to the sales room and yelled for someone to call for help.

Eventually Morrison did awaken and tried to figure out what was happening. When asked by Casey to pronounce his name, Morrison let out a "Steve moor..son."

After sitting up and downing a bottle of water Steve felt that he was able to go back on the air. Morrison made it back on the air for about a minute and explained that he had been fighting a cold and hadn't had breakfast. Paramedics took him to the hospital for precautionary reasons.

That night a swarm of people took to http://www.prestonandsteve.com/ to read about what happened. Many people left comments as to believe it was a publicity stunt.

These were people who decided to trash the show where they should have been wishing Steve a quick recovery. My question is, if they despise this show so much, why is it that they know every host and co-host of the show and even different skits? Must be the fans of the radio show that was kicked off the air from the other channel who have decided to crawl out of the sewers.

The next day Steve Morrison was back on the air at 6am ready to start another day of perfoming one of the greatest jobs on earth. Morrison's doctor called in to share the diagnoses with the fans of the show. It came down to as Steve put it best himself "I basically put myself in a sleeper hold."

Morrison does not remember anything about the incident. He says he remembers doing the last segment of the show before he had to hold back his cough. He also does not remember waking up and going back on the air.

Luckily for all us loyal Preston and Steve listeners (and for Nick who was truly worried...about what he would do for a living if Steve was not okay, don't worry Nick, you could always make time to take down your Christmas tree) Steve is alright. He is happy to get back to work doing what he loves, making people laugh on the radio.

In my final words for this article, I would like to make one last statement... MATT DAMON!

Scott Weiland/Happy in Galoshes Album Review

By Samuel Mattei

Forty-one year old Weiland is best known for his work with Stone Temple Pilots (STP). STP had huge hits through the 90's such as Creep and Wicked Garden. Although they had huge success, they were called out on the idea that they were trying to cash in on the grunge rock movement.

Weiland denied copying anyone's style from the grunge range such as Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) or Layne Staley (Alice in Chains). He claimed that his biggest influences came from David Bowie and Jim Morrison.

In 1997 STP had to cancel there tour due to low sales. Weiland went on to make a solo album titled 12 Bar Blues which flopped. The other members of Stone Temple Pilots found a new lead singer in Dave Coutts and formed the band Talk Show. Talk show did not have any better luck with record sales then Weiland had with 12 Bar Blues.

This is around the time when Weiland received his first arrest due to allegedly attempting to buy heroin. Weiland has since admitted that he was using illegal drugs at this time (including heroin) and that much of 12 Bar Blues was written while under the influence.

In 1999 Weiland was out of prison and said to be clean of any past drug habits. He rejoined Stone Temple Pilots with their hit album No. 4 which featured that smash hit Sourgirl.

Back on tour Weiland found out first hand that old habits don't always die hard. The environment became poiseness to him to the point where he started using again on a daily basis. This caused miss communication with his band mates which eventually had them once again go their separate ways.

In 2003 Weiland joined the super group Velvet Revolver. Velvet Revolver was made up of the founding members of Guns n' Roses (not including Axl Rose). The band was a large success in the United States and Europe. With hits like Slither and Fall To Pieces the band was making steady record sales.

Around the same time Weiland was staring to join his new super group, he was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The charges were eventually dismissed after he completed rehab.

After five years of touring with Velvet Revolver Weiland became irritated with the whole situation. He started walking off stage before shows were over, and that was when he would even show up at all (story of Slash's life).

One night during one of Weiland's last tour dates with Revolver he decided to make a statement to the crowd without any input from the band. Weiland stumbled to the mic, most likely under the influence of something and spoke into it saying "You guys are witnessing history right now, this is the last Velvet Revolver show." Afterwords Slash and Duff looked at each other like a wave had just crashed over the stage.

In 2008 Weiland reunited with Stone Temple Pilots. This time hoping everything would go smoothly. No one seemed to take into account that his drug problem had become increasingly worse.

Weiland was showing up late to shows, not remembering lyrics and fighting with band mates. Radio stations were making statements such as "Good thing he came to our city first because there's now way this tour will last."

The tour did manage to go until the end but they are currently on hiatus. Weiland claimed that they have "wrote a boat load of songs during the tour." STP fans keep your fingers crossed for a 2009 studio album.

In mid 2008 Weiland signed a publishing deal with Bug Music. They agreed to help finance Weilands new solo album he wanted to pursue.

On November 25, 2008 Weiland came out with his second solo album Happy in Galoshes which translates to Happy in Rain boots. Yeah i know, odd.

Happy in Galoshes is an album that truly does, like Weiland says, has influence from all sorts of music. Punk, Bob Dylan, Funk, with some brass instruments thrown in with the guitars and drums.

Weiland claims to not have any drug influence during the production of this album. But that is hard to believe. Many of the songs have a echoing voice quality to them. Almost like a Pink Floyd album.

There are 4 out of 12 songs i'm willing to lisent to over and over again in my car. Some songs such as the David Bowie Cover "Fame" had me cringe and hit the next button as fast as humanly possible.

It's like Scott Weiland said, he no longer cares what people think of his music. He has the freedom to be creative in any way he wants and who am I to put him down. So sorry but i am going to have to give this album 5 stars out of 10.

The Speech That Will Be Written in Stone?

By Samuel Mattei

At 12 in the afternoon on January 20, 2009 Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of The United States of America. The induction was followed by the highly anticipated inaugural speech.

The media had been talking about this speech since the night of November 4th when Obama won the presidential election over rival John McCain. He has been known to write speeches over long periods of time and when needed, very short periods of time.

Obama spent four months in 2004 preparing his speech for the Democratic Convention titled "In No Other Country." This speech is what started his buzz around the nation as someone who could possibly lead the Democratic party back to greatness. When Obama was confronted with controversy over Reverend Jeremiah Wright's sermons he was able to write his "A More Perfect Union" speech given in Philadelphia in only 2 days.

The media had been held down with anticipation over the upcoming speech. Obama-maniacs were listening to what there President-Elect was saying. That he had been studying past inauguration speeches from some of the greatest Presidents of all time including Lincoln, Roosevelt and even Regan.

His followers were convinced. This upcoming speech would one day be set in stone for our grandchildren and their grandchildren and their grandchildren's grandchildren to look upon for inspiration. The celebration would be one for the ages.

Barack Obama took the stage in his usual calm cool stance. Ready to make one of the biggest speeches in history without breaking a sweat. He walked up to the podium. Looking through the crowd you could feel that this could possibly be a moment that could define our generation.

Obama started out by making it clear he was thankful. Thankful for the nations trust. Thankful for putting him in his current position. He began explaining that though this is a time for celebration, it is also a time for work. A time for for the citizens of America to rise up to the challenge their ancestors had. To make our America a better future for the upcoming generations.

He understood what he was up against and made it clear by naming many of the challenges. Challenges including the economy, smarter uses of energy, better schools and colleges, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and global warming.

Throughout the speech Barack Obama wanted to inspire hope into the hearts of Americans young and old. He needs the nation to realize the economy can restabalize. Stating that
"We remain the most prosperous powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive then when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive. Our goods and services no less needed then they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off touch decisions, that time has surely passed. Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America."

Obama made it clear that he understands that the people have lost trust in their government. Polls show that more people feel that they are trying to elect the lesser of 2 evils and not be too embarrassed when they make a mistake. He does not want us to feel ashamed of who we are or our way of life. A quote directly from the inauguration speech states "We will not apologize for our way of life. Nor will we waiver in it’s defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocence, we say now that our spirit is stronger and can not be broken. You can not outlast us and we will defeat you."

President Obama's speech will not be remembered for a cheerful thank you to everyone who voted for him. Nor will it be remembered for a celebration of a new way of life. It will be looked at over time as a somber speech of reality. Things need to change and they must start by changing Washington. To put it simply in a quote from the new President himself "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or to small but whether it works."

Familiar Philadelphia

By Samuel Mattei

For those of you who have yet to turn your radio to the sports dial after the 32-25 loss to The Arizona Cardinals, be prepared. A barrage of questions and comments will fill your head. Being in Philadelphia, they will mainly be of the negative nature.

Personally I have already received phone calls from fellow Eagles fans, and I'm willing to give you readers one guess who the loss is being blamed on. That's right, are own number five, Donovan McNabb and are Cheesesteak loving coach Andy Reid.

On my phone I have received messages reading "cough cough CHOKE" "time for change" and "this time i mean it I'm not coming back next year." In reality though, none of these comments will be relevant come September.

Our franchise Coach and Quarterback sure wont be going anywhere. Not with Joe Banner making profit or looking back on the 2008 season and remembering the miracle of The Eagles surviving up to the NFC Championship game in Arizona.

For those of you who have once again claimed you will not be back again next season. Who have already hung up your green and white jerseys. Just be honest with yourselves. Your the fans who will be the first to arrive in Leigh Valley for training camp. This is because your the fans who are hurt the most by this loss but you will never give up, all you want is a Superbowl. Sorry Phillies, but a Superbowl is the most important aspect of Philadelphia sports.

Now I get to what will become the off season Donovan and Andy show. In my personal opinion, we can not put this loss purely on their shoulders. Football is a team effort. Everything must go perfect for a play to be successful.

Anyone who picks up a newspaper Monday morning or goes on any football website will have to agree that McNabb's numbers were impressive during this game. 28/47, 375 yards, 3 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Most of these numbers came during the second half of the game once second year tight end Brent Celek was sent off the bench catching 10 passes, 2 touchdowns and a reception of 31 yards. Now is the time for LJ Smith to make his case of why The Eagles should pay him millions more to stay on the team.

Looking back on our Philadelphia Eagles 2008 season, it still seems a miracle that we got the gift of watching a game in January. Nothing is going to change for next year, we won't receive a high draft pick. We won't get a new coach or quarterback.

It's painful watching our favorite team spiral down into the off season. Somehow we still manged to put our hopes up like the past 8 years never happened. Maybe one day we will learn to not expect so much. Then we could go through our day without becoming distracted over the loss.

One thing this writer refuses to hear or say after feeling the hurt of loosing yet another championship game is the repetitive quote that has become a long running joke in Philadelphia. "There's always next year."

Pat on the Back:

Brent Celek/2 touchdowns/10 catches/83 yards

DeSean Jackson/1 sixty-two yard touchdown/6 catches

Stewart Bradley/8 tackles/1 assist

Push out of the way:

Andy Reid/Go for a Hail Mary with one play left not a trick lateral

Sav Rocca/Laces on the outside when holding a kick for David Akers

Greg Lewis/1 catch/-2 yards

Kings of Metal Hold Their Throne

By Samuel Mattei

Washed up? Too old? Lost their touch? All of which were reasonable questions after Metallica's 2003 release "St. Anger." An album that cut out certain criteria which Metallica was known for, heavy drums and long shredding guitar solos.

All of these questions were let loose after the 2008 release of "Death Magnetic." Their new studio album that came out in stores on September 12, 2008. The album to date is still on the Billboard Top 100 chart in several countries including The United States, Australia, and many parts of Europe.

On January 17th Metallica made one of their favorite stops on tour, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With Machine Head opening this promised to be one hell of a show.

In an interview in early 2009 with James Hetfield (lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist), he stated that the stage is the center of the show. With nowhere for the band to hide they must rely on their pure skills.

The show started out like every rock show. All the lights turned down to the point where you cant see the hand in front of your face. Your heart pounding with excitement. The opening music slowly starts up. Out of the darkness come lazers pointing in every direction. Then comes what the sold out crowd was waiting for. The kings of metal themselves, Metallica.

The crowd was able to see that their favorite band had not lost the power they had in the eighties and nineties. If anything that had grown as musicians and as people throughout all of these years.

After the first song James Hetfeild wanted to be clear on what the crowd was going to receive. Going to the microphone he stated "Tonight we are going to play some new stuff, but what goes good with new stuff is?" OLD STUFF the crowd roared in response.

The show started off with a classic rendition of "That was Just Your Life" and going into their new singles "The Day That Never Comes" and "Cyanide".

Hetfield showed that he is not just a symbol of metal or a kick ass guitarist, but a family man. He stated "Tonight is a very special night, well every night is very special but this night especially." James went on to explain that it was his daughter Marcella Francesca Hetfields seventh birthday, and since tonight was her birthday she got to watch her dad and his friends play.

Marcella was escorted to the stage by her rock star dad in front of the sold out Wachovia Center and was greeted with a round of applause along with 60,000 people singing Happy Birthday. Afterwords she leaned into the mic with a shy "thank you."

Metallica has proven through their new album "Death Magnetic" and their new tour which leaves fans screaming "I CAN NOW DIE HAPPY!" that they are still one of the greatest rock bands to ever walk the face of the earth. With over one hundred million albums sold Metallica holds their throne as the kings of metal.