Archive for March, 2009
March 31st, 2009
NBC News says to do this now to try to figure out if all heck might break loose with your computer on April Fools’ Day tomorrow:
Try typing in the URL of a virus-fighting company (i.e., www.mcafee.com, or www.symantec.com). If it works, you’re probably up to date with your anti-virus software, and you don’t have the conficker worm. If not, conficker is likely blocking your computer from fighting back, and it’s time to install some new armor.
Virus fighters in the Silicon Valley estimate that some twenty million PCs are already infected with the conficker worm. And things may soon get worse. Conficker, which digs into your computer (Macs, we’re told, are safe) and treats it like a “zombie” (sending out spam to lots of other computers), is apparently waiting until April 1 to get its next set of “instructions” from whoever created it in the first place.
March 30th, 2009
Two years ago, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen loaned 18 of the guitars in his collection to The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., to be displayed in the museum’s first Rock Stars’ Cars & Guitars exhibit. The show was the best attended short-term exhibit ever at the museum with 200,000 visitors up until last summer when a short-term show on chocolate drew more.
This year, for the second Rock Stars’ Cars & Guitars, Nielsen of Rockford is loaning the museum 16 from his collection of hundreds. Two are making a return visit: a seafoam green Stratocaster that rocker Jim Hendrix played in 1968 in Madison, Wis., after Nielsen asked him to play it, and a guitar that bluesman BB King signed twice.
(2007 Register Star photo of Nielsen in Rockford with the guitar Hendrix played. He’s standing in front of a Rolls Royce owned by John Lennon that was on its way as part of the first cars and guitars show at the museum.)
Nielsen is loaning the biggest share of guitars out of the 60 that are being shown. The rest are coming in ones or twos from other rock stars and collectors. The number of guitars is twice the number shown the first time around. The most expensive in the show owned by Nielsen? A rare Merle Travis guitar. The country singer/guitarist is known for “Sixteen Tons.”
The exhibit at the museum runs from May 16 to Sept. 7 and is open daily. (thehenryford.org). What about the cars? A few are from metal rockers Metallica, including James Hetfield’s 1953 Buick Skylark. And southern blues rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is showing his 1932 Ford Coupe “Eliminator.”
Nielsen plans to attend a preview party at the museum, said Katey Brown, a museum spokeswoman.
March 30th, 2009
Last year, the inaugural Cheap Trick Day was celebrated in Rockford at The Stockholm Inn. The power pop band’s Rockford-area residents guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos got kudos from politicians and well-wishers at the eatery.
On Wednesday, April 1, also known as April Fools Day and now Cheap Trick Day in Illinois, Nielsen will celebrate the second annual commemoration by flying from Rockford to Springfield. There, with Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford), the originator of the statewide recognition of Cheap Trick Day, Nielsen will meet Gov. Pat Quinn, among doing other things. Road Ranger chief Dan Arnold also will take him to the The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Arnold is a big Lincoln buff.
March 27th, 2009
Cheap Trick front man and guitarist Rick Nielsen has added guitar riffs to the soundtrack created by Diego Stocco for a video game that Wii hopes will change its image from a game system for senior citizens and kids to an action-adventure play associated with hardcore Xbox and PlayStation 3 players.
The Rockford power pop rocker is providing “great ambience and textural qualities that perfectly fits the mood of the game,” according to this Segafanatic.com story. “I hope these lunar notes float with you,” Nielsen is quoted as saying.
“The Conduit” game features a former secret service agent investigating terrorist activity in Washington. He battles his way through a mysterious conspiracy involving aliens. The game is expected to be in stores in June.
March 26th, 2009
After reading this Dawn Turner Trice column in the Chicago Tribune this week, I asked Mike Wright, who formerly was owner of The Office Niteclub in downtown Rockford and now is back in town and with partner Dan Ford again own and operate the place and will hold a grand reopening on April 4.
The column says “some gays are saying that bachelorette parties at their bars are becoming more than a minor nuisance. They’re a constant reminder that gays don’t have equal marriage rights.”
I asked Wright if The Office will welcome bachelorette parties and to comment on the issue. His e-mail response in its entirety follows:
“We will certainly let bachelorette parties continue at The Office, though we seldom have half naked dancers. And I do understand why many straight women (whether bachelorette parties or girls’ night out) come here so they aren’t so harassed by drunk men. Though, there are plenty of straight men that do come down because they have found out the “secret” of so many single women in here.
As for some gay bars in Chicago that won’t allow bachelorette parties, I can see where they’re coming from. My personal opinion is I prefer a mixed crowd of straight and gay people. We usually have a 50-50 mix of straight and gay people on weekend nights. To me, that is the acceptance that our community has fought to have for years. Straight people know they are going into a gay bar and having fun. To me, that is total acceptance. We have very few problems with those customers. And the straight people that would have a problem coming into our bar are the ones we don’t want to come in here anyway. But the other side of that issue for some bar owners is flaunting marriage in front of those of us that can’t legally define our relationships. Gay people pay taxes like everyone else. We fight in the military, we’re doctors, lawyers, teachers, clergy, family members, etc. Why shouldn’t we be allowed spousal recognition.
Like millions of other gay couples, Dan and I have spent thousands of dollars for legal documents to guarantee that we can visit each other in the hospital, make health decisions if one of us is hurt or sick, property rights, and the list goes on. While straight married couples do not have to spend one penny for that security. And if one of us were to die, 50% of everything we own would face inheritance taxes that a married straight couple would not have to pay. Nor could we claim the other’s SS benefits. There are nearly one thousand benefits that a married straight couple have over a gay couple when it comes to our government’s role.
For another example, a man and women could meet in Las Vegas, drink all day, get married that night, and get divorced 24 hours later. It is aggravating to know that their 24 hour marriage is legal and more validated by our government than Dan and my 27 years together.
It doesn’t make sense and I’m sure that is why some bar owners have harsh feelings towards bachelorette parties. Sometimes you can only get beat down so much before you lose your patience. Dan and I are a little more laid back then some of the big city bar owners. The old saying “it is what it is” rings true. We know that someday, and I truly believe it will be before we die, our relationship will get federally recognized status. I hate comparing different struggles thoughout our country’s history but here goes. You women were supposed to be subservient to men and could not vote, African-Americans had no rights at all, interracial couples could not marry, so we are just the most recent group of individuals that have to fight for our “equal rights” under the law.
By the way, many gay people want to be able to use the word marriage to define their relationship. We’re not so worried about the word as we are about the recognition that word stands for. Call it civil unions, domestic partners, or whatever the government wants to call it, as long as it’s legal. That would be a big step for gay people everywhere.”
March 26th, 2009
The new video, “I’m Bad,” from The Last Vegas, the band with two guys who grew up in Rockford — Adam and Nate Arling — is featured at MSN Music.
Register Star photo with Adam in the middle
The group finished its tour with Motley Crue and sets off on its own headlining tour April 2.
March 25th, 2009
Triceratops, thought to be loners, may have hung out together, if only for protection.
That’s what researchers from the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford and others including Northern Illinois University in DeKalb say in a scientific article recently published in the “Journal of Vertabrate Paleontology.” They based their findings on fossils Burpee staff and others found in Montana rocks.
And another paper published in the same journal sheds light on a bone-headed dinosaur that Burpee staff and others uncovered. This article says that when Pachycephalosaurs were hatched out of their eggs, they already had impressive ornamental headgear.
The publications show that Burpee has become a “respected institution, not only in the educational commuity and general public, but also within the scientific community,” according to a Burpee press release.
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March 20th, 2009
Obama Appeals Directly To Iranian People
In Video Message, President Invites Dialogue, Says “Threats” Must End; Iran Official Tells CBS News “Words” Not Enough
according to this cbsnews.com story. His message is subtitled in Farsi.
Was Obama's Farsi-subtitled video to the Iranians a good or bad idea?
March 19th, 2009
Julie Dale, who teaches dance classes at Rock Valley College, says many newly engaged couples want to learn what they are calling “The Obama Dance.”
(AP photo)
You remember, it’s the dignified two-step slow-dance the President and Michelle Obama did as Beyonce sang “At Last,” Etta James’ 1961 R&B classic at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20.
If you want to take lessons or merely dance at dance events, call Dale at 815-718-1814.
By the way, James wasn’t too happy with Beyonce singing her song at the inauguration, according to stories on Show Hype.
March 18th, 2009
Corey Chisel and The Wandering Sons of Appleton, Wis., an American/folk/neo-soul band in which Miles Nielsen of Rockford plays guitar, will perform on national radio at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28.
(Register Star photo of Miles Nielsen)
The Wandering Sons will appear on “A Prairie Home Companion,” broadcast locally at Northern Public Radio’s WNIJ (89.5-FM).
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show and is know for its musical guests, especially folk and traditional musicians; “News From Lake Wobegon,” a comedy story-telling segment; and tongue-in-cheek radio drama.
Nielsen is the son of Rick Nielsen, guitarist and frontman of Cheap Trick.
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