Also featuring the USC Marching Band horn section . . . Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Videos
See You in Hell, Carl Douglas
[See You in Hell is a feature by our guest blogger, Satan — PE] “It put a smile on my face that finally [Donald Sterling] would be unable to deny the racist allegations against him,” said Carl Douglas, a lawyer who represented former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor in a lawsuit against Sterling. — FOX Sports Carl Douglas is best known as a member of the O.J. Simpson defense team. O.J. Simpson has done some regrettable things, like murdering a couple of white people, but at least he’s never made negative remarks about Magic Johnson photos on Instagram. See you in Hell . . . P.S. Carl Douglas the lawyer should not be confused with Carl Douglas the “Kung Fu Fighting” singer. Him, I like. Read more →
Expanding My Repertoire
My piano teacher asks me if there are any pieces I want to learn . . . “How about . . . ?” and here I name a piece by Chopin. “This one?” she asks and starts to play it. “Yeah.” “It’s hard.” “Well, it sounds quite impressive but I think if you break it down it’s just arpeggios and thirds.” “No, it’s not just thirds,” she says and starts to play it again to show me. “And that’s with the left hand. Do you think you can play that with your left hand?” “My left hand’s not very good.” “I know.” “So that one is too hard.” “Yes.” “OK, how about . . . ?” and here I name another piece by Chopin. “That’s the only piece that’s harder than the first one.” “How about this?” I ask, and play a YouTube video on my phone. “What is that?”… Read more →
The Best Advice I Got This Week
I was watching a Paul Barton YouTube video about piano practice . . . he said that when someone asked Horowitz how he’s able to play so many difficult pieces, Horowitz replied, “You just got to really want to.” That seems like excellent advice. It’s short, just a few words . . . you can remember it without even trying to. And I think it could be applied to almost any endeavor. Imagine someone listening to Horowitz and thinking, “Wow, that’s great! I’d give anything to be able to play like that!” But he wouldn’t really give anything. He wants to play like Horowitz but he doesn’t really want to play like Horowitz. He doesn’t want to practice 20 hours a day and give up everything else in his life. In any endeavor, reaching a goal often requires more than someone is willing to give . . . not more… Read more →
Rickie Lee Jones – Sympathy for the Devil (Live)
Rickie Lee Jones “Wild Girl” Live
Belly of the Whale
What You Don’t See
When you watch someone perform, you’re seeing them at the top of their game. When they score the winning point or sell their company for millions — you’re seeing them in their moment of glory. What you don’t see is the thousands of hours of preparation. You don’t see the self doubt, the lost sleep, the lonely nights spent working. You don’t see the moment they started. The moment they were just like you, wondering how they could ever be good. — Karen Cheng www.youtube.com/watch?v=daC2EPUh22w Read more →
Hot August Morning
It’s going to be another hot day! Not even 8 a.m. and I’m panting already! — Lightning Read more →
Dance Like Nobody’s Watching
Thirsty Pug
It was hot here this week — in the 90s — so when my owner got home and gave me fresh water I was really thirsty! — Lightning Read more →
I Love to Go to Starbucks!
I love to go to Starbucks! When we go to Starbucks, I get to have some whipped cream in a cup, which is called a pup cup. During the holidays, I get pup cups in the red holiday cups! My last video got 32 views, which my owner says is the most ever on YouTube except for Gangnam Style, which I don’t understand because I’ve seen that video and it’s stupid. — Lightning Read more →
The Science of Persuasion
eEconomics – Gas Taxes
Lightning and Me Toast the Holidays with Trader Joe’s 2012 Vintage Ale
We Had Linguini for Dinner Tonight!
Randy Newman: “I’m Dreaming”
Randy Newman has a new song and video out — “I’m Dreaming” — about a voter who casts his ballot solely based on skin color. I listened to it . . . it’s great, like every other Newman song I can think of, but didn’t this train leave the station in 2008? We already have a black president. (Yes, his mother was white, but “mixed-race” doesn’t get you 12 percent of the electorate.) Will some people not vote for Obama because he’s black? Yes. Will some people only vote for Obama because he’s black? Yes. As Geraldine Ferraro said in 2008, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is.” Naturally, she was denounced as a racist by the… Read more →
Rand Paul at the RNC
Highlights When I heard the current president say, “You didn’t build that,” I was first insulted, then I was angered, and then I was saddened that anyone in our country, much less the president of the United States, believes that roads create business success and not the other way around. Anyone who is so fundamentally misunderstanding of American greatness is uniquely unqualified to lead this great nation. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Tang family owns The Great American Doughnut Shop. Their family fled war-torn Cambodia to come to this country. My kids and I love doughnuts, so we go there frequently. The Tangs work long hours. Mrs. Tang told us they work through the night to make the doughnuts. The Tang family have become valedictorians and National Merit Scholars. The Tangs from Cambodia are an American success story, so Mr. President, don’t go telling the Tang family that they… Read more →
Condoleezza Rice at the RNC
Highlights You see, the essence of America, what really unites us, is not nationality or ethnicity or religion. It is an idea. And what an idea it is. That you can come from humble circumstances and you can do great things, that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going. My fellow Americans, ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. We have never been jealous of one another and never envious of each others’ successes. And on a personal note, a little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham. The segregated city of the south where her parents cannot take her to a movie theater or to restaurants, but they have convinced her that even if she cannot have a hamburger at Woolworths, she can be… Read more →
Look Out, You Rock ‘n’ Rollers!
My bizness is taking me to Bangalore, India, at the end of the month. I got vaccinated for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, polio, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. I’m now immune to everything, including your consultations. Read more →