Why am I still up?

[cleolinda]

OMG PRINCE. I walked through the den to fix a plate just as he took the stage--I managed to see nothing but Prince, that was my Super Bowl experience this year. And it was, in fact, super. omg. PRINCE. I mean, I knew he was performing, but for some reason I thought the Jehovah's Witness thing meant that he might not want to rock it old school. But no, he gets out there on the Artist Formerly Known as a Symbol-shaped stage with his dancers and his purple guitar and his anti-rain do-rag and starts up "Let's Go Crazy." Obviously he wasn't going to play any of the really raunchy classics, if only because it was network TV--and seriously, after the Breast That Destroyed America incident, it took some balls to book Prince in the first place. What really surprised me was that he played some songs he didn't write himself, which was a novel experience for me. So he starts out with a Princified "We Will Rock You" and move into "Let's Go Crazy," and I don't know what song the second part starts out with, but he goes into "Proud Mary" from there, and then he's got a glow-in-the-dark marching band out there on the field, seriously, and then he goes into "All Along the Watchtower" and from there moves into an awesome cover of the Foo Fighters' "The Best of You," and then he whips his do-rag off into the crowd and breaks out "Purple Rain" and everyone in the stadium's waving lighters and singing along and I'm standing in the kitchen doorway with a dinner plate staring over the den recliner all PRIIIIIIIIINCE! I LOVE YOU PRINCE!, and he's hendrixing his wee heart out on that purple guitar. And I'm telling you, there was this giant scary burst of lightning at the beginning of the show, which means that either Prince commanded the lightning for his halftime show, or God Himself reached down to touch the Purple One. Who was at that moment wearing sky blue and orange. Purple's a state of mind, what can I say.

Speaking of guitars, my stepfather was apparently in a grumbly mood, and at one point he groans, "It's like Jimi Hendrix all over again." And I'm all like FUCK YEAH IT IS! Oh... wait:

1. That's a bad thing?
2. Jimi Hendrix played the Super Bowl?

My sister took great offense at this, by the way, and a minor tiff erupted and I seriously can't understand why my stepfather, a drummer, is grumbling about this. About Prince. Because it's Prince. Best. Halftime. Ever. Anyone who can find me an mp3 rip of the "Best of You" cover gets a thousand internet cookies; I already have it as an flv video file.

No malfunction as Prince rocks halftime. That's right, bitches. Check it. (I love these pictures. Look at her--rain is falling down in barrels and she doesn't care, because she's two feet away from Prince.) Look at that! Look at that! SO COOL. (Okay, it didn't look that obscene in motion.)

Okay, moving on. Reluctantly.

Amateur ads follow Super Bowl tradition. I wouldn't know, because I didn't see any of them. Only PRINCE.

AIDS activist stopped from visiting U.S.

20 face lash for dancing in Saudi Arabia.

Trial of US soldier who refused to go to Iraq opens Monday.

Swiss ready to pay for fight against climate change.

Endangered cranes killed in Fla. storms.

Nader leaves '08 door open, slams Hillary.

Creative's woes not over despite tasty bite of Apple. Woe! I love my Zen! And it does have a recorder function!

Ryan O'Neal accused of assaulting son.

Disney in uncharted waters with "Pirates" game. And knowing my love for pirates virtual pet/rpg games, I will probably be on it come May.

Comments

[shoukinkasegi.livejournal.com]

Jimi played the Super Bowl what?!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

He didn't, of course--my stepfather's comment makes no sense on a lot of different levels.

[arden-ranger.livejournal.com]

Best review of a half time show ever.

"We expect the next two quarters to be just marginally profitable operationally, but (the quarter to March) may report a loss after taking in some restructuring charges."

Creative said it will continue to reduce operating costs and expects additional restructuring charges in the March quarter to affect results.

Haha! Glad I left their employment when I did. They have zero idea how to market their stuff in the US, and until they do, Apple will never have any serious competition from Creative, because when people think MP3, they think "Ipod" because that's all they've been exposed to. The company president refuses to spend money on national advertising in the US, though they do advertise in Singapore. They also don't offer very appealing incentive packages to any employee not in Tech Support.

I love my Creative MP3 player too, but I got no pity for the people who run the company.

[arpeggiodreams.livejournal.com]

Yes, it did look that obscene in motion.

[silk-noir.livejournal.com]

*OMG icon love*

[mehinda.livejournal.com]

I told my friend hennyway, "If he plays Purple Rain, I'm going to cry!" And he did. And I did (after squealing with joy).

[gannet-guts.livejournal.com]

God that was awesome. Why is he still so sexy?

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

Because he's Prince.

[artemis-lizzie.livejournal.com]

"I don't know what song the second part starts out with"

It sounded like "Baby I'm a Star" off the Purple Rain soundtrack. It's one of my favorite Prince songs.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the husband, my sister and I were all fairly stymied by Prince's performance (I'm the only one who has ever seen him in concert, so I knew more or less what to expect). These were our initial comments:

Sis and I simultaneously, "OMG, he's wearing a do-rag!"
Me: "Of course he is -- he doesn't want that coiffeur to go back."
Sis: "I hope he doesn't get electrocuted."
Me: "OMG, he sounds just like Fred Armisen on last night's SNL - HAH."
Sis: "Why is it that all his dancers and musicians are still wearing '80s-style clothes? Look at them! They're trapped in the '80s!
Husband: "Why in hell is he singing "Proud Mary?"
Husband: "Why in hell is he singing Hendrix?"
Me: "Not only Hendrix, but actually Dylan."
Sis and Me: "I hope to God he doesn't slip and fall down on his tiny ass."
All of us: "OMG, he took off the do-rag! He doesn't care if his hair goes back! He's beyond cool."
My sister: "His skin looks really dewy in the rain ,which is weird because he's kinda old now."
Me: "Black don't crack."

And so on. It was wildly entertaining on so many levels.

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

Don't know if this will qualify for cookie-age, but I've used it for flv-to-mpg conversions and it also has a convert-to-mp3 option:

http://media-convert.com/

Give it a file name from your puter, or an URL, tell it what it is, tell it what you want it to be, say "Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho," and out comes a downloadable version in the format you asked.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

YAY!

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

I'm bummed that I missed Prince. You just don't get cooler than Prince. I remember when Diamonds and Pearls came out back in, what, 92? And I'd been Prince fan since the early 80s and was hating so much of the music that was popular (Color Me Badd, Boyz II Men, Hammer, etc). And Prince comes along and reminds them ALL how it's done. JJ Jackson used to call him His Royal Badness. :)

He totally commanded that lightning. I'll accept no other explanation. :D

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hey, the YouTube clips are *almost* as good, and I bet news outlets on TV will replay bits of it. If MTV was the least bit with it, they'd start playing the third clip I linked to as a video, the way they used to with VMA performances. The one thing about watching it live was this unfolding sense of having no idea what he was going to do next, and each thing being better than the last. That, and my sister going, "Is he doing a Foo Fighters song?"

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

Prince really was the best damn part of the Super Bowl (apart from the kcik return for a touchdown the very first play of the game). I was really hoping he'd do "Purple Rain" and he did NOT disappoint me. The lightening was BEYOND cool, but I think that was an effect, and not actual lightening. But frankly, I do like your explanation more.

It is also good to know I was not alone in worrying the poor man would get electrocuted with all those lights and wires and RAIN everywhere. I actually said outloud during the show, "Prince had better NOT get electrocuted." He just put on an amazing show while he was out there. And doing "All Along The Watchtower" takes serious guts. He rocks!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Having rewatched that clip a couple of times, I think what happened was that the lightning happened to hit right as the pyrotechnics went off (obviously), but the pyrotechnics were what made that deep booming sound. I really do think the lightning was spontaneous--Miami really does get fantastic lightning; I saw a whole series of rock-awesome photos on Flickr, one of which I used as a desktop for a while. It's not so much the lightning itself even as how the camera people captured it right at that moment, at that angle.

[silk-noir.livejournal.com]

Oh, Cleo, I had no idea about Prince! Talk about a blast from my past!
I stayed away from the Superbowl because none of my teams were playing and, well, Rome was on.

Thanks for getting those pics and that video. My favorite is the one of that dancer--she looks so incredibly geeked to be there, so happy! *cheese* You can feel the love.

[anonymisty.livejournal.com]

...and then he goes into "All Along the Watchtower"

I knew I should've tuned in to that stupid game. Dang. I always miss the good stuff.

[adoresixtyfour.livejournal.com]

I knew I should've tuned in to that stupid game.

No, you should have tuned in just for the halftime show, which was indeed awesome. The game was the suck. (Then again, I live in Chicago. We're...not happy.)

[cattikins.livejournal.com]

Prince is so fucking amazing. Like...Dude. Best halftime show EVER.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

SERIOUSLY. I just finished converting the video to mp3. It's amazing how well integrated the medley is.

[cpip.livejournal.com]

Can I admit I was sincerely UNDERIMPRESSED by Prince? I was way more impressed by the guy in the back, the bald chap who was ACTUALLY playing the electric guitar and making it wail, from what I could tell.

Either that, or Prince's playing style is so subdued he can take his hands OFF the guitar and it still plays.

And normally I LIKE Prince, but it really felt like he was phoning this one in.

[alliancesjr.livejournal.com]

See, that bothered me at first, but then I looked closer and his other hand was still on the neck, tweaking the frets. There weren't new chords during the parts he was taking his hand away, just new notes which were on the same vibration.

[supermom20.livejournal.com]

I was fully expecting the assless pants of days gone by, but Prince delivered liek whoa! Purple Rain always gives me chills, but to see it in the rain... dude.

[alliancesjr.livejournal.com]

Purple Rain always rocks, seriously. It more than made up for stupid Grossman's bad plays and the weaksauce commercials.

*grumbling*

But yeah, seriously, best halftime show ever. I especially loved how the twin dancers did the whole Tina Turner hairtoss during "Proud Mary".

[princessstarr.livejournal.com]

So that was real lightning. My roomie and I couldn't figure that out.

But uh, yeah. Prince was hands-down the best part of the whole game.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I thought it was totally bizarre until I remembered that Miami gets fantastic lightning--go search "Miami lightning" on Flickr sometime.

[mokeyhokey.livejournal.com]

I know next to nothing about Prince aside from a few of his singles and music videos, so imagine my surprise when I realized that holy crap, Prince can fucking shred.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know! And I've seen him do it before (videos! live performances!) and somehow I always forget he can work a guitar like that.

[threerings.livejournal.com]

Totally. Prince is now my HERO. It's like he just got up there and showed everyone how it's supposed to be done. I always forget how awesome Prince is.

[preciosatt.livejournal.com]

*wails* The Prince Shooooooow!!! It's the Prince Show!!!!!

Everytime someone says Prince, that's what comes to mind. Best damned thing about the Superbowl. Peyton got his ring, but didja see Prince!

[themadfish.livejournal.com]

For a follow up on the cranes--

They did have one survivor.

And from their latest journal entry:

Dear Friends, both old and new,

The OM team thanks you for the hundreds of messages of sympathy we have received. It has been heartening to hear from so many of you and we take solace in knowing that others share our sorrow. We also know you share our joy and celebration at the survival of 615. What a bright spot he is in this sad time.

We wanted to let you know that the deaths of the chicks in the Class of 2006 is being investigated. All the remains have been collected for freezing, pending necropsy. At this point the cause of their demise is still unknown, although either a wind driven tidal surge, or lightening strikes reported nearby are suspected.

Our hearts are aching for the young birds that were lost. These chicks were like our children; the start of a new generation of life for the species. We also lament the loss of a year's work by the many dedicated people who helped to raise them from eggs, and of the funds so generously given by so many.

In response to your requests, we have created a fund in memory of the Class of 2006. Contributions to the ‘Remembering the Class of 2006 Fund’ will go a long way to help us recover from a costly setback that amounts to a year of time and effort and approximately $500,000.

One of OM’s wonderful Craniacs suggested donors consider contributing $18 - that is, one dollar for each of the lost chicks, and $1 in celebration of 615's survival. Of course contributions of any amount, small or large, are appreciated, and all will be recognized on a ‘Remembering the Class of 2006’ acknowledgement page we are creating on our website.

If you would like to contribute to the ‘Remembering the Class of 2006’ fund using PayPal, click the 'Contribute' button on the brown feather to the left, and then scroll down to 'Other Contribution'. In the 'Note related to donation'box, simply type the word, Remembering. If you prefer, call the office (Monday to Friday) at 1-800-675-2618. (Please note we only have one toll free phone line so be paitent.)

Without doubt, the reintroduction project has suffered an enormous setback. But we have not forgotten the years of successes. With your help, your morale and financial support, we will begin the 2007 season with renewed strength and commitment.

Sincerely,
The OM Team

http://operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

[mercat.livejournal.com]

So, I've never particularly been a Prince fan, no particular reason. But as soon as he got up there, I was like OMG TURQUOISE AND ORANGE SUIT. (A fave color combination.) And then OMG MARCHING BAND THAT GLOWS! and then HOLY CRAP PRINCE IS AWESOME, HE IS SINGING IN THE RAIN AND THIS IS AMAZING.

Whatever the last song is that he played with the marching band... FUCKING AMAZING. ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.

Totally made up for the almost complete lack of good commercials. (There were about five good ones.)

Also... since you are pimping Creative here, would you recommend them as an alternative to iPods? I'm looking for an mp3 player, and of course the easiest to find is iPod, but everyone says they're definitely not the best.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

The very last song, with the silhouette, was "Purple Rain."

I wanted a non-iPod because I dislike iTunes and the mp4 format, and Creative Zens are a LOT less expensive. I love my little Zen--it's only about a gig, but I could have gotten a larger one. It's about the size of a (small) pack of gum, has lots of little features including that recorder, came with a bunch of software (in fact, the software that I used to trim the Prince mp3s this morning), is dead easy to use, reliable, and has never broken down on me or given me any problems with batteries (it's a year old now). I've never used the iPod, but my main criteria was that it not use Apple software and be less expensive, so Creative pretty much fills the bill.

[confusedmuchly.livejournal.com]

My utter enjoyment of the half-time Princeness was tainted by my brother in the background:

Brother: "Is he gay? He's gay. He must be gay. Why is he wearing a scarf? Is he gay? He's gay."

Me: "SHUT THE HELL UP! PURPLE RAAAAAIN, DAMMIT!"

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, here's how you shut him up. Say, verbatim: "If he's gay, why does he sing about pussy so much?" You may need to have "P Control" on hand to back this up.

[vampirepig13.livejournal.com]

That marching band was AWESOME...But the drum major's technique, not so great. He's going to hurt his wrists, doing it that way.

..I should be stopped.

[obigrrl.livejournal.com]

jumping in on the Prince love!!!

i saw that lightning and went WHOA!! o_O that couldn't have been anymore perfectly timed!

sexy! sexy! sexy! gads i love that man!