Tele skiers assembling Axls

Last Thursday I stopped in Driggs, Idaho to visit the world headquarters of 22-Designs and help assemble the new free-pivot Axl tele binding(and score myself a pair).  I arrived around noon and Chris put me to work preparing bindings to ship to Bata-testers, folks who purchased and skied the test model last year and provided feedback to help improve the design.  As I worked a few other freeheelers arrived and Chris put them to work assembling bindings while he busily answered phone calls, typed e-mails, boxed bindings, and preformed quality control.  We worked side-by-side into the night assembling and chatting about winter plans, bindings, and skiing.  Around 8:00pm things slowed down and beers were cracked.  Friday morning I woke, made breakfast and tea, and joined Chris and Collins in the shop where I worked like a 10-year-old in a Chinese sweatshop-putting toe pieces together.  Once again various ski bums trickled in to put in their time toward a set of bindings (Chris provides a work exchange where you can work off a pair of bindings).  I hit the road around 2:00pm, but not before Collins helped me mount my new Moment Night Trains with a pair of hand selected Axls.  The blisters on my hands are still healing, but after three days skiing the Axl in the Wasatch I can confidently say that they are the best bindings I’ve ever skied.  Check them out at www.twentytwodesigns.com and get yourself a pair.

Cheers
Paul Kimbrough

“Quando você olha para trás, lá para os anos 80, e vê bandas decadentes como Europe e Guns ‘n’ Roses voce realmente percebe que eu era o unico ali que tinha talento verdadeiro.”

Jon Bon Jovi

There aren’t many times where you get to talk to a real genuine person who cares not only his work but the people who he works with and is involved with on a daily basis. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal is definitely one of those people. I met Ron back in July when he was touring withLita and at that time we talked bout doing an interview. Not only did Ron stick to his word, he couldn’t be more accommodating to do it. We talked about how he got involved with Axland GN’R to his involvement with raising awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. Didn’t Axl sing “We got your disease?” Well, we have your disease right here live in the flesh, an interview with “Bumblefoot!”

Gus: One of the big CD’s that came out late last year was ‘Chinese Democracy.’ It was a huge buzz surrounding the release of the CD. Why did it take the band so long to tour in support of the record?

Ron: There were other possible or potential tours or itineraries in the works that just didn’t happen for whatever reason. This one did though. Why? (laughs) I don’t try to know anything. My philosophy as time goes on is swinging more towards ‘ignorance is bliss.’ The less I know the happier I am. I don’t want to know a damn thing except tell me when to get on stage and play.

Gus: Guns N’ Roses are scheduled to perform in Japan in December. I’m sure your looking forward to it. What can the fans expect when you guys do perform live?

Ron: I can’t give anything away as we are trying to keep it a surprise until we do it. We will be playing a lot of old stuff, newer stuff, a lot of bombs n’ pyro (laughs.) I’m dodging the question – you know, the stuff you see at a big rock show.

Gus: You just wrapped up doing rehearsals and you have a new guitar partner in DJ Ashba. How did your rehearsals go with DJ?

Ron: It went great! He is a damn good guy to be in a band with. He gives a lot of himself and adds a lot of himself to every aspect of it. He gets involved artistically. He’s a damn good guy. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and playing with him. And working through the insanity of getting the stuff down with him. Now, I’m just really looking forward to getting on stage with him.

Gus: So he is fitting in quite well and fitting in nicely with everybody?

Ron: He’s good to go!

Gus: That’s good to hear. How did you originally get involved with one of the biggest marquee name bands in the world?

Ron: It was about 5 years ago. I got an email from Joe Satriani to tell me he recommended me for the gig (Guns N’ Roses) so if someone did reach out that I knew it wasn’t a joke or something. Very soon after, one of the guys from the band emailed me and we started talking. I started talking to guys working on the album about recording and then spoke to management. Eventually we hit the road and started touring and in between legs of the tour started recording tracks for the album, putting my 2 cents into it. That was it, and here we are.

Gus: Looking back since the release of Chinese Democracy, are you happy with the finished product or would there be something you would change?

Ron: On my behalf, I’m as happy as I possibly can be. Which goes like, I’m happy for a week, and then I start hearing all the things I would like to change. That’s the way I am with all my own albums too. Anything I’m involved with I’m like that. The honeymoon period lasts for about a week, then the little things start to haunt ya (laughs.) It’s always like that but I’ve gotten better at rolling with it and now it doesn’t drive me as crazy. You’ve got to treat it like a moment and that moment was captured, and then move on to the next moment.

Read entire interview here.

Source: BACKSTAGEAXXESS.com

Si antes hablábamos de AC/DC, quizá el grupo que mejor defina el hard rock, ahora tenemos de hablar de uno de los grupos más grandes jamás encontrados y el último gran grupo de rock n’ roll: Guns N’ Roses.

Guns N’ Roses nacieron a mediados de los 80 tras nacer de una fusión entre Hollywood Rose y L.A Guns. Axl, que nació en Lafayette, Indiana, en 1962, era un niño introvertido, que destacó rápidamente en el coro de su colegio, decidió a rápida edad ir a buscarse la vida en Los Ángeles, la gran ciudad del hard rock. Sus seis primeros meses fueron una pesadilla. Le fué robado todo su dinero, fue apaleado en medio de la calle y le rechazaron en toda entrevista de trabajo que se preciase. Hasta que Izzy Stradlin, antiguo amigo suyo, fué con él a Los Ángeles en busca de la fama. Formó varias bandas: Rapidfire, L.A Guns o Hollywood Rose. En estas bandas conocería a sus próximos compañeros: Slash, Duff Mckagan y Steven Adler.

Se forman como Guns N’ Roses en 1985. Ese mismo año sacan su directo Live Like a Suicide.  En 1986 firman por la Geffen, la discografía que años después gracias a su enorme éxito se forraría. En 1987, sacarían el disco de rock duro definitivo: APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION.

En este disco producido por Mike Clink las 12 canciones eran todas brillantes, hard rock de muchísima calidad. La lista es inmejorable: Paradise City, Sweet Child O´Mine, Welcome To The Jungle, Nightrain, Rocket Queen, Mr Browstone o Out Ta Get Me.  Todas ellas verdaderas joyas, canciones que no te dejan ni un segundo de respiro, directas, frescas e imperecederas. No hay baladas. No hay parones. Hay rock n’ roll.

El disco vendió mucho a larga distancia y fue varias veces nº 1 de 1988 a 1990.

La canción que más fama les dió, Sweet Child O´Mine, cuyo riff nació de la forma más tonta (Slash estaba haciendo sus ejercicios de  calentamiento antes de tocar y en un intento de imitar el sonido del circo que había calle abajo le salió eso… Axl salió de su habitación disparado y le pidió que lo volviera a hacer una y otra vez) es una de las mejores canciones jamás hechas en el rock n’ roll, con uno de los mejores solos.

Otra de sus mejores canciones, Paradise City, considerada una de las mejores canciones del hard rock y del heavy metal, de 6 minutos y en tono ascendente.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAlA4r6FTnY

Después llegarían los grandes años: el Lies, Use Your Illusion, años caóticos y de destrucción, hasta que los problemas de ego, la personalidad de Axl y el guarro de Slash destrozarían la banda. Actualmente sigue activa, el único miembro que queda es Axl, que se ha rodeado de músicos para hacer sus proyectos. El último, Chinese Democracy, es el disco más caro de la historia y ha tardado 15 años en hacerse.

Ok, so I guess third time is a charm? This will be the third time Guns will be touring in support of Chinese Democracy and the first time they have toured since they have released Chinese Democracy. Axl was last performing in early 2007 but then fell off the face of the earth again. I wonder if he will be sporting the braids. I hope he brings back the bandana and maybe Slash?!?! Let’s hope after these dates across the pond and up in Canada, Guns comes home to the States to kick ass.

Dec. 11 – Taipei
Dec. 13 – Seoul
Dec. 16 – Osaka
Dec. 19 – Tokyo
Jan. 13 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
Jan. 16 – Calgary, AB – Pengrowth Saddledome
Jan. 17 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
Jan. 19 – Saskatoon, SK – Credit Union Centre
Jan. 20 – Regina, SK – Brandt Centre
Jan. 24 – Hamilton, ON – Copps Coliseum
Jan. 25 – London, ON – John Labatt Centre
Jan. 27 – Montreal, PQ – Bell Centre
Jan. 28 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Jan. 31 – Ottawa, ON – Scotiabank Place
Feb. 01 – Quebec City, PQ – Colisee Pepsi
Feb. 03 – Moncton, NB – Moncton Coliseum
Feb. 04 – Halifax, NS – Metro Centre

Lets get started where it “ended”…. (Guns N’ Roses)
Guns N’ Roses. What a band. So many lineups, so much potential, so much talent. I became fixed on the Gunners at a tender age of 7 in 1988 when I snuck into my older brothers hockey locker room and heard ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ blasting on some old school beat box. So aggressive and so powerful and man, did that shit pump me up. The first video I saw from them was Paradise City and I became hooked. I didnt know what the hell I was doing at 7 years old absolutely obsessing over a bunch of fucking junkies, but I thought they were the most badass mofo’s and still feel the same way 20 years later. Granted the band has changed alot and Axl has gone and made some wonderful songs without the old lineup, but I will discuss here the last song ever played live by the “old” lineup. When I say the old lineup in this context, I don’t mean the original lineup, but close to it. Close to what non obsessed GNR fans, unlike myself, would think of as a GNR lineup would be Axl, the crazy top hat wearing guy Slash, and maybe they might remember there was some guy named Izzzy or Dizzy or something like that. The real sharp ones might even know Duff or Steven Adler or Matt Sorum. Anyways, back in 1993 GNR was ending a 2.5 year tour supporting their Use Your Illusion albums and their last show was in Argentina. The last song of the night, an Appetite for Destruction hit called Paradise City was played. Little did the crowd know that this was it for this classic lineup. A lineup with the potential of making megahits every year if they wanted, up to the quality that many would compare to Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, or now in modern day era, Pearl Jam. Anyways, now we all get to witness this performance. You could never tell thru this video that Axl hated every other bandmates guys by this point. Enjoy!!

Roqueiros são seres extremamente mutáveis. Aqui podemos ver 5 exemplos disso:

Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) - Década de 70 - 2009 (respectivamente)

Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) -Final da década de 80 - 2009

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) - Década de 70 - 2009

Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) - Início da década de 90 - 2009

W. Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) - Década de 80 - 2009

I love THIS Axl, not the axl with a jesus shirt and short shorts, not the fat axl with braids, I love THIS Axl, and this Axl only. If he still looked like this, I would still have a poster of him in my room.

Slash. *sigh* Slash Hudson, you are pretty damn amazing too.

I had that same neon phone in my room. When I saw the video I was STOKED…. and my mom immediately told me if I smashed it, she’d kill me. I also used to tie a hair brush to a string and lip-synch this song. God, I loved Axl. I loved this band SO much when this album came out.

WHY was I not legal and living in LA when these guys were looking like this? Yeah, I’d be a tore up old groupie, prolly chain smoking and drunk in a bar on Hollywood and Arlington by now…. but I would have some damn good stories.

Wait. I just realized I grew up to be this Axl! Skinny jeans, boots, quirky shirt, tons of necklaces, rings…. I can’t decide if that is awesome or creepy.

“The Floating Anniversary”

October 14th, 2009

I could take a gander at Cougar Town tonight, considering that I remain really perplexed at people who can’t seem to get beyond the show’s premise and Cox’s overacting to see a show that has a really strong emotional core, but since I didn’t get to cover The Middle’s pilot I figure I should discuss the show’s third episode. The show is not as inventive as Modern Family, or as diverse as Cougar Town (which I find more cohesive), but it is a solid family comedy that’s a bit reductive of Malcolm in the Middle but could have had a much worse fate.

What makes the show work is that it features good performances and has a surefire sitcom premise that is inarguably charming. I think the kids are decently engaging, Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn make believable parents, and perhaps more importantly the show has something to say about families dealing with an economic crisis. Where the show loses points in how it tends to stick to the same jokes, and how it relies too heavily on Patricia Heaton’s performance without letting the other parts of the show get their due.

“The Floating Anniversary” is perhaps the weakest episode yet, if only because it feels the least like an ensemble piece: while the pilot logically placed the emphasis on the biggest star who is at the heart of the show, I think the show needs to branch out beyond its stereotypes in order to really grab my attention.

The central thesis of this week’s episode is that the world cannot operate without Frankie. It’s a message that makes sense on some level, but it’s dangerously reductive: it implies that the actions of others are only important in terms of how they emerge from Frankie’s actions, how her decision to take 15 minutes to herself or proving too tired to pay attention to her daughter leads to complete catastrophe. It’s a very basic premise for a show, and the problem right now is that it’s holding back the other characters from really developing. The show hasn’t yet tried out any new combinations of characters, relying instead on Frankie’s individual relationships with them. When the show does give us new dynamics, like Chris Kattan and Axl or Mike and Sue, it makes me wish that we could get entire episodes that focus on different sets of characters.

It’s not that the show’s basic formula, of Frankie’s life turning into sheer chaos involving a dog in a wagon, a car accident, and a really embarassing message on the school’s P.A. system, is a problem: it’s a decent way to get character, and I like the idea that a carpet remnants trip would be a huge anniversary present for this family. The performances are charming, and the episode’s idea of being pulled in two directions by both younger and older generations, is solid.

But the characters really need to grow out of their current modes. Sue is a bit too witless when it comes to her athletic and romantic pursuits, and Axl needs to both put on pants and show some character traits beyond whining and opportunism. And Brick, who one could consider the “breakthrough” character from the pilot, has proven to be only a single joke, charming in his Dewey-like nature but not quite providing any comedy beyond his oddities. Even Flynn isn’t given much to do as Mike, and I’m waiting for the show to engage in new dimensions to these characters. Right now, everyone’s a co-worker, or a child, or a husband, to Heaton’s Frankie, and the show will need to emerge beyond this if I’m really going to get behind it.

Since there’s nothing else (right now) in the timeslot of interest, it’s a nice primer before Modern Family, but if something more interesting pops up in the timeslot I might let some episodes pile up and wait for word on how it works over time.

Cultural Observations

• One plus of the show: a dialed down Chris Kattan. I always thought he was good on SNL but his over-the-top acting never managed well outside of sketch comedy (or when the film in question was an SNL skit turned into a film). Here, he’s playing it largely straight, and I’m happy to see him getting some work.
• The introduction of the Aunts seemed somewhat quick and random, which is something the show needs to avoid: last week’s magical dryer implies that this is not an entirely realistic universe, but the more it seems like the show is pulling things out of thin air the less I find myself relating to the characters.
• Anyone else watching? The ratings were solid enough for a full season, so some people clearly are.

The Guns N’ Roses machine is heating back up again as the band are due for an Asian tour at the end of the year. This will be the first string of dates the band has played since releasing the infamous “Chinese Democracy” album. A promo video for the tour can be seen below!

Click here to watch!

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These are this Friday’s top day trader alert stocks.  We have more color and more detail on price and volume analysis linked through to each at VSInvestor.com:

AllState Corp. (NYSE: ALL) is holding up better than we would have expected considering a Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) had unbelievable options trading yesterday, although it appears to be a dividend capture trade… over 1 million SEPT-2009 contracts were traded yesterday on that basis.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is holding up rather well considering the downgrade.  We have color on price channels and trading patterns on this one because of how sketchy this stock is.

American Axle (NYSE: AXL) is soaring by 17% on an upgrade, a rather tall task for a research call.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is up about 50% on an FDA review date.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) may not be anywhere close to the old highs, but an analyst upgrade is helping it get close to challenging 52-week highs.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top day trader alerts, top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

These are this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations, and positive research calls seen early from Wall Street:

American Axle (NYSE: AXL) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Emulex (NYSE: ELX) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Progressive (NYSE: PGR) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Qwest (NYSE: Q) Raised to Market-Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Schlumerberger (NYSE: SLB) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Textron (NYSE: TXT) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week if you wish to be notified by email when the top upgrades and downgrades are out, for top day trader alerts, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Show do Guns N’ Roses na cidade de Oklahoma, EUA, em 1992. Antes de começar o show, aparecem filmagens de mulheres da platéia exibindo os seios. Na última parte de November Rain, algo acontece com a visão do Slash e faz ele errar e até parar de tocar guitarra por alguns segundos, então Axl pega a garrafa de água de cima do piano e taca nele querendo saber o que estava acontecendo, então quando termina a música, Axl se levanta do piano fazendo sinais de negativo com a cabeça e Slash explica o que havia acontecido e pede um tempo até começarem a tocar You Could Be Mine.
Set List

DVD 1
01. It’s So Easy
02. Mr. Brownstone
03. Nightrain
04. Live And Let Die
05. Attitude
06. Civil War
07. Wild Horses
08. Patience
09. November Rain
10. You Could Be Mine

DVD 2
11. Bateria solo
12. Guitarra solo
13. Sweet Child O Mine
14. Bad Obsession
15. So Fine
16. Pretty Tied Up
17. Knockin’ On Heavens Door
18. Estranged
19. Paradise City

Título : Guns n’ Roses Live at Oklahoma
Gênero : Musical.
Ano : 1992.
Audio : Inglês.

O espetáculo não pode parar, e o GUNS N’ROSES – a mais polêmica banda dos anos 90 – continua detonando seus grandes hits nesta verdadeira coleção de modernos clássicos do rock pesado. Milhares de japoneses assistem embasbacados uma das melhores apresentações do GN’R, no auge da turnê mundial do álbum duplo “Use Your Illusion”. Logo de cara o baterista Matt Sorum esbanja energia, espancando todas as peças de sua bateria num massacre solo que dura dez minutos!
O baixista Duff McKagan também dá seu recado e o monstruoso Slash experimenta o voice-box, cantando com as cordas de sua guitarra antes de arrasar num solo incendiário, que inclui o tema do filme “O Poderoso Chefão”.
O Grupo liderado por W. Axl Rose segue enfileirando canções inesquecíveis como a pesadona “You Could Be Mine”, as sacudidas “Rocket Queen”, “Paradise City”, a belíssima “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, de Bob Dylan, e as baladas pop “Sweet Child O’Mine” e “So Fine”.
O perfeito equilíbrio entre o peso e a melodia, num dos grandes espetáculos dos anos 70. Tóquio se rende à maior banda de hard rock do mundo neste documento histórico, para celebrar a essência dor rock, umá década depois de seu apogeu!

Set List

01. You Could Be Mine
02. Drum Solo & Guitar Solo
03. Theme From “The Godfather”
04. Sweet Child O’ Mine
05. So Fine
06. Rocket Queen
07. Move To The City
08. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
09. Estranged
10. Paradise City

Título : Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II.
Gênero: Musical.
Ano : 1992.
Audio: Dublado/Legendado.

A maior banda de hard rock da década de 90 realiza seu show mais ambicioso diante de uma platéia de ensandecidos fãs de japoneses. Liderado pelo irrequieto vocalista W. Axl Rose, o GUNS N ROSES detona uma sucessão irresistível de grandes sucessos do rock pesado, destacando as faixas do disco que dá nome a este DVD.
A turnê mundial do álbum “User Your Illusion” marcou o auge da carreira do GN R, e logo a seguir o conturbado final desta formação original. Canções marcantes como “Nightrain”, “Mr. Brownstone”, “Live and Left Die” (dedicada a Paul McCartney), “It s So Easy” e o blues psicodélico “Bad Obsession” não deixam o ritmo cair.
O baixista Duff McKagan assume os vocais na canção punk “Attitude”, dos Misfits, e a banda segue o massacre sonoro intercalando o peso de Pretty Tied Up”, “Welcome to the Jungle” e “Double Talkin Jive” com as baladas sentimentais “Don t Cry”, “Patience”, a épica “November Rain” e a engajada “Civil War”. Além da incrível sequência de canções, Slash esbanja técnica e feeling rum solo “hendrixiano” na guitarra e depois duela com Izzy Stradling em “Wild Horses”, dos Rolling Stones. A energia do GUNS N ROSES continua contagiante!

Set List

01. Introduction
02. Nightrain
03. Mr. Brownstone
04. Live and Let Die
05. It s So Easy
06. Bad Obsession
07. Attitude
08. Pretty Tied Up
09. Welcome to The Jungle
10. Don t Cry
11. Double Talkin Jive
12. Civil War
13. Wild Horses
14. Patience
15. November Rain

Título : Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I.
Gênero: Musical.
Ano : 1992.
Audio: Dublado/Legendado.

From Slash to Jimmy Page to David Gilmour to Hendrix to Mark Knopfler to Clapton to BB King, how can I pick one guitar solo which kicks arse over all others?

These men can all hold their own and then some, they are all musical geniuses in their own right.

Slash, the shy man with a mop of curls to hide his face allows you into another world with his deeply rich and soul penetrating solos; this is a man of sickening talent.  He was the quiet backbone of Guns and Roses whilst Axl sucked up all the glory, the man made the band what it was. He has played alongside some other serious talent over the years including Bob Dylan, James Brown, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.  Slash can be found still making musical history today, with his band Velvet Revolver.

Check out Slash
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Jimmy Page and Stairway to Heaven, my God, this is a serious contender for number one.   Strapping on a double necked guitar and playing it like a weightless extension of his own arm, Page’s solo takes the song beyond anything Led Zeppelin could have ever become without him.

Check out Jimmy Page

Here I am confused again.  David Gilmour in the opening solo of “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” is just… mesmerising, entrancing, tear invoking.  Nobody can argue against the brilliance of Pink Floyd.

Check out David Gilmour

Hendrix, yeah we all know he was a-fucking-mazing.  In 1966 he was quoted as saying “I want to do to my guitar what Little Richards does with his voice”.  Well, you got there Jimmy and then you steamed rolled right over the top of him.

Check out Jimmy Hendrix (playing a solo with his teeth)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsgHyauIUZY&feature=fvw

Dire Straits are one of my favourite bands of all time.  Mark Knopfler and his guitar solos make me weak at the knees.  He has to go down in the hall of fame for ‘Sultans of Swing’.

Check out Mark Knopfler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j34gG2xR3I

Good old Eric, the self taught guitarist who everyone holds close to their hearts, even through seeing him in concert and realising his insane lack of people skills (sore point).   The man can play!  Check out ‘Layla’.

Check out Eric Clapton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIBxn8arV3w

And finally, BB King!  Watch the big man play in ‘The Thrill is gone’.  His facial expressions speak for themselves, he is pouring out his soul through inspirational guitar blues.

Check out BB King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtm66Z3lebc

If I had a gun to my head and had to pick just one from this selection… I’d go with Gilmour, followed by Slash, followed by Hendrix, followed by Page… ARGH I can’t do it.  Wouldn’t you like to see them all on one stage ripping each other apart with their guitars?  I fear that would be the only way to tell.

These are this Tuesday’s early analyst downgrades and cautious research calls which we have seen from Wall Street research firms:

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
American Axle (AXL) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Disney (DIS) Cut to Hold at Lazard.
Nokia (NOK) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Verizon (VZ) Cut to HOLD at Auriga.

JON C. OGG

DETROIT, MI., Aug. 19 (TOTI) –

American Axle shares are up 17.4% on news of a cash infusion from General Motors. The parts maker had been struggling and many investors were concerned about the future if the company did not receive fresh capital.

In the last two trading days, the company’s shares have posted a 118% gain as investors seemed buoyed by GM’s decision to infuse AXL with $210 million of fresh funds.

AXL is attempting to restructure its debt in a plan to remain solvent and to once again become competitive. Judging from investor enthusiasm, many people feel this plan is viable.

The deal is structured so that AXL will get $110 million for costs associated with GM’s bankruptcy and then General Motors will give AXL a second-lien term-loan facility for up to an additional $100 million. The parts maker can draw from th…

See the full post at American Axle And Manufacturing Up 17%

“Guns N’ Roses har världens bästa riff” kan man läsa i Aftonbladet på nätet idag. “Well tell me something new säger jag då”. Det där har jag och många med mig vetat i över 20 år.

Vilken är låten då, undrar säkert alla ni tondöva där ute? Jo, Sweet child o’mine så klart säger jag då.

Det är The Sun som gjort en undersökning bland 5 ooo musiklärare och resultatet var “klart och tydligt”. Vad ska man säga och tycka om det? It’s yesterdays news. Det där har vi musikälskare vetat sedan den 21 juli 1987. Det var då Guns n Roses album Appetite for destruction släpptes och jag blev ett stort fan till både Slash och Axl och är det fortfarande.

Det är helt klart en av de bästa skivorna i världen.

今天够忙的，总共有四个trade:

1)开盘不久在2.45到2.5之间吧AXL卖出。其实随后AXL曾经突破3块。

2)同样开盘不久在4.05左右把NCS卖出。期间还有一个曲折：下单时没注意，卖单下成买单，在4.07买了1400股。后来赶紧卖掉。其实后来一度涨到4.4以上。

总结这两个trade，似乎从舍不得卖矫枉过正到卖早了。以后试验强势时把stop提到10%。

3)SQNM早盘走了一个大V字，在5.84买了3000股。又用MB买了1000股。事后深思，觉得是不甘心上次买SQNM还没结果，想要bail out这个trade，想要证明自己原来是对的。这实在是trading大忌。但是SQNM因为有周四的earning release,所以至少会再持有到release发布之前。

4)2点左右看到YRCW也涨起来了，在1.56用MB买了1000股，结果是当天最高价。按照纪律和前几天的笔记当突破1.74在买的。