Neall Alcott

Blimey, I never saw this on Crocodile Hunter…

Here’s an excellent report of the dinner with Iranian President Ahmadinejad! He had dinner with a number of leading American journalists. I read reports that the dinner took place, but I haven’t seen any news articles or reports telling what was discussed (I probably just missed them).

My dinner with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

In some respects I agree with Trudy’s final synapsis: Ahmadinejad is not a Hitler. At least not in terms of pure power. He is just an expendable puppet for the ruling clerics. But my gut tells me he’s simply crazy… which is much closer to the “scary” Hitler analogy. And my fear is that somehow (maybe through military coup or fanatical uprising) Ahmadinejad is able to take full control. Right now, it doesn’t look like even a remote possibility. But if conditions deteriorate within and without Iran (either through war or sanctions), he may be able to exploit it. He’s building relationships with other despots like Chavez… who knows what kind of support he has in the Iranian military.

Anyway, it’s a good column that provides an upclose and somewhat personal look at Ahmadinejad. Check it out!

Wow! It’s been a week since Rittenhouse Square was released and I’m very happy with the response it’s received. So I thought I’d give everyone an update on what’s been happening:

First, I want to thank each of you that bought a CD! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Your support really means a lot to me. I was really unsure about going the extra mile and getting CDs made, but I’m glad I did it.

For those of you that haven’t picked up a CD yet, what are you waiting for? :-)

Maybe you are waiting for the album to be on iTunes… well, your wait is over! I woke up on Saturday morning, and to my surprise I’m now on iTunes. Click on the link below to buy Rittenhouse Square on iTunes:

Rittenhouse Square can also be found on Napster, SoundClick, and PayPlay.FM. You can find links to these other services and purchase CDs on my main page at http://www.neallalcott.com.

If you would like to purchase a CD, let me know. I try to always have some with me. So if you see me at work or play, let me know and you’ll save a few dollars on shipping.

If you like the songs, please buy a CD or pick it up on iTunes, Napster, etc. Also, please let others know about it! Your support will make it possible for me to produce more songs and continue to market this CD!

Reviews

I found this on a web site called Absolute Powerpop:

Neall Alcott-Rittenhouse Square. Just when I thought there were only two ways to spell the name that’s a homonym of “kneel” (Neil and Neal), here comes Mr. Alcott and his two “l”s. In the end, he can spell his name any way he wants if he’s going to churn out quality discs like this one, a fine combination of Beatle-pop and Britpop that recalls artists well known (XTC, Michael Penn) and others featured on this site (Steve Robinson, Gary Henson). If this isn’t one of the better unheralded discs you’ll hear lately, then my name isn’t Steeve, er Steave.

Thanks Steeve or Steave or Steve! BTW, I’ve been living with this spelling my entire life and I’ve heard it all.

Web Stats

I thought I would share some web sites statistics that I found interesting:

385 people from 18 countries visited my web site since the CD release (9/15). The countries are: US, UK, Canada, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, France, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Iraq, Bulgaria, India, Malaysia, Sweden, Afghanistan, and Lithuania.

Most of the visits were from the US and UK (understandable) but I was really surprised by Iraq and Afghanistan… I assume they were soldiers and not others (Osama, you old goat… you shouldn’t have!). It’s pretty cool to know that people around the world are listening to my songs!

Playlists

Songs from the album have been added to the playlists on the following Internet Radio Stations:

Gator Radio - Orlando, FL
All Indie Radio - Camano Island, WA
The Band House Live - Valdosta, GA
WGAD - Rochester, NY
XYZMP3.com Radio - Austin,Texas
The URock Network - Linwood, PA

Podcasts

Songs from the album were played on the following podcasts:

The Homemade Hit Show #85 - UK
The Homemade Hit Show is broadcast out of the UK and is hosted by Tony Butterworth. Tony’s show concentrates on music created by people in their homes / home studios. Tony played the title track, Rittenhouse Square.

Jaan’s World #9 - Wilmington, DE
Jaan’s World is hosted by Jaan Lutter. Jaan lives in Wilmington, DE and plays all kinds of music. He tends to highlight at least one song per show from a PA, DE, or NJ musician. Jaan played the title track, Rittenhouse Square.

Well, that’s it for this week. Thanks for everyone’s support and help!

As always, thanks for listening, spreading the good word and for reading my blog…

Thanks!

Neall

The Phillies don’t have a lot of room for error, so it’s kind of depressing to note that they lost to the Nats today and the Mets pulled one out against the Marlins in extra innings:

Mets win ‘big one,’ move closer to East crown

I don’t think the Eagles have scored this many points since…… the last time they played the Lions.

I don’t know if they righted the ship or not, but this was pretty impressive all around. Maybe it was the blue and gold uniforms. Maybe it was the fans booing McNabb during the preshow. Maybe the Lions just stink. Maybe maybe maybe…

McNabb answers critics with superb outing

Next up: The Giants!

When you hear the term “IED” mentioned during news reports of attacks on the troops in Iraq, this is what they are talking about:

Luckily it looks like no one got hurt with this one. IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices, are either buried in the roadway or planted in culverts that run under roads by terrorists.

Hattip: Powerline

They’re still in it. And it doesn’t look good for the Mets:

Phillies rally, inch closer to Mets in NL East

The last part of a series of dispatches from Michael Yon in Iraq:

Some of the 1920s were about 300 meters down the road by now, and walking into the ambush that had apparently been set for us. BOOOOOMMMM! The detonation looked like it must have killed five or ten of them. What comes next is often shooting and more bombs, so I dove for cover while turning on the video camera, and since I have been practicing shooting both cameras at the same time, got some still shots. The firing went on and on. I wasn’t sure if it was just our guys (meaning Americans, IAs and 1920s) firing, or if we were in a real firefight.

He has posted video of the firefight too.

WARNING: There are graphic photos from the fighting - so be forewarned:
Michael Yon: Hunting Al Qaeda Part III of III

LOL

Let’s see…

1. I anchored a news segment that used forged documents to attack the President.
2. I then refused to acknowledge that the documents were forged.
3. After evidence is produced to prove the documents are forged, I still stand by the story by saying it was still “true” - the infamous “Fake But Accurate” defense.
4. I’m forced to retire in disgrace.
5. I become a laughingstock.

What should I do… what should I do…

I got it! I’ll sue my former employee and say it was all their fault! What a great idea! I’m so smart!

Wait… what do you mean I will be deposed? The trial will last a long time and revisit everything about the documents? And my behavior? And my professionalism?

Oh… I didn’t think of that!

This is going to be great! Grab the popcorn boys!

Rather files $70 million lawsuit against CBS

Mets beat the Nats last night to end their losing streak. The Phils lost to the Cards 2-1 in 10 innings. They are now 2.5 games back:

Mets end 5-game losing streak, top Nats - Baseball - MSNBC.com

It seems like whenever his skills are in question, he throws this kind of stuff out there:

McNabb: Black QBs face greater scrutiny

In an interview on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” to be broadcast Tuesday, McNabb said black quarterbacks “have to do a little bit extra” because there are relatively few of them, adding “people didn’t want us to play this position.”
McNabb said if he passes for 300 yards and his team wins by a touchdown, critics will say, “Oh, he could have made this throw here. We would have scored more points if he would have done this.”

Asked if white quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer are held to the same standards, McNabb replied: “Let me start by saying, I love those guys. But they don’t get criticized as much as we do. They don’t.”

I have never heard anyone mention race when talking about Donovan (other than Rush Limbaugh obviously - and we all know how that turned out). In Philly, I usually hear comments about him being too sensitive to criticism. And when I read stuff like this, it tells me that that is spot on!

I think this might be a hoax and poor John Kerry (God, I can’t believe I just wrote that!) is caught in the middle… at least I hope that’s the case. If not, then this is a great case of out of control cops.

Phillies win in 14th, move within 1 1/2 of Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies kept their rapid playoff charge going with a wild win on a long night.

Pinch-hitter Rod Barajas singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the 14th inning, Jayson Werth added a two-run triple and Philadelphia beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Tuesday to move within 1½ games of first-place New York in the NL East.

It reminds me of the move Major League. I feel like I am one of the groundskeepers who, while the Indians are making their playoff run, keep saying “They’re still shitty”…

Let’s hope they keep winning, but I can’t get my hopes up with their bullpen.

I forgot to post part I, so here are 2 great dispatches from Michael Yon from Iraq. If you want an upclose and personal report of what’s going on in Iraq (both good and bad), read Michael’s reports:

Hunting Al Qaeda, Part I of III

Stanislav told me about Dmitry, and how they’d conversed in Russian for hours. He said Dmitry had covered Chechnya, Baghdad and other places, and like many people, thought those fights prepared him to manage the danger in Baqubah, where the enemy was as good as or better than any in Iraq. Dmitry had been looking for action and despite the warnings of this seasoned 20-year-old soldier to be careful looking for action here in Baqubah, Dmitry pushed on. There was genuine sadness in his voice when Stanislav related how he received news the next day that the Stryker carrying Dmitry into the action he craved had been obliterated by a gigantic bomb in Baqubah. Dmitry and the soldiers were killed.

Hunting Al Qaeda, Part II of III

I watched during the Senate hearings on 11 September 07 as some Senators attempted to corner General Petraeus, insinuating that the war in Iraq was a distraction from the fight against al Qaeda. It was clearly that during the initial invasion, but not today. These photos were taken at the center of what al Qaeda claimed to be their worldwide headquarters. Listening to some of the Senators’ questions, the true magnitude of the gulf between what is happening in Iraq and what people in America think is happening in Iraq became apparent. Some Senators clearly had been doing their homework and were asking smart questions—if negative at times—but others seemed completely ignorant of the ground situation here, which adds nothing meaningful to the debate.

The Mets are doing their best to get the Phillies into the payoffs!

Mets bumble, stumble to 4th straight loss

If the Phillies can keep winning, they’ll at least get the wild card spot, but they may even end up with the NL East title!

That’s the optimist in me talking…

The fatalistic Philly fan in me is saying “They already have vacations and cruises scheduled in October and they are non-refundable…”

We’ll see.