The Ramblings of Me

The "I'm Still Here" Ramblings

2006-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

So....I'm still here. I know it seems like I just throw up some NFL picks every week (which I do), but I still care about the half dozen of you fair readers out there. Since I have the week off from DOA, I will give you some extended ramblings. On with it.

Of course, I have to start with the NFL picks, so let's review last week (winner in italics)

Seattle over San Francisco (No way the 49ers win in Seattle...no way)
Dallas over Atlanta (Where is Matt Schaub when you need him?)
Miami over Buffalo (I don't think that defense will let JP Losman beat them)
Green Bay over Detroit (FIRE MATT MILLEN!!!)
Minnesota over NY Jets (I think the Vikings can sneak in the playoffs with an easy schedule)
New Orleans over Washington (If I were Joe Gibbs, I would be wishing to see cars make left turns again)Baltimore over Cleveland (Duh!!)
St. Louis over Oakland (The Rams did score 27 points against the Bears)
San Diego over Kansas City (Did you know Marty-Ball hasn't won a playoff game since '93?)
Chicago over Tampa Bay (Duh 2!!!)
Jacksonville over Tennessee (After the Jags destroyed the Colts, look out)
New England over Houston (Tom Brady is pissed after being dominated by the Dolphins)
Pittsburgh over Carolina (The Panthers aren't that good....at all)
Denver over Arizona (Jay Cutler is coming along nicely, eh?)
NY Giants over Philadelphia (I think the Giants have just enough)
Indianapolis over Cincinnati (Simply because the Colts are at home, and they desperately need a win)

10-6 last week, which brings my record to: 100-78 (.562 winning percentage).

Other thoughts on Week 15:
-How about Alex Smith having his coming out party against Seattle? I'm like a proud papa for this kid.
-The Colts looked like the Colts on Monday night, much to my relief.
-The Bears are going to be hurting in the Playoffs if Tim Rattay can tear them up.
-All Vince Young does is win football games.
-Buffalo will be good next year.
-How do you think Brady Quinn will look in Raider black?
-San Diego still looks really, really good.

And now the picks for Week 16 (home team in bold)
Green Bay over Minnesota (Ugh...The NFL Network didn't pick a good one)
Kansas City over Oakland (LJ is pissed, even though he leads the league in carries...what?)
Chicago over Detroit (Duh!!)
Tennesse over Buffalo (I just can't bet against VY write now)
Atlanta over Carolina (So much for my pick of the Panthers to get to the Super Bowl)
Indianapolis over Houston (Duh!! again)
Tampa Bay over Cleveland (Why not?)
Baltimore over Pittsburgh (The Ravens will still beat the resilient Steelers)
Jacksonville over New England (The Jags are a different team at home)
New Orleans over NY Giants (Tough one, but I love Drew Brees)
Washington over St. Louis (I have no idea)
San Francisco over Arizona (Of course I'm gonna pick the 49ers)
San Diego over Seattle (The Chargers are good, and the Seahawks aren't)
Cincinnati over Denver (The Bengals will bounce back in a big way)
Philadelphia over Dallas (I'm gonna have to take the Eagles)

Wow, I only picked 4 home teams. Ummm...I guess we will see.

And now onto some other ramblings...

So, after January 1st I wll be out of work. My bosses decided to eliminate my position. It happens. I'm not really too broken up about it, to be honest with you, my fair readers. It will work out the best for all those involoved.

Big news on the newspaper front, as I have cancelled my South Bend Tribune, to start getting the Chicago Tribune. Hey, I love the South Bend paper, but I can get the Chicago paper delivered to my house for less. It just makes sense.

Christmas time is here, and I generally loathe the holidays. It just seems that they drag out so far. But, I must admit that, now that I have a child, their is something special about this time of year, indeed.

Don't forget to visit DOA on January 1st to see the year end extravaganza!!

Currently:
Listening to: Tragically Hip, Beatles, Led Zeppelin
Reading: Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
Watching: Okonokos by My Morning Jacket

The NBA is in full swing, and believe it or not, I have been paying attention. Let's run through some of the things that I have been following:
-A.I. finally gets traded to the Nuggets. I think it is a good deal for both teams, but I just don't think that it makes Denver better than Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, or the Lakers.
-The Commish is switching back to the old ball. It was a dumb move to switch in the first place.
-The Bulls look like they might run away with the East. I mean, who will stop them. Orlando? New Jersey? Detroit? Maybe....maybe not.
-Now that Minnesota is out of the running for AI, they need to move KG. He deserves to play for a winner.
-How about those Knicks? Two straight buzzer beaters after the brawl.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Mahalo....Good night and good luck.

The New December Ramblings

2006-12-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

So...another missed week of the NFL. Another week without a post from your humble narrator. Sorry. Let's get to the NFL review from Week 13 first. (winner it Italics)

Baltimore over Cincinnati (After their total domination of the Steelers, it's hard not to pick the Ravens)
San Diego over Buffalo (The Chargers, with Merriman back, are downright scary)
Chicago over Minnesota (Rex's jawing is a moot point, it's the defense that speaks volumes)
Kansas City over Cleveland (No one is talking about the phenomenal season Larry Johnson is having)
Green Bay over NY Jets (I don't know why.)
Indianapolis over Tennessee (The Titans just don't have enough)
Arizona over St Louis (Who's ready for a 42-35 shootout?)
New England over Detroit (Why hasn't Matt Millen been fired yet?)
New Orleans over San Francisco (Sean Payton probably has to be Coach of the Year at this point)
Washington over Atlanta (Two of the biggest enigmas this year. Why not?)
Oakland over Houston (The Raiders D is pretty damn good. Ask LT)
Miami over Jacksonville (I just can't get behind the Jags)
Dallas over NY Giants (Tom Coughlin has lost this team, and Eli looks like a dog seeing a card trick, completely baffled)
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay (Why not? The Steelers have to beat somebody, right?)
Denver over Seattle (I like Jay Cutler, and I predicted this was the week it would happen)
Carolina over Philadelphia (When will Carolina start playing like Carolina?)

Another damned 8-8 week. Current record is 90-72 (556% winning percentage). Still pretty good. Now for the picks for Week 15 (home team in bold)
Seattle over San Francisco (No way the 49ers win in Seattle...no way)
Dallas over Atlanta (Where is Matt Schaub when you need him?)
Miami over Buffalo (I don't think that defense will let JP Losman beat them)
Green Bay over Detroit (FIRE MATT MILLEN!!!)
Minnesota over NY Jets (I think the Vikings can sneak in the playoffs with an easy schedule)
New Orleans over Washington (If I were Joe Gibbs, I would be wishing to see cars make left turns again)
Baltimore over Cleveland (Duh!!)
St. Louis over Oakland (The Rams did score 27 points against the Bears)
San Diego over Kansas City (Did you know Marty-Ball hasn't won a playoff game since '93?)
Chicago over Tampa Bay (Duh 2!!!)
Jacksonville over Tennessee (After the Jags destroyed the Colts, look out)
New England over Houston (Tom Brady is pissed after being dominated by the Dolphins)
Pittsburgh over Carolina (The Panthers aren't that good....at all)
Denver over Arizona (Jay Cutler is coming along nicely, eh?)
NY Giants over Philadelphia (I think the Giants have just enough)
Indianapolis over Cincinnati (Simply because the Colts are at home, and they desperately need a win)

I just don't feel much like writing today. I have pumped out about 2400 words for DOA in the last four days, and I still have a review to finish before the weekend. Mahalo, Good night and good luck.

The Random Ramblings

2006-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know. It hurts. I have had to limit myself to one blog a week, due to my hectic writing schedule. But, changes could be on the horizon, so we may get back to the old days of 2-3 posts a week. But, until then, we'll just have to get used to one huge post a week. Okay. Are we cool?

So, the Thanksgiving holiday came and went without much noise around my house. My wife and I took advantage of the surprisingly warm weather, to take care of some outdoor projects that we needed to finish. Of course, the warm weather has now left, and we are expecting 2-6 inches of snow here in Northern Indiana in the next couple of days. Such is life.

The NFL has been a study of the classic "any given Sunday" theory this season. It has been tough to pick games this year, and I just have to stay focused. Anyway, let's go over the picks from Week 12 (winner in Italics)
Miami over Detroit (I never thought Joey Harrington would be part of a 3 game winning streak)
Dallas over Tampa Bay (If Peyton couldn't beat them, what chance does Gradkowski have?)
Kansas City over Denver (Look for the Jay Cutler era to start next week)
Arizona over Minnesota (The Vikings' freefall continues)
Carolina over Washington (Not a good week to be Jason Campbell)
Cincinnati over Cleveland (Can the Bengals still make the playoffs?)
NY Jets over Houston (The Texans are about hopeless)
Jacksonville over Buffalo (I have no idea)
New Orleans over Atlanta (Tough to pick between two struggling teams)
Baltimore over Pittsburgh (The Steelers' aren't making the playoffs..deal with it)
San Francisco over St Louis (Why aren't more people talking about a .500 49ers team?)
San Diego over Oakland (Over/under on TD's for LT=4)
Chicago over New England (I just want the Bears to win so bad)
NY Giants over Tennessee (Can Eli right this ship?)
Indianapolis over Philadelphia (Now that the Colts have lost, look for them to blow out the Eagles)
Seattle over Green Bay (I think?)

So not bad at 10-6, including a three game sweep on Thanksgiving. Giving me a total of 82-64 (.569%). Getting better, getting better.
Some other random NFL notes.
-Alex Smith has a better passer rating than Brett Favre, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger. Just thought you should know.
-The Chargers just continue to find ways to win. The Oakland D is pretty stout, eh?
-The Bears need to get it together if they want to win a playoff game. Let's hope Good Rex makes an appearance.
-The Dolphins are hot, but their isn't going to be room for them to make the Playoffs.
-The Colts look good, and I really like their strategy with Joseph Addai. He still looks very fresh.
-The Patriots aren't going to the Super Bowl. I can't see them beating the Colts, Chargers, Cheifs, or Broncos right now.
-Was the Junior Seau broken arm the most disgusting sight of the season? Yes.

Let's take a look at Week 13, with home teams in bold.

Baltimore over Cincinnati (After their total domination of the Steelers, it's hard not to pick the Ravens)
San Diego over Buffalo (The Chargers, with Merriman back, are downright scary)
Chicago over Minnesota (Rex's jawing is a moot point, it's the defense that speaks volumes)
Kansas City over Cleveland (No one is talking about the phenomenal season Larry Johnson is having)
Green Bay over NY Jets (I don't know why.)
Indianapolis over Tennessee (The Titans just don't have enough)
Arizona over St Louis (Who's ready for a 42-35 shootout?)
New England over Detroit (Why hasn't Matt Millen been fired yet?)
New Orleans over San Francisco (Sean Payton probably has to be Coach of the Year at this point)
Washington over Atlanta (Two of the biggest enigmas this year. Why not?)
Oakland over Houston (The Raiders D is pretty damn good. Ask LT)
Miami over Jacksonville (I just can't get behind the Jags)
Dallas over NY Giants (Tom Coughlin has lost this team, and Eli looks like a dog seeing a card trick, completely baffled)
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay (Why not? The Steelers have to beat somebody, right?)
Denver over Seattle (I like Jay Cutler, and I predicted this was the week it would happen)
Carolina over Philadelphia (When will Carolina start playing like Carolina?)

Now for some other ramblings.

Still working on some year end stuff for DOA. It's pretty cool to have a column, and be able to use the space how I want. It just takes a lot of time to pump out a column a week.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge was again dominated by the ACC this week. Poor Indiana played their guts out, falling just short to Duke, and Ohio State was outlasted by North Carolina in a track meet. At least Purdue beat a surprising Virginia team, otherwise things would have looked really bad.

I don't care about all of the Notre Dame haters out there. The Irish will get a BCS bid, and that is that. People love to watch the Irish on TV, and they bring in a ton of money, and fans. Just let it go, and hope they break their decade long bowl futility.

Currently I've been listening to a lot of Screaming Trees, My Morning Jacket, Colour Revolt, and a ton of stuff from 2006. Still reading the same stuff, and not watching a hell of a lot of TV.

I'm still not writing about politics. Their I feel better.

I'm here to take a stand against hippies. Much like Cartman, I despise hippies. They stink. They think everything is "cool". They listen to shitty music. They stink. They dress terribly. The women don't shave. They smoke way too much pot. They are unmotivated. They stink. They always say that you're not really "free". They are way into conspiracy theories. They stink.

Why all the hatred for a fun loving, peaceful group of people? I don't know. A reader of the blog, read a recent DOA column and wanted me to elaborate on my disdain for hippies. I guess it is a pretty irrational hatred, and I even know of a couple of hippies and they seem pretty cool.

But, I have been hanging out, and hippies have ruined good times for me. And when I go to a concert, their always seems to be a damn hippie faction playing hacky-sack, and taking up way too much space.
Now, I feel better for getting that off my chest.

Everyone enjoy their weekends. Mahalo. Good night and good luck.

The Thanksgiving Ramblings

2006-11-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

So, another year, another Thanksgiving. I just know I will dread this year's Christmas season. I have seen decorations up at stores since Halloween. Why do they try to make Christmas come earlier every year? Oh yeah, money. Duh!

Anyway, with that in mind, let's get on with some extended holiday ramblings, including a sneak peek at my year end awards.

Let's go through the NFL picks from Week 11. (winner in italics)
Baltimore over Atlanta (The Falcons remain an enigma)
Houston over Buffalo (I have no idea)
Chicago over NY Jets (The Bears will beat the Jets, much the same way the beat the Giants)
New Orleans over Cincinnati (The Bengals' freefall continues)
Miami over Minnesota (The Dolphins' are playing better, as of late)
New England over Green Bay (If the Pats lose, then should we be worried?)
Kansas City over Oakland (I believe Art Shell needs to call Jeff George. Seriously)
Pittsburgh over Cleveland (The Steelers might be the best 3-6 team ever)
Carolina over St. Louis (The Panthers are starting to hit their stride)
Philadelphia over Tennessee (No way Vince Young beats Dononvan McNabb)
Tampa Bay over Washington (Another I have no idea game)
Detroit over Arizona (Kitna can throw, but can the defense stop anyone)
Seattle over San Francisco (Hasselback might be back, and so might the MVP)
Indianapolis over Dallas (Until they lose, I can't pick against Colts)
Denver over San Diego (Marty-ball doesn't do well in Denver)
NY Giants over Jacksonville (The Jags can't hang with the Giants)

So a middling 8-8 this week, bringing my totals to 72-58 (.553 %). Not too bad, but not too good either. Well, anyway, here are the picks for Week 12 (home team in bold)
Miami over Detroit (I never thought Joey Harrington would be part of a 3 game winning streak)
Dallas over Tampa Bay (If Peyton couldn't beat them, what chance does Gradkowski have?)
Kansas City over Denver (Look for the Jay Cutler era to start next week)
Arizona over Minnesota (The Vikings' freefall continues)
Carolina over Washington (Not a good week to be Jason Campbell)
Cincinnati over Cleveland (Can the Bengals still make the playoffs?)
NY Jets over Houston (The Texans are about hopeless)
Jacksonville over Buffalo (I have no idea)
New Orleans over Atlanta (Tough to pick between two struggling teams)
Baltimore over Pittsburgh (The Steelers' aren't making the playoffs..deal with it)
San Francisco over St Louis (Why aren't more people talking about a .500 49ers team?)
San Diego over Oakland (Over/under on TD's for LT=4)
Chicago over New England (I just want the Bears to win so bad)
NY Giants over Tennessee (Can Eli right this ship?)
Indianapolis over Philadelphia (Now that the Colts have lost, look for them to blow out the Eagles)
Seattle over Green Bay (I think?)

Now that we have that out of the way, here's some other rambling stuff.

Had my latest column posted on DOA this week. I am very proud of the work, so do check it out. Speaking of my column, I will doing my own awards for the end of the year, and here is a sneak peek of 4 albums that will make my TOP TWENTY of 2006:
Brian VanderArk-Angel, Put Your Face On
TV on the Radio-Return to Cookie Mountain
The Strokes-First Impressions of Earth
Bernard Fanning-Tea and Sympathy

Some other categories will include classic ones like: Single of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Overrated Artist of the Year, Worst Album of the Year, Best "New to Me Music" of the Year, Biggest Surprise of the Year. I really look forward to writing that column, so be prepared for a long one.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of the food. My wife and I do a good job of alternating between her family and mine, ever year. That way we save ourselves a decision. We just remember where we went last year, and that is that.

And with that, I will wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! Good night and good luck.

The "Weekend in Sports" Ramblings

2006-11-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

So, a tremendous weekend of sports awaits us. Too bad, I might be too busy to enjoy it all. Anyway, let's start with some NFL picks, home team in bold.

Baltimore over Atlanta (The Falcons remain an enigma)
Houston over Buffalo (I have no idea)
Chicago over NY Jets (The Bears will beat the Jets, much the same way the beat the Giants)
New Orleans over Cincinnati (The Bengals' freefall continues)
Miami over Minnesota (The Dolphins' are playing better, as of late)
New England over Green Bay (If the Pats lose, then should we be worried?)
Kansas City over Oakland (I believe Art Shell needs to call Jeff George. Seriously)
Pittsburgh over Cleveland (The Steelers might be the best 3-6 team ever)
Carolina over St. Louis (The Panthers are starting to hit their stride)
Philadelphia over Tennessee (No way Vince Young beats Dononvan McNabb)
Tampa Bay over Washington (Another I have no idea game)
Detroit over Arizona (Kitna can throw, but can the defense stop anyone)
Seattle over San Francisco (Hasselback might be back, and so might the MVP)
Indianapolis over Dallas (Until they lose, I can't pick against Colts)
Denver over San Diego (Marty-ball doesn't do well in Denver)
NY Giants over Jacksonville (The Jags can't hang with the Giants)

Of course, we have Michigan-Ohio State on Saturday. My pick-Ohio State 17-13.

The NBA is in full swing, and here are a few observations of the games I've seen so far:
-The new ball sucks. I have never seen so many shots hit the back of the rim, and go in. Turnovers are up, shooting is down, and scoring is down. Mr. Stern, it's time to go back to the old ball.
-Kevin Garnett is still a force, but until he gets out of Minnesota, he won't taste the playoff this year.
-The Bulls still lack a consistent crunch time scorer. Hello, Corey Magette?
-The Lakers are going to be just fine.
-The Heat are really, really old.
-LeBron and the class of '03 continue to impress.
-The class of '06 looks lost.
-The Celtics need to fire Doc Rivers....now.

My Indiana Hoosiers lost to Butler the other night, and they better blow out Indiana State tonight, or I might start to get worried.

That is all I have for everyone, good night and good luck.

The November Ramblings

2006-11-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah.....No NFL picks last week. Sorry about that. I have no picks to review, but I still have some ramblings for those fair readers out there.

I watched my beloved Indiana Hoosiers almost lose to Lafayette last night at Conseco Fieldhouse, and all I can say is: They better get better. Any Big Ten team would have had the Hoosiers beat last night. Hopefully, it was just first game jitters, and they can stop Butler tonight.

I am actually kind of glad I didn't pick games this weekend. I probably would have went 6-10. I mean you have the Browns, Jets, Texans all win in the same week. You have got to be kidding me. Some other notes from Week 10:
-The Bears beat the Giants. I don't want to hear about how many injuries the Giants had and all that crap. The Bears were simply better in the second half, and Eli crapped the bed.
-This year's edition of the Colts looks more and more like a true playoff team. A team that has to run the final six minutes off the clock to secure a win, now that can come in handy in January.
-Finally, the Redskins will bench Mark Brunell this week. This came about a year too late.
-The Pats are in a bit of a free fall, right now...look for them to run the ball a whole lot more in the coming weeks.
-The Bengals are DONE!
-The Chargers could have been blown out, but came back nicely. They still aren't elite, yet. And remember who their coach is.
-With Minnesota still struggling, Atlanta remains the only enigma team right now. I just don't know what to think of them.
-Alex Smith's numbers: 14-20 136 yards 0 td o int
-How about the A-Train hooking himself up to the rejuvination machine for Buffalo?
-My record, having missed two weeks, is 64-50(.561 winning percentage)

The Democrats now control both houses of Congress. I'm not going to talk politics right now, but check my newest review for DOA, which should be posted some time this week.

Just got the new album from The Killers in the mail (thanks DOA!) and I'm not too sure what to make of it at this point. It is very anthemic, but Brandon Flowers' voice is just a little too warbly for my taste. Anyway, a full review for that will be posted some time next week on DOA.

No real news to report on the homefront. My beautiful wife and daughter are great, and they remain my reason. The weather has been typical and everything is fine.

Just trying to think about all the scenarios that can play out for the BCS is driving me crazy. Just do a stupid tournament and get it over with.

My writing schedule has become incredibly hectic. Not only do I try to keep this strange little blog going, I write a review for DOA every week, and a column for DOA every week. For someone who has a full time job, and a family, this is a lot. Not that I'm making excuses, but please try to understand. I will have picks for the NFL games on Friday, as well as some other random thoughts.

The "Surprise Monday" Ramblings

2006-11-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Since tonight's Monday night game is so uninteresting, I thought we would go ahead and give you some surprise Monday ramblings, including some quick takes on my birthday and CD's I received.

First, though, let's go over Week 9 in the NFL (winners in Italics)
Atlanta over Detroit (I think Michael Vick might have this whole passing thing figured out)
Cincinnati over Baltimore (A gut pick. I think this is where McNair shows us the truth)
Green Bay over Buffalo (The key to Green Bay is their running backs, not Brett Favre)
Dallas over Washington (Are fans of Tony Romo going to call themselves Romosexuals? Huh.)
NY Giants over Houston (Has trap game written all over it, but Giants will pull it out)
St. Louis over Kansas City (This week's I have know idea game)
Chicago over Miami (We will find out just how good the Bears are next week taking on the Giants)
New Orleans over Tampa Bay (Brees and Co. bounce back after getting smacked up by the Ravens)
Jacksonville over Tennesse (Who told you Leftwich was done? Yeah...I was right)
Minnesota over San Francisco (Bounce back needed for wounded Vikings)
San Diego over Cleveland (The Browns have been feisty this year, but the Chargers are too good)
Denver over Pittsburgh (Big Ben's lost season gets even more so)
Seattle over Oakland (Boy the Monday Night Football guys really know how to schedule games, eh?)
Indianapolis over New England (Deserves own paragraph)
The Colts game didn't go quite like I thought it would. I mean Adam Vinatieri misses two kicks? Tom Brady throws 4 picks? This Colts team scares me a little more than last year's team. They have played in a bunch of close games, and they lived through the "undefeated" talk last year. They might not be better, but they have won all of their games this year, and that says something.

Anyway, sitting at 6-7 going into tonight's game. Seattle better win. I can't handle another sub .500 week.
Other notes from Week 9:
-The Bears aren't going to win too many games turning it over 6 times.
-Brett Favre continues to baffle.
-The Texans had a chance to upset the Giants, but those kind of upsets aren't happening in Giants Stadium.
-Atlanta and Minnesota-Still Enigma teams
-Crazy ending to that Redskins-Cowboys game. Tony Romo was solid, though, and I still look for good things from the Cowboys.

And now for some other, completely random ramblings.

Had a great weekend with my wife, and daughter. The Mrs. and I went out to dinner, and that was about it. A mighty mahalo to Mr. & Mrs. Brew for taking care of her so we could have a night to ourselves. Spent Sunday raking leaves, playing with my daughter, and helping around the house. The only game I watched straight through was the Colts-Pats game. I should spend more time watching football, if only for all you fair readers out there, but I have ESPNews, I have NFL Network, I get the Sporting News. I feel that I'm fairly well informed. So there.

I had a good haul this weekend, as I bought 4 records (two on my own, two courtesy of a gift card) and received one as a gift. Here's my quick takes on all five. Enjoy.

The Who-Endless Wire
"At least it's not an embarrassment." After my first full listen, that was the best thing I could say about it. Nothing really jumped out at me, especially the nine songs that precede the mini opera "Wire and Glass". But now that I am growing more familiar with it, I find some songs growing on me. I think after a while, I will grow to appreciate this record more. But, it won't make my top ten (or twenty) for the year.

Razorlight-Razorlight
Didn't this used to be a rock and roll band? Since when did Johnny Borrell want to be Neil Finn? There are some good songs on this album, but the band seems like they have lost their "balls". This album comes off as pretty banal adult alternative. A disappointment, to be generous.

TV on the Radio-Return to Cookie Mountain
Weird. Transfixing. Odd. Beautiful. Quirky. Intense. All of these adjectives can be used to describe this album. Probably one of the most interesting albums I have heard, and one of the best of the year, easily.

Primal Scream-Give Out But Don't Give Up
This is their first album after Screamadelica, and it shows them having a hard time coming up with a good follow up. Out of the five I bought since Friday, this is the one I have listened to the least. But, not up to standards for this band.

Screaming Trees-Sweet Oblivion
This is the album I listened to the most over the weekend. Just great rock and roll, with a great singer in Mark Lanegan. I love the way this sounds, even 14 years after it was released. It makes me sad, now to think of all the other bands from the Seattle scene that were more popular than these guys. This record now sits comfortably in my top 25 albums of the 90's. Simply fantastic.

So, no need to do an edition of currently, since I am listening to everything above.

Today, my first feature for DOA appeared. It is called Just Below the Mainstream. The next installment should come next week, and I think you will all like it. It is a piece I have been working on for months, which now has been whittled down to about 1800 words. I am really excited to see it published on the web.

College basketball is right around the corner, and as much as I love it, I don't feel well enough informed on all the other teams (besides Indiana) to do a preseason poll. I will however write quite a bit about it, once the season gets into full gear.

I found myself listening to Bob and Tom the other morning, for some reason. For those of you unfamiliar, Bob and Tom host a nationally syndicated morning show based out of Indianapolis. I was surprised, though to find that they are still so consistently funny. I used to listen to them, up until about 4 years ago, when I moved within 5 minutes of where I work, and they are still funny. Check out there site for more info, or a station in your area.

I can't wait to read the next installment of Simmons' column on ESPN. I just love it when the Colts beat the Pats, and he starts rolling out the excuses (tipped balls, Dillon's fumble, Harrison's 2nd TD). Believe me, either he will write 5,000 words of excuses, or we won't hear a peep. Despite that, I still love to read him.

The "My Birthday's Tomorrow" Ramblings

2006-11-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a bit of self promotion to make you feel better. I turn the tragic age of 27 tomorrow, and here's to another year of providing incredibly inconsistent material to you fair readers out there. Mahalo.

Let's get right down to the Week 9 NFL picks (home team in BOLD)

Atlanta over Detroit (I think Michael Vick might have this whole passing thing figured out)
Cincinatti over Baltimore (A gut pick. I think this is where McNair shows us the truth)
Green Bay over Buffalo (The key to Green Bay is their running backs, not Brett Favre)
Dallas over Washington (Are fans of Tony Romo going to call themselves Romosexuals? Huh.)
NY Giants over Houston (Has trap game written all over it, but Giants will pull it out)
St. Louis over Kansas City (This week's I have know idea game)
Chicago over Miami (We will find out just how good the Bears are next week taking on the Giants)
New Orleans over Tampa Bay (Brees and Co. bounce back after getting smacked up by the Ravens)
Jacksonville over Tennesse (Who told you Leftwich was done? Yeah...I was right)
Minnesota over San Fransisco (Bounce back needed for wounded Vikings)
San Diego over Cleveland (The Browns have been feisty this year, but the Chargers are too good)
Denver over Pittsburgh (Big Ben's lost season gets even more so)
Seattle over Oakland (Boy the Monday Night Football guys really know how to schedule games, eh?)
Indianapolis over New England (Deserves own paragraph)
One of my favorite columnists is an avowed Pats fan, and hates Peyton Manning. He is tired of hearing the argurment of "Who's better: Brady or Manning?" I am tired of hearing it, too. Until Manning wins a ring, the only thing he has over Brady is stats, and they don't always add up to Wins, which are more important. Brady has won 3 Super Bowls. Peyton 0. Easy as that. And don't get me wrong, I am a Colts fan. They and the Bears are my Teams. Growing up in Northern Indiana, you kind of develop a taste for both. My Dad rooted for both, so I did the same.
Back to the game. Yes, the Pats will run for about 240 yards against the Colts, but Brady won't have as much success through the air, thanks to an improving Colt secondary. Peyton will do what he did last week against Denver, which is take what the defense gives him. If he can do that, and Addai can get at least 20 productive carries, I see Colts in a runaway.
But this isn't any other team. It's the Patriots. It will come down to the most clutch kicker in NFL history. He will be asked to win a game, against his old team (who refused to match the Colts offer), in his old stadium. And he will drill it, because that's what the most clutch kicker does. Colts 27-24.

Some other ramblings from a cold, wintry day.

Look for my inaugural column for DOA "Just Below the Mainstream" to premiere sometime next week. I am pleased with the intro piece, and the second column is even better.

Took my daughter trick or treating on Tuesday. Well, not really trick or treating in the conventional sense, but we drove around to different people houses that we know, get some candy, and leave. Not terribly exciting, but it sure beat walking for four hours, and knocking on strangers' doors.

Got an interesting email from a buddy of mine discussing a bunch of stuff that you don't need to know about. Anyway, Tim, here you go:

Maybe I just wanna fly

Wanna live, I don't want to die

Maybe I just want to breathe

Maybe I just don't believe

Maybe you're the same as me

We'll see things they'll never see

You and I are gonna Live Forever

We're gonna Live Forever!

A mighty mahalo to you, dear friend. Here's to actually sucking everything we can out of life, right down to the marrow, even in our advancing age.

On a lighter note, I am anxiously awaiting my birthday gift, which should be the new album from The Who. My wife keeps asking me the title of it, and stuff like that. Plus, she has flat out banned me from buying the album, due to a debacle from last year when I bought a copy of The Truth by Al Franken for myself, and she had bought the same thing for me. So, I am waiting with baited breath to tear into the first new material from the Who in nearly a quarter century.

My birthday really doesn't mean a whole helluva lot for me, after about 21. You just kind of stop caring, and I am just happy to still be here, with my family. The only thing that is even remotely of interest about turning 27, is the fact that Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain all died at the same age. Which is just kind of creepy.

I am taking a self induced hiatus from any political writing on this blog. I just need to take a break.

Here is the latest edition of Currently (which keeps track of all of my media intake)

Listening to: Screaming Trees Sweet Oblivion, Iceage Cobras Brilliant Ideas from Brilliant People, Witness Before the Calm

Watching: NBA Basketball, NFL Football, College Football, and nearly nothing else.

Reading: the South Bend Tribune, Deadspin, the Sporting News, and all the other usual suspects.

Well, I am off to celebrate my birthday. Probably not too much booze, but you never know.

The NBA Preview Ramblings

2006-11-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

I know you've been waiting for it, so here they are: My predictions for the 2006-07 NBA Season

Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers-Lebron, Z, and a full year of Larry Hughes, will put this team over the top.
2. Chicago Bulls-Love the Ben Wallace addition. And who dressed up like Shaq for Halloween?
3. Detroit Pistons-Hopefully, Sheed can live without shooting so many 3's.
4. Miami Heat-Age finally catches up to these guys.
5. New Jersey-Vince Carter in a contract year. Vince Carter in a contract year.
6. Washington Wizards-Love Gilbert Arenas on the court. He's a little too crazy off it, though.
7. Orlando Magic-Love Dwight Howard. Everything else will come together.
8. Indiana Pacers-Somehow they will sneak in to the playoffs.
9. Boston Celtics-Just a little too young, but they could surprise. Wait...Doc Rivers is still their coach? Never mind.
10. Charlotte Bobcats-Will be better, but how much? And what about Adam Morrison's mustache?
11. New York Knicks-Isiah goes crazy by game 35.
12. Philadelphia 76ers-A.I. will get traded before too long. It will happen.
13. Milwaukee Bucks-They take a step back from last year.
14. Toroto Raptors-A year away from being Phoenix East.
15. Atlanta Hawks-Things just can't get any better in the ATL.

Western Conference
1. Dallas Mavericks-Should be defending NBA champs, and will play with chip on shoulder.
2. LA Clippers-Almost everyone back from last year, they are legitimate.
3. Phoenix Suns-If Amare is healthy, they are legit title contenders. If not...
4. San Antonio Spurs-Just don't have enough this year.
5. New Orleans Hornets-Just like them for some reason. Oh yeah, Chris Paul.
6. Houston Rockets-I like a healthy dose of the healthy Yao and Tracy, please.
7. LA Lakers-Could be better? Could be worse?
8. Denver Nuggets-Carmelo will become the man.
9. Golden State Warriors-Nellie comes back, and they just miss the playoffs.
10. Utah Jazz-Kirelenko and Co. will continue to play hard for Jerry Sloan.
11. Seattle Supersonics-Just nothing excites me too much about this team.
12. Portland Trailblazers-Just about all the head cases have left.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves-KG will be traded. Period.
14. Memphis Grizzlies-The loss of Pau Gasol will hurt more than expected.
15. Sacremento Kings-Eric Mussleman has his work cut out for him.

Finals
Dallas over Cleveland in 6.

MVP-Lebron James
Coach of the Year-Isiah Thomas-HAHA kidding-Scott Skiles
Rookie of the Year-Brandon Roy
Guy about to make the leap to superstardom-Dwight Howard
Guy about to fall off the face of the Earth-Zach Randolph
Surprise Team-NO/OKC Hornets
Disappointment-Detroit Pistons
Comeback Player-Peja Stojacavic

All NBA Team
Kobe Bryant
Lebron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwight Howard
Steve Nash

Second Team
Tim Duncan
Carmelo Anthony
Chris Paul
Dwayne Wade
Elton Brand

And there you have it. More than likely, all of this info is wrong, and my predictions will be way off. But, it sure will be fun to look back and see how I did, won't it.

The Tuesday Ramblings

2006-10-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

Bullshit. Just Bullshit. How can Brad Johnson, one of the smartest Quarterbacks in the NFL throw two, horrible interceptions to take Minnesota out of the game? Let's go over the horrible news from Week 8: (winner in Italics)

Arizona over Green Bay (I don't know why, but I don't think Lineheart will have two stinkers in a row)
Cincinnati over Atlanta (New Enigma teams of the week)
New Orleans over Baltimore (The good karma continues for the Saints. And don't trust Kyle Boller on road)
Houston over Tennessee (David Carr hasn't turned out half bad, if they can keep him upright)Philadelphia over Jacksonville (David Garrard. On the road. In Philly. No way.)
Kansas City over Seattle (Senneca Wallace? Mercury Morris? Your new Seattle Seahawks!)Chicago over San Francisco (No way, no how, no chance the 49ers win this game)
NY Giants over Tampa Bay (The Giants are looking pretty good these days)
San Diego over St Louis (LT runs wild, and Marc Bulger gets knocked around)
Indianapolis over Denver (The Denver D isn't as good as advertised. Peyton will find a way to beat them)
NY Jets over Cleveland (Duh!)
Pittsburgh over Oakland (I am waiting for the day when the Art Shell "Guess that Emotion" game comes out. Sample: Blank Stare=Anger, Blank Stare=Happiness, Blank Stare=Shame, Blank Stare=Sadness, etc.)
Carolina over Dallas (It's about time we had a great, foul mouthed Bill Parcells press conference. And after the Panthers knock them around, I think we will get one.)
Minnesota over New England (The Vikings are good, and better at home.)

So let's see: I was 52-34 going in and now...57-43. 5-9 this week. Horrible. Just when, I think I got things figured out, it all falls apart. Other news and notes from Week 8:
-Alex Smith had no chance against the Bears, who should be 8-0heading into monster game at NY Giants next Sunday night.
-As much as I love Peyton Manning, he needs to get a ring before he can be a part of the "Greatest Ever" conversation. Still, he was phenomenal against that Denver D.
-Dallas looks totally different with Tony Romo on the field, and that is a good thing.
-Philly crapped the bed at home, against David Garrard!
-I will never bet against the following teams, except when they play each other: New England, Indy, Chicago, and NY Giants.
-Tom Brady=Really f#*king good.

And now for some other ramblings:

The first new album by The Who in 24 years, Endless Wire, comes out today. I have heard good and bad things about it. All I pray is for it not to be an embarrassment.

New review posted today at DOA. Two Dollar Guitar made an incredibly sad album, that wasn't that enjoyable.

My NBA preview will actually come out tomorrow or Thursday, which is after the season starts. What can I say, I've been busy.

Great column by Bill Simmons yesterday about Red Auerbach. He is on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA.

Man, do I hate fall. I have so many leaves to rake, it's not even funny. And, I can't rake them because I have an RV parked in my yard, as a favor to someone.

My wife and I will be taking my daughter trick or treating tonight. I hope all goes well, and she get's a good haul. We do love candy, around my house.

Speaking of the Who, I have been listening to Tommy lately, and I spent about ten minutes explaining the premise of the story to my wife. She looked like a dog that had just been shown a card trick: Utterly baffled. She said, "And people liked this?" Yes. And they still do. I could be way off the mark, and hopefully Pete Townshend won't read this blog, but for those of you unfamiliar with this groundbreaking rock opera, this is what I told my wife:

So, Captain Walker is supposedly killed in the war, meaning he will never see his unborn son. His wife begins a relationship with another man, and it turns out Captain Walker is still alive. A struggle ensues, and Mrs. Walker's lover kills Captain Walker. Tommy sees this happen and shuts down mentally. He becomes deaf, dumb, and blind. His mother and her lover try lots of different things including prostitutes, drugs, shock therapy, to cure him to no avail. His cousin tortures him, and his uncle molests him during this time. By some remarkable miracle, though, Tommy is a Pinball champion, making him famous and rich. His mother, though is distraught because she cannot communicate with her son, who magically is drawn to mirrors. When she smashes the mirror that Tommy is looking at, his senses magically return. Buoyed by the miracle, Tommy's fame grows to messianic levels, and he starts his own religious movement. His followers all come to here him preach, and are even invited to his "camp" which he envisions as Utopia. During his final sermon, as he explains the rules, his followers revolt against him, and he is left alone after it all is over.

Weird story, right? Well, somehow, The Who make it work. I find it best just to appreciate the songs, rather than the narrative, but that is how I see it. Just get a copy of it for yourself, and form your own opinion.

More postings this week, including the NBA preview. Good night and good luck. Mahalo.

The "Lots to do, and little time" Ramblings

2006-10-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

So, going in to Week 8 of the NFL season I stand at 52-34 picking games outright. Of course, I did miss Week 7 picks, so at the end of the year, it won't add up. Anyway, here's what I am thinking for Week 8 (home team in bold):

Arizona over Green Bay (I don't know why, but I don't think Lineheart will have two stinkers in a row)
Cincinnatti over Atlanta (New Enigma teams of the week)
New Orleans over Baltimore (The good karma continues for the Saints. And don't trust Kyle Boller on road)
Houston over Tennessee (David Carr hasn't turned out half bad, if they can keep him upright)
Philadelphia over Jacksonville (David Garrard. On the road. In Philly. No way.)
Kansas City over Seattle (Senneca Wallace? Mercury Morris? Your new Seattle Seahawks!)
Chicago over San Francisco (No way, no how, no chance the 49ers win this game)
NY Giants over Tampa Bay (The Giants are looking pretty good these days)
San Diego over St Louis (LT runs wild, and Marc Bulger gets knocked around)
Indianapolis over Denver (The Denver D isn't as good as advertised. Peyton will find a way to beat them)
NY Jets over Cleveland (Duh!)
Pittsburgh over Oakland (I am waiting for the day when the Art Shell "Guess that Emotion" game comes out. Sample: Blank Stare=Anger, Blank Stare=Happiness, Blank Stare=Shame, Blank Stare=Sadness, etc.)
Carolina over Dallas (It's about time we had a great, foul mouthed Bill Parcells press conference. And after the Panthers knock them around, I think we will get one.)
Minnesota over New England (The Vikings are good, and better at home.)

I will have the weekly rundown on the picks, and other NFL tidbits on Tuesday.

Now, for some more traditional ramblings:

A lot of people have been asking me, "Why don't you go to church?" In my corner of the world, it seems you are outcasted if you don't belong to a "church family". Listen here. I worship God in my way, and I don't need to dress up and look all pretty and go somewhere, so that everyone can see me doing it. Now, granted I have been a part of a church before, but I grew tiresome of the politics and all the other BS that comes along with it. So, I guess my answer to that question is : "I will go, when I am ready."

My Bush rant, posted earlier in the week, was a nice little piece of hate don't you think. Well, let me clarify a few things from that rant. First of all, despite all of his flaws, "W" is my president as much as everyone else's and trust me when I say, if he succeeds, so does the country. I can remember on Election Night '04, when it was clear John Kerry was going to lose, I told my wife, "Well, let's see what 'W' can do with his second term. Let's give him a chance." I tried, I really tried. But, the man's continued "my way or the highway" approach is not what this country needs right now. Bottom line: Yes, I don't think he is doing a good job, but with a little more than 2 years left, we need to root for him to try and pull things around. I love this country too much not to do so. And, I still will speak my voice when I feel things are going badly. Dissent is not treason.

Got a new bunch of CD's from DOA this week. MMMMMM.....new music.

"What the world needs now/Is another pop singer/Like I need a hole in my head"-David Lowry

The Tigers could not catch a break in last night's loss to the Cardinals. Things aren't looking good.

And, with that I say good day. Good night and good luck. Mahalo.

The "Overlooked Albums of the '90's Part 4" Ramblings

2006-10-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

So, you are tired of all the sports talk, are ya? Well, here is the latest installment in my running feature of overlooked albums of the '90's and today's album is a good one:

Live-Secret Samadhi

Let's think for a second what makes a good rock and roll record. That's a rhetorical question, I know, but in my opinion, heart, grit, tunes, and attitude are key ingredients. And, for some unknown reason a band that is passed off by most critics, sticks to me: Live. Especially, their critically hammered third album Secret Samadhi. Coming two years after the modern rock smash, Throwing Copper, Live did what any band would do with their third album: they changed things up a bit. They bulked up the production, introduced a dark seductive quality to their songs, and Ed Kowalczyk's lyrics became almost indecipherable. But it works, in oh so many ways. And from top to bottom, I will tell you why.

"Rattlesnake" is a classic starting point. It opens slowly with lyrics about "..and we'll haul ass down to the abbey", and builds to the hulking chorus of "It's a crazy, crazy mixed up town/It's the rattlesnake I fear." The song evokes the emotion of haunting fear, and yet at the same time an underlying coyness. "Rattlesnake" is the tone setting track. You know your in for something a little different from these guys. "Lakini's Juice" opens with that simple little riff from hell, and the scream of "Let Me Riiiiiiiiide". "Graze" talks about aliens and all kinds of other stuff, my personal favorite "The pill she need your love." The acoustic opening of "Century" is a nice touch, and then the shuffle kicks in, under the vocal. I think this song talks about religion as a bunch of people stealing everyone else's ideas. Great big chorus, again, too. The slow burn of "Ghost" ("screaming where did I go wrong!") is a great change of pace, again, with a more moody backdrop while Ed rambles about "boy loses rib in New Orleans". "Unsheathed" is about my least favorite track on the album, but it has a great bridge to the chorus. "Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe" may be my favorite. Behind a nice little shuffle riff, Kowalczyk lays down some funky verses "Little Swami's got his bowl to eat" being one of my favorites. Of course, there is another huge chorus. The utter confessional love song "Turn My Head" follows, and slithers along with a hidden sensuality, previously unseen in the band. ""Heropsychodreamer" is just a rock and roll song, basic and true, with a thumping bassline. "Freaks" lays the band bare as a sweet little swing number, talking about prejudice and hatred. Brilliant. "Merica" has a funky little riff and another favorite lyric "Looks like America's dropped her load." "Gas Hed Goes West" evokes images of the final battle between good and evil. When I listen to this song, I see a montage of the final battle in The Stand by Stephen King. Plus, the simplicity of the song makes it a great closer. "It's the memory that dies...".

The point of the record, isn't to try to decipher the lyrics. Sure, they are obtuse, but with the grand statement the band was trying to make, they all somehow fit.A simply emotional album, that makes me feel. It is part of the great (for me) class of 1997: Radiohead OK Computer, Oasis Be Here Now, The Verve Urban Hymns, Seven Mary Three Rock Crown, etc. It moves and shakes and trusts the listener. To allow themselves to be taken into the music. To make you believe.

So why was this album overlooked? Well, critics called it pretentious and too big. AllMusic said so. Rolling Stone was a bit kinder, but still make it sound like a disapponitment. They wanted more of the Throwing Copper earnestness, and less of the world beating pretentious. Too bad. A great move by the band, to challenge themselves and see just who was going to be the best in the world. They lost that battle, but have survived to release 4 more serviceable records. But nothing as varied, or passionate as this.

The "Well...I've Been Busy" Ramblings

2006-10-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

So...no NFL picks last week....no posts at all. Well, pretty f*cked up week in my neck of the woods, and a lot of ground to cover, so let's go.

Some pretty good games this weekend. Kenny Rogers throwing a gem for the Tigers to even the series, Notre Dame squeaking one out against UCLA, the Bucs beating the Eagles on a 62 yard field goal, and we haven't even got to tonight's Monday night showdown between the Giants and Cowboys (quick pick:Giants 31-20). Weekends like this, are made for sports.

But, I didn't really get a chance to watch any of them. I spent the weekend celebrating my wife's birthday. We went out to dinner, and just spent some quality time together. And...for the first time in months I enjoyed some alcohol. You see, due to my health issues with my stomach, I haven't even been able to enjoy a simple beer without running the risk of becoming violently ill. But, I have been feeling pretty good as of late, and Bombay Sapphire Gin and tonics seemed to do the trick. Mmmmmm.....gin.

My daughter is simply incredible. We asked some friends,who have never watched her before, to babysit for us, and they said she told them what she wanted to do, and what should be done. She never ceases to amaze my wife and me.

I assure you, this week I will be posting two more columns: One will be another installment of the "Overlooked..." Series, and two will be my normal sports blog, including my NFL picks, and maybe a sneak peek at the upcoming NBA season. Oh, what fun.

I usually leave political analysis to those who actually know what the hell they are talking about, but since I have this forum, I will use it. And I will say this: George W Bush is incompetent, self righteous, lying, and has the media savvy of a welfare recipient winning the lottery. His presidency has been driven by his agenda of fear. And let me say this: Fear is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real. He has been allowed to due as he pleases, since his party controls both houses of Congress, but those times are coming to an end. Please, go out and vote. Elect someone, wherever you are, who will hold this administration accountable for its actions. And, let me add this. ANY POLITICIAN WHO TELLS YOU THAT DISSENT IS TREASON HAS NO BUSINESS TRYING TO RUN OUR NATION. Especially, since they have forgotten about a little thing called the First amendment. I don't care if you are a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Green. Do something to make a change. Click here to register to vote.

Now that I have that off of my chest, let me completely change tones and talk about music. The Killers' new album continues to get bashed in the press, and it all comes down to a theory that I have been working on for a while now: Bands can't make a drastic change in their sound until their third record. It's just that simple. Radiohead's OK Computer, BRMC's HOWL, Blur's Parklife, Coldplay's X&Y, The Strokes' First Impressions of Earth, Pearl Jam's Vitalogy. Each of these albums find the bands altering their sound, in some way, shape or form. The second album, should be a build up to the big change of the third record. Now, here is a bet I will make to everyone who reads this. The Killer's third album will be a "return to form" album, meaning they will go back to their original sound. You know it is coming, believe me.

Some random NFL notes from the week where I didn't pick any games:
-Tampa Bay beats Cincinnati and Philadelphia in back to back weeks? Something may be brewing down there.
-Joey Harrington threw for over 400 yards, but those 3 picks were classic Joey, weren't they?
-David Carr had a great game, leading the Texans to a blowout of the Jags.
-New enigma team alert: The Minnesota Vikings!
-Who would have thought the Falcons and Steelers would combine for almost 80 points? Not me.
-Nice to see the Colts, actually look like the Colts this week.
-How long before Joe Gibbs decides he'd rather watch cars make left turns on Sundays, instead of Mark Brunell on the ground?
-And, unfortunately, the Raiders won. There goes their perfect season.
-FIRE MATT MILLEN, PLEASE!!

I haven't bought any new music in a while, but I am looking forward to getting a new stack of CD's from DOA. By the way, the site is taking the week off, so check back next week for new reviews, and columns.

Went to CD Warehouse this weekend. A mighty Mahalo to the ownership there. You got a nice place.

Also, check out my friend's band Cosmosis on their Myspace page. Not necessarily my type of music, but good none the less.

And, with that, I will chat you all up later. Mahalo, and good night and good luck.

The "Friday the 13th" Ramblings

2006-10-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing too exciting going on right now. Here are some ramblings to get you through the weekend.

Let's start with my picks for Week 6 (home teams in bold):

Detroit over Buffalo (Come on. Let's get the Lions off the schneide)
Carolina over Baltimore (Two offenses going in different directions)
Cincinnati over Tampa Bay (I still don't trust Gradkowski)
Dallas over Houston (You think TO will get 13 balls his way this week? I do.)
Atlanta over NY Giants (Enigma team alert!!)
Philadelphia over New Orleans (Tough game to pick, because the Saints look really good at home)
St. Louis over Seattle (No one is talking about the Rams....yet)
Washington over Tennessee (Which will happen first 100 yards rushing or passing for Vince Young?)
Pittsburgh over Kansas City (The Steelers need a win here to keep hope alive, plus don't trust Damon Huard on the road)
NY Jets over Miami (Jets are pissed after being demolished last week)
San Diego over San Fransisco (Duh!)
Denver over Oakland (Duh!! Again.)
Chicago over Arizona (Duh times 3.)

Now that we have that out of the way, here are some old school ramblings.

Stayed up until 1:30 am the other night watching the movie Wall Street. I had never seen the movie before, and I still haven't seen all of it. But, it was cool to see Michael Douglas in a movie without seeing his ass.

Politics is f#*ked up these days. It makes me sick to think about the some of the things that are going on behind everyone's back. Congress is f#*ked, and now we have this North Korea situation. The point I was trying to make is that, out of the Axis of Evil, why pick Iraq first? Was our intelligence that bad? Or did W just want to take Sadaam out because he tried to kill his daddy? Of course hindsight is 20/20, and some of our problems can be blamed on the Clinton administration, but at the same time, the handling of all of this seems screwy. Oh, and since I don't really support the war, doesn't that make me anti-American (according to Cheney it does..HAHA!)

And probably much to the delight of right wingers everywhere, Air America filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. Maybe, the country wasn't ready for a liberal radio network. Or, more likely, the shows they put on were shit. And their business plan sucked.

Just a note: GO TIGERS!!

I am usually lamenting the fact that there are no good movies to see, but now that we have hit Oscar season is here, at least they aren't releasing so much crap. But, Employee of the Month...are you serious?

My wife and I spent a good half hour last night just talking. Not just your typical "How was your day?" bullshit, but we talked about how far we have come. The trials and tribulations of our 6 year relationship, and how as much things change they stay the same. These are the things that keep relationships going, at least I think so. I love her so much.

You know what is kind of funny: My daughter trying to pronounce different words. For example, the word clock becomes cock. Color becomes cullr. Cat becomes kitkit. Dog becomes god god. I love having a daughter.

That's it. Enjoy your weekend. Mahalo.

The "Let's Review" Ramblings

2006-10-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

A mighty good weekend in my neck of the woods, but snow lingers on the horizon. Let's get on with this.

A review of Week 5 in the NFL (winners in italics):

Chicago over Buffalo (No way the Bears lose to JP Losman at home)
Carolina over Cleveland (The Panthers will now become the team we all thought they were)
Minnesota over Detroit (Matt Millen=Dead Man Walking)
New England over Miami (Too little "O" for the Dolphins)
Green Bay over St Louis (Just a hunch)
New Orleans over Tampa Bay (Brad Gradkowski is your starting QB? Seriously?)
Indianapolis over Tennessee (Vince Young gets a chance to watch Peyton tear his team up)
NY Giants over Washington (Here's to hoping the Giants figure out what kind of team they are)
Kansas City over Arizona (The Cardinals O line will get Linehart eaten up)
NY Jets over Jacksonville (The Jags "D" looked pretty porous against the Redskins)
San Fransisco over Oakland (Andrew Walter....Alex Smith.....it's the NFL on CBS)
Philadelphia over Dallas (The second most interesting game of the week to...)
San Diego over Pittsburgh (Will the Chargers' break free from "MartyBall?)
Denver over Baltimore (I don't trust Steve McNair any farther than he can throw a football)

That's right: 12-2 this week. And I should have picked the Jags, but what the hell. My running total through Week 5 picking games outright is: 44-29! I am picking about 60% of the games correctly, so there you go. Some other notes from Week 5.
-Matt Leinhart's numbers: 22-35 253 yards 2 TD 1 INT....not bad, not bad.
-If not for Reggie Bush's punt return, the Saints would have let Brad Gradkowski get his first victory in the Superdome. Tsk, tsk.
-Are the Colts bored?
-The Bears are the best team in the NFL and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
-The Ravens looked extremely beatable for three weeks, and Denver proved what we all knew: Steve McNair isn't great anymore.
-The Chargers blew out the Steelers (at least it felt that way) and Big Ben is in trouble.
-Alex Smith numbers in Week 5: 15-19 165 yards 3 TD 1 INT. Total so far: 89-152 1,071 yards 6TD 3INT.
-T.O. was thrown to 13 times against the Eagles. Only caught 3. Who's fault is that?
-The NY Giants and Washington Redskins are the two biggest enigmas in the league right now.

Other ramblings:
My newest review for DOA, is probably my best. It is not as long, but the EP is incredible. I highly recommend it.

Today, Joe Torre didn't get fired. And this is news why? He is only the most successful manager in the last 10 years. Some advice to Mr. Steinbrenner: You need to take a lesson from USA basketball, in that you can't put together the best collection of "talent". You have to have a "team". Just a thought. And I have to give a big cheer to the Detroit Tigers, who beat the world's only $200 million dollar baseball team. GO TIGERS!!

Snow coming this week. Snow? In October? That never happens.

I have been continuing my trend of listening to "great" albums. Over the weekend I listened to Radiohead's OK Computer, Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space, and Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream. I don't really know what to think about it, but I guess it is always good to listen to the "best" albums that you have, to put any new music you get into a proper perspective.

North Korea has conducted a test of nuclear devices, and all we are talking about is diplomacy. Using the administration's logic, we should already have been greeted as "liberators" at this point. Isn't that what we did with Iraq? And, it turns out Iraq didn't have any WMD's? And we invaded anyway? But now, a member of the "axis of evil" has a nuclear device, and we are talking about diplomacy. It makes no sense.

And with that, I say Mahalo. Good night and good luck.

The "I Don't Know" Ramblings

2006-10-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

You know what one of my favorite things to do is. Listening to a great album, and remembering why it is great. We hear so much about how "great" this album is, or how it is a "landmark" album. But, you really need to go back and listen, and rediscover for yourself, what makes that album great. I don't know what prompted this, but this week I have listened to The Band's self titled second album, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. You just have to hear for yourself what makes certain albums great.

Let's get some other ramblings out of the way.

Looking forward to trying to create a regular column for DOA. I have some pretty good, but vague ideas. It's a good thing there are editors in the world, or I would be screwed.

My daughter is doing well, and continues to amaze the both of us on a daily basis.

I have heard many a bad thing about the new Killers album. I don't know if I will be purchasing that one. Same with the new Jet. However, the new Beck I have heard, and it is typically interesting.

The Division Series' kicked off this week, and the A's, Cards, and Mets are all up 2-0. Only the Tigers and Yankees look like they will have an interesting series. Oh yeah and one more thing.....GO TIGERS!!

There is a sense of increasing excitement for me right now: College Basketball is only about a month and a half away. I will be trying to put together a NCAA preview, and an NBA preview as well. I make no promises, but I will do my best to get something down for all 6 of you regular readers.

Let's get on with the picks and see what shakes loose. As per usual home team in bold.
Chicago over Buffalo (No way the Bears lose to JP Losman at home)
Carolina over Cleveland (The Panthers will now become the team we all thought they were)
Minnesota over Detroit (Matt Millen=Dead Man Walking)
New England over Miami (Too little "O" for the Dolphins)
Green Bay over St Louis (Just a hunch)
New Orleans over Tampa Bay (Brad Gradkowski is your starting QB? Seriously?)
Indianapolis over Tennessee (Vince Young gets a chance to watch Peyton tear his team up)
NY Giants over Washington (Here's to hoping the Giants figure out what kind of team they are)
Kansas City over Arizona (The Cardinals O line will get Linehart eaten up)
NY Jets over Jacksonville (The Jags "D" looked pretty porous against the Redskins)
San Fransisco over Oakland (Andrew Walter....Alex Smith.....it's the NFL on CBS)
Philadelphia over Dallas (The second most interesting game of the week to...)
San Diego over Pittsburgh (Will the Chargers' break free from "MartyBall?)
Denver over Baltimore (I don't trust Steve McNair any farther than he can throw a football)

Lots of home teams to win this weekend. We will just see how all this shakes out.

I have been watching more and more TV the last few weeks, and I can honestly say that new ideas are becoming fewer and more far between. My wife is an unabashed fan of "Grey's Anatomy", and I just don't think that show is that great. Hospital dramas have to be the easiest thing in the world to produce, simply because there is innate drama built in to the hospital setting. More often than not, the show comes off like a soap opera with better production values; and that suits my wife just fine.

I haven't done a new edition of "Currently" lately, so here we go.
Listening: DOA albums, Secret Machines, Bill Hicks, and all kinds of other albums.
Watching: Scrubs reruns on Comedy Central, Too much sports.
Reading: The South Bend Tribune, Sporting News, Bill Simmons, but no books.

Something is bugging me: The fact that I haven't seen a good movie, in the theatre or out, in almost a year and a half. Is it just me, or is Hollywood consciously trying to put out shitty movies? Sequals, movies about TV shows, remakes, just about everything that comes out is a take on something else. I just don't get it.

Something that isn't bugging me: A few weeks ago, I heard that Wal-Mart was thinking of going back on its policy of selling only "clean" mixes of albums. And somehow.... I am okay with this.

And, I believe that is it for the neo-traditional Friday ramblings. Enjoy your weekends. Good night and good luck. Mahalo.

The "Humbling" Ramblings

2006-10-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Week 4 was not kind to your humble blogger. Let's go over the picks (Winner in italics)

Atlanta over Arizona (The Falcons get back on track in the short week)
Indianapolis over NY Jets (Their is no way the Colts suffer a letdown this week, is there?)
Minnesota over Buffalo (I still like the Vikings)
Dallas over Tennessee (The TO drama notwithstanding, the Titans suck)
Miami over Houston (I am tired of picking Houston and losing)
New Orleans over Carolina (Yeah, I'm hopping on the bandwagon, but the Saints D is for real.)
San Diego over Baltimore (The Chargers just have more offense)
San Fransisco over Kansas City (This week's "I don't know why" pick)
St. Louis over Detroit (The Lions will be better, I just don't know when)
Cleveland over Oakland (Starring Art Shell's famous facial reactions, or lack thereof)
Jacksonville over Washington (The Jags will control the line of scrimmage)
Cincinnati over New England (I love the Bengals, as long as they can stay out of jail)
Chicago over Seattle (No MVP, no W)
Philadelphia over Green Bay (Out of the crowded NFC East, the Eagles look to be the most consistent)

Ugh....7-7 last week. 32-27 for the year so far. My hot start has been cooled considerably.
Other thoughts on Week 4
-Bears fans shouldn't get too excited about the W over Seattle. The MVP was not a part of that game. And anyway, it's only October.
-The Jets nearly pulled one off against the Colts, with a multiple lateral play at the end that nearly caused a heart attack for yours truly.
-I still don't know what to make of: Washington, Buffalo, Dallas, and Minnesota.
-Matt Linehart won't have much success in Arizona, untill they fix that O-line.
-Miami was entirely overrated this preseason. I think we all forgot how Duante played last year before he got hurt.
-If the Raiders can't beat the Browns at home, after being up 21-3, then they won't beat anyone all year.
-Alex Smith Week 4 numbers:13-25 92 yards 0 Td 2 INT. Welcome back to Earth, Alex.

New review at DOA today. If you can't tell, I really didn't care for the album that much. Also, coming soon to DOA, "Just Below the Mainstream" by yours truly.

Nothing else of note to report. Mahalo, and goodnight and good luck.

The "Overlooked Albums of the '90's Part 3" Ramblings

2006-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

So, in an effort to divert my readers attention from the NFL, and my constant writing about it (wait till College Basketball season. It gets worse), I have decided to revisit one of my running "Ramblings", so without further ado, lets examine another great album, that got lost in the shuffle, and deserves recognition. Today's featured album is:

REM New Adventures in Hi-Fi

A long time ago in a world not unlike ours, bands would come out through college radio stations. These bands were labeled "alternative" since you couldn't imagine them being played on normal radio stations. The first of these so-called "alternative" bands to break big would be REM. And, lest we forget, there was a period of time when REM was the biggest band in the world. I mean, you don't sell 10 millions copies of albums, by not being huge. In the early nineties, they released the tremendous Automatic for the People, then the rawk album Monster. The following tour, ultimately proved to be the point where the wave finally broke for REM. Aneurysms', cancelled gigs, and similar events led to a disastrous tour.

However, it was on that tour that REM would make their most adventurous, and interesting album; New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The record opens with the organ shuffle of "How the West Was Won, and Where it Got Us", then we get the rock with "Wake-Up Bomb", the acoustic strain of "New Test Leper", the sweeping sonics of "Undertow", the dirgey, Patti Smith like "E-bow the Letter", and the sheer size of "Leave". These first six songs make up some of the strongest in the bands career. Then you get the rocker "Departure", the pop of "Bittersweet Me", the quiet build of "Be Mine", the sing along of "Binky the Doormat", the slinky instrumental of "Zither", the heavy "So Fast, So Numb", the slight funk of "Low Desert" and the finishing piano led "Electrolite".

Now, that is the fastest run through of an album that I have ever done, but there is more to the story. This album was released in September of 1996, an odd time for the band. The Monster album was met with lukewarm reviews, at a time when many viewed REM as infallible. So, you would think with such a varied collection of songs, that the critics would go apeshit for New Adventures..

Well, not true. All Music Guide says: "it is one of their best albums of the 90's". Which is quite a backhanded way of saying, this isn't up to your prior work. Rolling Stone had kinder things to say. Much more, is that the near legendary David Fricke gave it 4 1/2 stars. Saying it is an album "about distance and motion...but it is propulsion rarely without purpose."

So, how come you probably don't know these songs as well as "Losing My Religion" or "Drive" or "What's the Frequency Kenneth?"? Well, like I said earlier, after the Monster tour, REM lost steam. Simply put, they were no longer as important to the world. And after losing Bill Berry, they have shown glimmers of greatness, but they are fewer and farther between.

But on New Adventures in Hi-Fi, REM delivers their most interesting record. Sonically varied, lyrical flourishes all over, and recorded in all different parts of the country. It is a miracle at all that we got another REM album after Monster. And the fact that New Adventures... delivers again and again is simply mind blowing.

On a personal note, I have been an REM fan for about 15 years, and this was the one record of theirs that I simply couldn't get into to. It just failed to move me. But more than two years after buying it, it has now become probably my most played album (overtaking the Afghan Whigs 1965, and Oasis' Definitely Maybe). I reach for this time and time again, and it never fails.

That is the truest form of every piece of great art. When the music (or whatever) can change and evolve and mean different things, and yet remain so consistent and true to itself. New Adventures in Hi Fi is a great piece of art, and deserves the attention it didn't receive 10 years ago. Simple as that.

The "No F*&%ing Way" Ramblings

2006-09-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Tough week for your humble narrator. My wife has been under the weather, money problems, you name it, we've been through it. But, at least we are here, and I am ready to give you some extended ramblings.

First, let's go through the Week 3 NFL picks: (winner in Italics)
Carolina over Tampa Bay (Chris Simms is done)
Chicago over Minnesota (I like the Vikings, but the Bears are too good)
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh (Carson's gang takes advantage of Steelers short week)
Detroit over Green Bay (Kevin Jones will have a huge day)
Indianapolis over Jacksonville (The Colts will have trouble running the ball, but they still have Peyton)
Buffalo over NY Jets (I have no idea)
Miami over Tennessee (Ummm...I'm not taking Kerry Collins on the road...ever)
Houston over Washington (The Mark Brunell era is coming to an end sooner rather than later)
Baltimore over Cleveland (The Browns will have single digit first downs. Not good)
NYGiants over Seattle (I keep picking against Seattle, and I don't know why)
Arizona over St. Louis (Just because)
New England over Denver (Jay Cutler keeps getting closer to overtaking the Snake)
Atlanta over New Orleans (The Saints won't be able to stop the running game of the Falcons)

Ugh...6-7 last week, and I forgot to pick the Rams-49ers game. So, my running total is now 25-20 through three weeks. My quote about Mark Brunell is classic. Here I am bashing the hell out of the guy, and he throws 22 straight completions. Whatever. Other notes from Week 3:
Even though the Colts look vulnerable, I was never worried. There is just something about this team...maybe.
The Bears weren't dominant, but winning in the Metrodome is a big deal.
David Carr leads the league in passer rating...if only the Texans had drafted Reggie Bush.
The following teams I have no idea what to think of: NY Giants, New England, NY Jets, Broncos, Buffalo, Washington, and Dallas. I can't really say what each of these teams is about.
Alex Smith Week 3 numbers: 27-46 293 yards 1 TD no picks.
Oakland was manhandled by their bye week.

Here are the picks for Week 4: (home team in bold.)
Atlanta over Arizona (The Falcons get back on track in the short week)
Indianapolis over NY Jets (Their is no way the Colts suffer a letdown this week, is there?)
Minnesota over Buffalo (I still like the Vikings)
Dallas over Tennessee (The TO drama notwithstanding, the Titans suck)
Miami over Houston (I am tired of picking Houston and losing)
New Orleans over Carolina (Yeah, I'm hopping on the bandwagon, but the Saints D is for real.)
San Diego over Baltimore (The Chargers just have more offense)
San Fransisco over Kansas City (This week's "I don't know why" pick)
St. Louis over Detroit (The Lions will be better, I just don't know when)
Cleveland over Oakland (Starring Art Shell's famous facial reactions, or lack thereof)
Jacksonville over Washington (The Jags will control the line of scrimmage)
Cincinnati over New England (I love the Bengals, as long as they can stay out of jail)
Chicago over Seattle (No MVP, no W)
Philadelphia over Green Bay (Out of the crowded NFC East, the Eagles look to be the most consistent)

Let's hope this week goes better than last.

This whole TO drama is completely and utterly ridiculous. It has reached Barry Bonds proportions for me. Just hearing about TO drives me insane. Seriously, let's leave the guy alone, and hope for the best.

Moving out of the sports world, I have written three reviews fro DOA, and I love the it. Despite having a complete lack of time to do so, I love writing reviews. My eventual goal is to have a "ramblings" like column every week, though that won't probably happen for another 3-6 months. The editors and staff that I have talked to have been nothing short of amazing.

I have been watching a bit more TV the past few weeks, and I must say, there is almost nothing viable on network TV. Have you seen some of these promos for new shows? I swear I could come up with a better premise for a show, than some of this shit. In fact, does this sound interesting:
"Three perfect young adults, struggle to find their way out of an elaborate hedge maze, with only each other for support, and of course their good looks. Sex, struggle, young people...Tuesday nights on Fox watch:"Who has a Hedge Maze, Anymore." Seriously.

With the midterm elections less than two months away, I have a hard time gauging the country. I really don't think that we will see a drastic change in the makeup of Congress....but here's to hoping we do.

How about the Irish last week? I seriously turned the game off.

A hearty Mahalo to some great people: Mr and Mrs "Deaner", and Mr. and Mrs. Brew. You know who you are, and what you have done for me and my family has not gone unnoticed. Mahalo.

And just another note: you could get some bonus ramblings this week, maybe even another installment of the "Overlooked 90's albums". If you're lucky.

Good night, and good luck. Mahalo.

The "No Time to Waste" Ramblings

2006-09-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Let's get on with it. Here's the NFL picks for Week 3. My record going into the week is 19-13.(Home team in bold)

Carolina over Tampa Bay (Chris Simms is done)
Chicago over Minnesota (I like the Vikings, but the Bears are too good)
Cincinnatti over Pittsburgh (Carson's gang takes advantage of Steelers short week)
Detroit over Green Bay (Kevin Jones will have a huge day)
Indianapolis over Jacksonville (The Colts will have trouble running the ball, but they still have Peyton)
Buffalo over NY Jets (I have no idea)
Miami over Tennessee (Ummm...I'm not taking Kerry Collins on the road...ever)
Houston over Washington (The Mark Brunell era is coming to an end sooner rather than later)
Baltimore over Cleveland (The Browns will have single digit first downs. Not good)
NYGiants over Seattle (I keep picking against Seattle, and I don't know why)
Arizona over St. Louis (Just because)
New England over Denver (Jay Cutler keeps getting closer to overtaking the Snake)
Atlanta over New Orleans (The Saints won't be able to stop the running game of the Falcons)

And there you go. Enjoy your weekends. Mahalo. Good night and good luck.

The Usual Ramblings

2006-09-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

So...another big sports weekend just happend, but we willhave to cover more stuff than just that. Here we go.

I have no idea what the Bush administration is doing at this point. I am not even convinced that I should comment. So there you go.

My newest album review is posted on Delusions of Adequacy today (link is in the link list to the right). I reviewed the new album from Seattle band The Purrs. Quite an enjoyable album, so read on.

Nothing new on the home front. My daughter remains the greatest thing in the universe. And at the same time, she makes me want to pull my hair out in frustration. Parenting: it's something that you can't learn, you have to experience it. My wife remains my center. She is always so supportive of everything I do, and that is all I can really ask for. She always recieves the biggest "mahalo".

Let's go over the picks for Week 2 in the NFL: (winners in italic)
Miami over Buffalo (I giving Duante one more week before I hop off the Dolphins Bandwagon)
Minnesota over Carolina (Chester taylor got 31 carries last week. No Steve Smith, no O for Panthers)
Cincinnati over Cleveland (Carson is back and better than ever)
Chicago over Detroit (I like the Lions, but they won't win this week)
Indianapolis over Houston (Let's hope the Colts figure out how to run the ball)
New Orleans over Green Bay (It's official...The Packers are now a semi-pro team)
Philadelphia over NY Giants (Simply because the Eagles are at home)
Baltimore over Oakland (Let's hope the Raiders and Packers meet in the 1-AA finals)
Tampa Bay over Atlanta (Simms bounces back, and I just don't trust Michael Vick)
Arizona over Seattle (Was the Lions D that good, or the Seahawks O that bad?)
San Fransisco over St Louis (I don't know why, but that's the pick)
Kansas City over Denver (If the Broncos can't run the ball, do you want Jake Plummer throwing it around?)
NY Jets over New England (Any time I can pick against the Pats I will, for personal reasons)
San Diego over Tennessee (Kerry Collins is not the answer)
Dallas over Washington (Home field debut for TO, they won't lose)
Pittsburgh over Jacksonville (Despite a nice comeback win, I'm still not enamored with Byron Leftwich)

9-7 this week. 19-13 for the season.
Some other notes on Week 2:
-The Bears' Rex Grossman had his best week as a pro, throwing for 4 TD's. Wow.
-The Colts ran the ball better, but they better step it up to beat a hot Jacksonville team.
-The Jags held the Steelers to just 26 rushing yards. Double Wow.
-The Chargers may be the best team in football, and Philip Rivers is coming along nicely.
-Alex Smith's week 2 numbers: 11-22 233 yards 1 TD 0 Int (yeah you could say I'm pulling for him)
-The 49ers are a long way from being good, but maybe they could eek out 6 or 7 wins.
-I am officially off of the Bucs bandwagon.
-I am also officially off the Duante Culpepper bandwagon. (do you think he hears Joey Harrington's footsteps)
-How about those Giants? Eli may be better than his brother, yet.

Oh yeah, let's see how I did with those bonus College Football picks:
Notre Dame over Michigan (Lloyd Carr has never won in South Bend. He won't this time either)
Auburn over LSU (Kenny Irons runs wild)
USC over Nebraska (I want to jump on the Huskers' bandwagon, but the Trojans are too good)
Texas Tech over TCU (Why? I don't know why.)
Oregon over Oklahoma (The Ducks will make some noise in the PAC-10)
Louisville over Miami (FL) (Larry Coker's seat just got a lot hotter)
Tennessee over Florida (Phil Fulmer proves last years 5-6 record was a fluke)
4-3....not too bad.
But the Irish were horrible on Saturday. Goodbye Heisman. Goodbye National Championship.

Currently:
Reading: A whole lot of not much.
Watching: Scrubs reruns on Comedy Central
Listening: Audioslave-Revelations
Bob Dylan-Modern Times
Colour Revolt-EP

All right, I will be back with picks for football, and more on Friday. Mahalo. Good night, and good luck.

The "I Can't Believe I'm Posting Twice This Week" Ramblings

2006-09-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who waited patiently, here is the link to my first review for Delusions of Aqequacy. It is an online music magazine dedicated to Indie rock, and all other sorts of stuff. Enjoy.

Here are the picks for this weeks NFL games: (home team in bold)

Miami over Buffalo (I giving Duante one more week before I hop off the Dolphins Bandwagon)
Minnesota over Carolina (Chester taylor got 31 carries last week. No Steve Smith, no O for Panthers)
Cincinnati over Cleveland (Carson is back and better than ever)
Chicago over Detroit (I like the Lions, but they won't win this week)
Indianapolis over Houston (Let's hope the Colts figure out how to run the ball)
New Orleans over Green Bay (It's official...The Packers are now a semi-pro team)
Philadelphia over NY Giants (Simply because the Eagles are at home)
Baltimore over Oakland (Let's hope the Raiders and Packers meet in the 1-AA finals)
Tampa Bay over Atlanta (Simms bounces back, and I just don't trust Michael Vick)
Arizona over Seattle (Was the Lions D that good, or the Seahawks O that bad?)
San Fransisco over St Louis (I don't know why, but that's the pick)
Kansas City over Denver (If the Broncos can't run the ball, do you want Jake Plummer throwing it around?)
NY Jets over New England (Any time I can pick against the Pats I will, for personal reasons)
San Diego over Tennessee (Kerry Collins is not the answer)
Dallas over Washington (Home field debut for TO, they won't lose)
Pittsburgh over Jacksonville (Despite a nice comeback win, I'm still not enamored with Byron Leftwich)

10-6 last week, let's hope I can stay above .500.

Bonus: College Football Picks
With the immense amount of important games this weekend here are some bonus picks for everyone:
Notre Dame over Michigan (Lloyd Carr has never won in South Bend. He won't this time either)
Auburn over LSU (Kenny Irons runs wild)
USC over Nebraska (I want to jump on the Huskers' bandwagon, but the Trojans are too good)
Texas Tech over TCU (Why? I don't know why.)
Oregon over Oklahoma (The Ducks will make some noise in the PAC-10)
Louisville over Miami (FL) (Larry Coker's seat just got a lot hotter)
Tennessee over Florida (Phil Fulmer proves last years 5-6 record was a fluke)

I hope everyone has a fantabulous weekend. Good night and good luck.

The "You're Lucky to Even Get Some Ramblings" Ramblings

2006-09-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

A more creative title this time. Anyway, I have been incredibly busy the last three weeks, and the blog has been one thing that has suffered. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. Today you are in for a real treat: an album review. Since I get assigned albums to review from the site I write for, I don't get to review the albums that I buy. By the way, my first review should appear this week, and I will post the link when it does. So, not only do you get a new review, but we get to see how my football picks did this weekend, a new college top ten, and some other notes from around the universe. Let's get this over with.....

Last week I decided to challenge myself and pick football games. If you used this information for illegal activities, you are stupid. I am no expert, but I have been watching football for about twenty years, so there you go. Anyway, let's go over the picks from last week. (Game Winner in Italics).

Miami over Pittsburgh (Big Ben watches Batch lose the game)
Carolina over Atlanta (Falcons lack of Offense is scary)
Baltimore over Tampa Bay (McNair has big debut)
Detroit over Seattle (New look Lions will surprise)
NYJets over Tennessee (Both teams will probably suck)
Denver over St.Louis (I could run for about 700 yards behind the Broncos O-Line)
New England over Buffalo (JP Losman will not be the starter by week 4)
Arizona over San Fransisco (Alex Smith will be better, but it won't be enough)
Colts over Giants (Peyton has more weapons than Eli)
Dallas over Jacksonville (Leftwich is not the man in J-Ville)
Chicago over Green Bay (Favre's farewell tour starts rough)
Cincinnatti over Kansas City (If Palmer's healthy, Bengals could make some noise)
New Orleans over Cleveland (I have no idea)
Houston over Philadelphia (Drafting David Carr starts to pay dividends, if they can keep him upright)
Minnesota over Washington (Redskins may not score until week 2)
San Diego over Oakland (What, no Jeff George sightings?)

So...10-6 isn't such a bad start to the season. Hmmm.....maybe I am smarter than I think. Probably not. Some other Week 1 notes:
-If San Diego can only throw the ball 11 times, and win....look out.
-The Colts better figure out how to run effectively, or they will be facing nickel and dime packages on every play.
-I can't tell if the Bears are that good, or the Packers are that bad.
-Batimore may have been smart to sign Steve McNair, but one game does not a season make.
-Chris Simm's horrible performance means bad news for Cadillac Williams.
-Alex Smith's line: 23-40 288 yards 1 TD No Picks
-How long before the Packers give Aaron Rodgers the ball?
-After week one, despite three losses, the NFC East still looks like the best division in football.

Notre Dame looked mighty impressive on Saturday, but they face a bigger test with Michigan coming to town on Saturday. Ohio State is clearly the best team in the country after dominating Texas. Here is this week's top ten:
1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Notre Dame
4. Auburn
5. West Virginia
6. Texas
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. LSU
10. Georgia

Change of pace, here's your album review:
Audioslave-Revelations-3.5 out of 5 stars
As far as supergroups go, Audioslave has defied the critics who thought the group wouldn't last. Well, now on their third album, the group seems to be finding their own sound, but still haven't made the great album that they have in them.

The title track starts the album, and announces the arrival of the funky sound that permeates the whole disc. Wilk and Commerford lay the funky bottom for Morello to lay down his technologically advanced guitar work. The songs have better pacing, and the melodies are more memorable than their last album, Out of Exile. Lead single "Original Fire" is the most original sounding song from the band, and their best single. Over a funky backbeat, Chris Cornell practically raps his lyrics, and the end result is like "Zeppelin meets Earth Wind and Fire" to quote Tom Morello. The last three songs on the album form the core. With the band's most politically charged song yet, "Wide Awake" tells of the problems after Hurricane Katrina hit. I like this album. It has a shorter running time, and has a different sonic palette then the first two. Still, it isn't the barnburner that everyone has been waiting on.

And now back to the Ramblings...
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of 9/11. All I can remember about that day is not really being able to feel anything. We watched the news for like 10-12 hours, and then we watched "Billy Madison" for something different. Just a weird, tragic day.

Haven't seen any of the new TV shows for the fall, so don't ask me about them.

Word has it that U2 have entered the studio to work with Rick Rubin for the first time in their careers. Rubin is also, reportedly, working with Metallica on their new album. Is it just me, or is Rick Rubin who bands call when they become culturally irrelevant? I mean, Metallica and U2 are still the most popular bands on the planet, but they haven't made important music in a while. I guess we will see.

Got the new Bob Dylan album, Modern Times. Get it, it is good.

The last three weeks have brought a broken water heater, a sick baby, a sick wife, a broken fridge, and now a twelve hour workday. Yeah, my life has practically been hell for the last little while. But, there are lights at the end of the tunnel, as my family seems to be getting healthier and we are getting along fine.

That's it. Next post will have the link to my new review.

The Afterthought Ramblings

2006-09-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

So.....it has been a while. Tell you what. No word count today. No running theme. Just some old fashioned ramblings to appease the masses.

So, it appears I will be writing for a website after all. All of my work and submissions have paid off. No pay, just free records. I will let everyone know when my first review goes up.

What a weekend of sports, with college football, golf and the pennant races. Let's start with golf, where Tiger Woods won his fifth straight tournament on Monday. I don't even know what to say. Tiger is just so much better than everyone else. The Tigers are trying to give away the AL Central, while the Phillies have rallied behind the bat of Ryan Howard. And how do you think Roger Clemens feels about coming back to a team that will finish below .500?

College Football kicked off, and Notre Dame did not look too bad against Georgia Tech. Too many penalties almost lost the game for them. But, Georgia Tech is a good team, and they will be in a bowl after Christmas, just wait. No upsets, but the game between Miami and Florida State was nearly unwatchable. This weekend look for Texas to knock off Ohio State and Notre Dame to handle Penn State.

The NFL kicks off tomorrow night, and we will see how my predictions hold up. Anyway, I will be picking every game this season usually on Fridays, but with the Thursday game this week, here we go:
Miami over Pittsburgh
(Big Ben watches Batch lose the game)
Carolina over Atlanta
(Falcons lack of Offense is scary)
Baltimore over Tampa Bay
(McNair has big debut)
Detroit over Seattle
(New look Lions will surprise)
NYJets over Tennessee
(Both teams will probably suck)
Denver over St.Louis
(I could run for about 700 yards behind the Broncos O-Line)
New England over Buffalo
(JP Losman will not be the starter by week 4)
Arizona over San Fransisco
(Alex Smith will be better, but it won't be enough)
Colts over Giants
(Peyton has more weapons than Eli)
Dallas over Jacksonville
(Leftwich is not the man in J-Ville)
Chicago over Green Bay
(Favre's farewell tour starts rough)
Cincinnatti over Kansas City
(If Palmer's healthy, Bengals could make some noise)
New Orleans over Cleveland
(I have no idea)
Houston over Philadelphia
(Drafting David Carr starts to pay dividends, if they can keep him upright)
Minnesota over Washington
(Redskins may not score untill week 2)
San Diego over Oakland
(What, no Jeff George sightings?)

College Football Rankings Week 2
1.Ohio State
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Notre Dame
5. Auburn
6.West Virginia
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. LSU
10.Florida State
And that's it. With work, and my new writing gig, I will do my best to maintain the blog regularly, but I make no promises. Mahalo.

The Sports Ramblings

2006-08-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, it appears that my creativity for titles is low today. Let's get on with it.

My Red Sox are done, done, done, done. The "Boston Massacre" will live forever in the hearts of the nation. The starting pitching has done them in. Beckett has been an enigma, and no one other the Schilling has been consistent at all. Well, at least they won a World Series.

Time for my NFL preview. Here we go.

NFC East Champs-NY Giants-With another year under his belt, Eli and Tiki will score, and the defense is much improved.
NFC North Champs-Chicago Bears-The defense is dominant, and they will score more points this year behind Grossman, or Griese.
NFC South Champs-Carolina Panthers-Kris Jenkins' return shores up the middle of the defense, and Jake Delhomme is beginning to look a little like a young Favre.
NFC West Champs-Seattle Seahawks-Yeah, they got screwed in Super Bowl XL, but they return nearly everyone.
NFC Wild Cards-Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals-The trendy pick I know, but why not be an early bandwagon jumper.

AFC East Champs-New England Patriots-Duh!
AFC South Champs-Indianapolis Colts-Will this year be the year Manning loses that monkey on his back?
AFC North Champs-Pittsburgh Steelers-The defending champs will be good again. Cowher's last ride?
AFC West Champs-Kansas City Chiefs-Herm Edwards will turn the defense around.
AFC WildCards-Miami Dolphins-Cincinnati Bengals-I trust Culpepper's knee a little more than I trust Palmer's.

Super Bowl XLI-Indianapolis vs. Carolina
Champs-Colts 27-17

I am no expert, just a fan, but I think the death of Tony Dungy's son derailed the Colts season. They weren't as focused and it showed. the window is closing for that group of players, and I think Addai and Rhodes are adequate replacements for Edgerin James. Finally, Manning gets to breathe.

Pretty safe predictions, I know, but at least I am making them. Also, something to look forward to is the traditional "picking of the games" where I select a few college, and few pro football games and predict the winners. And I really don't gamble. Wow.

The USA basketball team has looked rather impressive during the preliminary rounds of the FIBA World Championships. There is no reason, ever, that the US should not be dominant in Men's Basketball. That's all I have to say about that.

Now for the first official Ramblings Top Ten College Football Poll
1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. West Virginia
5. USC
6. Auburn
7. Iowa
8. LSU
9. Florida
10. Michigan

All right, that's it. Good night and good luck. Mahalo.

The "Overlooked Albums of the '90's Part 2" Ramblings

2006-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

I don't care if I didn't receive much feedback from the first installment of this series. Here is number two:

Seven Mary Three-Rock Crown(Atlantic, 1997)

Okay. I know it isn't necessarily cool to like this band. In fact, I was one of the few who didn't buy their debut album, American Standard. That record was everywhere, with the modern rock singles "Water's Edge", "My, My" and the omnipresent "Cumbersome"(which still gets regular airplay at the horrible modern rock station in my neck of the woods.) Anyway, that album went platinum, and the world waited for a follow up. Okay, maybe not the world, but their loyal cadre of fanatics did. A little less than two years later, the band released Rock Crown.And what they got wasn't really what people were expecting.

The album opens with the piano ballad "Lucky" (which just adds to the list of great songs with that title). Slow, and plodding, but with a huge chorus, the song is a reflection on the turmoil the band had seen since they broke big. "And if I stay lucky then my tongue will stay tied/And I won't betray the things that I hide." That says something about the state of mind of the band at the time. They were in a hole, trying to follow up a surprising debut. And they didn't want to screw it up. The title track, builds slowly, until we get the trademark growl of Jason Ross. "Well, I haven't seen a doctor/Since I can't remember when" opens the song, with a flourish, and it delivers on the chorus. "The Needle Can't Burn" is next. The band takes a poppish turn on this track, only it is kind of banal. Probably my least favorite track. This is followed by the back to back punch of "Honey of Generation" and "Home Stretch". The growl, the guitars, and the huge choruses take these songs to new and unexpected places. Next, we have 5 slowish numbers in a row, and all are high quality. "People Like New" opens with a strummed acoustic guitar, and a plea of "There's people like me/And people like new." "Make Up Your Mind" is a bit repetitive, but helped by some eventful lyrics. "Gone Away" is a soft plea from a lover, to another who's "not really here". Next is the meditative "Times Like These", whose opening lyric of "Young girl give me a good luck charm" draws the listener into Ross's story. A truly gripping song, and one of the highlight of the album. The drifting "I Could Be Wrong" is followed by the loud soft dynamics of "What Angry Blue?", though the lyrics are almost laughable. "Houdini's Angels" is another meditative slow burner with the refrain of "I've made the most of luck/Get a brand new chance/In a brand new time, if I/If I don't read what they/Wrote about me.." again finds Ross staring his newfound stardom square in the face. "This Evening's Great Excuse" is followed by the fun loving romp of "Player Piano" which is dedicated to author Kurt Vonnegut. The album is finished with another slow burner in "Oven". And that is it.

I can understand some critics problems with the album. It suffers from a bit of the "Sophmore slump" in which a band will try too hard to be daring and different from their first album, and it subsequently ruins their careers. But, the over importance stance in this album is well founded. Seven Mary Three really came out of left field. They were a rock and roll band, who were unfairly lumped in with all of the grunge bands. So when Rock Crown came out, people didn't know what to make of it. The middle of the album is full of slower songs, which troubled critics who knew the band from the hard rocking singles off of American Standard. The allmusic guide, of course, bashed the record.

But, I disagree with the critics on this one. The album has a deep emotional core to it. The band are coming to grips with being a "big" band. You can sense nervousness in some of the album. The theme of questioning everything you know, only to find redemption, hits home with me. My personal experience with the album is deep, and I consider the album part of the soundtrack of my life, for better or worse. This record has moved me in ways some of the more critically accepted bands can't.Of course, I am biased here. I love this album. But then again, this is my blog isn't it?

The "I Hate..." Ramblings

2006-08-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

I oftentimes have used the "Ramblings" to post random thoughts on different subjects. I haven't used it to bitch about things that are bothering me, so here we go.

I can't understand why so many people fear change. Whether in work or home life, people seem to want the same things over and over. I can't begin to tell you about some of the changes that my work has went through in the last couple of weeks. These changes are designed to make our business more profitable. Sometimes, I guess you have to kick them in the ass, and tell them to get with the program.

I hate NASCAR. There I said it.

I hate the Yankees.

I can't stand the celebrity worship that happens in this country. How can someon be famous, for simply being famous? Shows like Eterntainment Tonight, or Extra, or pretty much the entire E! Television channel. All of those stupid magazines too. Just because someone is famous, doesn't automatically annoint them dieties.

I hate network TV. Listen: the reality show bubble has burst. Take them off the air. No one wants to see Big Brother, or any of that garbage.

I hate MTV. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck.

I hate people who don't realize that they are going ten mph under the speed limit. Open your eyes, idiot! There is someone behind you!!

I hate the fact that ESPN hasn't forced Chris Berman into retirement yet. Come on, I don't think I can stomach another football season with him.

I hate the fact that pro athletes make nine figures, and teachers start out at under $30,000 a year. Something is very f*cked up with that.

I hate parents who force their kids into activities (little league, soccer, dance, etc.). You have a life of your own, live it for yourself, not through your kids.

I hate Fox News and their right leaning ways. Last night as I was looking at my program guide, I saw FNC had a special about some religous author; whether or not he could "Change the World". Give me a break. If I want religion, I will tune to the 20-30 religous channels, thank you very much.

I hate the fact that Al Gore didn't ask for a total recount of the Florida ballots in 2000.

I hate what Karl Rove and his minions did to John Kerry in 2004.

I hate to think who we will be stuck with in 2008.

I hate ESPN Classic. Hey, instead of showing us bowling, and billiards, and poker, and strongest man competitions, and Arli$$, how about showing some old games. College Football, Basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, anything. And enough boxing. If you are going to show boxing, can't you show fighters that people will know. Seriously.

I hate the Food Network, because my wife loves you so.

I hate the time I spend away from my family.

I hate people who think "the South will rise again." The Civil War was 140 years ago. You lost. Go home.

I hate people who fly the confederate flag. See above.

I hate the Cubs for sucking so long, and still making me love them.

I hate Bobby Knight for choking Neil Reed, and tarnishing his career at Indiana. The thought of him retiring from Texas Tech is unsettling.

I hate to think that there are pockets in the world, where racism and prejudice are running rampant.

You know, this comes off as entirely negative, but I have done it with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. I don't really hate these things....I just strongly dislike them. Mahalo.

The Old Fashioned Ramblings

2006-08-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

No running theme today. Just a good old fashioned set of ramblings.

I am finding it more and more difficult to maintain the high quality of the recent "longer" ramblings. It sometimes becomes a little much. I will tell you that I am currently working on my largest piece to date, but it probably won't see the light of day for several months. So, I have been working on that, plus still writing album reviews, plus working my full time job, plus being a father, and all of the other stuff that I do. I run out of time nearly every day.

I was able to catch a little bit of the debut of Monday Night Football on ESPN last night. I know, preseason is absolutely meaningless. But, I wanted to see how Tony Kornheiser did in the booth. Let me just say that the season hasn't even started yet. He has got some improving to do, but it is a long season. I still look for good things.

The last time I wrote abou baseball, the Tigers were 10 games up, and the Red Sox were 2 games up in the East. Wow, with the White Sox know nipping at their heels, the Tigers pulled out a huge win in Fenway last night. The Red Sox inactivity at the trading deadline, is coming back to haunt them.

The USA basketball team completed an undefeated exhibition schedule before the World Championships. Hopefully, they can look like the team USA of old.

Had a friend visit from out of town this weekend. Mahalo.

I would like all of you to know that this post began at 6:18 am. Why? Well, I had to open the place that I manage today. Sometimes, it is important to cover a shift if you are the boss. It shows the employees that you are willing to sacrifice. So I awoke at 4:35 this morning. Yeah, it sucks, but I will be home around 2:00 this afternoon instead of around 6:00. So it will all even out.

The cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah has held up, surprisingly. I have nothing else relevant or informative to add to this. As I have said before, the middle east is a blur right now.

I would like to congratulate Rolling Stone for a nice string of magazines lately. As a longtime subscriber, the decline has been noticable in the last 5 years. But the last few issues have been quality like I haven't seen in some time.

It has been an incredibly poor record summer. Hardly any meaningful (to me) releases. The next few months, though, brings Audioslave, Bob Dylan, Primal Scream, Razorlight, Beck, The Killers, and The Who. Good times, good times.

I haven't really recieved any feedback on the "overlooked of the '90's" piece, but that isn't going to stop me from working on it. The next installment should be done on Wednesday or Thursday.

Currently Listening:
Blind Melon-Soup
Elbow-Leaders of the Free World
Robbie Willimas-Escapology and Intensive Care
Watching:
Grey's Anatomy-(my wife loves this show)
Rescue Me
Reading:
Fear and Loathing in America (Gonzo letters Vol 2)- Hunter S Thompson
the South Bend Tribune

Speaking of the Tribune, the paper recieved some grief from Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis over a series of stories centered on the recruiting of stud quarterback Jimmy Claussen. The series was well written, and researched, but Coach Weis didn't answer questions from Tribune reporters for a couple of days. How childish. Big up to the SBT for sticking by its guns, and not catering to the Golden Dome.

I watched the movie "Grandma's Boy" over the weekend. It was stupid and childish, but I couldn't stop laughing. I hope you don't look down on me.

Well, that is it. Enjoy your day. Mahalo.

Good night and good luck.

The "Overlooked Albums of the 90's Part One" Ramblings

2006-08-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. Kind of scary isn't it? Yes, I am starting a series of posts focused on the idea that I own a lot of albums from the 90's that have been overlooked, or even misjudged by critics. Now I know that I am certainly biased towards different bands, but everyone has their own biases. So let us begin with:

Foo Fighters-The Colour and the Shape

1997 was quite a year for me, as far as records go. OK Computer, Be Here Now, Blur's self titled, Fat of the Land, and other important albums (to me) were released that year. But time and time again, I look to the Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape. I love everything about the album, and here's why.

I can't think of anyone I know who says the Foos are their favorite band. Not a one. Although, everyone I know likes them. Even owns some of their albums. But we all swear by TCATS. Opening up with "Doll" a quiet acoustic number that doesn't really give you a feel for it. The sublety of "doll me up in my bad luck" doesn't prepare you for the rest of the album. "Monkey Wrench" almost interrupts the end of "Doll" and blasts forth an amazing riff. The opening salvo of "What have we done with innocence/It disappeared with time and never made much sense" is as fine a starting point as any other album. Of course, Mr.Grohl delights us with his first scream in the last verse. What a scream. Gritty, loud, yet understandable. "Hey, Johnny Park!" wins the award for best song title. The strut of the guitars, brings a different nuance, that up until that time the band had not displayed. Next comes the hammer of "My Poor Brain", which makes you realize how the formula works for the album. Take a quiet, synthesized beginning, and then WHAM!!! hit them with a huge chorus, complete with screams. Somehow, though, I can't seem to think of this as a grunge album, but a heavy "rawk" album. "Up in Arms" may be my least favorite track on the album, but I appreciate its punk energy. The massive "My Hero" is the song I will point to when people ask me about the Foos. Thoughtful lyrics, and again, a huge chorus turn the song into something hugely successful. The acoustic "See You" sounds like a love note, and then we get "Enough Space". Same template, but still highly enjoyable. "February Stars" is a huge ballad, that starts quiet building to "February stars/Floating in the dark." The incomparable "Everlong" follows, bringing to mind comparisons to "Lucky" in being a terrific song, buried on the deep end of a record. "Walking After You" a ballad without the template, and "New Way Home" take us to the end.

Now, I am not here to review the album, but I wanted to give those unfamiliar with the Foos a little background. TCATS is the Foo Fighters album. When I first heard it, I had only been privy to the singles off the album, "Monkey Wrench" and "Everlong". My first thought, was "Is that really Dave Grohl singing?" and "What is with all the 80's sounds?" I couldn't believe that a "grunge" band had opened itself up to these kind of sonics. How could they "turn their back" on the typical grunge sound? Those were my thoughts at the time. But every time I put the CD on, I immediately get a smile. The heaviness, the affability of Mr. Grohl, and the tunes all play a part on the record. It moves me in ways it probably wasn't meant to. I can tear up during "Everlong" if I think about my wife long enough. I can shake my fist and scream during "Enough Space" (which also includes my daughter's name in the verse, not that I will tell you what it is.) I can feel the sentiment in "Walking After You". It is what I call a "tape song", meaning it is on a mixtape I made for my wife while we were dating. I can feel a special connection to my father when I here "There goes my hero/He's ordinary." I can think of the time a buddy and me played a special acoustic show in a coffehouse and busted out a pretty ordinary version of "See You". This record holds many memories for me. I mean, just the other day, I was feeling pretty crappy. My stomach was acting up, and we had to go to some family get together. And I played TCATS on the way there. And pretty soon I was singing quietly to myself, drumming on the steering wheel, and pounding my left foot on the floor. I was happy, and I felt better.

Of course, none of this explains why the album is overlooked. Throughout their career, The Foos have been treated indifferently by the critics. The AllMusic guide, gives it 4 stars out of 5, but trashes the album in the actual review. RollingStone gave it 3 stars out of 5 when it came out. How can this be? AMG says the songs aren't catchy enough. Are they listening to a different record? The RS review sounds entirely positive, then why the three stars? People love this album. Why such critical indifference?

The album is produced to a high sheen. Some people think this goes against punks aesthetics. Hell, it makes the songs sound better. Grohl's drumming thunders throughout the album. Everyone that I know, whose opinion in music I respect, loves this album. It is a late 90's rawk album, when everybody wasn't ready for it. Think back. What was popular in 1997? Hanson, Spice Girls, stuff of that ilk. And The Foos deliver an arena rock album. How was this popular? The songs are that good.

Listen, this album sold a million copies, so how can it be overlooked? Well, I feel that the album doesn't get the respect it deserves critically. You can't tell me that these new rock bands like, All American Reject, or even Fall Out Boy, have a little bit of Foo in them. Dave Grohl and company created a modern masterpiece. Pure and simple.

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This is the first in a series of pieces that I plan on doing. Next one will appear next week. Enjoy, and mahalo.

The Continuing Ramblings

2006-08-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another addition of the Ramblings. Brought to you by fresh coffee, and Camel cigarettes. Hopefully you are enjoying the extended ramblings, as I have made a concerted effort to make every new post at least 1,000 words. (yesterday was 1400+). So a big mahalo to all of you who indulge me.

The MLB trade deadline was yesterday, and the Cubs sent Greg Maddux to the Dodgers for $2 million and Ceasar Izturis. They also dealt Todd Walker. Whoever gets to manage this mess next year, good luck.

The Red Sox did nothing. Why? Nixon went down Sunday, and Varitek pulled up lame yesterday. They could really use another bat right about now. And how about Big Papi? Seriously, all this guy does is hit game winners. I was flipping back and forth between the game and The Biography of Dave Chappelle on A&E. I caught Papi's big blast just in time. If he isn't the AL MVP this year, the writers are all on drugs.

You know, I never made any predictions in April when I started this thing so here we go. ( I know, picking the playoffs in August isn't much to brag about, but..)

NL East Champ-NY Mets
Why-Best starting pitching in the NL, plus the bats of Beltran, Delgado, Wright.
NL Central Champs-St Louis Cardinals
Why-Because the Astros and Reds don't have enough, and they still have Albert Pujols.
NL West Champs-San Diego Padres
Why-Just enough pitching, just enough offense. Addition of Todd Walker helps.
NL Wild Card-Cincinnatti Reds
Why-Good enough starters and plenty of offense. They need their top two to step up.
NL Champs- NY Mets
Why-In any series, would you want to face Pedro and Glavine? Didn't think so.

AL East Champs-Boston Red Sox
Why-Schilling, Beckett, Lester, and finish with Paplebon. Oh and a couple of guys named Manny and Papi.
AL Central Champs- Detroit Tigers
Why-Dominant pitching (starter, relief, closer) and just enough bats. Addition of Sean Casey helps.
AL West-Anaheim Angels
Why-Vlad won't let this team down. Just enough pitching.
AL WildCard-NY Yankees
Why-There gonna make the playoffs. Trust me.
AL Champs-Detroit Tigers
Why-See above.

World Champs-Detroit Tigers
Why-Leyland, Zumaya, Bonderman, Verlander, Granderson, Young, etc. This team is built like last year's White Sox. They will complete an amazing story. A season for the ages.

There, I feel much better having that off of my chest.

One thing that I like about the ramblings format, is the ability to not really complete the ideas I present. I know it sounds condescending, but it is true. The "Ramblings" are exactly that: a free flow from my mind to my fingers. I know I said I would work harder on editing, and keeping things nice and tight, but I enjoy the spontaneity of the whole thing. Like right now when I am going to talk about movies.

The 40 Year Old Virgin. That was the last movie I saw in the theatre. That was over a year ago. Before that it had been another year. I don't go out to the movies often, vut from what I have heard from my friends, I ain't missing much. A close friend has told me that this is the worst movie summer in a long time. I have a tendency to believe him.

If you ever find me writing about NASCAR in a serious way, you have my permission to kick my ass.

Speaking of NASCAR, my wife and I were watching SuperNanny* last night, and one of the women looked like she was from the infield of the Talledega race. Seriously, I made continuous jokes about how she follows .38 Special around to all the county fairs across the country. My wife was trying to pay attention to the show, and was not very appreciative.

Sometimes, being someone's boss isn't all it's cracked up to be. In the last three weeks, I have lost an employee, and had to have "discussions" with two others. It has not been the best time, but it comes with the territory.

The Hezbollah-Israel conflict continues, and I hate to admit it, but it is all becoming a blur.

Fidel Castro has relinquished power for the first time in 47 years. Intestinal surgery is the only way the US could get rid of this guy? Oh well.

MTV is celebrating its 25th birthday this week. How can you celebrate something that was once so great, when it has turned into a giant turd?

Mel Gibson was arrested and charged with DUI. HAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Sorry, I had a bit of a gut laugh there. Seriously, though, I wish him best in his recovery. (snicker)

In true "Ramblings" style, let me finish today with something I haven't done in a while. I am going to ramble on for a bit about an important album in my collection. Again, the specifications are that it doesn't have to be a great album, but it has to have some sort of special meaning to me.

Today the album in question is:Jellyfish-Spilt Milk.
Jellyfish were a band of power poppers in the early 90's, that had a moderate amount of success. The band was introduced to me by a co-worker named Frank. Now Frank had worked at the same record store as me, but at different times. In fact, I got this album about a year before I worked their. Anyway, when I turned it on, and "Hush" started, I was immediately intrigued. Through the entire album, from "Joining a Fan Club" to "New Mistake" to "All is Forgiven" to "Brighter Day" this album is transcendent. At least for me. It holds a special place for me because it was an album by a band that I had never heard of, and I bought it without any idea what they would sound like. I bought it simply from someone's recommendation. That showed me the power of being a fan of music. Knowing that sometime I might recommend an album to someone, and maybe it might turn them on to a new band, or even a new sound. Crazy.

*Footnote: Actually my wife was watching the show. Trust me, I had no say in the matter. Married men, I am sure you understand.

The All Over the Place Ramblings

2006-07-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

So Monday comes to us again, today in the form of a steamy, sun baked day. I can't really bring myself to complain about it, since I live in America, and we have air conditioning. Though, as I've mentioned before, without air conditioning I would be useless on days such as this. Anyway, here are some "true" ramblings, in the sense that there is no running theme today. Enjoy.

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I am making some additions to the "On the Solo Tip Ramblings". So here are a few more artists to consider.

Brian Vander Ark-The Verve Pipe
May 1996. My friend and I have tickets to a concert in nearby Fort Wayne. The now-defunct, alternative station 96.3 The Edge, are putting on a rock show at the Coliseum. The Migraines, The Urge, The Verve Pipe, and Cracker. Now, I was very excited to see Cracker, since I had two of their albums. But, The Verve Pipe put on the best show. The lead single from their major label debut had just hit radio, and I loved it. Little did I know that night, that I would have a now ten year "relationship" with that band.

I can characterize The Verve Pipe's three major label albums this way: Villains=grunge runoff, The Verve Pipe=try too hard, and Underneath=power pop. I never really got a sense of how they were meant to sound. The epic sound of Villains is a grunge throwback, to the days when bands were not quite so earnest, but more earnest than in the '80's. Using uber-producer Michael Beinhorn(Hole, Korn, etc.) was not a good idea for their second album, The Verve Pipe. Ultra-slick in places, and distorted in others, Beinhorn made the band sound very unnatural. I will tell you, though, that it is my favorite album of theirs. Underneath was under promoted, though the band sounds relaxed and comfortable. The lack of quality Brian Vander Ark songs was highly notable. The band is currently without a record label, and is down to two original members (Brian and drummer Donny Brown). They are playing a handful of shows in the fall.

Maybe he was saving those good songs for his solo debut Resurrection. Largely acoustic, and containing dark songs about breaking relationships, and pondering death, it sounds entirely different then any of The Verve Pipe's albums. The darker tone is also something new for him. A surprising album to say the least.

Now we all know how I feel about his newest album, Angel, Put Your Face On. So there is no need to dissect it here. I feel that the comparison between The Verve Pipe, and Brian's solo career is fair. I mean, for a lot of people BVA is The Verve Pipe. He wrote their biggest hit, "The Freshmen". So yes the comparison is fair.

Gordon Downie-The Tragically Hip
The lead singer for Canada's seminal rock band, has release two solo albums. I will be talking mainly about his first Coke Machine Glow since that's the one I own. To go through the Hip's entire 20 year career seems to be a bit too much, so go to their allmusic page for more info. Their sound is that of a basic rock and roll band, though with an incredibly literate frontman. My experience with the Hip began while I was in college. A friend of mine (the same friend from the concert mentioned above) had a friend, whose roommate was from Toronto. So he started playing me Phantom Power, and I was immediately drawn in by the opening cut "Poets". So, ever since then, I have bought every subsequent album comparing them to Phantom. Now the Hip are still together, and hopefully we will get some more original material from them.

Now Downie's solo album is, like Weiland's, exactly what solo albums should be: a complete departure from what the group is doing. Coke Machine Glow, is part rock album, part spoken word, and all poetry. It was released to coincide with Downie's book of poetry of the same name. It is not the easiest listen, but comparing his work to the Hip's isn't really fair. I mean would you compare an audiobook to an AC/DC album? I didn't think so.

Thom Yorke-Radiohead
Has their been a more critically lauded band than Radiohead? I can't think of one off the top of my head. Their incredible run of great albums, dates back 11 years to their second album The Bends. Muse, Coldplay, Doves, Keane all studied at the altar of The Bends, with it's heavy guitars and incredible tunes. Radiohead went worldwide with the release of the epic masterpiece, OK Computer. The sound of that album finally brought rock and roll into the 21st century. Nothing more needs to be said. Then they shunned guitars for atmospherics on the near twin albums, Kid A and Amnesiac. Both flavored weird sonics, and hardly any tunes. Finally, 2003's Hail to the Thief, brought guitars back to the fold, as well as actual songs.

So this is where we find Radiohead, as they tour in 2006, with no record to promote. However, Mr. Yorke has provided us with some new material in the form of his nine song solo debut, The Eraser. It is a good, familiar set of songs, that needs the rest of the band horribly. Throughout the album, you find yourself waiting for the drums to kick in, Johnny Greenwood's guitar squeal, and it never comes. It sounds like a weaker version of Kid A. All bloops, and bleeps, but no reward.

Comparing Radiohead's work to The Eraser is apt. It is nearly an apple to apple comparison. The Eraser just lacks the immediate rush that Radiohead can provide to any song, no matter how buried in the mix they might be. And that's how The Eraser feels. Like a Radiohead album, with the rest of the band wiped out of the mix.
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Now you will get some more traditional ramblings. Wow, what a treat it is for you, my fair reader, to get this much rambling on a Monday.

The MLB trade deadline looms large today, and I look for the Red Sox to have some kind of answer for the
Yankees' Abreau trade. Look for them to add a power hitting outfielder, or a possible fifth starter.

Hopefully, the Cubs will keep Greg Maddux. There is no need for him to finish his career anywhere else.

I spent the weekend being incredibly lazy. I don't know why. Oh yeah, I do. It was like a million degrees outside, with a heat index of a billion. Too damn hot to do anything if you ask me.

Bruce Sutter gets in the Hall of Fame, and no Goose Gossage? That is a sham.

Currently:
Listening to: Richard Ashcroft-Keys to the World
Chris Cornell-Euphoria Morning
The Twilight Singers-Powder Burns
Reading: Fear and Loathing in America
Watching: Tried to watch "Ocean's 12" last night, but we had company come over, so we didn't even get ten minutes into it.

NFL training camps are opening up across the country, and lots of questions abound:
1. Are new quarterbacks Brees and Culpepper, going to be able to recover from injuries to lead their new teams?
2. How will the Colts replace Edgerinn James?
3. Does anybody care about football in July?
Not me. Although, I will be doing a large NFL preview blog right before the season starts. And yes, I did hear all of my non-sports fan readers groan. Too bad.

*********************************************
I wanted to say something about newspapers. I am a huge fan of newspapers, as long as they are quality. There is something to be said for holding the day's news in your hands, knowing that you have about 2 hours of reading material for yourself. I currently subscribe to the South Bend Tribune. The Trib is a great paper, since it serves a city of about 100,000. It is not however my favorite. Those are: Chicago Sun-Times, Washington Post, Indy Star, Detroit Free Press, Miami Herald, and Boston Globe. I linked to all these websites, but it is not the same as holding it in your hand.

Mahalo. and Good night and good luck.

The "On The Solo Tip" Ramblings

2006-07-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Is it fair to compare one's former glories, with their current work? Of course it is, you say. Well, what about an artist whose solo output can't hold a candle to the glories of their former group? Is it fair to compare McCartney's albums to that of the Beatles? What about comparing Ian Brown's solo output to that of the Stone Roses? These are questions that probably won't be answered here, but I feel it is the best interest of myself to do an examination of three solo artists and how they compare to their bands.

Richard Ashcroft-The Verve
The Verve were one of the seminal groups of the Britpop era. Their shoegazing debut "A Storm in Heaven" is a great example of an album "made on drugs, to make music to take drugs to." Swirling guitars, epic length songs, and buried vocals make this a stunner. But, the group really found their niche when they released "A Northern Soul". Packed to the gills with strings, and actual melodies, the album is a shock after listening to "Storm". It contains one of the greatest songs of the era (or any era) "History". Along with "This is Music" and the title track, this album is near perfect pop. After the album, the band broke up. Too bad, so sad. Then remarkably they reformed, added a keyboard player, and made the landmark "Urban Hymns". "Bittersweet Symphony","The Drugs Don't Work", "Sonnet" and "Lucky Man" make up the heart of the album. It sold seven million copies worldwide, and even made Richard Ashcroft a Rolling Stone cover boy. Then the group imploded again, this time for good.

So naturally, as the singer/main focus of the group, Richard Ashcroft started a solo career. So he has to make albums by himself. He no longer has the musical foil of Nick McCabe, as when he was with the Verve. "Alone With Everybody" was his first release. And it builds on the sound of "Urban Hymns", but also lacks that albums passion, and clarity. Next comes "Human Conditions" which, like its predecessor, is filled with strings, and produced to a high glossy shine. This year he released "Keys to the World" and we get more of the same, except with better tunes.

Now is it fair to compare his solo work to his group's work. In this case, I will say yes. "Urban Hymns" was actually laid out to be his solo debut, so we know he has the tunes, but where have they gone. Granted, he no longer has 3 or 4 other musicians to lean on for inspiration, but that is no excuse for the lackluster output he has managed since then.

Scott Weiland-Stone Temple Pilots
Here is an example of the right way to do a solo album. Let me explain:
STP started as a run of the mill grunge band. When "Core" was released, critics bashed the band for being Pearl Jam copyists. Their second album "Purple" improved on the formula, with less sludge, and more melodies. "Tiny Music..." took it to extremes by painting the band as a glam/power pop group. Then silence. Weiland's drug problems had shut down the group. So while the rest of the group formed Talk Show with another vocalist, Weiland made a record.

And what a record he made. "12 Bar Blues" destroyed the notion of Scott Weiland as just another drugged out rock and roll singer. He opens with "Desperation #5" and immediately you know that this is no normal rock record. "Barbarella" is the glammy centerpiece to the album, and Weiland genre-hops throughout, going from electro-pop, to lush ballads, to blues, to rock in matter of tracks.

Surprisingly, STP reformed and released two really good albums, "No. 4" and "Shangri La-Dee-Da". Both albums find the band going into different directions, and testing themselves as artists.

This is what I expect out of solo albums. Something different. Give me something that I can't get from your bands work. And that is what Scott Weiland did. He is now the singer for the supergroup Velvet Revolver, and word is that there may be another solo album for him in the future. So, yes you can compare the two (STP and Weiland) but it isn't really fair, since the two are of a different genre and don't even come close to sounding alike.

Chris Cornell-Soundgarden
Soundgarden was the first of the Seattle bands to get signed to a major label, and were, perhaps, the last to have a hit record. "Superunkown" is the kind of album that comes along once for any band. It is the most representative of their sound, and easily has the best tunes. Kim Thayil's guitar work was second to none, and the rhythm section of Ben Shepard and Matt Cameron gave the group their heavy, sludgy sound. The group changed things up a bit for their swan song "Down on the Upside" which finds them more interested in "tunes" then rocking out. The group dissolved shortly after.

Before he formed Audioslave, with the remnants of Rage Against the Machine, Cornell offered us his solo debut "Euphoria Morning". Instead of making a retreaded Soundgarden album, Cornell took his love of pop music, and flourished. Songs like "Can't Change Me", "Preaching the End of the World", and the bluesy "When I'm Gone" make the album a winner. But he doesn't genre hop like Weiland did. Instead he finds the middle ground between the sludge of Soundgarden and the cleanliness of The Bealtes.

Now this is a tough one. I believe we should judge this album versus his Soundgarden output. They sound kind of same-y (not as much as Ashcroft) and they both are very high quality.

I guess my whole point with this was to say that you can compare solo albums to band albums, but it is only really fair to do it on a case by case basis. Richard Ashcroft decided to continue in the same vein as The Verve, and the critics have not been kind to him since. Scott Weiland took advantage of the time he had, and made an interesting, diverse collection of songs. Chris Cornell took what Soundgarden did, and added more pop melodies to the fold, to great satisfaction. It might not always be fair to make these comparisons, but in some cases, the music sounds so much alike, that comparisons are inevitable.

The Longer Ramblings

2006-07-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the longer ramblings. I have decided to change the scope of "the Ramblings". I know, only having a blog for 3 months may seem kind of premature to change direction, but oh well. It is my blog, isn't it? Anyway, you will still receive your normal dose of sports, news, and other random things, but the length of the posts will now be 1,000+ words. This will probably mean no more 3 post weeks, but it is a goal of mine to put at least 2 new posts up a week. I am trying to think of "the Ramblings" as more of a column, then a diary or anything of that sort. I am also going to try to make it a bit more artful. Hopefully, I will be able to improve the editing of this thing too. So without further ado, the new ramblings.

Brian Vander Ark-Kraftbrau Brewery-Kalamazoo, MI- July 20, 2006
Kalamazoo isn't as big a town as I remember it being. I mean once you drive past the sprawling campus of Western Michigan, there's the small downtown and that is it. So, this little burg, approximately 55 miles from my home, serves as the host for tonight's BVA show.
I am not too keen on driving into K-Zoo at rush hour, but rush hour is K-Zoo makes South Bend look like Chicago. I have no problem keeping up with traffic, but damn if it takes me an extra 20 minutes to find our hotel. I am accompanied on this trip with my lovely wife, who God bless her, also can't figure out the map to find the hotel. The extra stress being placed on my bladder doesn't help either. Finally, we get into our room, and we prepare to depart for the brewery.
The minute we walk in, it is apparent something is amiss in the air. First of all, walking into a bar and not smelling smoke is never a welcome experience. Lack of smoke seems to lessen the feeling that you are actually in a bar, not some cheesy family restaurant, which the Kraftbrau certainly isn't. This being my second trip should have prepared me for that feeling, but it is always a shock. After we grab a couple of drinks, we immediately head outside for a smoke or three. Damnation, these stupid rules about not smoking inside have got to go. If people can kill their brain cells, and ruin good shows (more on that later) then why in the hell can't I smoke.
Being the first ones to a gig is never a good idea. But my penchant for always being late, has helped me realize that for concerts early is better than late. We come inside from smoking and pick some seats in the second row. The brewery has an entry way, that leads to the bar at the back. The stage is to your right as you walk in. An interesting setup to say the least. The fifty chairs that are set up certainly won't hold everyone for the show, but that is not my problem. After an what seems like an ion, Phil Barry starts his short set.
Phil is a local artist, whose guitar playing is accented with a cello player. His scratchy voice makes him hard to hear, especially with some yahoos making a big noise back by the bar. I never envy the guy who opens at a venue this size. I mean you can hear every snarky comment that comes out of anyone's mouth. After a short, and surprisingly strong set, Phil bids the audience good night.
Ten minutes later BVA steps up to the stage and opens with the newish " Nothing But Time". This tells me, that unlike previous shows to support his new album, he will not be playing the album straight through in its entirety tonight. His voice is a powerful instrument, and throughout the night, he will strongly hit notes I thought were unreachable. Brian does, however, stick mainly to his solo records. Only three Verve Pipe songs tonight. One is the terrific "Villains", "Colorful", and "The Freshmen". Why is is that artists always feel like they have to play their hit song, no matter what the gig? Is it to appease the one super drunk guy, who just came to the gig to hear it. Probably not, but the super drunk guy made his presence felt by belting out the entire song, except for a couple of loud "YEAHHH!"s throughout the song. His mere presence practically ruins the evening for my wife and me. Brian's set is solid, if not fairly predictable. On some songs he is augmented by a stand up bass played by Larry, and a keyboard played by, I can't remember his name. The extra musicians fill out the songs well, and also add some harmonies to tracks off of the new album "Angel, Put Your Face On." He finishes with "And Then You Went Away" with pieces of "Suspicious Minds" and "King of Pain" thrown in for good measure. The encore consists of a cover of CSN's "Our House" and finally "Heart That Keeps You." Brian Vander Ark can put on a show. Whether playing the rock star, or the small-time singer/songwriter. You all have read what I think of the new album, and the songs remain powerful in the live setting. Overall, a great show in a small venue.
As my wife and I head back to the hotel room, we are crestfallen slightly. When we saw BVA in September 2005, we were nearly overcome with euphoria from the power of his performance. Now, though, driving home, all we can focus on is the super drunk guy who practically "stole the show". Oh well, gigs can't all be life altering.
4 stars out of 5

Now for some more neo traditional ramblings.

I had spent the entire weekend at home. On Friday, upon our arrival, my wife and I spend an hour doing a super quick cleaning of the house. Saturday, I did more work around the house, and Sunday we had my parents over for an early dinner.

The British Open was practically a joke this year. The course played exceptionally fast, due to a lack of rain in the UK. Tiger played nearly flawless golf, not allowing the temptation of hitting a 340 yard drive creep into his head. I am pleased that he won, just so everyone would shut up about him missing the cut at the US Open. Too bad that David Duval shot a 78 on Saturday, otherwise he had himself lined up for a top twenty finish. And my boy, Colin Montgomerie, didn't even make the cut. Tsk, tsk.

Condi Rice is in Lebanon right now, trying to sort out all of this unholy mess. Hopefully, she has the skills to keep us all alive.

My daughter has grown into an 18 month old spitfire. Her favorite word is "NO!" Even when she wants something she will say "NO!" and then reach for it. She is learning new words every day, though I am thinking of the right time to teach her "schadenfreude".

The "Mixtape Ramblings" got a good response from at least one fair reader. Doog gives you a mighty mahalo!

I bought another HST book while we were in K-Zoo. "Fear and Loathing in America" is a collection of letters from Thompson, written to various editors, politicians, and other regular people. It is rather lengthy (700+ pages), but I am almost finished with "...Campaign Trail '72" so I will let you know how it reads.

Goodnight and good luck.

The King Hell of Days Ramblings

2006-07-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, just a terrible day today. Lots of little shit that keeps me from being productive. But, this blog also makes me unproductive, so here are some surprise ramblings for you.

One of my favorite columnists, Bill Simmons, wrote a hilarious column today about trying to pick out a favorite team in the English Premier League. For those of you not familiar, EPL is the preeminent soccer league in the UK. A 6,000 word examination of all the teams. I won't spoil the surprise for you, by telling you who he picks, but I will tell you it isn't Man U.

More trouble today between Israel and Hezbollah. I am not going to even try to understand the ins and outs of the constant conflict in the middle east. I will, however, let you know that this scares the hell out of me. But, I am not going to let it effect me. Remember, I am an informed non-worrier.

The Red Sox used two rookies last night to one-hit the always horrible Royals. Jon Lester has started the season 5-0, which makes the loss of Clement, and Wade Miller not so bad. And Big Papi actually stole a base yesterday. The Tigers may be the best team in baseball, but the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox own them. If the Tigers can't beat the elite teams, do we still consider them an elite team?

In other sports news, NBA free agency is heating up, sort of. I mean, when the major signing of the off season so far is Ben Wallace, you can't really say this is a bumper crop. The big question floating around the league is: Will Allen Iverson get traded? I hope so. For all of his brashness, he is the toughest player I have ever seen, and it was a shame he was not invited to the US basketball tryouts. In 2002, no one represented America better. Hopefully, he will land with the Celtics, so he and Paul Pierce can take the C's back to the glory days of the '80's.

I watched the show "DirtyJobs" last night on the Discovery channel, and I can say that it is certainly worth watching. Mike Rowe is a great host, who is always cracking wise, and sometimes he even pisses the other people off. Check this show out, if you get a chance.

I don't want to get on a rant here......but can anybody tell me what happened to Dennis Miller? I know I asked this in an earlier post, but no one seems to know.

You know that you are in trouble, when your wife won't talk to you. When she is so pissed, that she can't even form the words to scream at you. My wife and I had a little tiff last night. Nothing major, just a misunderstanding. But, I knew that I screwed up by her silence.

Mahalo. Good night and good luck.

The Mixtape Ramblings

2006-07-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

I used to make mixtapes. Alot of them. When my wife and I started dating, I used to make her a different tape every month. I think that lasted for about six or seven months. This was in 2001, so you are probably wondering why I just didn't burn a CD for her. Well let me explain.

Making a mixtape was something to be proud of. It used to take me about 3-4 hours to make one tape. I would start with a notebook, a stack of candidates, and a calculator. Then I would pick the songs. Generally 15-20 tracks would make the cut. Then, using my calculator, I would sequence the songs, so that they would fit on each side (30 or 45 minutes per side). Then, I would program my 5 disc CD changer, and push record. Certainly not the most efficient way to do things, but then again, I am not always efficient.

There is a theme running through one of my favorite movies, High Fidelity, about making a mixtape. Making tapes was a way to express oneself, through other peoples music. You could change the entire feeling of a tape by moving a few tracks around.

Now, I am asked to make a CD for a friend of mine. Using my Yahoo music player, it took me about ten minutes to come up with a playlist. Where is the fun in that? It is the same principle as making a tape, but it drains all of the effort out of it. Maybe I shouldn't bitch. I mean, I would waste an entire evening working on a tape. Oh well, such is life.

Anyway, here are some ramblings to keep you occupied.

I laughed out loud yesterday, when I heard our President say the word "shit" to Tony Blair. Perhaps this will be what we remember our President. Mouth open as he chews a sandwich. It somehow fits. Oh and by the way, the media will make a huge deal out of this for no reason. Trust me, every president has probably dropped a few f-bombs every now and then.

The British Open starts on Thursday, and look for the winner to be a first time major champion. My money is on Colin Montgomerie. His game is perfectly suited to the Open, and I think he brings it home. I also wanted to mention a great interview with David Duval that I read on ESPN. He comes off as a funny, relaxed, and focused individual. I hope he can manage a top ten this week.

As I previously mentioned, my wife and I will be going to see Brian Vander Ark on Thursday night. I will post a full review of the show either Saturday or Monday.

I have decided that the Cubs won't be competitive until they rid themselves of two people: Dusty Baker and Kerry Wood. Do you realize that Wood has been in the league for 8 seasons!! And he carries a 71-56 career record. And they are paying this guy $12 million dollars!! And Dusty has just lost his team. They could finish the year with 100 losses. Good riddance!!

Some good news to report: Peter Gammons has left the hospital and is currently undergoing rehab at a Massachusetts facility. His doctors are pleased with his progress, and they expect him to make a full recovery. Amen.

I am currently listening to:
Audioslave-Out of Exile
Travis-12 Memories
Elbow-Leaders of the Free World

Enjoy your day. Good night and good luck.

The List Ramblings

2006-07-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

I am going to try something different. I am going to come up with some random lists for you to enjoy. Mostly about music, but hopefully there will be some sports, movies, and tv in there.

Here you go:

Desert Island Albums (Can't Live Without)
1. The Afghan Whigs-1965
2. Oasis-Definitely Maybe
3. The Beatles-The White Album
4. Led Zeppelin-Physical Graffiti
5. Radiohead-OK Computer
6. The Verve Pipe-The Verve Pipe
7. Neutral Milk Hotel-In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
8. Blur-Parklife
9. Rolling Stones-Exile on Main St.
10. The Band-The Band

Worst Albums I Own
1. The Vines-Vision Valley
2. David Bowie-...hours
3. Color-Are You With Me?
4. Ocean Colour Scene-Mechanical Wonder
5. TinStar-Dirtybird

Guilty Pleasures (Stuff that I like, but I am not supposed to)
1. George Michael-Ladies and Gentlemen the Best of...
2. Seven Mary Three-Rock Crown
3. Mick Jagger-Goddess in the Doorway
4. Better Than Ezra-Closer
5. Duran Duran-Pop Trash

Favorite Movies
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Clerks
3. The Godfather I & II
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Still Crazy

Top Comics
1. Bill Hicks
2. Richard Pryor
3. Mitch Hedberg
4. Denis Leary
5. Jerry Seinfeld

Favorite Books
1. On The Road-Jack Kerouac
2. The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. The Great Shark Hunt-Hunter S Thompson
4. Breakfast of Champions-Kurt Vonnegut
5. Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates-Tom Robbins
6. Youth in Revolt-CD Payne
7. Catcher in the Rye-JD Salinger
8. Now I Can Die in Peace-Bill Simmons
9. A Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burgess
10. Old Gods Almost Dead-Stephen Davis

Favorite TV Shows
1. Family Guy
2. Chappelle's Show
3. South Park
4. Countdown with Keith Olbermann
5. Simpsons
6. Seinfeld
7. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
8. King of the Hill
9. The Colbert Report
10. PTI

All Time Favorite Teams
1. 1987 Indiana Basketball
2. 2003 Chicago Cubs
3. 2005 Indianapolis Colts
4. 2004 Boston Red Sox
5. 2005 Notre Dame Football

Top Bands that start with P
1. Pearl Jam
2. Powderfinger
3. Pink Floyd
4. Primal Scream
5. Pulp

I think that's enough of that. Enjoy your weekend. Good night and good luck.

The Tuesday Ramblings

2006-07-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

So we happen upon a rainy day in July. There is something in the rain, in the middle of the summer. Something a little sinister, and pleading.

For only the second time in the short history of "The Ramblings" I am putting up a post on Tuesday. Kind of interesting. Here they are.

Well, my weekend with my family was an eventful one. At least Saturday was, when we had to go to the doctor's, stop and see some family, help some more family move some stuff, show people my home, and go shopping. Of course, we kept Sunday holy, by not doing anything, except running to the store for charcoal.

I do like to keep Sunday, as a day for doing nothing. I don't know how holy it is, but with Monday morning on my mind, I know that Sunday should be reserved for rest. And any of my family that is reading this, keep this is mind: Let's not have get together on Sundays.

I did find time to watch the World Cup finale between France and Italy. And like everyone else, I was shocked by Zidane's head butt. This is like if Michael Jordan punched Karl Malone in the face in overtime of the last game of the Finals. This is by far one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. And how could he still win the Gold Ball as the MVP of the World Cup. Inexplicable.

I will be going to see Brian VanderArk on Thursday, the 21st. I will probably have a full blog review of the concert on the following Monday, just in case you were wondering. Maybe I will get the opportunity to talk a little with him, though I doubt it.

I have been continually submitting work to different websites for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully, I will receive some feedback soon. Eight websites have gotten my work, and I will be submitting work to three or four more this week. Of course, their is no pay at all, just the pride of calling myself a music writer (oh yeah, and free records).

I was able to watch a little of the Home Run Derby last night, and I can't think of a more overblown event. It is horrible, to watch these guys get so tired, that they are hitting little flares into left field, just to get it over with. A note to ESPN, Chris Berman isn't that good anymore. Keep him in the studio, please. He was great, but now he is just mediocre. It is sad to say, but the face of ESPN, just needs to stay in the studio. There I said it.

The All Star game is tonight, and I just can't get that excited about it. I mean, when I was a kid, the MLB All Star game was the best. Seeing all of my favorite players, on the same team. But now, it seems like all the big stars skip the game, so that they can rest. Whatever, I just don't care anymore.

Just found out that the White House has reversed it's course regarding the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other places. After pressure was applied from the Supreme Court and Congress, the president has softened his stance. Very interesting, to say the least.

Currently:
I am listening to: Thom Yorke-The Eraser
Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
The Verve-A Storm in Heaven
Keane-Under the Iron Sea
I am reading: Hunter S Thompson
I am watching: nothing, Summer sucks for TV.
Hopefully, I will get to see Clerks II while I am away at the concert.

Some extended ramblings today. I also want to talk about the possibilities of Senator Evan Bayh(D-Indiana) running for president. The South Bend Tribune had some interesting quotes from the senator as he paid a visit to South Bend over the weekend. Sounds like he could be running to me. I believe he might actually have a chance. He was governor for eight years in Indiana, and has been a senator for six. He is a centrist democrat, who could rise above the din, and take the nomination away from Hillary or any of the other potential candidates. Of course, he probably won't make much headway in 2008, but a strong run could really mean something for his future in national politics. The article also says he will make a decision after Thanksgiving.

Let me end this thing, before I get out of hand. Enjoy. Good night and good luck.

The Family's All Back Together Ramblings

2006-07-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of KingHell days right in a row for your fair blogger. Horrible problems at work, and not seeming to get anything done. I had only missed work for 4 days. How could things have gotten so fu**ed up so quickly. I think by now I have everything under control, but the last two days felt like a week.

You know the feeling you have when you are all alone. That feeling like something incredibly good or incredibly bad could happen at any moment. That is what the last week has been like for me, with my wife and daughter out of town. I had fun being by myself, as I explained in the last edition of the ramblings, but it felt like a part of me was gone. Of course, it was my family. Now, I am not one of those people who like to only talk about my family, but I missed them terribly. I couldn't be happier that we can all spend the weekend together.

My wife and daughter arrived home around 4:23 this morning. Now I had gone to bed around 1:00 am. I then got up when they came home, and went back to bed for a whopping two more hours of sleep. I am not in a good way right now physically, but I am overcoming that with the joy of having the family back. But, I still wouldn't want to cross me right now.

Let's talk some sports....Wimbeldon.....don't care.....Western Open in golf.....don't care enough....Baseball All Star break....not yet....World Cup Finals on Sunday. Now there is something I care about. It took awhile, but I have come around to saying that soccer is a great game, to watch. Certainly not to play. Shit, I couldn't run around like that without lighting up a smoke every ten minutes to catch my breath. But to watch it, is fabulous. Now here comes my pick. France wins on PK's with Zinedine kicking the clincher. There you have it.

I am currently reading another Hunter S Thompson book right now. "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail'72". It is a riveting behind the scenes look at the run up to the election. A riveting read, that is filled with his typical black humor, and funny drug references. Highly recommended.

And that is it. I will leave you without talking any politics today. I have about had enough. I saw my President hold a news conference today for not reason. Oh well. Such is life. I may have to watch some Fox News to get some good gut laughs in. Sean Hannity cracks me up like no other (besides Hicks, Pryor, and a few other famous comedians). And O'Reily gets sooo mad sometimes, I just start grinning thinking about it.

Mahalo. Good night and good luck.

The Post Vacation Ramblings

2006-07-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

So here I am. Back at the old grindstone. I try to tell myself "don't let the bastards get you down." And then I think to myself. Just who exactly are the bastards? Are they my bosses? Probably not. They love me. Is it the government? Could be. I guess I shouldn't read too much into a saying that a known drug user like Hunter S Thompson, was fond of saying. Anyway, here are the ramblings.

It has been an interesting time without my wife and daughter around. I have really missed them, but I must admit it has been enjoyable to be by myself. It used to be I would much rather be by myself than with someone else. I can remember playing a party four or five years ago, and leaving the party after our set to go drink at home by myself. Now since I don't drink, what have I been doing? Well, I did some painting around the house, wrote a little bit, played video games, and read. Trust me, the time has flown by. Now only two more days until my family returns. And I can barely wait.

The book I read over vacation was "A Good Walk Spoiled". If you are a fan of golf I would highly recommend it. John Feinstein paints a fair picture of the golfers he profiles, and though the book is 12 years old, you will find some of the key points in the book hold relevance today. A fun, and interesting read.

I also mentioned that I played video games. Let me explain. The total money invested in my video game system and all of my games probably comes to less than $90. I own a PlayStation (the original) and a handful of games. I find that I play mainly to waste time. I did get some good album listening in. I listened to probably 10 albums in full over the six days I was off. Pretty nice, eh.

I might have some good news (for me) coming up. Let's not get too excited yet, but let's keep our fingers crossed. More on this in the future.

I might also be doing something special for the World Cup finale on Sunday. It all depends on if I get to watch it. I must say, that I have been following the Cup extensively, even though the Americans are long gone. The say futbol is the beautiful game, and having watched parts of 20 matches in the World Cup, that isn't a bad description.

The long burn of summer is upon us, now and times look troubled. The North Koreans are launching missiles, gas is horrifically expensive, Iraq, Iran, Osama, and the midterm elections looming in the fall. Who knows what will become of all of this? I surely don't, but I also tend not to worry about these things. The world at large has been taking care of itself long before I was here, and worrying about it isn't going to help any. Though, don't mistake worrying for knowledge. I have followed each of these stories closely, simply to stay informed. But I am not going to worry about things that I can't control.

So there you have it. Good night and good luck. Mahalo.

The Pre-Vacation Ramblings

2006-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yes. The "Ramblings" will be taking a vacation until, at least, next Wednesday. I will be doing nothing on my vacation, except doing some things around the house. So enjoy.

I have been on a music buying spree lately, without spending any money. Let me explain. I joined eMusic to receive the free 50 downloads, and I got 4 whole albums: Neutral Milk Hotel-In The Aeroplane, Over The Sea, Mark Lanegan Band-Bubblegum, Elbow-Leaders of the Free World, and American Music Club-Love Songs for Patriots. A warning, if you are looking for major label bands (U2, Coldplay, Oasis, Rolling Stones, etc.) you will not find them there. eMusic only sells albums off of independent labels, so good luck.

My wife leaves to visit some family out west this week. She is taking our daughter, too. This will be the first time I will be alone since she was born. It is going to be awfully quiet in my house over the next week. And I'm sure gonna be lonely. Oh well.

The NBA draft is tonight, and I will probably watch some of ESPN's coverage. I would probably watch more, but I cannot stand Steven A Smith. They have a great team without him. I predict that Toronto will shock everyone and take Brandon Roy. Just a hunch.

I don't know if I have anything relevant to talk about politically. I guess that is probably a good thing.

My recommendations for the week I am gone:
1. Read a book....any book.
2. Get a copy of "In The Aeroplane, Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel. I have no way to describe my experience listening to it. Just trust me.
3. Watch an each of the following once: "Countdown" "The Daily Show" "Pardon the Interruption" and "The O'Reily Factor" (Just for laughs).
4. Tell a friend to read the Ramblings.

Derek Lee is back, and the Cubs still suck.

The Boston Red Sox have won 10 in a row, and face former ace Pedro Martinez tonight at Fenway. I honestly have no clue why some people in Boston would want to boo the best pitcher they will ever see in a Red Sox uniform.

Renowned baseball writer Peter Gammons was struck ill with an aneurysm on Tuesday. You can leave a get well message for him here. There is no finer baseball writer, and he is the reason to watch Baseball Tonight. The ramblings are praying for him, and we wish him well.

That is it. See you next week.

Good night, and good luck.

The Rambling Ramblings

2006-06-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

I have been to the mountain tops, and I have seen all the wonders of the God created Earth. I have seen men deny their courage through outrageous folly. I have seen the blackest hearts of greed envelope nearly every community.

I have no idea where that came from, but I thought it sounded cool, so there you go. I have been trying to incorporate a little "spec of art" to the Ramblings, and since I haven't heard from any of my seven loyal readers, I will continue to do so. Let's get on with it.

Finally, the NBA playoffs are over, and the Miami Heat are your world champions. I am pretty disappointed that the Mavs lost, but what can you do. I would also like to reference Bill Simmons column from yesterday. He pretty much feels the way I do. Here's the link: sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index. I thought after the devastating Game 3 loss, this could be the turnout. Oh well.

Incredibly warm in my neck of the woods today. And, like an idiot, I have jeans on. Thinking that I would spend most of the day inside, I put on jeans. As is usually the case, I always manage to forget about those miserable minutes I spend outside driving somewhere in my non-air conditioned truck. Taking the deposit to the bank, driving to lunch, dropping off some tables at my parents'. Being inside now, is such a blessing. If he were still alive, I would think about having a man-crush on the guy who invented air conditioning.

In other news, I continue to struggle writing anything at home. Even when my wife and daughter are asleep. You see, I tend to write this blog in 10 to 20 minute burts throughout the day. Usually, right after lunch, and right before I go home. There is a certain spontaneity to the "Ramblings". With seemingly all the time in the world at home, my mind tends to wander. I guess what I am trying to say is, "I am lazy." Yeah, that sums it up pretty quickly.

Hopefully tomorrow, there will be a review of the latest from the Twilight Singers posted at musicbeet.com. I say this as "hopefully" because it might not pass with the guy who runs the site. Even though I have contributed about 5 reviews, and he has posted all of them, I still feel the need to try to top the last review I wrote. Although, I guess it is a pretty good problem to have.

I finally downloaded and paid for a couple of albums online the other day. Kind of a different experience, but I did it. The worst part about the idea of having music stored electronically on a hard drive is that you have nothing tangible to hold in your hands. To this day, when I buy a new album, I like to sit down and listen to the album and look at the artwork, and the lyrics, and what not. When you buy an album online, you only have the blank CD case to look at if you burn it. It isn't a real big deal to me, but I guess it was worth mentioning.

Finally, I haven't mentioned my daughter in the "Ramblings" in a while, so I will take the time to let you know she is doing fine. She is cutting her last few teeth, often making life a seemingly hellish, but at the same time glorious, eternity. Most of the time, though, she is a wonder to watch. She has these intense conversations with us where she gestures with her hands, and changes her face. Although, I have no idea what she is saying, this is the most meaningful conversation I will have all day.

The Summer Monday Ramblings

2006-06-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well. We come upon another Monday. The monotony of work continues. Hopefully, some ramblings will lift your spirits.

I posted a new review (of an old album) today at musicbeet.com. I hope you enjoy it. It actually took me three evenings to write. Enjoy. I will be posting another review there hopefully by Wednesday.

I watched in horror as both of the guys I was pulling for in the US Open folded like a bad lawn chair. Colin Montgomerie was sitting in the middle of the fairway, and makes 6!! Lefty? I don't even know what to say. How about we make a deal? Next time Lefty needs to par out on the 18th to win a major, somebody better shoot a tranquilizer dart in the neck of his caddy, Bones, and then run up to his back and break his driver of their knee. I am serious. Can you imagine how that is going to haunt him? It will until he wins the Open. I always knew Ogilvy was going to win a major, but I didn't think it would happen like it did.

I didn't watch the Finals last night. I was too hungover from the finish at the Open. Plus, I just knew that Miami would win, and the referees did their job. Let's take a look at a telling stat: free throws Dallas-25 attempts Wade-25 attempts. That right there says it all. Dallas will still win the thing, it will just take a little longer.

Father's Day came and went without too much commotion. I was pleased to be able to spend time with my family. My wife got me a portable cd player, so I can sit in my favorite recliner, and listen to albums while I write reviews or whatever.

Let me give you a little info as to what has been going on lately for me. This will be a little personal, but bear with me:
I have been fascinated with writing ever since I discovered books. It has always been a secret of mine. To be able to write and write. I have been writing in quantity since I was 16. Lots of bad poetry has passed since then, and I continue to write. I have submitted some pieces of mine to a couple of well known and well read websites. The disaster of getting rejected doesn't bother me, since I already have my own blog. But to the seven of you who read this regularly, the sites I submitted to have monthly readerships in the hundreds of thousands. Plus, these sites pay me as much as this does: $0. So you can call me an attention whore, but I want to be read by as many people as possible. I guess what I am saying is this. I will always have my blog. I consider this to be the ultimate writing experience: no editor. (HAHA) Anyway, I have been honing my skills here, and hopefully that will pay off. As long as one person is reading, I will keep writing.

Anyway, here are some things that I am recommending this week.
1. Just started "Kingdom of Fear" by our dear Hunter S Thompson. It is a crazy memoir, and I love it.
2. I haven't watched any good TV lately, but I will give a thumbs up to Johnny Miller, who criticized everyone at the US Open. I love the fact that he doesn't care what the players think.
3. I have been listening to: My Morning Jacket-It Still Moves
Spoon-Gimme Fiction
Embrace-Out of Nothing

A big and hearty MAHALO to all you fair readers out there. Enjoy your weeks!!

The "Wow, two posts in a week!" Ramblings

2006-06-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

I never get tired of of walking around the place I work, and talking to people. It is a good thing to try to get involved in other people's lives. Of course their is the simple routine that goes along with that. The correct pause after you say "Hello" that allows them to answer. Little trivialities like that. Sometimes, these little customs that we have developed are all we have to open the lines of communication to each other.

That's kind of a heavy thought to kick off the ramblings, but sometimes you just gotta be serious and profound. Well, maybe not so profound, but you know what I mean. To those of you who actually read this thing, I want to say thanks, and to let you know that writing this horrid thing is a great release to me. Anyway, on with the ramblings.

Wow, I have absolutely no idea what has happened to the Mavericks. I think the fact that Miami has actually hit shots the last two games may have something to do with it. D-Wade, who is averaging 39 points in the last two, has been simply unstoppable, except in the third quarter last night when Devin Harris stood toe to toe and drew two offensive fouls during the Mavs mini-run to get the lead to 10 going into the fourth. I was stoked to see the Mavs actually have a chance. And then I hear it....Cough,Cough,Cough,......WAAAAAAAHHHHAAAA!!
My daughter had gotten up, so I didn't get to see the horrendous fourth quarter the Mavs played. Seven points. Are you serious? Me and four other guys could have scored seven points against the Heat in 12 minutes. Hell, the cast of the Golden Girls could at least get that many free throws. Unbelievable, and now it looks like it will actually be a series. Like they always say "A series doesn't really start until someone wins on the road."

Perhaps one of my favorite sporting events kicked off yesterday. That's right, the US Open started yesterday, and Winged Foot bared it's teeth early and often. One player under par? Really? Yeah, I watched it and it was painful. I mean Sergio shoots 78, Tiger shoots 76, and Colin Montgomerie shoots 69? Are you serious? Hey, I must admit, I get a kick seeing Montgomerie have success in the majors. He is a tremendous player, who has been treated unfairly in the past by American fans. I don't care. Except during the Ryder Cup (when I despise him) he is one on my favorite players to watch. It would be a fascintating story if he were to hold on and win this thing. I look for Lefty (another favorite of mine) to be near the top, and here is hoping David Duval completes his road back and snags a top 10. Well, you know who I'm pulling for.

Father's Day is Sunday, and I wanted to take the time to say thanks to my Dad, and that I love him. My Dad is a typical old-school kind of guy, who doesn't put up with anybody's guff. He is an honest, incredibly hard working man, and is a tremendous father and grandfather. I am constantly seeking his advice and counsel on everything from lawn care, to how to deal with work, to which bait I should use to catch a nice bluegill. I respect my Dad more than any other person in the world. I always used to say that I never wanted to grow up and turn out like my Dad. But as I get older, and have a kid of my own, I have come to realize that turning out like him wouldn't be so bad after all. Thanks Dad. Mahalo!!

And with that, I leave you all to enjoy your weekend.
Good night, and good luck.

The "Hell Of A Long Time Between Posts" Ramblings

2006-06-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

So....Here we are two weeks into June, and only one lonely post for the month. Well, I have been quite busy over the last few weeks. Of course, that won't reflect in the ramblings, but take my word for it. You will also notice that there will be some changes to the ramblings coming up. Mainly there will be no more album reviews on this page. My reviews will now be posted at musicbeet.com. Music Beet is a sight run by a few people, that is dedicated to album reviews. You can see some of my previous work on there now. So without the reviews to take up space, maybe the ramblings will be shorter, you're thinking? Well, probably not. So let's get on with it.

I hate WBND channel 57. For the entire weekend, my local ABC affiliate was off of the air. So I was unable to watch England's match with Paraguay, the Barclay's Classic, and Game 2 of the NBA finals. Unbelievable. How in the hell can a station simply go off the air. I had to stay glued to ESPNews just to get scoring updates for the game last night. This is totally unacceptable. That place better have exploded, or been whipped off the face of the Earth.

Speaking of sports, let's get down to the World Cup. I just finished watching the US get destroyed by the Czech Republic, and that makes me kind of depressed. Once every four years, I care about soccer. But when the World Cup comes around, I don't miss a US match. It is a pride thing. Anyway, hopefully the US can rebound and steal a point (or three) from Italy.

The NBA Finals are in full swing, and so far my prediction is holding up pretty well. My only doubt, is whether the Heat will last until Game 6. The Mavs simply look like a better team. It is as simple as that.

Well, I knew these would be abbreviated ramblings, so.....Adios.

Good night, and good luck.

The "Are you sure it isn't Wednesday?" Ramblings

2006-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

The title of the Ramblings has to do with this being a short work week. I have, as usual, felt like I was day behind. Let's get on with it.

The Pistons fought off elimination last night, with a valiant defensive effort. Doesn't matter. The series will be over on Saturday. The poor Pistons. Their constant bitching to the refs certainly hasn't gained them any new fans, and their lackadaisical attitude has brought them to the brink. RIP Bad Boys II. The Mavs blew a golden opportunity Tuesday, and now the series is tied at 2. The Suns better thank their lucky stars, because their is no way Dirk will have another game as poor as Game 4.

In my running them of the debacle that is the Cubs, their record now stands at 11-25 since the injury to Derek Lee. Is Phil Nevin the answer? Probably not.

And how about those Detroit Tigers? They have the best record in the bigs, and now I have to jump on the bandwagon. Well, let me put it this way. For years I have been a closet Tiger fan. My mother grew up in Detroit, and my Grandpa (R.I.P) was a diehard fan. He used to sit in his backyard, and try to pick up Tiger games in central Indiana on the radio. And oftentimes he would. I have even been to the old Tiger Stadium. But, with there last twelve horrible seasons, my love for the Tigers has waned. Incompetent management, and poor execution have doomed the team in the past, but they have finally found the right guy in Jim Leyland. Leyland is old school. He isn't going to take any bullshit from anyone, and the Tigers are all the better for it. So, I say this with glee.....GO TIGERS! (unless they're playing the Red Sox).

Another Damn Album Review
The Rancoteurs-Broken Boy Soldiers-3 stars out of 5-When it was announced that Jack White would be teaming up with fellow Detroit poster boy Brendan Benson for an album, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I am such a fan of each of their albums, but this record can only be filed under disappointment. You would think that two terrific and nuanced songwriters would bring out the best in each other, but no. Benson must be saving his good hooks for his next solo record, and White must be saving his best for the next Stripes album. The album does have some good songs like lead single "Steady as She Goes", the rollicking "Hands" and the Benson lead "Intimate Secretary" but nothing too memorable sticks out. A missed opportunity to be generous.

I spent some time on the web recently, and found an entire website devoted to Keith Olbermann. The site is olbermann.org, and it contains all kinds of info on my favorite newsman. If you get a chance, check it out.

I certainly have no idea how to react to the news that Condi Rice announced the US would be willing to meet with Iranian officials regarding their burgeoning nuclear program. For an administration which changing course is never an option, this is a major 180. Frankly, I am glad to see some sort of effort to communicate with the Iranians. Anything beats another war.

That's it. Good night, and good luck.

The Memorial Day Weekend Ramblings

2006-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

So the Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and summer has officially started. I must admit that the three day weekend is something I am trying to incorporate into my job, but it doesn't seem to fly real well with my bosses. In my neck of the woods, temperatures hovered around 90, with about 200% humidity. Anyway, here's some ramblings.

My Dad and I went fishing on Sunday morning. I must say I like fishing, quite a bit. Except for the fact Dad and I were on the lake for about 4 hours, and caught one fish not even big enough to keep. I maybe got two bites the entire time. Dad wasn't so lucky. Anyway, it's always nice to spend time with Dad, even though the fishing sucked.

I can remember a time when swimming in the summer was the only thing to do. Now, not so much. I mention this because my wife bought a small "kiddie" pool for our daughter. We practically had to drag her kicking and screaming out of the damn thing so she could eat lunch. She loooooved it. And those swimmer diapers do a pretty good job. Except when she got out of the pool, and was still dripping from her swimmers for a couple of hours.

You know I really hate having to be places on the weekend. It always seems that no matter what weekend it is, we have to go see so and so, or what's her name is having a party, or whatever. I spend all week having to be at work. My weekend, my time? Never works out that way.

Due to one of those things I had to be at, I missed a great Indy 500. It is the only race I will watch all year and I missed it. Can you sense the bitterness? At least I got to see the highlights on ESPN. Also, a thumbs-up to the coverage ESPN presented in SporstsCenter and on ESPNews.

Time for an album review:
Wolfmother-Wolfmother-3.5 stars out of 5-"Is there a bustle in your hedgerow?' Robert Plant asked in 1971, and Wolfmother have an answer, "YES!" This Australian power trio, in the vein of Cream, pull out all the stops in this stomping good album. Songs like the opening rush of "Dimension " and the epic "Joker and the Thief" leave little doubt how talented this band is, but the score gets lowered simply because it is so derivative. The album sounds like 1971, with references to the mighty Zep, Floyd, and even the Stones. It is a very heavy record, and a very fun listen.

I don't want to get off on a rant here....but....whatever happened to Dennis Miller?

Speaking of comedians who peaked in the 90's, it is good to see Denis Leary finally have a successful TV show in "Rescue Me". I was a big fan of his short lived ABC series "The Job". And though his first album is almost a complete ripoff of Bill Hicks, I do hold a soft spot for the man who wrote the immortal "Asshole".

Let me also say that in the cuturally dried up era of Television, at least we have South Park, Family Guy, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and my boy Olbermann to piss off the status quo. It is inspiring to me to know that politicians and uptight citizens can still get upset over comedy. It is nice to know that other people are offended at something I find hilarious. Is that schadenfreude? "Enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others" is what the dictionary says. I believe I got me a big case of schadenfreude.

I wanted to let everyone know that the Pistons are done. There is too much dissention right now among the players. And it appears no one in the organization is happy with Flip "I only made it past the first round once, before this year" Saunders.

And that's it. Enjoy. Good Night, and Good Luck.

Wednesday Ramblings

2006-05-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

My most recent post was a full album review, so I suppose a more traditional "ramblings" post is in order.

Let's begin with the NBA playoffs. My Clips tried to run with the Suns in Game 7, and we all know how that worked out. Everyone knows that to beat the Suns, you have to keep Steve Nash from scoring, and take advantage of the offensive boards. Oh well. A tremendous Game 7 between the Spurs and the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki can finally silence all of those critics who have labeled him "soft" over the years. His drive to the basket with under 20 seconds in regulation is going to be remembered as the play that will change his career. He might just be the best player in the league. The Heat-Pistons series kicked off last night, and the Pistons slept through Game 1. I think they better get it together, or face getting swept.

Rubber game today between the Sox and Yankees. Clement against Johnson isn't much of a pitching matchup on paper. But, with the Unit struggling, offense will be the difference.

Do you ever get the feeling like you cannot be shocked anymore? Seriously, think about it. I mean violence doesn't upset me. Sex doesn't. Certainly foul language doesn't. So what is left. Those are the three tenants of censorship!! Just a thought.

Monday's long review of the new Brian Vander Ark album, was edited heavily by me on Tuesday. That is the first time since I created "The Ramblings" that I have used the edit button. If you read the first edition, you could tell that it just wasn't that good. So I deleted about 400 words, and replaced them with around 150. If you know me, and chances are you might, you know that I am not a big editor. I almost always feel that my first instinct is my best.

New feature today called: Currently. This is just like what it sounds, simply a quick rundown of the CD's, TV shows, and books that I am currently enjoying.
1. Wolfmother-Wolfmother-Aussies rock like it's 1971. (full review coming)
2. The Rancoteurs-Broken Boy Soldiers-Full review coming
3. Old Gods Almost Dead-by Stephen Davis-Rock bio of the Stones. Fabulous

Let me finish today by making a recommendation and today it is a book, "The Great Shark Hunt" by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is simply unbelievable. It takes some of Thomspon's longer published works from Scanlan's, Rolling Stone, and other publications, and rolls them into one package. Thompson's hilarious, and irreverent writing style, combined with his genuine love of journalism ("I'm a doctor of journalism, goddammit!" he would often exclaim.), make this a quick read (though it covers some 600 pages). If you have always wondered what all the fuss was about this "gonzo" journalist, this is a great place to start.

See you on the flip side.

The Brian Vander Ark Ramblings

2006-05-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sooo.....how do you write a fair, impartial, and critical album review of one of your favorite artists? Well, I am going to go ahead and give it a try. Here is a lengthy, and hopefully fair review of Brian VanderArk's "Angel, Put Your Face On".

Brian VanderArk-Angel, Put Your Face On-4.5 Stars out of 5
When you have had an album sell one and half million copies, your life should be set, right. Everything, should fall into place for a lengthy, and wealthy career. Ten years ago, these were the prospects facing Brian Vander Ark. His band, the Verve Pipe, was in the process of selling over a million copies of their major label debut "Villains." Fresh off of the success of that album, the band waited three years before the release of their self titled second album for RCA. When sales fell way short of expectations, the noose was being tied. Following the release of their final album "Underneath" the band was dropped in mid tour from RCA.

So these are the prospects from which BVA has lived. He has regrouped and released a well received solo album "Resurrection" on Brash Music in 2003. Since that time he has married, had a daughter, recorded a live album, and toured incessantly across the country. Looking back, and after hearing the new album, "Resurrection" seems like an introduction. "Angel..." establishes a voice for BVA.

"Angel, Put Your Face On" is a step forward, both lyrically and musically. The production of Ken Coomer (Wilco) and Charlie Brocco is a perfect match for these 10 songs. Their are even a few electronic flourishes, and a new sense of musical adventurism. Unlike "Resurrection", this album is a almost wholly positive affair, with songs of new love, hope, and peace.

"Angel.." kicks off with "I don't wanna be a bother" a stinging attack on those far right wingers, who drove apparently really bugged Brian. The song is a bit wordy, but the rollicking guitars (acoustic and electric) drive this song to a fitting end. "Too Good for this World" has a tremndous outro, with a George Harrison line in the coda. "Belong" has a "hit record" written all over it. If this Daniel Powter guy can have a hit with that boring "Bad Day", then this song should be a #1. It contains a great hook, and perfect instrumentation. The lyric speaks of hope, coming from despair. Perfect. "Nothing but Time" is a song of love, and warning. "Survival" lightens the mood, with a bouncy guitar attack, and a cheery chorus. "Another Good Man" treads similar ground to "When I'm Gone" on "Resurrection". A smart lyric, and a simple guitar. "History" could be a Wilco track from "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", but instead BVA uses the different sonics, to frame a song of wonder. "God only knows" he repeats, and we wonder the same. With "A Trip to Omaha" BVA comes up with a Boss-like story song framed around too seperate trips. "Based Upon the Way" is an uptempo track of love to his wife. "The Heart that Keeps You" finishes off the record with an inspirational lyric, and a plea to work together.

The album is tied together by some of the most consistent songwriting of Brian's career, with the Verve Pipe or otherwise. The flourishes in the production, point to what could be a more exploratory vision for his music. His voice remains a powerful instrument, and transmit his words perfectly.

The album does have a few missteps, mainly some of the placement of songs. Their is no filler here, but some of the flow of the album is lacking. Also, the length of only 37 minutes is slightly disappointing, but again none of the tracks could be considered filler.

To put it bluntly, this is the best album he has made. You know sometimes when you buy an album, and you love it so much that you can't wait for that artist to make another one. That is how I feel about this one. He will have a tough time topping this, but I believe he might have it in him. If the first album was an introduction, then this is his resurrection.

Well, not so impartial. It's hard when an artist you love, makes an album as good as this. Hopefully, I will have more reviews (normal length) later this week, as well as my typical notes on news and sports.

The Thursday Ramblings

2006-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

So.....another long gap between blogs....well....I've been busy. So let's get on with it.

Just to let you know, Brian Vander Ark's new album is available at his website brianvanderark.com. It is an incredible collection of songs, that offers many suprises. I am increbily excited to receive my copy in the mail. But, if you are too anxious, like me, you can hear the album in full on the site. There will be a full review when I get the record.

Wrong....Wrong....Wrong. The Cavs were not done. I sat dumbfounded last night, as I watched Game 5 unfold. The Pistons seem to think that they can turn "it" off and on at any time, much like they did in the regular season. But, the Cavs just keep working their game plan, and playing hard. For the Cavs to win at the Palace was simply remarkable, considering how soundly they were beaten in Games 1 & 2. But, don't count the Pistons out yet. They are the best team in the league. The Mavs almost eliminated the Spurs last night. Hey, I am hoping for anything else besides a Spurs/Pistons Finals. The Heat erased the Nets. I don't really care about that series. And, the Clippers have to win tonight to force a Game 7 with the Suns. Look for Elton Brand to go for at least 35 tonight.

In my first post, I commented on the injury of Derek Lee, and the Cubs have been in a freefall ever since. No hitting and poor pitching will do that to you. Since the injury, the Cubs are 8-18!! Hopefully, the return of Wood and Prior to the rotation will boost the morale.

My Red Sox are still cruising along, taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees recently. Beckett and Schilling are a formidilbe 1-2 punch, at the start of any rotation. And, let me just say..."Thank God, they didn't trade Manny!"

Sometimes, life throws you little surprises. Like, when your daughter decides to use the potty for the first time. Not that I thought it would never happen, but your just not ready for it when it does. The first steps, first words, and first everything are all the same. You now there coming....but...

News on the home front....Well, I don't really have any. I assure you, that no news is generally good news.

I hold many albums near to my heart. Whether it is the quality of music, or simply the ability of certain albums to transplant me back to when I bought them. The second quality is represented by the album, "The Instigator" by Rhett Miller. The leader of the Old '97's, steps away from the cow-punk sound of his band, to deliver an album of lovelorn pop tunes. The album is probably a 3.5 star out of 5 album, but I hold this album close because of when I bought it. It was October 2002, and I was gearing up to propose to my wife. I bought the ring, and this album the same day. In fact, it was playing when I dropped to my knee and asked my wife to be mine forever. Thankfully, she said yes!! And, now almost four years later, songs like "Come Around", "World Inside a World" and "The El" still rattle through my brain now and again. And though I rarely listen to this album anymore, it means more to me than almost any of my other ones.

The Rainy Weekend Ramblings

2006-05-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Three straight days of rain. That's what it has been like lately. Can't go outside to do my usual weekend routine of working in the yard, so I have decided to give you some more ramblings. Enjoy.

This week I received the 1,000th issue of Rolling Stone. I have been an avid subscriber to Rolling Stone since I was a formative teenager. I have seen the decline of the magazine. Slowly they have been inundating us with covers of Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba, Britney Spears, and other culturally irrelevant people. I can remember a time (and we are talking about the 90's here) when being on the cover of RS meant something. I can remember when Oasis got their first cover, or Nirvana. These were cultural touchstones, that showed these artists had "made it." To be on the cover now, you simply have to be hot, or have some product you have to promote. Or maybe it has always been this way. Maybe, even in my late 20's, I have begun to romanticize my growing up. My era. My formative years. Has it been a generation? To paraphrase the late great Hunter S. Thompson, if you look back ,with the right kind of eyes, you can see where the wave peaked, and then rolled back.

I received some response to some of the blogs that have discussed more political things. Well, now that we know 3 of the 4 largest telephone companies have been sharing every call made for the last three years with the NSA. And, the man that ran the NSA, Gen. Michael Hayden, is now Bush's nomination to lead the CIA. Well, well, well. I have no idea where to begin. First of all, the fact that the government knows that I have called my wife everyday for the last three years, is a major problem. Of course, people will say, "if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about." Well, that's not the point. The government has no business knowing who calls who, period. They already know what I watch on TV, what I do on the internet, and damn near everything else. It has got to stop somewhere. Second of all, the fact that Bush has nominated this guy for the CIA, clearly shows how messed up the administration has become. Now, I didn't vote for the guy, but he is my President as well as everybody else's. So you could say I was kind of rooting for him. And after the failed nomination of Hariet Myers, then appointing of Tony Snow, the leaks, the war, the domestic spying, and the nomination of Hayden, I have almost lost total faith in our President. And, that is a sad day for any American.

I didn't really watch the NBA playoffs last night, but the Clips were unable to contain Shawn Marion, who was busy with his usual May disappearance, until last night. Hopefully, the Clips can get the series even on Sunday. Big game tonight between the Mavs, and Spurs. Look for Devin Harris to get the start again, and for the Mavs to win, after scoring over 100 points. And, just a reminder: The Cavs are done.

And it is with those thoughts, that I leave you to enjoy your weekend.

The "It's been nine freaking days!!" Ramblings

2006-05-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, since I last posted, the Lakers lost control of their series against the Suns, David Blaine almost drowned on live TV, and I spent a bunch of time cleaning out my yard. So, on with the ramblings.

First of all, I did get sucked into watching illusionist/endurance athlete/publicity whore David Blaine try to hold his breath for nine minutes. It wasn't really riveting television, but I guess I buy into the whole "pushing the human body to it's limits" kind of thinking. Cynics out there, and Lord know there are tons, say it was all for publicity. Well, Duh!! Why else do you think it aired during sweeps month? Of course it was for publicity, that is the only way a magician (if you can call him that) can get noticed these days. Seriously, name me three other active magicians in the next ten seconds......Can't do it? Love him or hate him, you know who David Blaine is, and I think that is the whole point.

The NBA playoff ramble on, and in hindsight the Lakers/Suns series has got to be one of the best first round series I have ever seen (except Game 7). Two MVP type players carrying their teams. Too bad the Suns won. That ruins the LA/LA series everyone was dying to see. Well, at least the dozen or so NBA fans left. The Clipps lost to the Suns in Game 1, simply because they tried to run with them. Never a good idea. The Cavs have no shot against the Pistons, and the Mavs will beat the Spurs in six. The Heat looked horrible in Game One against the Nets and they need a win tonight, or it's good night to Shaq's title hopes.

Quick record review
Pearl Jam-Pearl Jam-4 stars out of 5-It is always exciting when a band you have kind of grown up with comes out with a new album. I can remember buying Ten when I was thirteen years old, and being completely blown away. I must admit I am a huge PJ fan, just to warn you. Anyway, the new album, is fast heavy, wordy, and everything you would expect from a new PJ record. It just seems like they have lost a little bit of their "artiness", if you know what I mean. Listening to their last record, Riot Act, they were becoming more and more experimental. Now, this move did not result in huge record sales, but I feel that they creatively peaked with that album. I would compare this release to the release of U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Think about it, U2 had spent the entirety of the 90's expanding their sound, and making interesting records. Then, all of a sudden, they make a record that sounds like the 80's U2. The only difference being that "Pearl Jam" is a far better record. The record kicks of with "Life Wasted" a barnburning rawk song about missed opportunities. It is a great lift off for the album, which they haven't had since "Breakerfall" from Binaural. The album is light on direct political attacks, and overall is a strong set of songs. Just a slight regression, though, creatively.

I had a fabulous weekend with my wife and daughter. It was perfect. Working in the yard, playing on our swing set, taking a walk. Just being together as a family. Isn't that what it is all about?

New to the ramblings, this week, I will be giving some recommendations, on movies, albums, tv shows, and books that I think somebody else might like. Today, I have to recommend my favorite news program:Countdown with Keith Olbermann. His show gives you hard news, humor, and some O'Reily bashing (which I personally love). He is honest and irreverent. Plus, he doesn't pull punches along party lines. He bashes Democrats and Republicans, so I am okay with that. His show is an hour that I hate to miss.

It's Monday, and I Ain't Got Much to Write Ramblings

2006-05-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Monday comes like an unexpected guest and makes itself comfortable. God, I hate 'em. Let us make haste and get on with the ramblings.

First of all I would like to say that the NBA playoffs are offering more excitement in the first round than I could have possibly imagined. Kobe's game winner will go down as his iconic shot, his Jordan over Ehlo. Steve Nash played like the little Canadian point guard that he is, with two terrible turnovers. One at the end of regulation (Smush Parker with the steal), and one at the end of overtime. I did not see him signal for a timeout before he got tied up by Luke Walton, and everyone knows that you are not going to get a hand check call when you dribble right into a trap with under 10 seconds left in the game. Lakers up 3-1, which means we could have an all LA second round matchup. I bet nobody had that picked at the beginning of the season (but you will notice that I had it picked before the playoffs began).

The Bulls played beautiful basketball in tying the series with the Heat at 2 games apiece. Kirk Heinrich's dagger three with about a minute to play was huge. And as far as the feud that is developing between the Glove and D-Wade let me say this: Gary Payton has no business saying anything to anyone, at anytime. He should just thank his lucky stars that he is still in the league.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, version 2006, kicks off tonight, and I don't really care. It is the first of May. These games won't matter until August at the earliest. However, I would love for the Sox to sweep the Yankees, just to send a message.

Time for a record review.

Secret Machines-Ten Silver Drops-4 stars out of 5-This is one of those records that I have been waiting for for a long time. Ever since I heard Now Here is Nowhere, I thought,"God, I can't wait to get their next record." A now it is here. The spacey guitars are still all over the place. Beginning with "Alone, Jealous, and Stoned" the band lets you know that this will be a different record. Measured, but not really slow the song is a look at the aftermath of a broken heart. It is a theme they repeat throughout the record. Their is a very good flow to the record, as well. The only thing that is missing is the monumental drum sound from the first record. A step in the right direction for the band, and let us hope the third album can put them in stadiums.

Finally, a little wisdom from the weekend. You know those rainy Sundays. When you just sit around and watch TV, and play with your kids, and eat. My family had one of those this weekend. Slightly overrated in my opinion. I mean, I would much rather get out of the house, then sit all day. I even have a Directv system with over 100 channels, and there was not a damn thing on. Well there was plenty on, but I didn't want to watch cooking or some Julia Stiles movie, and my wife couldn't give a damn about the NBA playoffs, or the fifth round of the NFL draft. Plus, our daughter has a little cold. So all in all, not a great Sunday. But, on the bright side, at least we got some rest, and got to spend some time together. My point: it is always better to have a plan for the days you don't have anything to do.

Nostalgia Ramblings

2006-04-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my old CDs and I was recalling the excitement I felt buying each one of them. It made me feel sad, though, knowing that my days of going to the record store to buy a new record (I refer to all CDs as records, I refer all actual records, as vinyl) were over. I know I will never feel the excitement of going to the record store at midnight on a Monday night/Tuesday morning, to buy the latest release by whatever band.

I want everyone to know, I have never downloaded a single song illegally. Now, I'm no prude, I have burned my share of CDs. But burning a CD to introduce a friend to a whole new set of bands is entirely different than stealing someone's songs, at least I think so.

When the whole Napster episode happened, I must admit, I kind of straddled the fence. You see, I could clearly see where the artists were coming from. They have worked their whole lives to get to the point that people would want to buy their music, and now people are stealing it from them. However, I can also understand that if you can get free music, why in the hell wouldn't you. People would say, "I mean, screw the artist, I just got the entire catalogue of Green Day for nothing!!" Well, I cannot argue with that. But the US government can, and they brought the hammer down. To sue 12 and 13 year old kids for stealing music is a little harsh, but I believe they made their point: You aren't going to get away with this!!

The popularity of iTunes has certainly revolutionized the music industry. Download a song, pay $.99. Want an album, pay $12.99. Unlimited downloads, yeah they got that too. And now anyone can get practically any piece of music they want, right from their desktop. A perfect existence right?

Well, I tend to disagree. I remember a time when going to the record store was an event. I can remember walking through the aisles with as many as a dozen CDs that were up for consideration, knowing I could only buy 2. That was an event. I used to keep a list of all the records I needed to buy. Yes, you read that right. NEEDED. I was building a collection. So when people would come to my house, they would be like, "Damn, you got a lot of records." I was collecting for quality and quantity. And I still am.

I can remember on weekends with nothing to do, that record shopping was my favorite pastime. I don't want to go to the movies, no miniature golf. A hot party tonight, don't care. But record shopping was what got me through those boring weekends in Northern Indiana. "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Wanna go buy some records." "Hell yeah!"

But as I get older, I still get the urge. I want to get butterflies in my stomach when I hear about a new album coming out. But nearing middle age, and with the responsibilities that go with fatherhood, it all seems kind of childish. I don't mind feeling childish. I want to go through a record store and act like a teenager. But all of the teenagers are now downloading music, and...Oops....Uh.....Ummm....Uhhh.....I'm going to buy some records.

Mid Week Ramblings

2006-04-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Gas prices. Energy costs. Coke Blak. Everything costs more than it should. For a gallon of gas, I paid $39 for 13.5 gallons. Completely ridiculous. But you know what, I paid it. Just like I pay my outrageous energy bill every month. And I pay over $1 for an 8 oz. drink that combines coffee and Coke.

My point is this. Don't bitch to the politicians, because they can't do anything that will help right now. Trust me, I would love to bash Bush on this, but there is not one valid reason why higher energy costs are his fault. Nor, is there a way that he could fix it right now.

People (including myself) are essentially sheep. They will do as their told, pay what their asked. You can complain all you want about these things, but until people decide to make an essential change in their habits, nothing will change.

I don't really know what to think of the White House's hiring of Fox News analyst Tony Snow for the vacant Press Secretary position. I guess it just goes to show what everybody already knows. Fox News leans to the right and everybody else is wrong. Keep in mind, in the area I live in, being a registered independent is the same as being a democrat. I might as well perform abortions, while marrying two gay men, while smoking a cigarette, and collecting unemployment, in most of the area's residents eyes. I guess what the Snow appointment means, is that Bush is trying to use Fox News as a spring board (like that hasn't happened for the last six years) and pride himself on their right leaning ways.

NBA playoff continue tonight, and mark my words: Tonight Kobe puts up at least 28 shots, scores 50, and the Lakers go back to LA tied 1-1.

Let me finish with this. I believe right now that our country is teetering in all directions. Race, sex, class, everything is up for attack and defense. We are nearing an Orwellian vision of Big Brother monitoring our every move. A friend of mine posed a trick question to me one time. We were discussing the merits of Bush's American Spying program and he asked me, " what if a terrorist kills your daughter, but domestic spying could have stopped it?" I replied with this, "She would not die in vain. I would spend every second defending the right to privacy given to every American, or even someone on American soil." He says I was lying. I know I wasn't.

RANDOM WEEKEND THOUGHTS

2006-04-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

So I happen upon another Monday in this dreary April, and I wonder aloud why does the work week come back so quickly. Not that my job is horrible, but the fact that I have to go to work just bugs the hell out of me. Anyway some random weekend thoughts to brighten up your day.

1. One of my favorite artists' is preparing to release his second solo album. Brian VanderArk of the Verve Pipe will be releasing "Angel, Put Your Face On" on May 16th on his new website bvamusic.com. Also check out his myspace site myspace.com/brianvanderark to hear some new songs. Anyway, my wife and I saw him in concert for our second anniversary, and it was one of the best times we have had together. His work is incredible, and I will be doing my best to spread the gospel of BVA.

2. The NBA playoffs kicked off this weekend, and I was able to catch some of the games. Why didn't I catch all of the games, you ask? Well, I do have a family, and I do have other interests besides vegging on the couch on a sunny weekend, that's why. Anyway, Lebron put on quite a show, despite shooting less than 50% from the field. Kobe shared, and it failed. Look for Mamba (thank you Sports Guy) to put up at least 28 shots in Game 2. The Pacers stole home court from the Nets (like I said they would) by going to Jermaine O'Neal in the fourth quarter. That is what wins playoff games; going to your best player, and that player delivering.

3. I, like most homeowners, do my best to keep my yard and house looking as good as possible. But I must admit, it seems like more fun when your father isn't telling you how bad you are screwing up every five minutes. Am I wrong?

4. Not to brag or anything, but my daughter continues to throw fits at a two year old level (she's fifteen months).

5. Barry Bonds just needs to go away. I continue to have mixed feelings about the best player in the game. A year ago, I defended him to my wife by saying, "When we have a son, and he wants to know the best player I ever saw, I will tell him: Barry Bonds." But now with "Game of Shadows", his reality show, his putrid hitting, and his expanding waistline, I just wish he would go away.

6. The most overhyped sporting event of the year happens this weekend: the NFL draft. I just have lost interest in the draft over the last 5 years. Probably because my Chicago Bears have made some horrible mistakes over the years (Rashaan Salaam, Cade McNown, Curtis Enis, just to name a few.)

Hopefully, I will have something new on Wednesday.

The First Real Post

2006-04-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

As I continue down the treacherous road of life, I find that some things never change. I am always wondering why. Why do good things happen to good people? Why am I here? Why am I so blessed with a loving family? Why? Why? Why?

Whoa, I am getting a little philosophical on everyone. Let me lighten the mood by discussing the most recent albums that I have bought.

Taylor Hawkins and the Coattali Riders-3.5 stars out of 5
This album comes from the current drummer from the Foo Fighters. It has excellant drumming, as could be expected. A very sunny sounding record, reminiscent of the Foos, the Who, and lots of 70's rock. Sounds like California. A surprsing record due to the strength of Hawkins songwriting. Let us hope that this isn't a one-off , and instead is a nice side career from the extremely likable drummer.

The Flaming Lips-At War With The Mystics-3.5 stars out of 5
Well, another batch of weirdness from Wayne Coyne and the boys. The songs aren't as strong as expected, but of course the sounds on the album are incredible. For a record that took something like three years to make, you would think that they would have come up with better melodies, but no such luck. It seems like they focused more on the sonic side of things, instead of the songs. Put your headphones on and you can really enjoy this record.

The Vines-Vision Valley-2.5 stars out of 5
After the hype of the first album, the tremendous letdown of the second album, singer Craig Nicholl's diagnosis of mental illness, and the loss of a band member, comes this Vision Valley. Here the band sticks to their tried and true formula of Nirvana grunge tracks, mixed with melancholy psychedelia. With a running time of 31 minutes, the record never really takes off. The lyrics are horrible, though the playing is tight. The next record this band makes needs to be a barn burner, or we all might just forget about The Vines.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me run down some sports thoughts going round in my head.

1. Now that Kelvin Sampson has been hired by Indiana, we await to hear whether sanctions that he incurred at Oklahoma will follow him to the Hoosier state. Perhaps the smartest thing AD Rick Greenspan did was structure the new coach's contract to penalize him if the sanctions come to IU. By the way, I am very excited about the new season for the Hoosiers, especially with the return of DJ White.

2. The curse of the Billy Goat continues to haun the Cubs, as all-world first baseman Derek Lee is out 10 to 12 weeks with two broken bones in his hand. This comes less than two weeks after Lee signed a 5 year $65 million contract. Hopefully, the Cubs can keep around .500 while Lee heals.

3. The NBA playoffs begin today, and surprisingly, I am excited. Here are my picks:
First Round
Heat over Bulls
Spurs over Kings
Pacers over Nets
Lakers over Suns
Pistons over Bucks
Mavs over Grizzlies
Cavs over Wizards
Clippers over Nuggets

Second Round
Heat over Pacers
Mavs over Spurs
Pistons over Cavs
Clippers over Lakers

Conference Finals
Heat over Pistons
Mavs over Clippers

Finals
Mavs over Heat in 6

And there you have it. I am sure some of these are wrong, but at least I am going out on a limb.

First Entry

2006-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hello cruel and twisted world of blogging. Unbelievable! Anyway, I will be using this space to simply write. I plan on discussing many things, including music, politics, my life... anything. There may be some foul language from time to time, but do not let that deter you. I will do my best to keep my blog updated on a regular basis.