Along with a nice iTunes Christmas gift certificate from Jeffro, he pretty much pulled a “Dubya” and issued an executive order for me to invest some of it in the Band of Horses sophomore bits, “Cease to Begin.” “It’s right up your alley,” raved Jeff. I seem to recall this effort being his #1 record of 2007. Track one, “Is There A Ghost” builds an echoey tempo to the one-minute mark then just explodes to the guitar/bass/drums wall of noise that dominates my aforementioned sonic alley. That’s where it ends. To me, the rest of the record is a mostly mellow affair with vocals that remind me of Yes’s Jon Anderson. I listened for what grabbed Jeff, but other than track 5, the reasoning eludes me. Could it be that simple? Track five has hand claps… Jeff always applauds handfuls of rhythm.
Author: fifteenkey (Page 51 of 95)
- You know how after you spend a long time cooking a big dinner like for Thanksgiving and by the time it’s ready, you don’t feel like eating it because you’re a little sick of it? I think that’s how we might feel about whichever “Survivor” is our next President.
- Next time you’re in the Villages, check out Takis Greek & Italian Restaurant. After splitting a flaming saganaki opener, Kyle enjoyed the chicken souvlaki with fries (natch) and I was impressed by their pastichio.
- Worse than a recession, I think we may be in a period of deflation, where slow economic growth is wed to rapidly rising prices. Just in the last 2 days, I’ve been hit with these numbers:
- Heating Oil $546.15 2007 Delivery Avg $281.16
- Gasoline $50.14 2007 Fillup Avg $36.63
- Groceries $246.54 2007 Weekly Avg $132.89
- This must be the Bush version of “trickle down” economics. Oil trickles out of their Saudi pals and we pay more in every area of our economy.
- Recently I was privileged to visit the Salvadore Dali Museum. His 1940 hallucination, Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire was a stunning highlight.
- You gotta love the sheer volume of ED spots during NFL games. If I ever have to go to the ER for priapism, I want to take a picture with the woman and the doctor just like they do after a fishing trip when you’ve landed a big one.
- Oh, I expect the Pats 19th win will be against the New York Football Giants.
- Speaking of the NFL, is it me or is Dish Network ripping off AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” in their NFL Network commercial?
- Supposedly the Clinton and Obama campaigns have chilled on the “race card,” yet yesterday after Mrs. Clinton was declared the winner in the Nevada caucuses, I heard a Senior Obama advisor on MSNBC stating she hoped Hillary Clinton would put as much effort into South Carolina as she did Nevada and that the citizens (30% black voters) of South Carolina “deserved to be heard.” The veiled implication is Mrs. Clinton doesn’t care as much about a state with a large black population… While accusing the Clinton campaign of dirty politics, the Obama people seem well schooled in it themselves.
…Workin’ like a blog.
It’s been challenging to tickle this keyboard lately. I’m hoping a re-dedication to working out will fill me with natures Red Bull, but that won’t magically happen over one third shift. Also, this “living by talking around” takes time usually devoted to other work still required, so until I get more energy or my hands on a time turner, this space will suffer.
One new interest getting some time is digital photography. I’m experimenting with settings other than “Auto,” and having some success. Here are a few favorites:
December Sunset at The Villages
Christmas Eve
Birthday Girl – Granddaughter Madison 3 months today…
Resolution Reality
Last night I attended another in a series of amazing dinner parties hosted by my friend Barb. One of the topics squeezed between courses of deep sea delicacies and their wine partners was New Years resolutions. Around the table we went with trips to Spain, getting in shape to ride a Mardi Gras float (2009 mind you…), a triathlon, moving to Boston, and my elusive answer: bringing Exxon-Mobil to its knees. Besides the fact the corporation doesn’t have knees and I won’t be bringing them there, my joke of a response just avoided putting something out there I might have to live up to. Pathetic.
Sitting in my favorite tube-shaped writing hall on route to Tampa and listening to my neglected “Workout Mix” provides me some time to reflect an appropriate pairing with “get in shape.” I think it was Barb who recently said her boss mentioned the mantra of “managing by walking around.” I definitely think that is a goal that would help me as a person and as part of career development. I need to take it beyond work though, so my goal number two will be “living by talking around.” It’s really simple. Just seek out people to talk to and gab away. It’s the “seek out people” that’s tough for me. Once I get past the “initiation” phase I manage the I/O of words pretty well. Who knows, “talking around” with enough women might get me… uh, I think two stretch goals are enough for now.
Hey, what’s that grease spot on the Ceiling?
Just like some office clown trying to snap a photocopy of their “good side,” “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert had his ass cheeks pressed down on the glass for his interview today with Hillary Clinton. Right from the opening question he did all he could to undermine Mrs. Clinton with the American Public, and for every incomplete video clip and out of context quote, the Senator from New York called him on the BS and set the record straight. It was a spectacular performance and I hope Mr. Russert is criticized in the mainstream press for his ambush. Very little of the interview focused on policy positions, and most of the hour was spent on political accusations, past scandals, embarrassments and generally all things anti-Clinton and pro-Barack Obama. I really didn’t sense any sexism on the part of Mr. Russert. No, to me he was squatting hard on his own Clinton Ceiling.
I’ve got stuff to do today and not much time to write, so I’ll take one of the easy ways out. No, not a sock drawer cleaning, but a review of recent comments and questions from the adoring public:
Monday, November 19, 2007
“You are strange.”
Yes, but as an apple that didn’t fall too far from the tree, you should just embrace it.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
“Is Kyle holding a NYC rat?”
A rat? Uh, no. We forgot the doggie bag. That would be his movie replica “Voldemort” wand.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
“Wow. My heart skipped a beat when I saw you in this video. You’re still adorable.”
Thank you. My videocam is a non-Canon HD model, so it does capture images very clearly in their adorable splendor.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
“SHE’S SOOO CUTE!!! I produce beautiful offspring.”
As do I.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
“Technically speaking – birthdays mark the end of a year – not the beginning.”
Thank you for reminding me I am already in my 50th year of life.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
“Please tell me a duet was involved: “S-U-P-E-R…”
Not that I recall. Here’s some video of the event I found over at tmz.com:
Thursday, January 10, 2008
“Any chance we could get through to the primary without too many of your play-on-words about ‘Hilary the woman’ versus ‘Hilary the candidate’?”
No, no chance. The fact Mrs. Clinton is a woman and Mr. Obama is African-American is relevant to their candidacy and make their efforts historic. I will be quite happy with either as President, but the gender/race issues are very real and will be a significant factor in the general election. Is there some particular policy issue of hers you’d like dissected? As for the play-on-words, I do make an effort to add entertainment value to my posts, and granted, the wordplay is of questionable um, value. If you think they are no good, just write that.
Girl, was I wrong!
I thought I was so clever writing, “Regardless of what new political makeup she may apply, it will never paint her the face of change that is Barack Obama.” What I failed to consider was nobody likes an ice princess unless it’s Dorothy Hammil, but one simple human moment and a tear stained eye* seemed to have a profound effect on the voters of New Hampshire who awarded Hillary Clinton with a stunning upset victory over Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Up to Tuesday, the Clinton teams own polling indicated she would lose by 11 percentage points, yet when the chads were all counted, she won by 3.
There’s a huge benefit to all of this for the Democrats. “Finding her voice” with the voters of New Hampshire has transformed Mrs. Clinton into a better candidate and the sobering experience for Mr. Obama, combined with more focus on his actual positions will strengthen him for a potential general election in the Fall.
* Son Volt song
“Can we just get the plane?” It amazed me Kyle was willing to skip 3 days at WallyWorld to get home to his much missed Madison, but I managed to convince the boy we might just have some fun. The only “ride” Kyle really recalled from our 1999 visit was “TestTrack” at Epcot, and after avoiding the 220 minute wait New Years Eve, we returned the next day for another go. Half way into a 90 minute queue, a malfunction terminated the wait. “I’m done with TestTrack” a disappointed Kyle said flatly, and we headed for the exit over by the UK pavilion. Close to lunch, we stopped for fish n’ chips with my Dad, then I fiddled with the LeoTreo for 15 minutes to research which of multiple medications could be jabbing Dad’s legs with sharp pains… Nothing. Then she caught my eye…
Corn subsidy caucus voters had their say in
Personally, I love each party’s fringe candidates, Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Republican Ron Paul. They were featured on Bill Moyers Journal that I caught Saturday night between 2 and 3am. Both are thinkers and have fundamental beliefs that defined each of their party’s long before corporate interests hoarded most of the Donkeys and Elephants. You can catch the transcript here.
The Republican “establishment” candidates are an embarrassment to our country. For Thompson, Romney, McCain and Giuliani to smirk and laugh at another candidate (Ron Paul) shows a complete lack of respect to the American people who should be allowed to hear the man’s views, even if the vast majority don’t know what the hell he’s talking about because he actually provides details and not just sleepy slogans and “Islamo-facist” rhetoric. Aside from Dr. Paul, Mike Huckabee seems upright, but with the corporate sponsored Republican machine against him, he’ll struggle. I expect Mitt Romney is pretty, rich and energetic enough to win the Republican nomination, even if John McCain wins in NH.
The general election is the Democrat’s to lose. The country is fatigued by Bush-Cheney and generally is hearing more of the same out of the Republicans. Mr. Obama is building a wave of youthful hope that recalls the optimism of JFK’s presidency in the early sixties. My hope is that Hillary Clinton acknowledges this early and doesn’t help Republicans by tearing down Mr. Obama in a summer long dirty war of attrition just because she’s technically still in the race. Regardless of what new political makeup she may apply, it will never paint her the face of change that is Barack Obama.
As 2007 met its 365 day quota and 2008 begins, I’m quietly enjoying a final few days of vacation. Most of this week was spent at DisneyWorld with my son and father and not my laptop.
Last week many a website, newspaper and magazine published their “best of” lists and I’m feeling somewhat obliged to contribute. Unfortunately, I didn’t listen to enough music or see sufficient movies to compile a top ten heard/seen, never mind a top ten. To quell the demanding masses, here’s a 2007 favorites compilation:
- Digital Download – Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky”
- Musical – The surprisingly wonderful “White Christmas” at Boston’s Wang Center
- Day – October 19th
- Walk – 10 blocks straight down Broadway with Kyle
- Quote in a meeting the morning after: “I’m not doing math in my head right now.”
- Toy – Nikon D40 DSLR
- Book – “Moneyball”
- Business Trip – Cleveland including a ballgame at the Jake.
- Job – (Tie) New doorway to the basement and landscaping makeover
- Concert – Wilco with Megan and Madison
- Movie – Knocked Up, seen with Megan while she was… uh…
- Gift – Tickets to “Mary Poppins” on Broadway for Kyle’s birthday.
- Documentary – I added this category because “Sicko” got nosed out for best movie
- Moment – Kyle standing to walk and hug and kiss Megan
- Doctor – (Tie) Christie Stine and Madelena Martin
2007 was a year that fear turned to hope and a new life began. It wasn’t a bad year, but it also wasn’t a list topper. Favorite year? Hmmm… I’ll have to give that some thought. A couple Sunday’s ago, Kyle, Dad and I watched a “60 Minutes” interview with Tom Brady. When asked his favorite of 3 super bowl rings was, he paused and then answered, “the next one.”
Here’s to 2008…
It’s just another song…
He flinched with his grandson’s fear of the needle seeking crimson flow. A bout of Diverticulitis threw an 8 hour delay into vacation, but not life. I sat with my Dad at the Villages Regional Hospital for extended coverage of “I knew her best” coming from our presidential contenders over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, interrupted regularly by the other “important” story of the day which could have been reported with a simple scrolling message:
Don’t fuck with a tiger.
I sat, paced and pondered the day away while Kyle spent it watching movies with my Dad and Caroline’s long-time friend, Anita. Many concerned faces filled my view of the ER expressway. I imagine many trips to the Villages hospital are one way and the hasty, nervous voices of loved ones explaining symptoms were subtitled with hope for a reprieve back home. Fortunately for Dad, there was no blockage or infection, so he got a ticket for the 7:30 home.
With a nod to “Reservoir Dogs,” a film he’ll likely never see, Kyle has dubbed Dad “Mr. Grey” for the trip, although I think his nickname more closely resembles a Boston mobster he looks like: “Whitey.” Oh, and “Mr. Young” didn’t leave me out of the naming game. I’m “Mr. Old.” Thanks, my boy.
“Mr. Old.” With less than 10 months to a half a “C-note,” I’m not digging it. Tonight Dad asked if I’ve given any thought to living here, um, later. “I try not to think about it,” was my reply.
“Though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea”“Ten Years Gone” – Led Zeppelin from Physical Graffiti
After we completed the red tape obstacle course, the staid woman at the desk said “stay healthy,” and three generations walked out, one better than the others. With the deadline for making resolutions we’ll break a few days away, that woman’s advice is the leader in the Villages clubhouse.