Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...

- Let me give voice to the silent hopes of the masses: New Orleans - please God, not again!

- Weekend recap that you've been breathlessly waiting for...nothing overly exciting to report. walked the dog, haircut, bought CD (yay Record Exchange!), washed new windows, covered the night shift at work (very quiet night, yay!), got to watch the Mizzou-Illini game, church today, sucked in by Law&Order marathon on TNT, housecleaning, groceries, now this blog.

- speaking of haircuts, apparently a holiday weekend is a great time to get one, because my shop was near empty and I got in and out in, like, 15 minutes.

- Mizzou-Illini showdown at the Ed; looked like Tigers had it well in hand at the half, turned it into a shootout in the second half. entertaining game for the sold-out crowd. if the defense rights its ship then the sky would seemingly be the limit because the offense has fascinating potential.

- Cardinals-Astros showdown; Cards out of gas, will not catch the Brew Crew for the wildcard, I think. AP will get the batting title but that's about the only positive we will glean the rest of the way.

- more layoffs at the P-D last week; ax fell on some newsroom middle management editors, 1 HR person (ironic!) others within production operations. newspaper shrinking in size almost every week. It's simple math: newsprint prices increase monthly, employee health care costs are hight, overall revenue is flat or down. Wall Street has to be soothed or else, folks. Sad but true. it's becoming more and more of a drag to stay employed there these days.

- Sarah Palin as VP for McCain. out-of-left-field choice. I don't follow politics very closely but I don't think many people expected it. On the surface it would seem like a very risky choice, but, again, I don't know about these things. Any other insights? Nice, polite insights only,please!

- If NOLA does get hit Katrina-style again, GW better respond perfectly this time or he'll need to find himself a swamp to hide in until next January.

- I love the Chicken Alfredo at The Olive Garden. had a nice dinner there with the folks Friday night. my boss let me off way early due to the holiday weekend fast approaching. met the folks at my house so they could admire my windows and drop some love on Chili-dog then we ate.

- this would have been a good weekend to do a "weekend in the life" photo series. maybe I'll remember to do one soon.

Just Go For It!!!...

OK, This bit of news disturbs me:

"Eight years after Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, officials with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra acknowledged their stirring performance at the opening ceremony was entirely prerecorded. And perhaps even more cringe-inducing for Sydney residents: some of the music was recorded by the symphony of rival city Melbourne.

....Melbourne Symphony Orchestra managing director Trevor Green confirmed on Friday that the 2000 opening ceremony performance had been prerecorded by both the Sydney and Melbourne orchestras, saying that steps must be taken to ensure mistakes aren't made live during high-profile events.

"If you've got an event the size of the Olympics, and you've got billions and billions of people watching it, you definitely have a backing track and mime to it, because anything could go wrong," Green said. "It's just a 'safety first' thing. ... You cannot take the risk."

Am I wrong to think that the orchestra should have just gone for broke and played their hearts out, come what may? I think you can't live life in constant fear of making mistakes!

Was Mr. Green overly-cautious or was faking it the best thing to do?

From The Front...

IMG_2024
Originally uploaded by JohnJMatlock

the front of the house, Flickr-noted.

My House, Exquisitely Detailed...

IMG_2026
Originally uploaded by JohnJMatlock

Click on the picture to see a Flickr-noted picture of the back of my house.

I Can See Clearer Now...

I got my new windows installed today.

BEFORE:


AFTER:




I am very pleased with them. Thanks to New-Again Exteriors!

Potentially Shamed By The Shuffle...

Because it's been awhile and because I have the time, let's see what the ol' iPod throws into the shuffle tonight, for better or for worse...

First Song: "Eyes On The Prize" - Bruce Springsteen.

Nice cut from his Pete Seeger tribute album.

Second Song: "Out In The Country" - Roger Nichols and the Small Circle Of Friends

Three Dog Night most notably covered this tune of Roger's, back in the day. He included it on his recent Circle Of Friends reunion CD.

Third Song: "A House" - Doves

Acoustic-flavored cut that was the last track on Doves' first CD, "Lost Souls" I don't listen to it much.

Fourth Song: "Where The Wild Wind Blows" - Phil Keaggy

I received Phil's "Find Me In These Fields" album for Christmas back in 1990. This track gets a huge dose of psychedelia from Phil's E-Bow guitar solo in the middle of it.

Fifth Song: "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord" - Lonnie Liston Smith

From 1973 comes this blast of free jazz from Smith and his group The Cosmic Echoes. His passion for all things spiritual shines through and his bandmates share it, especially George Barron, whose soprano sax solo is absolutely killer on this cut.

Sixth Song: "Maker Of The Stars" - The Violet Burning

From "Faith And Devotions Of A Satellite Heart." Michael Pritzl's way-cool praise and worship album. Nice synthy, The Cure-influenced cut.

Seventh Song: "Francesca" - John Pizzarelli

Nice instrumental ballad from his CD "Bossa Nova."

Eighth Song: "Si" - Poole

Fun guitar-pop cut - easy to sing along with in the car.

Ninth Song: "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

This is the live version from the "Live: 1975-1985" box set. Beats the studio version, hands down.

Tenth Song: "Third Time Lucky" - Basia

Finally shamed here, folks. Yes, I admit it. I'm a closet Basia fan. I'm a sucker for well-executed pop-jazz. And this is first rate stuff. Basia's vocals, the horn tracks, the piano solo, I could go on...

Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...

- This blog is getting to be a one-trick pony...one post a week leaves readers in suspense and more than a bit frustrated...will try to post more frequently, to keep at least one reader satisfied. (you know who you are.)

- Memo from Chinese government to Chinese citizenry: Thank you for your kind patience and understanding while our country was in the world's spotlight the past 16 days. We now return you to your regularly scheduled repression and human rights violations, already in progress.

- The Chinese took the most gold, the U.S. of A the most medals overall. Moral victory?

- From the department of sudden departures from this life: a truck on southbound I-55 lost a rear wheel and axle yesterday around 2:00. Said tire and axle flew through the air, and landed in the windshield of a northbound SUV. The driver was killed instantly. I happened by the scene and watched the fire dept. clean it up for a bit from a nearby commuter lot; not a pretty picture. Especially since I-55 was closed in both directions for several hours.

- pretty dull weekend for this blogger - took the doggie to Petsmart to pick up some more dog chow....did some miscellaneous shopping (found a small table lamp for my office room, yay.)

- was children's church day at church today. the kiddies showed off what they learned in the summer children's program we do every year. The older kids did a cute re-written parody of The Monkees' "I'm A Believer" that made me smile.

- The Atlanta Braves are a shell of their former selves these days...only a couple of recognizable names on their team. Don't know why the Cardinals felt obligated to give them a win yesterday when we're the ones in a pennant race.

Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness, Cute Toddler Edition...

- ...she's 7 months old now, folks. Miss Lydia Joy Matlock, my niece. enjoyed the extended visit yesterday with her and her mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa. She's an active toddler now, curious about everything, crawling and exploring her world. See more of her here.

- if you haven't read the public service announcement below this post, stop reading this post and read it first. It's Important.

- Mikey Phelps just ain't right, folks. 8 gold medals? There's an overwhelming cynical sensation rising up inside of me that insists he's doping or he's wore a greased swim suit, but could it be that he's just that good? NBC is grateful for the millions who tuned in to follow him but I reckon viewership will tail off considerably now that he's done.

- I did catch the women's weightlifting finals yesterday. Wow...those are some big girls! kept waiting for their heads to explode under the weight of the barbells but alas,...

- the weather was GORGE-OUS all weekend. Wow...sunny skies, low humidity, mild temperatures. Yeah...

- had a positively pastoral Sunday afternoon today. sat out on my deck and devoured the Sunday paper crossword, then finished one of the two John Shore books I recently purchased.

- speaking of which, I can now recommend Shore's "Penguins, Pain, and the Whole Shebang: Why I Do The Things I Do" by God, as told to John Shore. Written as if God is talking to the nonbeliever, Shore mixes irreverent humor and solid theology to answer some of the most common questions nonbelievers have about the Christian faith. This week I'll tackle Shore's more provocative book, "I'm OK - You're Not: The Message We're Sending Nonbelievers and Why We Should Stop." Umm...OK.

Public Service Announcement...

If you have any credit cards that you have online account access to, please, please, please turn on any sort of fraud alerts that are available. You should be able to have alerts e-mailed to you if any suspicious activity occurs. Tonight I discovered that my most often used credit card had been hijacked somewhere along the line and 2 charges totaling $1,402 were made last week. I tried to use it to buy groceries tonight and the charge was denied. I came home and immediately logged on to my account to find that my account was suspended. My card has been shut down and the charges will be erased but this has left me more than a bit shaken. If I'd had e-mail alerts turned on, then I could have known much sooner than tonight.

The Friday Five...

Haven't done one of these in a very long time so here is this week's edition, from The Friday Five.

1. What is your favorite song right now? Why?
"Sailor" by Hem from their very first CD, "Rabbit Songs." It's a beautiful, quiet love song with a cool french horn solo in the middle.

2. What genre of music makes you the happiest?
Jazz - because it's so emotional and improvisational.

3. What would you name your band and what kind of music would you play?
In a perfect world I'd have a jazz ensemble called The John Matlock Group, or Trio, or Quartet, whatever it ended up being.

4. What is your favorite lyric of all time? Why?
Don't have just one, sorry. Lyrics are my thing. For this question, I'll choose Terry Scott Taylor's lyric from "Art Carney's Dream" - 'then, an angel tapped me on the shoulder and said 'boy, you sure you do smell like sin and this place is pretty crowded but I, I think we can squeeze you in!'" (The entire song is brilliant; see it here.)

5. What band/artist could you never live without? Why?
Again, too many to name just one. At the moment, it's Hem. I finally bought their very first CD and have been listening to it this week. Their songs are consistently great in lyricism and tunes. Moreover, I think it's cool that they've stuck to their guns and made the records they wanted to make, no matter the cost. And they're all over the new Liberty Mutual Insurance commercials!

Sunday Night Stream Of Conscsiousness, Beijing 2008 Edition...

- SO....let the games begin. didn't catch the opening ceremonies live, was finishing up "North By Northwest." Somehow Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging off of Mount Rushmore seemed more, well, gripping. Seriously, the pageantry is lost on me but seeing the parade of nations would have been cool.

- AT&T U-Verse has turned on several extra Olympics channels for my viewing pleasure. Two of them are strictly soccer and basketball in HD and broadcast at odd hours. The others offer Chinese and Japanese TV's coverage of lesser events like archery, weightlifting, and judo. I thought I'd lived a full life but then I heard Japanese play-by-play of a badminton match this afternoon. Boy, was I wrong!

- Stay tuned for Laura Wilkinson in the diving competition. She's an American from Texas who is a strong Christian and a darn good diver with a great chance of success. I still remember her TV interview during the 2000 Olympics where she quoted Philippians without batting an eye.

- So Brett Favre is a New York Jet now. This is a sad, sad turn of events and I hope he's happy now that he's soiled his good name and his future legacy. He's made his bed; now he sleeps in it. Both sides got dirty in this sad little episode and it all could have been avoided. That's all I have to say about that.

- was saddened to hear of the passing of my great-great Aunt E. this week. She was 100 years old and as such, the oldest living relative in my family on either side. This after losing one of my late Mamaw's brothers a few weeks ago. I've lost an inordinate number of family members on my mom's side this year. So many loving people from my childhood have gone on.

- But, happily, my niece Lydia is now 7 months old and growing up quickly, it seems. She's beginning to crawl and pull herself up now. My dad created a slide show of pictures he took of her last week. Interested parties my view it here.

- don't look now but the Cardinals' rebuilt pitching ace Carp might have hurt himself again. I flipped over to the Cards/Cubs game on ESPN tonight just in time to see him leave the game mid-inning. I think it's the wild card or bust for us this year, folks. You heard it here first.

- am enjoying this stretch of mild August weather. It's been low 80s all weekend and will be through the middle of the week. I took advantage of it by getting in a great bike ride around Creve Coeur lake and over to the Katy Trail and back yesterday late morning.

- am starting The Dog on Cod Liver Oil. It's specially made for dogs and was recommended by a friend to control shedding. It will also allegedly turn her coat to velveteen, which would be cool. Just a teaspoon a day is all it takes, so we'll see. At the moment, she's curled up on her bed with her stuffed animal under hear head and a bone at her nose. It's unbelievably cute.

- I end this edition with a few words about the late, great soul brother Isaac Hayes, departed from this life today. On behalf of all the babies who have been conceived to your music, thank you. There will be some tearful gravediggers this week who will have to ask each other, "can you dig it?"

To Get The Real Scoop On Your Date...

Stltoday.com (my employer's website) recently ran an online feature by the Post-Dispatch's resident data expert Jaimi Dowdell on how to background-check your date, if you so desire.

The Data Diva Says: Check Your Date Before You Go Out...

be sure to check out the short video that accompanies the story.

John Shore Land...

I just discovered Suddenly Christian today. It's the web site of Christian author John Shore. I have decided I like him and his perspective.

Gearing Up?...

I often hear people say or write that they're "gearing up" to do something or go somewhere. That's one of those expressions that just sounds strange to me.

My Free Month Of Netflix...

Here's what I've ordered up from Netflix so far during my free month (I'm part of a class action settlement w'HOO!):

Crowded House: Dreaming: The Videos
The Ultimate Carson Collection: Vol. 2 (3-Disc Series)
The Ultimate Carson Collection: Vol. 1 (3-Disc Series)
Pat Metheny: We Live Here: Live in Japan
The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971: Disc 1 (2-Disc Series)
Down from the Mountain (Live concert of "O Brother Where Art Thou" music)

and tonight I should have "Nashville" "North By Northwest" and "Poncho Sanchez: Live at Montreux" in my mailbox.

Suggestions, anyone?

It Should Be So Simple...

but I guess I had a long day. Just now, I went to re-heat (in the oven) some leftover pizza and breadsticks. The first thing I did was get some paper plates! Realizing my blunder, I got out the pizza baking sheet that I normally use. I loaded it up and proceeded to (almost) put it in the microwave. Fortunately, it's all safely in the oven now.

I think I'll go rest my brain a bit.

Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness

...nothing to say, folks...not in the requisite state of mind tonight. Maybe next week?

Great Things About St. Louis...

An out-of-state reader of this blog has asked me to write on great things about St. Louis. I got to thinking about this and decided that I can't write about what has likely already been written about so I got to looking around. St. Louis magazine has a pretty definitive list:

101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do

my own personal additions to the list:
.
the view of the Meramec River from the bluffs of Castlewood State Park.
The Katy Trail (the St. Louis-area portion)
the many bike/hike trails all over the area
watching fireworks lake-side at Kirkwood City Park