Monday morning, sunnybrightandcheery!...

At least it is in St. Louis this morning. It's been over a week, and yes, kmom, before you ask, I am still alive! : ) Let's recap: It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon, my hometown..wait, that's somebody else's line. I've settled back into my fall routine of Monday night bible study and Tuesday night chorus rehearsal. BSF is studying the book of Romans this year, which has made for markedly more difficult lessons than last year's study of Genesis. There's lots of doctrinal stuff to chew on and it doesn't always make sense on first read. Next Saturday night is the annual fall tradition, the BSF Square Dance! I'll write more about it after it happens, but it's always a hoot!

My chorus is preparing for two fall concerts featuring Robert Ray's "Gospel Mass." It's a black gospel-style Mass that has been really fun to rehearse and will sound great in performance. The concerts will also have us performing an Swahili processional, two Copland numbers, and an ode to the "River In Judea." It's all about variety, people!

Saturday, I did a little shopping for fall wardrobe items, which proved only partially sucessful. Later, I headed out to Castlewood State Park and spent the remainder of the gorgeous afternoon hiking among the falling leaves and gentle breezes. The only downer was that my Leatherman multi-tool fell off my person somewhere along the trail. I'll call the park office to see if anyone turned it in, but I'm not optimistic. I spent the evening at a bonfire with friends. The bonfire was huge, and emitted heat similar to that of a small nuclear device. We couldn't toast marshmallows for over an hour. [EDIT: My friend G. who hosted the bonfire called me tonight and said he found my Leatherman in his backyard, where I must have dropped it in the darkness. YAY!]

It was a good sports weekend for the local teams. Mizzou's Tigers rolled over Texas Tech's Red Raiders to run their record to 6-0 this season. I see a bowl in our future. The Rams won yet another game they shouldn't have, taking the Packers 23-20. Brett Favre was leading his team to sure victory when we made a desperate defensive play to end the game abruptly. To top off the night, the Cardinals finished off the Padres to win the division series 3 games to 1. Our ace pitcher was on the hill but started off shakily. He started breathing after the first inning and settled down to his usual greatness. Hated to see Woody Williams go out like he did in the sixth inning; he's a nice guy. Can't say our chances are good against the Mets, but at least we advanced, which is more than the Yankees can say. What did a $200 million+ payroll get them? Nothing!

Yay! my buddy M. of What is Possible is now home from his job assignment in India, this time for good. It was good to talk to him at church yesterday.

The picture above was taken on Saturday from the bluffs overlooking the Meramec River within Castlewood.

Mrs. Crocodile Hunter/Podcast, anyone?/Buzzed!...

OK, so did anyone else watch the 20/20 special interview with Mrs. Steve Irwin tonight? Didn't your heart just bleed for this woman? She appeared to be a woman of deep conviction and strength. I was encouraged that she spoke of her great faith that's helping her deal with her grief. A couple things that made me chuckle - Barbara Walters seemed taken aback with Mrs. Irwin said she felt blessed to have been married to Steve Irwin (I said to the TV, "YEAH, BARBARA WALTERS, BLESSINGS!! THEY"RE PRETTY COOL!) Also, Mrs. Irwin's ending line, "I'm Mrs. Steve Irwin so I have a lot to live up to!" That you do, that you do.

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I might just make an attempt a podcast tomorrow. I'm off work and it's supposed to be a blah weather day so I might try it. I downloaded Castblaster which is supposed to make the creation process very simple. The trial period only allows for 10-minute shows so the margin for error is slim but it's a learning process, right? : ) My thought is to do some radio shows where I play some of my favorite tunes.
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Oh, and I got re-buzzed today, too. It's basically a crewcut, but a bit longer on top.

Funniest YouTube ever?

OK, I don't like cockroaches, but this unfortunate weatherman REALLY REALLY doesn't like them. Check it out here.

Concert update...

Last night I took in my first concert at Blueberry Hill's underground 'Duck Room.' The band was Hem and the concert was great! It was a can't-miss-it affair because it's probably the only time they'll tour outside of NYC with a full band. They brought along a mini-orchestra of clarinet, harp, and violin, due to the Americana-ness of their music. For $10, I felt I got my money's worth.

Bonus: Beatle Bob speaks! He introduced the band, much to my surprise. I'd never heard him speak, only do his signature dance moves at other concerts over the years. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Beatle Bob is a St. Louis thing, that's all you need to know! : )

This is a cell-phone picture of the concert.

Yes...

...I did go to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race yesterday...

Yes, there was wind, so the balloons were able to fly, however it was so breezy that only 30 of 70 balloons were able to launch.

Yes, I took lots of balloon pictures. Yes, I walked around for almost an hour to find a suitable vantage point.

Yes, that was The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up, and Away" playing over the loudspeakers as I was leaving the park.

How About Those Rammies??...

Can't score a TD to save their collective lives, but their kicker is like, really, really, good.

The Rams opened their season much better than they did last year. The 18-10 triumph over the Broncos of Denver surprised those who expected the opposite outcome. Our defense played a heck of a game (what, exactly, got into Leonard Little, anyway?) but our offense underwhelmed. 6 field goals beat 'em, folks. That's right. Our first team still hasn't scored a TD since last season. I can't wait to read the newspaper columns tomorrow.

The Birds lost 3 out of 4 in Arizona and 5 out of 7 on the road trip, continuing their limp into the postseason. To add insult to injury, I read today that team owners intend to ask for public funding to build their promised Ballpark Village. I Don't Think So!

Friday night I attended the wedding of my friends of A & J in the chapel of our church. It was a sweet ceremony dotted with moments of hilarity that everyone agreed made it a romantic comedy. The reception was downtown at the ultra-hip Windows on Washington. It was a unique reception for two reasons: Their DJ was an iPod, and they entered to the sound of "thunder sticks" given to each guest upon arrival. The bride works for our church, so nearly all of the pastoral staff and pastoral-types attended.

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I must confess that since childhood I have been fascinated with fire trucks. That interest has been heightened in recent years since I made friends with some folks in the fire-fighting and fire-dispatching business. Every year around this time I indulge myself at the St. Louis Fire Engine Rally. It's been happening for 23 years but this was only my second time to go downtown to experience it. Firefighters from St. Louis city and surrounding communities gather together to show off their equipment and talk shop. The highlight of the event for me is the parade of fire trucks. At 10:00 sharp a colorful procession of fire trucks old and new began parading down Market Street with sirens wailing. It was an impressive lineup and I took many pictures. I wandered around for a few minutes after the parade, then took off for church.

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Finally, I must tip my hat to my Mom and Dad. They took part in a 5k run on Saturday morning as part of their town's "Twin City Days" festivities. My dad placed 5th in his age group and my mom WON her age group! Gotta hand it to them for taking care of themselves.

Post-Labor Day Tuesday...

Had a nice weekend. I enjoyed a BBQ with friends in south St. Louis Saturday night. It was a 2 family flat in the Bevo neighborhood. I actually played bocce ball for the first time ever.

Sunday my grandpa and his wife came up for lunch, unfortunately because they had to accompany me and my mom to the funeral visitation for the dear wife of one my late Mamaw's cousins. She was a sweet lady and will be missed.

I did get in a bike ride on Grant's Trail later that evening, which felt very good. The weather has been great for the past week or so.

Monday I did chores and then headed out to a Labor Day BBQ with some new-ish friends. I barely knew most of the people there but it was a good time nonetheless.

Today's P-D has a great piece on So Taguchi, the Cardinals' first Japanese player. Read it here.

Finally, Hem's new CD "Funnel Cloud" releases today. I highly recommend it.

Crikey!...

Mr. Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, has died in the line of duty. Can't help but not be surprised that it hasn't happened before now. In his line of work, an early grave is always a danger, I guess.

Cool it!...

or so Mother Nature seems to have said to the air masses over the Midwest this week. The temperature has dropped nicely, at least for the time being. The heat wave of July is almost, almost a memory.

I had my regularly scheduled eye exam with my eye guy last week. He says my retinal tear healed nicely. It was a small tear, but worth fixing nonetheless. Even better, he says I should try to push back my retinal specialist's one-year exam another six months, since he has just now seen me. Somehow, my glasses prescription changed slightly for the better and I am shopping around for new frames. My eye guy's optical shop didn't have much to interest me and since they don't take my vision insurance anymore, well, thanks anyway!

Redecoration update: All eleven doors painted. The six closet doors installed very smoothly. However, the three bedroom doors, well, they gave my dad and I much difficulty, to put it nicely. Dad took them home to his shop and he assures me that he can make them all work. I got my new duvet cover cleaned and pressed because it came out of its package all rumpled up and it was bugging the heck out of me.

The parents and I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at Chuy Arzola's for dinner last evening. We hadn't seen them in over a month so it was good to re-connect for an hour or so. I ordered beef and cheese burritos served enchilada-style with chili and cheese. Delicious! Bro and sis-in-law are doing well and staying busy. They've got a vacation to Puerto Vallarta planned for their first anniversary in a couple of months.

Have to mention the Mark Lowry podcast again - his Wednesday edition (#79) features his two dogs, Beau and Stanley, wrestling it out in his living room. I found it very funny!

Cardinals update : The team's really struggling lately. Our starting pitching has holes in it and our relief pitching has been anything but a relief. Jimmy Ballgame is seeing more stars than fly balls lately and we're seriously bidding for 900-year-old David Wells to help us limp into the postseason. Desparate times call for desparate measures, I guess. It would be a shame for our brand new stadium to go dark this October.

Ah, but football season fast approaches and off I go to compete in Madden 2003! Yes it's old and out of date but I love it! : )

Interesting...

On his latest podcast, Mark Lowry interviews noted Christian speaker and retired college professor Tony Campolo. Mark asked him a question that a viewer had recently asked. The question had to do with Jesus' statement "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?". Tony offered an interesting explanation that I haven't heard before. Basically, Jesus wasn't wondering where God was, but simply pointing people back to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 prophetically described the crucifixion in great detail, including the triumphant resurrection at the end. If people read it all the way through, they would know that the crucifixion wasn't the end, but they should wait for Jesus to rise again. Has anyone else heard this point of view?

View the interview (podcast #74) here. It comes after the song.

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Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson has passed away at the age of 78. His trademark was his stratospheric trumpet solos that would often feature high notes that no one else could reach. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to the "Rocky" soundtracks (Gonna Fly Now). I saw him and his Big Bop Nouveau Big Band in concert at a local high school 10 years ago and was very much "jazzed" by the experience.

Weekend update...

Well here we are again, Sunday night in mid-America. I had a pretty good week, I suppose. I managed to engage in physical activity four nights in a row, which I am proud of. I worked out Monday and Wednesday nights, biked on Tuesday night, and played sand volleyball on Thursday night. Tuesday was my day off; my new blinds were installed in the morning and I did handyman stuff the rest of the day. I changed two old electrical outlets and labeled the breakers in my electrical panel (after six years of living in the house, I know!)

My redecorating is coming to a close right on schedule with summer. All the wall-painting is finished and the blinds are up. I am really pleased with the blinds, especially in my bedroom. The final phase is eleven (11!) new six-panel doors that I bought on Friday night. They will be painted to match the baseboards this week. My dad got most of the baseboards installed on Friday and he and I will get the doors hung after I paint them. Pictures will, of course, be forthcoming once I get everything in place, I promise.

Lunch was especially nice with my parents today. Ribeye steaks, potatotes, and hot bread make for a perfect late-summer meal. Later, as my dad and I were watching the Cardinals/Cubs game, my mom brought us a tray of warm cookies and milk. After she left, I looked at my dad and said something like 'my, but she's a good woman!' He agreed wholeheartedly.

Headline of the Week...

From the lead photo on my.yahoo.com, Saturday afternoon

Israeli raid in Lebanon strains truce



well, yeah, I suppose that would do it.

Five on Friday!

Return to Sender

1. How often do your letters/cards come back to you?

Once in a blue moon, or pretty much never.

2. If you buy something that turns out to be defective or broken, how likely are you to return it to the store or manufacturer?

very likely, since I paid good money for it!

3. Describe your own personal "return policy" for items you've purchased or received as gifts.

If I bought it and don't like it, then it goes back, regardless. For gifts, it's only happened once, and I returned it, after waiting much longer than I should have.

4. When you borrow library books, do you return then on time?

usually, though it's been more than a year since i borrowed a library book or CD.

5. What is your opinion on Elvis? Do you think he's really dead?

Quote from Toby Zeigler, speech writer for President Jed Bartlett:

"I want to make it clear: I could give a darn."

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer
What color is your car?

RED! - not fire-engine red, but a darker, crimson red

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be?

Jazz pianist!

Salad
How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)?

probably only 4 or 5 times, that I can recall.

Main Course
What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn't expect?

I've taken possession of a new flat-screen LCD monitor for my computer at work, which I didn't expect. My boss ordered some to try out and he said I could have one!

Dessert

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

you mean other than mom-kisses? never!

John...are you still alive?...

...was the question asked as comment #4 in the post below, by kmom. : )

Well, yes, folks I am still alive; I slacked off on the ol' blog this week. A bit of review:

Monday night, my mom and dad came up to help me with more work on my bedroom. Mom made "Taco Soup" for supper (in my kitchen!)

I was off Wednesday, so I got in a good workout at the YMCA then my mom came up and helped me paint my family room. It ended up getting some redecoration along with the bedroom; new paint and vertical blinds for the sliding glass door. My dad came up later and installed new baseboards in my bedroom.

Wednesday night was the mock terrorism/disaster drill at Busch Stadium. It was an interesting, if underwhelming experience. I was a 'dry/evacuation' volunteer, which meant I did not get to be 'exposed' to any 'contaminants' and therefore needed no hosing off and was only evacuated from the stadium. I was sent to one of the party roooms (which are VERY nice, by the way) with 3 other people and we waited for the signal, then evacuated down to the street and out of the way of responding emergency agencies. Incidentally, while we were waiting to be briefed before the drill began, the actual Cardinals vs. Reds game was broadcast on the big screen. The assembled crowd of volunteers watched the game as if it were taking place in the stadium! : )

My cousin J. drove up for a visit on Friday. My parents and she met me for dinner at Tucker's on Friday evening, then we took in the IMAX 3-D version of "Superman Returns" at the local mega-plex. I can't recall the last time I saw anything in 3-D. It was a thrilling experience!

Don't look now, but another week is upon us... : )

Roasting By the River...

So it's early August and it's been like, really, really hot for a long time now. Thankfully no more storms have descended from the plains so my power has stayed on and my A/C has faithfully churned cool air througout my house.

Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe some subconscious desire for change. Either way, I directed my barber to give me a SHORT haircut last week and he obliged. The back and sides are crewcut-length blended up to a short and spiky top. I love it because I can style it with my fingers, with no need for comb or brush. Yes, I'm now using 'product.' : ) Well, I actually have been since last fall but now more than ever. No pictures just yet, since my glasses broke again and I'm currently wearing my old pair. I'll post a new user pic next week.

Still working on my bedroom. Blinds have been ordered from 3 Day Blinds. I decided on faux-wood venetian blinds for both windows. I also ordered new vertical blinds for the sliding glass door in my family room. Baseboards have been bought and painted. I also bought 2 new rugs for the room. I was pleased that both the bedroom blinds and the rugs were on sale!

I volunteered to take part in a mock disaster drill at Busch Stadium next Wednesday night. Should be interesting. Mother Nature actually got a bit of a jump on the stadium when the Thunderstorm O' Doom rolled through on July 21. : )

A disaster is already in the making at Busch! The Cardinals are exasperating fans with their less-than-stellar play as of late. After getting beat down in 4 games in Chicago, they've relocated the beatings to Busch with the Phillies in town for 3 games. Something's gotta give soon if we want to make it to October.

MyTunes updated today.

A Theological Conundrum...

The Chicago Cubs have a player whose name really is Angel Pagan. As he is Latin American, his name is pronounced "An-hel Pa-GON." Otherwise, as Cardinals radio broadcaster Rick Horton noted, his name would be a theological conundrum...

It made me chuckle! : )

Pilgrimage...

Today, I joined my dad and 2 other men from our church (OK, one was the pastor so he's a holy man) on their annual pilgrimage to SEMO for watermelons and peaches. We stopped at two watermelon stands and ended up at Bader's for peaches. They have quite the operation these days, shipping peaches all over Missouri and points beyond as well as selling on-site. Their peaches have been at my local Dierbergs Market for a couple of weeks but I wanted to wait until I could buy them straight from the factory, if you will. We also made a stop at the John Deere shop to visit my papaw. My cousin J. joined us for pork steak dinners at Earnhart's before we headed for home. A good time was had by all, we agreed.

Podcasts...

There are a couple of video podcasts that I watch regularly. The Mark Lowry Show is produced by--you guessed it--Christian entertainer Mark Lowry. Through that podcast I learned of Geekbrief.tv, which features Cali Lewis, who briefly goes over new gadgets and tech-geek stuff every day. Bonus: She features each day's bloopers at the end of each show!

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So I'm thinking seriously about getting a dog. An adult dog who already knows how to be a dog, is trained properly, etc... The house is just a little too quiet for comfort and I need something to keep me from descending into couch potato land too often. I've been trolling the various local breed-rescue websites and also Petfinder to see what's available.

The lights are on...

but nobody's home at the moment because I'm at work! : ) My electricity came back on sometime during the overnight hours. Many thanks to my parents for putting me up for 4 nights.

I had a nice reunion with a couple of old pals last night. A few years ago I was in a great small bible study group with 5 other guys at church. We became rather close but as time went on we inevitably went our separate ways. The two of us that left town were back in town for the weekend and we all broke bread together with other old friends last night. Good times!

3 days and counting...

I'm writing tonight from my parents' house because it's Saturday night and my house still has no electricity! I can stand to be there only for a few hours at a stretch because it's still so warm inside. My outlook has been optimistic so far but I must admit a certain irritation and aagravation is beginning to creep into my psyche as this outage drags on. I did get my yard cleaned up today, which was very satisfying. Hopefully, I'll be powered back up by tomorrow.

In happier news, I did get my new bed linens purchased today. I did go with the aforementioned Pottery Barn products - duvet cover/shams, bright red pickstitch quilt and sheet set. I purchased a down comforter at Famous Barr as well. As for paint, it took a couple of trips to the paint store to get just the right color but I think it will pull everything together nicely. I promise to post pictures when the room is done.

Friday's Feast...

Appetizer
Fill in the blanks: I drew a blank when I tried to answer this question .

Soup
Name something you use to make your home smell good.

Not a thing! If it's not the AC or the furnace it's not smellin' in my pad!

Salad
If you could receive a coupon in the mail for 50% off any product, what would you want it to be for?

A new car! : ) there's nothing wrong with my present wheels, but wouldn't it be fun??

Main Course
Besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical day doing?

working!

Dessert
What can you hear right now while answering these questions?

the air conditioner pushing air through the vents, the 'clicking' of computer mice in my office, the witty banter of my co-workers (OK it's not witty but they are bantering.)

I am a displaced storm victim...

...who has quite a bit more empathy for hurricane victims thanks to this week's storm. I got home last night and the temperature in my house was 85ºF. After I cleaned my yard of storm debris, I packed up and headed for my parents' house. It was very nice to be relaxing in their nice cool basement in a big easy chair, believe me! I earned my keep by working out some bugs in their laptop computer and was paid with a bowl of fresh strawberries and ice cream! : ) My brother and sis-in-law arrived later to sleep. They slipped in after we went to bed and were gone before we woke up. This was the first time I slept in my old room since I left in the year 2000. My mom is re-doing my old room so the wallpaper has been stripped and the furniture is askew but I slept well, so that's all that matters! If the power is still off tonight, I'll be there again.

It was a bit eerie driving into work this morning. The sky was cloudy and hazy and the air was still very humid. On the way up, I passed by convoys of National Guardsmen and power company workers from Alabama en route to the city to help with cleanup. My dad is a retired Guardsman so I gave them a wave as I passed.

Yes, I Survived...

...the nasty ball of hate that descended upon the St. Louis area from the northeast last night. An unusually mighty storm composed of wind, rain, thunder and copious lightning roared through around 7 pm last night. The usual chaos, mayhem, panic, and general disorder that one might expect with a storm like this is present in different parts of the metro area this morning. My electricity is off and likely will be for a good while as news reports say as many as 500,000 customers are also electricity-less. Miraculously, my trees survived the onslaught with only minor damage. I have a front and back yard full of limbs but that's about it. The city itself got hit extraordinarily hard, apparently. My brother and sis-in-law are without power in their little corner of the city. My employer, the Only Local Metropolitan Daily Newspaper In Town, did lose power and it affected today's edition to an extent.

Oh, and today's going to be the hottest day of the year!

Does he come with an extended warranty?...

Zinger of the day, courtesy of the P-D's Jeff Gordon, who writes an online sports blog for STLtoday.com:

(speaking of the newest Dallas Star, oft-concussioned hockey star Eric Lindros)

"When the Dallas Stars bought Eric Lindros for $1.5 million, did they purchase the service contract, too?"

A Moment of Silence...

...for the man who developed the Blizzard and Full Meal Deal for Dairy Queen. Sam Temperato passed away on Friday at the age of 82. He was a Dairy Queen franchiser in the St. Louis area who introduced those products to the DQ menu in the mid-1980s. As one who has consumed many, many Blizzards and Full Meal Deals over the years, I say, "Thanks, Sam!"

Read his obituary feature here.

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In other news, my secret's out, accidentally, it seems. For no particular good reason, I never got around to telling my parents about this little blog. At lunch today I was beginning to describe my Cardinals experience from Friday night. As I did, my dad mentioned that he'd read about it in my blog! I was a little afraid of their reaction, but there was none to speak of. He said he'd found it accidentally. So, welcome to my mom and dad as new faithful readers!

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In still other news, the new Pottery Barn catalog is out and they are featuring this new bedding ensemble - I think it'd look great in my bedroom, what do my readers think?

Oh Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!...

WOW, what an experience I had tonight! The best-pitched game the Cardinals have had all season and it happens on the night of my first (and likely only) visit to the swankiest suite in the new stadium. I learned as I was walking to the stadium with some of our Marketing folks that this was the only time all season the P-D gets the All*Star suite, as we have our own, smaller suite for everyday use. Later, I learned that this was a special occasion as the P-D and the Cardinals thanked each other for and celebrated the success of the "Historical Ticket" promotion that just ended. Most of the people that came had something to do with the project, then after they were taken care of, people like me got the leftover suite passes. That was the neat part; executive and managerial types taking in a ballgame with a computer tech, security guards, and paperhandlers.

Did I mention the free food and drink? I had a big pile of taco-beef-and-cheese nachos, a big hot dog slathered with the leftover aforementioned beef and cheese, fresh strawberries and white grapes, and several chocolate chip brownies, all washed down with a cold Sprite. Not all at once, mind you--I grazed throughout the game.

The game was pretty much all good for the home team. "Jimmy Ballgame" Edmonds made two spectacular catches in center field and Chris Carpenter pitched a two-hit shutout as the Cardinals won 5-0.

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In other news, I see that the St. Louis School Board met in "emergency" session tonight and voted to fire their reform-minded superintendent. They had previously fired a well-known, wildly successful, but controversial prep basketball coach, purportedly to send a message to the superintendent. I feel sorry for school kids in the city of St. Louis; politics and personal grudges seem to have taken priority over their education.

Oh Yeah!!!...

I'll be taking in tonight's Cardinals/Dodgers game from the ALL*STAR SUITE at the new Busch Stadium!!!! My employer gets to use the suite from time to time during the year and one of our Marketing dept. managers just called and offered me a free pass! This is no special favor or treatment, mind you. One of the things that goes with my job is that I get to know a lot of people a little bit. Some I've gotten to know more than others and that's the case with several of the people in the Marketing dept. Once in a while they remember you with something special like this. ONCE IN A WHILE, as in 'the second time in almost nine years') It's never expected, just nice when it does happen.

I haven't been to the new stadium yet so what better way to experience it?

Lost Dogs in Concert...

Enjoyed a great show last night with my old friend S. whom my brother and I met shortly after joining BSF in 2001. He now lifts weights regularly with my brother and also accompanies us to concerts every now and then. I had a message from S. on Thursday reminding me that the Lost Dogs were coming to Roxana, IL on their 3-week summer tour. They're touring a new album and I hadn't seen them in a few years, so we drove over to the east side last night.

Interested readers can look here for background information on the band. I've been following them since their first album in 1992. I was a high school senior, not supposed to know or care what was happening in west-coast Christian music, but somehow I did. Their music grabbed me and I began expanding my musical horizons to include their other bands and side projects.

The major Christian record labels stopped caring about them a few years ago but they've soldiered on, playing to a well-rooted fan base. Last night's show brought in only about 30 or 40 fans but they gave a great performance, nonetheless. For $10, it couldn't be beat. Besides, what else is going on in Roxana, IL on a Friday night?

I snapped some pictures, whice are posted here.

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?

A few weeks ago, when a beloved cousin was suffering from a fairly malicious virus/infection that landed her in the ICU for a week. She's slowly recovering, last I heard.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?

5 or 6, unfortunately! :)

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

(toe) - Tofu? Oh, Ewwww!

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

Probably something to do with music, with a name like the 'You Know Who You Are Club.'

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?

The carpet in my family room/den is off-white, and the ceramic tile in my kitchen is an earthen stone mix of colors. The remainder of the house is natural wood flooring.

Happy 5th of July!

Ugh...July 5th rates right up there with December 26 for post-cool holiday "Iwishididn'thavetogointowork'-iveness.

Had a very nice gathering with old friends and acquaintances last evening. I went to the same place as I have the past few years. Homemade, secret-recipe salsa and 2 different pork tenderloins were among the available refreshments. The weather turned quite soggy just after dinner, with a steady rain that moved in and rained out the local fireworks display we always attend. Happily, the show will go on tonight so the party will resume this evening, with clear skies forecast. The rain did cease just in time for our own little fireworks show. I did get my yearly snout-full of acrid pyrotechnic smoke, which made me happy!

Speaking of fireworks, the P-D published a very funny picture recently. A gentleman in a fireworks tent was pictured proudly cradling an 800-shot small explosive labeled "Maximum Retaliation." The look on his face was hysterical! Also noted in the caption was his $530 purchase of pyrotechnics.

Happy July 3!

Just a brief pre-4th check-in before the holiday!

I enjoyed the time-honored summer tradition in St. Louis last evening. Some friends and I did a "Meet Me At The Muny.....The Muny In Forest Park!" and enjoyed the final performance of "Aida." Not the Verdi opera, of course, but the Elton John/Tim Rice version. We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance, even if the altitude of our seats required binoculars! The humidity level was elevated, but I came armed with a liter of water to stay hydrated.

My community chorus staged its annual summer fundraiser concert Saturday night. It was a program of world and patriotic music perfect for the holiday weekend. Ticket sales were about the same as in previous years so I think we'll realize a good profit. Small-world moment: after the concert I helped tear down the stage. One of the men who was also helping (the father of one our our singers - love those people who help at the drop of a hat!) is from a town in mid-Missouri. After he asked where I was from I told him of my beginnings in Malden, MO. He replied that his secretary was from a town right next door! I even knew her family name. Small world, indeed! (even smaller that our concert was titled "One World.")

The weather forecast is rather ominous for us tomorrow. Rain, rain, go away and come again on Wednesday! I have a gathering penciled in for tonight AND tomorrow night.

The frightful tour of the American League Central Division, aka the Legion of DOOM! is over for our tired Cardinales. I wish the All-Star break was this week instead of next week. To go to extra innings against the Royals(!) once is galling but 2 nights in a row?? Ugh...

have a wonderful and safe 4th!

Friday's Feast! (one day late!)...

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?

8

Soup
When was the last time you think you were lied to?

Probably sometime while I was working the help desk at work this week!

Salad
Share some lyrics from one of your favorite songs.

Born, by Over the Rhine

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Main Course
What do you do/take when you are in pain?

One Tylenol extra-strength usually does it.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: My GOD is very ALIVE.

Thursday...

It's Thursday, in the midst of the summer's first HOT spell of the season. Rain and thundernlightning are forecast to rumble through later and break the heat into tiny bits.

Nothing much to report on this week, I'm afraid. I've been sharing the help desk load at work each day (except for my monday solo flights!). It reminds me that I like being a tech much better than working the phones.

Our intrepid baseball Cardinals have endured two frightful games against the ChiSox so far this week. Either our pitchers are suddenly really bad or their hitters are just that good. My eyes popped a bit on Tuesday night when I saw the 20-spot they put on us.

I made a new musical discovery yesterday. Read about it in My Tunes.

I've been checking out Mark Lowry's podcasts recently. Mark is a Christian entertainer who was associated with Bill Gaither on the gospel circuit for many years. He's a pretty funny guy.

Hollywood comes to St. Louis!...

I had heard rumors about a movie being filmed in St. Louis and more rumours about Jessica Alba being involved in said movie. Well, today I was making a Father's Day card run to a nearby Hallmark store and noticed a crowd gathered on the sidewalk around an Oberweis Dairy ice cream parlor. I slowed down a bit and saw what looked like a film crew setting up around the building. I drove on and took care of my card-buying, then stopped by the scene on my way back. It turns out I was was right! The movie is called "Bill" and indeed Jessica Alba is starring in the movie. The Oberweis building was being used to film a scene, though it was renamed "Sweet Sweet" for the movie.

NO, I didn't catch even a glimpse of Jessica Alba, because they were filming inside the building while I was there. However, I did run home and get my camera, so here are some pictures I snapped. I stayed for about two hours, then left as a thunderstorm began blowing in from the south.

This was a really cool thing to see because movies NEVER film in St. Louis. One of the bystanders I talked to said that the movie crew really liked filming here. Let's hope we get some more movie traffic as a result!

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I was reminded that my life isn't a movie when I returned home to find the thunderstorm had deposited a large portion of my backyard maple tree onto my deck. Thank goodness for cross-cut saws and yard waste pickup!

Too many beauty pageants?

How do you know when there are too many beauty pageants in the world? When you read this story:

Pageant vet claims Little Miss Horseradish title

Little Miss Horseradish? holy cow.

Where do you buy your music?

My Tunes updated tonight with a report of my CD-buying spree this weekend. It begs the question, "where do YOU buy your music?" I usually buy from Best Buy because if they have what I'm looking for their prices are usually $14-$15 for a new CD, less for older CDs. I will buy from Borders if Best Buy doesn't have what I'm looking for and/or if the CD is on sale for $15 or less. Borders' prices are usually so high that I check their real-time inventory stock before I go. Beyond those two, I'll go to Amazon or Half.com if I'm looking for a CD that's older and I don't mind buying used. I also frequent the several used CD stores near me for older, out-of-print stuff that's off the beaten path.l

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Nothing exciting happened this weekend. I covered the night shift at work last night and spent a quiet day around the house and doing chores and such. Work's going to be not so fun for the next few weeks as our help desk operator has taken a tech job with our sister publication and I'm one of the two other techs that will be filling in until his position is filled.

Got spammed...

I'll be turning on word verification for comments, folks. I got comment-spammed overnight, which isn't cool.

Friday's Feast

(Inspired by DCBrownie, who put hers up first)

Appetizer
About how much money did you spend on gas this week?

It was around $40 at $2.74 or so per gallon.

Soup
What is your favortite brand of toilet paper?

toilet paper? what's that? JUST KIDDING! It's Charmin, in the double roll!

Salad
When was the last time you discovered something that you thought was pure genius?

I have to go along with DCBrownie on this one, the production of Julius Caesar I saw this week was pure genius!

Main Course
What is the least amount of sleep you can get by on per night?

about 6 hours or so.

Dessert
June is a popular month for weddings. Do you know anyone who is getting married this month?

My friend C. is getting married at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando, FL at some point this month, but I haven't been invited. My BSF discussion group leader D. is getting married in Taylor, MO in a couple of weeks, I believe. I was invited but am not attending.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

One of the fun things that happens in early summer in St. louis is "Shakespeare in the Park." Shakespeare Festival St. Louis takes over a section of Forest Park for a free open-air production of a Shakespeare play (likely very similar to what DCBrownie and her date experienced last Saturday.) I met some of my Metro Singers friends last night for this year's production of Julius Caesar. We managed to secure a vantage point close to the stage in a blankets-only section. It was a glorious evening full of idyllic sights and sounds. If my readers will indulge me, I will list some of what struck me:

--The expansive stone patio behind the Art Museum that looks out on to Art Hill and the lake beyond it.

--Picnic-ing with friends on a clear, sunny evening (bonus points for bare feet!).

--The perpetually-smiling, big black bear of a dog near us, resting lazily in the grass.

--The band of toga-ed kids that paraded through the crowd, inviting people to the children's show.

--Being so close to the stage so as to actually see the expressions on the actors' faces.

--Taking in a timeless classic of literature and drama performed by skilled actors, in a venue The Bard would surely approve of.

As a bonus, traffic in and out of the park was no problem. I found a close parking lot and didn't get lost leaving the park. It was a very good night.

The Weekender...

So ends another weekend...

I am back in my bedroom, sort of. The floors in both bedrooms have been refinished to a flawless satin finish and my furniture is back in place, albeit temporarily. There are still new baseboards and painting yet to be done but at least I can sleep in there again. My parents are returning to the British Virgin Islands this week for more sailing on the high seas, this year with a couple from their church. So I'll have to wait until they return so they can help me finish the project.

This afternoon I drove out to Augusta, MO to bike another section of the Katy Trail. I biked from Augusta out to Marthasville, 23 miles round-trip, in a little less than 3 hours. No Missouri River, just a lot of farmland and breezy woodlands. It was a nice day for biking, with a slight breeze and temperatures in the low 80s. On the way home I got the idea to call my brother for nutritional advice, since I figured my body needed to recover from the bike trip somehow. He advised protein, protein, protein. So, once home, I scarfed down a leftover fried chicken breast from Cracker Barrel, leftover rice from Wednesday night dinner, and a PBJ sandwich. I think I accomplished that little mission nicely.

________

That little earthquake you felt yesterday was the earth trembling when Albert Pujols pulled a muscle in his side during yesterday's game. The media-proclaimed Hero of Cardinal Nation has now landed on the disabled list for the first time in his illustrious career. The injury, coupled wtih Mark Mulder's sudden horribility (and a sudden rash of other injuries), led intrepid P-D columnist Bernie Miklasz to proclaim that the NL Central division race is now "open again." I wouldn't go that far because we went through this last season and won the division. We did rebound nicely today with a 9-6 thrashing of the Cubbies to salvage one game of the series.

In a way, I'm glad AP got hurt because I feel the media coverage of his season thus far was becoming ridiculous. (Now don't get me wrong. I'm as big a fan of AP as anyone else. I love the way he carries himself as a Christian man and the influence he's having on MLB.) My employer, the local metropolitan daily newspaper, today printed one section of a 4-part life-size poster of AP. Maybe now the writers and reporters will figure out that he is indeed human. If they'd attended church with me today, they'd have heard that "man is ordinary, but God is extraordinary." I'm sure AP would second that sentiment.

The most eagerly anticipated new CD of the year?...

Don't think I'll be camping out at my local Borders waiting for this little gem to be released:

Paris Hilton plans reggae, hip hop album...

I think this is a contender for most ridiculous headline of the year.

"The Landmark"...

This is where I spent an interesting couple of hours last Saturday night. It's the home of my great-uncle and aunt who retired back to the Malden area from Odessa, Texas several years ago. My great-uncle plays a mean lead guitar and moonlighted on the Odessa country music scene for many years. Upon their arrival back home, they renovated an old country church (where my parents were married) into a small music hall and private residence for themselves. They have hosted infrequent weekend jam sessions there ever since. There was supposed to have been one on Saturday night but no one showed up to play, unfortunately. He brought out a box of old family photos, many of which I hadn't seen before, and later he did strap on his guitar and play some tunes for us.

When Blogs Collide...

From left to right : Cooks In Kansas, Life As I Know It, and Four of Clubbs at the Cook/Smith wedding reception, Saturday, May 27. I'm happy to report that Whitney and Jon were married in a lovely ceremony in Malden. The reception was a standard cake/punch affair, which nicely suited the occasion. I especially enjoyed visiting with the Cooks and Clubbs and also many relatives I hadn't seen in a good long while. Heck, even my dad ran into some of his old National Guard pals. Gotta love that!

Yes, folks, I am still alive...

Happy Tuesday, faithful(?) readers!

I haven't had much to say lately, it seems. Life has been rolling right along. Let's review what's happened since I ruminated on John Deere eyewear.

- The annual end-of-year picnic for my Monday night bible study happened on May 13. We assembled at Central Presbyterian's Centreat recreation area on a chilly day. Much red meat was grilled (I built the best fire of the 3 grills in use!) and consumed. We played softball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee to keep warm!

- Yes, Mom was treated wonderfully on Mother's Day this year. My brother& sis-in-law and I came down for church with the parents and then headed home to prepare lunch for them. It was a very good day.

- I'm having the wood floors in my bedroom and my brother's old room refinished this week. During the work, I'm camping out in my 3rd bedroom/office. My queen mattress and box springs just barely fit in there so at least I'm not sleeping on the couch this week. The sweet parts of this inconvenience are 1) my brother finally was forced to clean out his room after being gone since last October, 2) I have taken possession of many of the clothes he outgrew, 3) several bags of old clothing were donated, and 4) The monstrous old office desk that dominated my brother's room was rescued from the curb by a pair of grateful women who really needed it.

After almost 7 years of a Tuesday-Saturday work schedule, my boss has given me the chance to return to a Monday-Friday schedule. (Since our most senior tech retired we've been short on Mondays so I'm more needed then than on Saturdays.) This is the all-American traditional schedule, so this decision should be a no-brainer, right? It's my Inigo Montoya dilemma - (he'd been in the revenge business so long that once he'd avenged his father's death he didn't know what to do next.) I've been working this schedule so long I don't remember life before it! Still, in the interest of not looking a gift horse in the mouth I believe I'll take him up on his offer.

I'm looking forward to getting back down home for my cousin (and Cooks In Kansas' sis) Whitney's wedding this coming Saturday. Once again it's been too long (January) since I've been down so it'll be that much more nice to be there again.

Suburban Fringe is particularly amusing this week - you'll get a good chuckle, I guarantee.

Nothing Runs (Or Sees) Like A Deere...

Did you know that John Deere has added their name to a line of eyewear? I noticed several different pairs on display at my opthalmologist's office today.

(aside: if your eyeglasses suffer a major injury such as a broken temple, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, and PLEASEWHATEVERYOUDO, do not attempt to repair them with Super Glue, which will likely leak onto the lens nearest the break. Proceed directly to the retailer from whence they came, for repair. You will be charged $20 extra for having the Super Glue removed from the lens. Alternately, warn the optician ahead of time so they're not surprised when they clean them with their super-dee-duper ultrasonic lens cleaner.)

so John Deere sells eyeglasses now - can't help but think of my beloved Papaw who has been a loyal employee of John Deere in some capacity for about 900 years now. Seems to me that's an odd thing for them to sell, but their marketing folks obviously think it'll fly.

Read the entire press release here.

It (was) a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Holy cow, what a beautiful Sunday it was in St. Louis! Just-right temperature, bright sunshine, and puffy clouds rolling on by. It was a great day to have a pizza picnic at church followed by playing sports in the park with friends current and new. Yes, I'm sore, not being used to so much physical exertion on a Sunday afternoon, but it was so worth it! Definitely not a day to stay inside.

I managed to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year, non-alcoholicly, of course. My friend K's birthday is May 5 so she and I and some friends met at the local El Maguey for dinner and conversation. We went back to her place for cake and Trivial Pursuit.

I rented Mad Hot Ballroom recently - I really loved it - it's a film everyone, especially teachers, should see.

Be cool and stay safe, folks.

Vacation Report...

It's Friday night and the promised rain is puncturing the dry air over us, finally.

I had a productive, relaxing week. Basement and garage have been tamed into a semblance of order. More importantly, I was able to get out and enjoy the near-perfect weather. Wednesday found me biking the trail at Jefferson Barracks Park. Along the way, I actually sat down under a tree and read a book, how quaint!

On Thursday I biked a trail in a recently-opened floodplain section of Cliff Cave Park. Many species of wildflowers were in bloom - I'll have to return with my camera. I stopped at the River Des Peres Trail afterwards. Beautification efforts along RDP Avenue have resulted in 3 pedestrian bridges being built to cross over the RDP into the Christy Greenway bike trail. I explored the greenway and then returned to hit the entire RDP bike trail, round-trip. I'd never done it front to back and it was a nice ride.

Today I drove out to the new Hamburg Trail near Weldon Spring, MO. It ends at a section of the Katy Trail that I rode last fall and I remembered seeing a sign for it at that time. The Hamburg Trail rides through forest glades with historical markers posted along the route. My legs got really tired near the end of the ride, so I knew it was time to let them rest awhile.

Now the rains will soon come and force me indoors for the weekend. I need to get out and look for new bed linens, anyway. I'll soon be re-doing my bedroom and my brother's old room with refinished wood floors and new paint. For some reason, I haven't seen many manly, non-frumpy, non-flowery bedding ensembles.

My Tunes updates tonight after this publishes.

Vacation, finally...

I'm on hiatus from work this week, first vacation of the year! I'm not headed to any destination more exotic than the greater St. Louis area, though. This week is just unplugging from the usual routine and tackling all those little things that haven't gotten done yet. Things such as lawn fertilization, garage-cleaning, cobweb eradication, etc... There are also some bike trails (and possibly some hiking trails) that have my name on them as well. I will also be able to join some some of my man-friends at Bandana's for dinner tomorrow night.

How do I know I timed this vacation just right? A minor crisis hit at work on Friday night right at 5:00 and a major crisis hit at work on Saturday morning. A computer unplugged at the wrong time and a network cable plugged into the wrong place make for tense times. Sometimes you just know it's time to get away.

Speaking of bike trails, I got out on Grant's Trail for the first time this year on Saturday evening (oh the joys of daylight savings time!). I'd gotten my bike ready to roll last Wednesday night at Sunset Cyclery and it was good to get back at it.

I experienced Blueberry Hill for the *ahem* first time last Thursday night. I know, I'm ashamed I've lived here 6 years and had not experienced it yet. It's a cool place to hang out if you're with a group of your friends. It was karaoke night in the basement Elvis Room, but I was still in my work clothes so I wasn't exactly dressed for that sort of crowd, so I declined multiple invitations to belt out a tune or two.

My church has gotten a new thing going called The Gathering - young professionals (age 19-35) meeting every other Sunday night for bible study and hang-out time. They wanted to attract singles and marrieds but it's been all singles so far. I've started going and it's been pretty cool so far. We started a Louie Giglio video series on dating, love, and life last night.

He Is Risen!...

He is risen, indeed.

Had a splendid Easter Sunday today. Great services at church and a great dinner at home with the folks and bro/sis-in-law. As my birthday is tomorrow, the dinner featured several of my favorite dishes (coincidentally, not intentionally). Dessert was my 'special' birthday cake - a delicious confection called Strawberry Dream Cake. The "dream" part of the name must come from its dreamy taste, or the feeling that you are dreaming when you behold its magnificence--I'm not sure. It's a simple recipe, an angel food cake stuffed with mashed strawberries and smothered in whipping cream (not COOL WHIP!). It's a culinary tradition first started by my beloved deceased grandmother and faithfully carried on by my beloved mother. It's a delight beyond belief for a strawberry lover like me.

I was listening to a Chuck Swindoll Easter message on the radio coming home and he pointed out something I'd totally missed until now. Mark 16:7 says that the women at the tomb were told to 'go tell [Jesus'] disciples and Peter,....' By the time of the Resurrection, Peter had defected! So utterly destroyed by the guilt of his denial of Jesus that he resigned his discipleship. Of course, as the story goes, Jesus restored Peter and he became a great leader of the early church. A man who, when the chips were down, denied any knowledge of Christ (even to the point of cursing at the third one who asked him) had hope because of the Resurrection. If you're reading this and you've been there or are there now, that same hope is yours today.

Albert Pujols picked up his team and carried them on his shoulders today. The Cardinals are scuffling, as the writers say, out of the gate this year. A shaky bullpen, and the new right fielder (who hasn't endeared himself to anyone as yet) conspired to put them at a 7-6 disadvantage late in the game. A brilliantly unorthodox strategy of sending up a pitcher to pinch-hit (albeit one who hits well) was successful and AP sent the faithful at the Church of Busch home happy with his THIRD home run of the day. THREE HOME RUNS. A devout Christian was the Cardinals' saving grace on Easter Sunday. How nice is that?

I've Been Reviewed!...

A few months ago I submitted this blog to The Weblog Review for, well, a review. I didn't pay to get it reviewed quickly, so they put it in their 'people who didn't pay to get a review so we'll get around to reviewing it someday' file, which was OK with this blogger.

So what do they think?

It's down toward the bottom of the page - if it's gone by the time you read this, do a search on my blog title and it will magically appear.

I guess I should explicitly state 'I'm Not A Serious Blogger' somewhere in the sidebar. I think the reviewer expected a harder-core blog than mine is. I don't promote any points of view or any certain cause nor do I have any axes to grind. I just write about stuff that happens to me and, well, occasionally I politicize and point-of-view it. The reviewer was constructive in her criticism, however, and I certainly appreciate another set of eyes looking at it.

I Went to a Concert and a Church Service Broke Out...

This is borderline MyTunes material, but I just got back from a great show at the historic Sheldon Concert Hall tonight. It was a double feature with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Dixie Hummingbirds! I lucked out and got a seat front and center first row in the balcony, best seat in the house if you ask me. This is a small room, so the balcony is not far from the stage. The Dixie Hummingbirds were a treat to hear; they feature only 1 original member these days, but have added a young bass who delighted the audience by plumbing the depths of his range. I wasn't familiar with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band but I am definitely a fan after hearing them tonight. They brought back the Dixie Hummingbirds to close out their show and it suddenly turned into CHURCH! It was a very joyous way to end the evening. Only fitting, I guess, since the Sheldon was a revival meeting hall in a former life.

One Slip o' the Tongue...

Yes, it's been too long between writings - just haven't had too much to write about lately.

Until today.

A big ol' stink has arisen in the St. Louis area re: an unfortunate 'radio personality' on a local talk radio station. The poor man was doing his show yesterday and in the midst of praising our Secretary of State, meant to say a certain word, but instead said another word that sounds very similar to it (click on the link - I shall not repeat the word). The word he said is commonly used as racial slur. Did he misspeak? Did he really mean to say it? Is he a filthy stinkin' racist? A huge debate has stirred up as a result of predictable coverage in local print and electronic media.

Regardless, the man did himself no favors by immediately acknowledging his mistake, apologizing all over himself in the process. He hastily segued to a commercial break and to make a long story short, he was fired almost immediately and the radio station manager apologized on-air in short order. Today we learn that he has been suspended from his teaching job at a local chiropractic college.

This is one of those situations where nothing good can result of its outcome. My questions are:

1) He had a 'delay' (OH #$%#@!!) button he could have used to prevent his words from ever seeing airtime. Why didn't he use it? Many a radio announcer has been saved via that route. It could be that he panicked, radio not being his first occupation. He had been on the job only 2 weeks, after coming over from a local low-watt talk station.

2) Did he really misspeak, as he claims? How do you make the mistake he made? Only he knows what his true feelings are. If he truly is a racist, then he deserves to be condemned as such. But then again, why would purposely say such a thing knowing he was deep-sixing himself?

I feel bad for him, as his radio career, and likely his teaching career are being destroyed over one little bit of malfeasance. Now, I don't condone any racist speech and am not personally a racist. The God I serve is not, so neither am I. The radio station's hands were unfortunately tied, as they are now mostly owned by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club. They can't be associated with anything remotely racist so the radio host had to go. Local radio industry insiders are reacting with a mixture of disgust and amusement at the radio station manager, as he is not held in high regard for his management style. (Side note: The radio station in question dumped most of its personalities and hired new "edgier" hosts when the Cardinals ownership took over in January.)

My concern is the disturbing amount of media coverage this incident is receiving. The sad fact is that nowadays, our culture loves controversy. You make one mistake in public, and it's worldwide within seconds. "Put it out there and let it blow up" seems to be the rule. As of this writing, the story is the headline on Stltoday.com and it's even made it to Drudge.com .

Tom Calhoun is a veteran local radio man and offers a reasoned commentary in his blog.

What do my faithful readers have to say?

Monday, Monday...

How is everyone today? The day dawned partly sunny and cool, not bad for March.

As we march ever onward toward Spring, I have begun planning my annual home improvement schedule. Last year at this time I was deep into planning my kitchen remodel project, which took place last April. This year it's bedrooms--mine and my brother's former room. It will involve refinishing the original wood floors, new paint, baseboards, etc... Also tentavively on the list is repairing my sometimes-leaky basement. It leaks in the same spot every time it rains unusually hard or over a prolonged period of time. I've scheduled a basement waterproofer to look at it today. I expect it will be a very expensive project, so that's why it's tentative.

My garage door has gotten things off to an unexpected start by breaking a spring on Thursday so I'll be shelling out $300 for a pair of new ones. The repairman clamped it together temporarily and advised me to use it "sparingly," which means 'don't use it because it could break again while your car's inside and then you'd be screwed.' So my car gets parked outside during the 5 working days it takes to get the new springs.

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Enjoyed a nice time celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday Friday night. Her birthday is exactly one month later than my brother's, believe it or not. The Parents and I and them had a nice dinner at Cunetto's House of Pasta (I tried Tiramisu for the first time ever!) then The Parents adjourned to see a movie while the Young Folks adjourned to a hip birthday bash with friends in the city.

I finally saw Cinderalla Man on Saturday night. The roles were cast perfectly, in my opinion and I liked the film.

Another concert with the Metros on Sunday afternoon. The rehearsal was rough Tuesday night so I wasn't expecting a great performance, but we "acquitted ourselves well" as the critics say. It was a gray and gloomy day more suited for sleeping than singing, but we overcame and sang pretty well. One of the singers hosted a swingin' post-concert party at her home deep in the woods of Wildwood, in far west St. Louis county.

The Oscars went pretty much as I thought they would. I'm not a big movie-goer so I had no favorites picked to win. I do like Philip Seymour Hoffman, so I'm glad he won for Best Actor. Especially glad that his career has recovered from "Twister." : )

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Prom Night 2006...

Every year around this time my Monday night bible study class holds a winter formal. Of course, being irreverent young adults, we surreptiously refer to it as a 'prom.' Last night was the big night! This year's bash was held at a local Marriot hotel banquet room. Fate did not smile on me when it came to seating arrangements, sadly. 2 of my group-mates and I were seated with 4 young college-age girls. Honestly, I think I've been working at my job longer than the girl to my left has been alive! I say 'fate didn't smile on me' in the selfish sense of "I hope I am sitting at a table with eligible women who are close to me in age." Once I came to terms with the realization that that was not going to be the case for me and got over it, I got to know a couple of nice young ladies. The dinner entrée was some sort of fancy chicken with decorative steamed vegetables and a suspicious herb sprig. Later on, the DJ revved up his sound system and the dancing commenced! Yours truly got his groove thang on and danced away the stress of the previous weeks in a couple of hours. When the DJ prepared to launch into the Electric Slide at 11:00, I took that as God's leading that I should head home, so I did.

Yes, I did make it to church for the 9:00 service.

Only 10 minutes late.

....................................

Double-shot of dead-pool news from Hollywood this weekend. Don Knotts passed away on Saturday and Darren McGavin passed away this afternoon. Practically everyone knows the name Don Knotts (of whom I have a vision of a loud leisure suit being worn into heaven). You might only know Darren McGavin if I mentioned "A Christmas Story." Yep, he was Ralphie's dad who spoke in tongues to the family Oldsmobile and furnace. Both great actors and will be missed.

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MyTunes has updated tonight.

It's Wednesday night...

...and all is well. I haven't had much to say since last week but the drought ends here and now.

Work has been extremely busy since last Wednesday. On that day, our employees migrated to a new e-mail system (to Microsoft Exchange/Outlook from Lotus Notes). This was not done voluntarily, but at the direction of our new corporate parent, who swallowed up my company last June. They are a "Microsoft shop" and we had to come in line with that. That, coupled with the migration to a new "domain" (think of a city of computers getting a new name) a week earlier, has put us under an unusual strain for the past couple of weeks. I've been busy resolving user access problems and training users on software that I barely had time to learn before the migration and trying to soothe their irritations with all the hassles that have come as a result. The dust is settling, though, so I think I'll be OK! Oh, and did I mention that a group of users went "live" with a new production system on Monday morning? And that all our users have had to cope with new user name and password standards? It's been fun!

So last week could've really been a "down" week for me. I had no date onValentine's Day, had a trying week at work, and to cap it off on Friday, UPS delivered another wedding gift for my bro and sis-in-law to my house! They're still scoring almost 4 months after the fact! (My brother was also my roommate prior to his marriage so they had gifts delivered to my house.) They never changed their delivery address because they assumed the well had dried up, but I guess not, as they received another gift yesterday. Now, I I don't mind receiving their gifts, but it does sort of remind me that I'm not married yet! : ) But it wasn't a "down" week. I purposely kept a positive outlook. Those things are little obstacles in the grand scheme of things.

................

In other news, a local suburb has denied an residential occupancy permit to an unmarried couple and their children. It seems this family doesn't meet the suburb's definition of a family. The suburb's mayor makes a valid argument, but this still seems like blatant discrimination to me. Thoughts?
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News of the weird - Yesterday was Senior Skip Day at a local private college prep high school. Two knucklehead members of the senior class continued the long and storied tradition of playing a senior prank. The problem was that their senior prank involved rappelling up the side of a mini-skyscraper in full view of passing motorists on a busy interstate. Predictably, the media had a field day with it (I happened to be working in the photo studio at work when our photographer on the scene was doing a play-by-play). Fortunately, both students made it back down safely and were cuffed and stuffed into a waiting patrol car. They spent the night in jail and are suspended from school.
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Sad news from the world of Southern Gospel music tonight. Pianist Anthony Burger collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack while performing on a Caribbean cruise ship this evening. He was a gifted musician, and one of the premier entertainers in gospel music. In recent years, he performed often with Bill Gaither and his Homecoming concert tours. I remember him playing with the Kingsmen during their concerts at the Malden Community Center when I was a child. My grandparents and I always saw them when they came to town.

This made me hungry...

(From 4 of Clubbs' Brooke, who got it from her friend Amy)

1. Eggs? Fried or Scrambled? could go either way, depending on who cooks them
2. Chocolate covered cherries? No - strawberries, always!
3. When eating a salad, what type of dressing do you prefer to use? Homey don' eat no salad!
4. Peanut Butter? Creamy or Crunchy? Creamy - if it's crunchy it's been in my pantry too long.
5. If you HAD to eat only one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life, what flavor would it be? Breyer's Vanilla.
6. Thick or thin crust pizza? They both have merits! Thick, but I have no problem with thin.
7. Salsa? Hot, Medium, or Mild? Medium, with a little kick.
8. Toast? Lightly toasted or practically burnt? Lightly toasted.
9. What is your FAVE food item at Taco Bell? don't eat there enough to remember.
10. When are you MOST LIKELY to pig out during the course of a day? Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies, or white seedless grapes.

1. What time of day is too late to telephone someone? I don't usually call people after 9:30, unless it's all good with them or it's a dire emergency
2. Have you ever looked up the lyrics to a song online? Many times.
3. What’s your favorite dessert to order at a restaurant? That's hard. Hm. Appleby's Caramel Apple crunch with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
1. What are your favorite pizza toppings? List your favorite 3 (or more). Beef, Ham/Canadian Bacon, Cheese
2. What was the last movie you saw (theater or rented, your choice, or both)? The Girl in the Café.
3. What is your favorite fruit? Mmmmm....Strawberries are my first love but I also love white seedless grapes.

Sunday night update...

Rather quiet weekend 'round these parts. Spent most of yesterday at work preparing for our upcoming company-wide e-mail migration (more on that later). Last night, I rented a cute little film called The Girl in the Café. It is a British production for HBO that premiered last fall. It was written by the same writer who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually, so I picked it up. Allmovie.com reviews it better than I can so I'll let you follow the link. If nothing else, rent it for the female lead who is Scottish and speaks with a delicious brogue!

This was a Dare2Share conference weekend in St. Louis. Their president and founder Greg Stier preached both services at church today. He is a powerful, engaging speaker who takes no prisoners and pulls no punches when he speaks.

I'm back on the job tomorrow so I'd better get some sleep.

but before I go, Erin Bode's new record is out in stores - I highly recommend it. Get a Rhapsody.com account and preview it for free, then go out and buy it... : )

From one live music extreme to the other...

Last night I took in some live music at Off Broadway--BR549 with The Avett Brothers. Tonight it's the St. Olaf College Choir at MUMC. Yes, THE world-renowned St. Olaf College Choir from Northfield, Minn. From loud, hillbilly country music in a smoky bar to refined elegance in a beautiful church nave, all within 24 hours. Such is life for my ears.

Chili for a chilly day...

Today was the annual Great Chili Cook-Off, sponsored by the photography dept. at my workplace. 10 different varieties of chili, but alas, no evidence locker! : )

Super Bowl XL weekend update

So I was wrong in my previous prediction - the Seahawks fell short in their quest to return the NFC to Super Bowl glory. History will remember it as a sloppily played game, but the Steelers were clearly the better team. How about "Big Ben" Roethlisberger winning the big game at the tender age of 23? I was just a greenhorn computer tech starting my first job at that age. If you're a sentimentalist, you love it because Jerome Bettis retired with a big win, Bill Cowher finally won the big one, and Pittsburgh finally joined Dallas and San Francisco in the 5-win club.

You had to feel for the broadcasters of this game, having to spit out names like Tatupu, Roethlisberger, and Palomalu.

The Steelers sealed their victory with a touchdown on a successful trick play. Somewhere in the San Diego area, somehow, Mike Martz is smiling.

How about the commercials? I felt they were more violent this year overall, unfortunately. My favorite was the Sprint "music on your cell phone" commercial with the homage to Benny Hill.
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I covered the night shift at work last night, as I have to do occasionally. 6:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. It can be a lonely shift, but I managed to keep busy. It was during the ride home that I noticed my headlights were either not working, or not working very well. Now, that's a bad situation to be in at between 1:30 and 2:00 in the morning, traveling down the interstate half-asleep with little or no headlights to guide you along. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any smokeys or county mounties during the trip home. I checked them today and something is wrong--fortunately, I have about 1,200 miles of warranty left. It's oil-change time anyway, so into the shop it goes tomorrow.