- Incredible weather we've been having...enjoyed my 10 miles on the Katy Trail yesterday...sure was a heckuva festival goin' on at Frontier Park on the St. Charles riverfront.
- "Casino" is a violent movie. But it's about Vegas and the mob...no surprise there.
- "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"- very moving French film, very hopeful. You should rent it.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Oh, Deer...
...was driving down Ladue Road tonight at dusk on the way to my Monday night bible study class when a deer ran in front of my car....just barely missed hitting it. That'll wake a guy up.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Up, Up, And Away!...
The Macy's balloon was this year's "hare" balloon that led off the race. The other balloons chased it until the pilot dropped a small beanbag in an open area. The balloon that landed closest to it was declared the winner.
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
- So Rosetta Stone is the best Michael Phelps could do for an endorsement deal? This after owning the first week of the recent Olympics? A real head-scratcher. His commercials aren't even that great...
- Cardinals and Rams, bleh...The one thing the Cardinals had this year that the Rams don't is....A CHANCE...there I said it. gratuitous sports humor. Now I'm done talkin' about them...
- the Great Forest Park Ballon Race was, well, a gas, as it is every year. Chili enjoyed herself, I think. Neither of us enjoyed driving 'round and 'round the park looking for a place to park our chariot. and then the search for the perfect vantage point. we did well in that respect and got some super cool pictures. upon returning home, was too tired and hungry to go out again to catch Erin Bode in concert at the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival.
- started up BSF again a couple of weeks ago. it's me, another veteran BSFer, and 9 new guys in a group. I think my role has officially become the mentor (am I that old now?) to the younger guys in hopes that they will stick with it.
- how does my dog now weigh 72 pounds? had her to the HSMO vet clinic yesterday for a shot and butt-cleaning. put her on the scale and I couldn't believe my eyes; first, she actually sat still long enough for an accurate reading and second, the numbers that flashed across the digi-screen. She doesn't wolf down 2 bowls of food every day (i'm lucky if she eats one!) and we walk twice a day. maybe she needs longer, faster-paced walks?
- Cardinals and Rams, bleh...The one thing the Cardinals had this year that the Rams don't is....A CHANCE...there I said it. gratuitous sports humor. Now I'm done talkin' about them...
- the Great Forest Park Ballon Race was, well, a gas, as it is every year. Chili enjoyed herself, I think. Neither of us enjoyed driving 'round and 'round the park looking for a place to park our chariot. and then the search for the perfect vantage point. we did well in that respect and got some super cool pictures. upon returning home, was too tired and hungry to go out again to catch Erin Bode in concert at the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival.
- started up BSF again a couple of weeks ago. it's me, another veteran BSFer, and 9 new guys in a group. I think my role has officially become the mentor (am I that old now?) to the younger guys in hopes that they will stick with it.
- how does my dog now weigh 72 pounds? had her to the HSMO vet clinic yesterday for a shot and butt-cleaning. put her on the scale and I couldn't believe my eyes; first, she actually sat still long enough for an accurate reading and second, the numbers that flashed across the digi-screen. She doesn't wolf down 2 bowls of food every day (i'm lucky if she eats one!) and we walk twice a day. maybe she needs longer, faster-paced walks?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Somebody Burped...
yes, I went on iTunes this morning and purchased a song by that name. It's a kid's song by the folk singer Tom Paxton. I heard it on the "Musical-Merry-Go-Round" show on KDHX radio this morning.
Because I was a little boy.
once.
Because I was a little boy.
once.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The West Wing...
I was reminded recently of The West Wing and how brilliant the writing was in the early seasons. This week Borders sent out a Rewards coupon for 40% off DVD box sets so I went out and bought TWW Season 2 last night. This was the season where actress Emily Procter was introduced as Ainsley Hayes, a Republican lawyer hired to work in the (Democratic) White House. Her first episodes were especially rich and I laughed out several times.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Aftermath...
This is after I pulled it all off the fence and out of the apartment buildings' back yard.
Sunday Night STREAM Of Consciousness...
- "Wasn't that a mighty storm? Wasn't that a mighty storm in the mornin'?" The ghost of Ike barreled through the St. Louis area overnight and through the morning hours. Torrential rain and high winds did all the damage. Widespread flash fooding, power outages, downed tree limbs, etc... Chili and I survived mostly unscathed. Part of my backyard redbud tree was felled by the torrential rain and high winds. It was a matter of time before it went, anyway. The tree's been slowly rotting away and I think its time has finally come. Bummer.
- Wish I'd checked my church's website BEFORE I drove all the way up there and discovered services were canceled due to all the flooded roads. Happy ending though; ended up at my former church and found that a former staff pastor and counselor at my current church is now the senior pastor at my former church. Good to hear him preach again.
- Was traveling up the interstate to church this morning and a gigantic wooden boat-looking thing floated by. This old dude stuck his head out one of the windows and yelled out, "I TRIED TO WARN YOU, BUT DID YOU LISTEN???" Weird.
- Just an overall bad day for the St. Louis area. The aforementioned storm and its aftermath, the Rams' weekly beatdown, and the Cardinals getting swept by the lowly Pirates. Looks like it's really over for the Birds this time.
- Thank you, Chili-dog, for being mostly submissive yesterday while getting your nails clipped. You waited in line very patiently and behaved around the other dogs. Thanks to the good people of St. Louis REGAP for providing this service.
- Rented "Things We Lost In The Fire" last night. Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro were great in their lead roles. David Duchovny was, well, David Duchovny. I like BDT as an actor - have to check out some of his other movies.
- Never seen the QT station by my house run out of gas but it did last night.
- When approaching an obviously flash-flooded street or highway in your car, folks, take Sheriff Buford T. Justice's advice: "You can think about it, but D-O-O-N-'-T do it!"
- Wish I'd checked my church's website BEFORE I drove all the way up there and discovered services were canceled due to all the flooded roads. Happy ending though; ended up at my former church and found that a former staff pastor and counselor at my current church is now the senior pastor at my former church. Good to hear him preach again.
- Was traveling up the interstate to church this morning and a gigantic wooden boat-looking thing floated by. This old dude stuck his head out one of the windows and yelled out, "I TRIED TO WARN YOU, BUT DID YOU LISTEN???" Weird.
- Just an overall bad day for the St. Louis area. The aforementioned storm and its aftermath, the Rams' weekly beatdown, and the Cardinals getting swept by the lowly Pirates. Looks like it's really over for the Birds this time.
- Thank you, Chili-dog, for being mostly submissive yesterday while getting your nails clipped. You waited in line very patiently and behaved around the other dogs. Thanks to the good people of St. Louis REGAP for providing this service.
- Rented "Things We Lost In The Fire" last night. Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro were great in their lead roles. David Duchovny was, well, David Duchovny. I like BDT as an actor - have to check out some of his other movies.
- Never seen the QT station by my house run out of gas but it did last night.
- When approaching an obviously flash-flooded street or highway in your car, folks, take Sheriff Buford T. Justice's advice: "You can think about it, but D-O-O-N-'-T do it!"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Mr. Babysitter...
Well. The brother and sis-in-law have finally left me alone with their daughter. They had dinner plans tonight and the sitter they had lined up decided to ask an exorbitant sum. So, plan "B" was me. I'd mentioned my desire to begin babysitting now that Lydia is a bit older. I readily agreed when my brother called me this afternoon. They promised to put her to bed while I arrived and that meant all I'd need to do is sit around and watch the Cardinals on TV and keep the internet hot, while checking in on her periodically, of course.
Well, I got to their house and they were running late, so I had a bit of trial by fire when they asked me to put her to bed. Wish someone had been present with a camera as my brother and I collaborated on pajama-ing Lydia. Who'd have ever thought we'd do THAT together? Getting her to sleep was nerve-wracking. I tried to read her a couple of books and sung to her a bit but she was, um, hesitant to go into sleep mode. Fortunately, she eventually went down and is now slumbering peacefully.
The sound of a baby sleeping is one of the most beautiful sounds one can ever hear.
Well, I got to their house and they were running late, so I had a bit of trial by fire when they asked me to put her to bed. Wish someone had been present with a camera as my brother and I collaborated on pajama-ing Lydia. Who'd have ever thought we'd do THAT together? Getting her to sleep was nerve-wracking. I tried to read her a couple of books and sung to her a bit but she was, um, hesitant to go into sleep mode. Fortunately, she eventually went down and is now slumbering peacefully.
The sound of a baby sleeping is one of the most beautiful sounds one can ever hear.
Monday, September 08, 2008
New Windows Are Working!...
Those fancy new windows I have seem to be working pretty well. The overnight temperatures dipped down into the low 60s over the weekend and my inside temperature only dropped a degree or two from the usual 75 degrees. Before, that would have dropped right along with the outside temperature.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Brinner!...
(shamelessly stealing Jim Barnard's word from his blog about what I am about to also blog about.)
The wedding reception I attended on Saturday was most unique. First, breakfast was served as the main course. (Thus, the new word, "brinner") It was a continental breakfast like your local Holiday Inn serves every day. Second, in place of a traditional white wedding cake, four different varieties of cupcakes were served! Yeah, the bride and groom are a fun couple, perfectly suited for each other. I uploaded these pictures and a couple more here.
The wedding reception I attended on Saturday was most unique. First, breakfast was served as the main course. (Thus, the new word, "brinner") It was a continental breakfast like your local Holiday Inn serves every day. Second, in place of a traditional white wedding cake, four different varieties of cupcakes were served! Yeah, the bride and groom are a fun couple, perfectly suited for each other. I uploaded these pictures and a couple more here.
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
- WOW, this weekend flew by. Started it off right Friday by getting in some quality time with niece Lydia, who is now 8(!) months old. Fire engine parade on the riverfront Saturday morning. Mad dash back home to change into wedding clothes. M & K's wedding at noon in west county. back to the riverfront for 3:30 reception at morgan street brewery on laclede's landing. shuttle brother home from said reception at 8:00ish. take wrong turn onto MLK bridge and end up in Illinois, briefly. get turned around and drop brother off at his house, home by 9:00. church today, singles group tonight. total of 178 miles of driving since yesterday morning.
- Rams take first beating of many this season, Cardinals win, desperate for wildcard berth in playoffs; wait, this is how September started off LAST year.
- Monday night bible study resumes tomorrow night. did not get placed into a discussion group, new teaching leader was nice enough to call with explanation. Since I have already done this year's study once before (way back inthe day, people) they're waiting a week to place me so new people can get in first. He stressed "we do want you" because apparently there's many more girls enrolled than guys. That's sad, guys. We need more men to step up to the plate in all things spiritual.
- So who, exactly, is Camilo Villegas and how did he win the BMW Championship golf tournament here in St. Louis today? The PGA is the only sports organization that has events where some guy you never heard of can just come out of nowhere and win. And somehow, Villegas' win today enables another golfer to win the overall championship for the year (FedEx Cup) and a $10 million prize. If I were Camilo Villegas, I'd get on the phone and ask for a share of that, and that right soon.
- The look on my dog's face last night was one of "where the @#$%^ have you been all day? This is SATURDAY." That's why you got the nice long walk today, Chili. So sorry you felt neglected.
- Rams take first beating of many this season, Cardinals win, desperate for wildcard berth in playoffs; wait, this is how September started off LAST year.
- Monday night bible study resumes tomorrow night. did not get placed into a discussion group, new teaching leader was nice enough to call with explanation. Since I have already done this year's study once before (way back inthe day, people) they're waiting a week to place me so new people can get in first. He stressed "we do want you" because apparently there's many more girls enrolled than guys. That's sad, guys. We need more men to step up to the plate in all things spiritual.
- So who, exactly, is Camilo Villegas and how did he win the BMW Championship golf tournament here in St. Louis today? The PGA is the only sports organization that has events where some guy you never heard of can just come out of nowhere and win. And somehow, Villegas' win today enables another golfer to win the overall championship for the year (FedEx Cup) and a $10 million prize. If I were Camilo Villegas, I'd get on the phone and ask for a share of that, and that right soon.
- The look on my dog's face last night was one of "where the @#$%^ have you been all day? This is SATURDAY." That's why you got the nice long walk today, Chili. So sorry you felt neglected.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
From The World Of Sports...
- couple of items from today's sports section:
— Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn may miss the rest of his senior season with a broken neck caused when he collided with teammate Scott McKillop during a season-opening loss to Bowling Green.
NBA — Former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home Wednesday from the NBA's mandatory rookie transition program in Rye Brook, N.Y., for violating unspecified league rules.
Both the Miami Heat, who drafted Chalmers, and his agent, Sam Goldfeder, confirmed that the guard left the program. Neither would divulge the reasons why the former Jayhawks standout was asked to depart early.
Arthur, a 6-foot-9 forward who was chosen late in the first round by New Orleans, was traded three times on draft night and signed his rookie contract with the Memphis Grizzlies in early July.
The Grizzlies acknowledged Arthur "was sent home ... for violating program rules" but declined to give details.
My take:
The linebacker MAY MISS the rest of the season because of a broken neck? That's not the sort of thing ya walk off like a strained hammy or sprained ankle...footballers are a different breed, though...
And if ya get traded three times on draft night that's a pretty clear indication that your career isn't getting off to a good start...
— Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn may miss the rest of his senior season with a broken neck caused when he collided with teammate Scott McKillop during a season-opening loss to Bowling Green.
NBA — Former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home Wednesday from the NBA's mandatory rookie transition program in Rye Brook, N.Y., for violating unspecified league rules.
Both the Miami Heat, who drafted Chalmers, and his agent, Sam Goldfeder, confirmed that the guard left the program. Neither would divulge the reasons why the former Jayhawks standout was asked to depart early.
Arthur, a 6-foot-9 forward who was chosen late in the first round by New Orleans, was traded three times on draft night and signed his rookie contract with the Memphis Grizzlies in early July.
The Grizzlies acknowledged Arthur "was sent home ... for violating program rules" but declined to give details.
My take:
The linebacker MAY MISS the rest of the season because of a broken neck? That's not the sort of thing ya walk off like a strained hammy or sprained ankle...footballers are a different breed, though...
And if ya get traded three times on draft night that's a pretty clear indication that your career isn't getting off to a good start...
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
R.I.P. Snowman...
Jerry Reed died today at the age of 71. He was a Nashville guitar man in the truest sense of the word. However, most folks will remember him for his acting role as trucker Cledus "Snowman" Snow in the 1977 film "Smokey and the Bandit." This was a classic bit of dialogue from the film:
Snowman: "Now, someone's got to pay for all that beer we spilled."
Bandit: "I already worked that out. Leave a note and tell the folks to send the bill to Big Enos Burdette"
Snowman: (talking to himself and writing note) "Send bill to Big Enos Burdette...that's B-R, B-U-R....aw, @$$% I got to go!!!"
of course, who could forget that episode of "Scooby Doo" where he played himself as the owner of the "Grand Ol' Country Music Hall"??? ah, nostalgia! (Bonus points if you remember the song that he performed in the episode that was never heard anywhere else.)
Labor Day...
So why did I feel compelled to labor on Labor Day? It's my late Papaw's personality manifesting itself through mine, I guess. I painted the unpainted edge of my bathroom door that had been paintless for oh, a year? I cleaned and swept out my garage then gave Chili-dog a bath. It was a somewhat hot and definitely humid day so she didn't mind the cold water so much.
Later we drove down to my parents' house for dinner. My mom roasted a couple of pork tenderloins with smashed potatoes and green beans. Her famous banana pudding was a nice topper. My dad and I bonded by getting their home theater system connected correctly after they got a new TV a few weeks ago.
Later we drove down to my parents' house for dinner. My mom roasted a couple of pork tenderloins with smashed potatoes and green beans. Her famous banana pudding was a nice topper. My dad and I bonded by getting their home theater system connected correctly after they got a new TV a few weeks ago.
D'OH!!!!...
From Deadspin.com via Jeff Gordon's "Tipsheet" blog on Stltoday.com comes this amusing bit:
LOGISTICAL MISHAP OF WEEK
LOGISTICAL MISHAP OF WEEK
The Tar Heels football program planned to kick off their season in style yesterday. UNC hired a pair of skydivers to descend from above and deliver the game ball prior to their match-up with McNeese State. Fans and organizers waited in breathless anticipation for their arrival. Only the skydivers never showed. Why? Because they mistakenly dropped into Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium eight miles down the road.
Surprise!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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.
- 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.
Friday, August 29, 2008
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.
"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?
My House, Exquisitely Detailed...
Click on the picture to see a Flickr-noted picture of the back of my house.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I am very pleased with them. Thanks to New-Again Exteriors!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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...
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.
- 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, August 17, 2008
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.
Friday, August 15, 2008
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!
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, August 10, 2008
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?"
- 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?"
Friday, August 08, 2008
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.
The Data Diva Says: Check Your Date Before You Go Out...
be sure to check out the short video that accompanies the story.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
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.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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!):
and tonight I should have "Nashville" "North By Northwest" and "Poncho Sanchez: Live at Montreux" in my mailbox.
Suggestions, anyone?
and tonight I should have "Nashville" "North By Northwest" and "Poncho Sanchez: Live at Montreux" in my mailbox.
Suggestions, anyone?
Monday, August 04, 2008
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.
I think I'll go rest my brain a bit.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness
...nothing to say, folks...not in the requisite state of mind tonight. Maybe next week?
Friday, August 01, 2008
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
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
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The One With The Cool Video...
(Title shamelessly borrowed from the style of HM's blog)
Today's GeekBrief podcast world-premiered a music video for Geoff Smith's new song "Only Ones and 0s. The song is about those anonymous folks who leave rude and nasty comments on blogs, YouTube videos, etc...
Check it out on Vimeo:
Ones and 0s by Geoff Smith from Cali Lewis on Vimeo.
(Ones and 0s (or 1s and 0s) refers to binary numbers which form the basis of computer machine language that is the power behind anything Internet.)
Today's GeekBrief podcast world-premiered a music video for Geoff Smith's new song "Only Ones and 0s. The song is about those anonymous folks who leave rude and nasty comments on blogs, YouTube videos, etc...
Check it out on Vimeo:
Ones and 0s by Geoff Smith from Cali Lewis on Vimeo.
(Ones and 0s (or 1s and 0s) refers to binary numbers which form the basis of computer machine language that is the power behind anything Internet.)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Unfortunate...
This little item in today's notes from Rams training camp stuck out at me:
SENE IS REPLACED
Tackle Stephen Sene, an undrafted rookie, suffered the ignominy of being released on the practice field. It happened Monday afternoon, just after the Rams received word that their waiver claim on Miami Dolphins tackle Julius Wilson was successful.
Sene received the bad news from personnel chief Billy Devaney, then was driven away on a golf cart.
That had to hurt!
SENE IS REPLACED
Tackle Stephen Sene, an undrafted rookie, suffered the ignominy of being released on the practice field. It happened Monday afternoon, just after the Rams received word that their waiver claim on Miami Dolphins tackle Julius Wilson was successful.
Sene received the bad news from personnel chief Billy Devaney, then was driven away on a golf cart.
That had to hurt!
Monday, July 28, 2008
What Chili Did On The First Anniversary Of Her Adoption...
It stormed while I was at work last Thursday. Chili-dog gets anxious during storms (as many dogs do) and followed her "denning" instinct to dig a safe hole. Usually my bedroom and bathroom rugs have to suffice.
The Dog Runs Laps...
Chili-dog loves to run laps around my yard. She was not listening to me very well, unfortunately!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
While I'm waiting on my videos to upload to YouTube, here's this week's installment, straight out of my brain...
- Yes, that was Fernando Tatis you saw resurrecting his career as a New York Mets outfielder this weekend. The same Fernando Tatis who hit two grand slams in one inning as a St. Louis Cardinal in a game many moons ago. Wow.
- Don't rent "Death At A Funeral" on DVD - it's supposedly a comedy but is in fact not funny, despite the glowing reviews plastered on its case. Save your $2.99, please.
- Chili-dog checked out just fine at her annual checkup yesterday. She does not like getting blood drawn. But then again, neither do I. She weighed in at 71 lbs, which is as much as she should ideally weigh. I think we were slightly offended that the vet techs kept calling her "wiggle-butt."
- A bow-shaped mess of thunderstorm badness is rapidly descending from the north so I'll have to cut this entry short and power down. That's convenient because there doesn't seem to be much on my mind tonight.
- Yes, that was Fernando Tatis you saw resurrecting his career as a New York Mets outfielder this weekend. The same Fernando Tatis who hit two grand slams in one inning as a St. Louis Cardinal in a game many moons ago. Wow.
- Don't rent "Death At A Funeral" on DVD - it's supposedly a comedy but is in fact not funny, despite the glowing reviews plastered on its case. Save your $2.99, please.
- Chili-dog checked out just fine at her annual checkup yesterday. She does not like getting blood drawn. But then again, neither do I. She weighed in at 71 lbs, which is as much as she should ideally weigh. I think we were slightly offended that the vet techs kept calling her "wiggle-butt."
- A bow-shaped mess of thunderstorm badness is rapidly descending from the north so I'll have to cut this entry short and power down. That's convenient because there doesn't seem to be much on my mind tonight.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A Dog For All Seasons...
One year ago today, I drove up to the Humane Society of Missouri and left there with a big brown dog named Chili. We've had an interesting first year together with a lot of good times shared.
She is my dog.
She is my dog.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
- Last week I scolded Aaron Miles for his human battering ram impression. Tonight I praise him for his ability to distinguish between "clutch" and "choke." That's the way to do it, folks...if the opposing team walks two guys INTENTIONALLY to get to you, on the assumption that you'll fail, do the unthinkable, the unbelievable. A ninth-inning, walkoff grand salami? Oh, it felt good to be Aaron Miles this afternoon. Especially after playing a full nine innings in the convection oven of a St. Louis July.
- By the way, I never could get the clutch and choke thing down, so I've always stuck to automatic trannys....
- it must be election season; the campaign signs and mudslinger TV commercials are beginning to appear.
- gotta love an honest man who won't sell you something you don't need, even if you think you do. That happened to me yesterday and I was most impressed.
- Memo to my Chili-dog: you're strong and athletic but tree-climbing is not something you should attempt. That squirrel in our redbud tree was making sport of you last evening and it was most amusing. Honestly, did you really think you could launch yourself into that tree?
- John Coltrane was and is The Man.
- By the way, I never could get the clutch and choke thing down, so I've always stuck to automatic trannys....
- it must be election season; the campaign signs and mudslinger TV commercials are beginning to appear.
- gotta love an honest man who won't sell you something you don't need, even if you think you do. That happened to me yesterday and I was most impressed.
- Memo to my Chili-dog: you're strong and athletic but tree-climbing is not something you should attempt. That squirrel in our redbud tree was making sport of you last evening and it was most amusing. Honestly, did you really think you could launch yourself into that tree?
- John Coltrane was and is The Man.
Friday, July 18, 2008
One Year Ago Today...
...this brown dog named Chili was turned in to the Humane Society of Missouri by her unfortunate owners. What would happen to her? With her good looks, surely she wouldn't be there long! Would she find a good home? Stay tuned...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Classic Sesame Street...
I ran across this today by accident and it cracked me up! A spot-on spoof of "Float On" by The Floaters, from the mid-70s. Dig Bob's falsetto and Luis' "Latin Heartthrob" bit!
For those of you not old enough to remember The Floaters, (myself included!) here's the real thing:
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sunday Night SOC...
- looks like another St. Louis original is biting the bullet (the dust?) to merge with a foreign suitor. Sad. Just sad. I think I hate mergers. If any current A-Bers out there want to know about life under an out-of-town owner, drop me a line.
- One of the great things about this year's Cardinals team is their remarkable ability to come back strong from a bad game. They coughed up a 6-run lead last night and managed to lose to the *ahem* Pirates 12-11. Thanks for putting them back in their place today.
- Memo to Aaron Miles: that "run over the catcher and hope he drops the ball" trick only works if you're not, ah, Aaron Miles. Really - my dog stood a better chance than you did. I know, you were out by a mile and had to save some face. Thanks for the 5 RBIs, though. That's cool.
- Congratulations to my friends B & J on the birth of their first child, a girl on Thursday.
- This year's "PleaseDon'tUTippaMyCanoe" trip was a blast! Thanks, B & G for organizing it. One benefit of our rainy spring was good canoeing on the Meramec with a water level that was just right. So glad I didn't chicken out due to the ominous weather forecast. The air was muggy and the skies were only partly sunny but the water was cool and the fellowship sweet. If any of my St. Louis readers want to try it, check out Old Cove Canoe.
- By the grace of God and Panama Jack, I didn't get sunburned in the least.
- Yesterday's ominous weather forecast of "mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon" translated to a 20-minute rain shower at my house late yesterday afternoon. Yeah.
- Why did it take me so long to re-discover Waterdeep? This week I raided iTunes for several stellar tracks off their "Everyone's Beautiful" and "You Are So Good To Me" CDs which were released years ago. Thanks to the worship leader guy at The Journey - West County for playing "Those Who Trust" last week.
- "Millionaire" craziness at the P-D started today when funny money began appearing in the paper. I know it generates badly-needed advertising revenue for us but this is a rather gimmick-y way to do it and if I were an advertising genius I'd think of a better way. But I'm not.
- I'm up to 95 on the Facebook friend-o-meter. Just 5 more and I'll hit the magic three figures. Come on folks, who out there wants to help me get there?
- so when a gutter screen blows off during a thunderstorm, why does it have to be the one on the most dangerous corner of the roof? The one on the corner of the roof that's the farthest from the ground and I would injure myself most painfully if I fell off the roof while replacing it? Why?
For no particular reason, this bit of Will Rodgers wisdom popped into my brain today:
- One of the great things about this year's Cardinals team is their remarkable ability to come back strong from a bad game. They coughed up a 6-run lead last night and managed to lose to the *ahem* Pirates 12-11. Thanks for putting them back in their place today.
- Memo to Aaron Miles: that "run over the catcher and hope he drops the ball" trick only works if you're not, ah, Aaron Miles. Really - my dog stood a better chance than you did. I know, you were out by a mile and had to save some face. Thanks for the 5 RBIs, though. That's cool.
- Congratulations to my friends B & J on the birth of their first child, a girl on Thursday.
- This year's "PleaseDon'tUTippaMyCanoe" trip was a blast! Thanks, B & G for organizing it. One benefit of our rainy spring was good canoeing on the Meramec with a water level that was just right. So glad I didn't chicken out due to the ominous weather forecast. The air was muggy and the skies were only partly sunny but the water was cool and the fellowship sweet. If any of my St. Louis readers want to try it, check out Old Cove Canoe.
- By the grace of God and Panama Jack, I didn't get sunburned in the least.
- Yesterday's ominous weather forecast of "mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon" translated to a 20-minute rain shower at my house late yesterday afternoon. Yeah.
- Why did it take me so long to re-discover Waterdeep? This week I raided iTunes for several stellar tracks off their "Everyone's Beautiful" and "You Are So Good To Me" CDs which were released years ago. Thanks to the worship leader guy at The Journey - West County for playing "Those Who Trust" last week.
- "Millionaire" craziness at the P-D started today when funny money began appearing in the paper. I know it generates badly-needed advertising revenue for us but this is a rather gimmick-y way to do it and if I were an advertising genius I'd think of a better way. But I'm not.
- I'm up to 95 on the Facebook friend-o-meter. Just 5 more and I'll hit the magic three figures. Come on folks, who out there wants to help me get there?
- so when a gutter screen blows off during a thunderstorm, why does it have to be the one on the most dangerous corner of the roof? The one on the corner of the roof that's the farthest from the ground and I would injure myself most painfully if I fell off the roof while replacing it? Why?
For no particular reason, this bit of Will Rodgers wisdom popped into my brain today:
"Always drink upstream from the herd"
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Conscsiousness...
- Cardinals, Cardinals, Cardinals!!! way to roll over for the Small Bears. Yesterday was nice, but you guys wilted in the hot sun today...ya lost 2 of 3 but kept Jim Edmonds quiet...moral victory, I guess.
- Worshiping at The Journey- West County is pretty cool!
- grrr....I disconnected from Charter Cable 4 months ago when I connected to AT&T U-Verse but I am STILL RECEIVING BILLS from Charter!!!! I have fired off a protest letter to stevegm@chartercom.com which Steve the Charter GM advertises on TV as his e-mail address. Let's hope this works, for my credit rating's sake. This is getting ridiculous!!
- deck = freshly scrubbed and power-washed. lawn = freshly mowed. I thought of my Papaw as I was working on these jobs yesterday.
- Waterdeep was one of the great under-appreciated bands in Christian music.
- I enjoy watching sporting events in high-definition TV.
- Chili-dog sure does enjoy her rawhide bone.
- Those who trust in the Lord are a strong mountain; they will not…not be moved.
- Worshiping at The Journey- West County is pretty cool!
- grrr....I disconnected from Charter Cable 4 months ago when I connected to AT&T U-Verse but I am STILL RECEIVING BILLS from Charter!!!! I have fired off a protest letter to stevegm@chartercom.com which Steve the Charter GM advertises on TV as his e-mail address. Let's hope this works, for my credit rating's sake. This is getting ridiculous!!
- deck = freshly scrubbed and power-washed. lawn = freshly mowed. I thought of my Papaw as I was working on these jobs yesterday.
- Waterdeep was one of the great under-appreciated bands in Christian music.
- I enjoy watching sporting events in high-definition TV.
- Chili-dog sure does enjoy her rawhide bone.
- Those who trust in the Lord are a strong mountain; they will not…not be moved.
Friday, July 04, 2008
I GOT TO SHOOT OFF FIREWORKS!!!!!!!...
Happy 4th Of July, folks.
I did (almost) the complete ride of Grant's Trail on my bike this afternoon then came home and cleaned up for the evening. This year I spent the 4th of July evening in Festus with my parents and friends at a cookout hosted by some of their friends from church. I indulged in the St. Louis tradition of pork steaks and all the fixins' and dessert on the 4th Of July. I am stuffed, I ate so much. There were several kiddies present so we had a twilight kiddie fireworks show with all ground-based ammunition. The big show commenced at dusk at the neighbors' house. It was a BIG show. As in three different launching stations big. A friend and I manned one of them quite ably, thank you. I stuffed the launchers with the shells and my friend lit the fuses. I was a kid again, if only for a few minutes. It was all the stuff I wanted to buy as a boy but was never allowed to!
The Cardinals lost a close one to the Cubbies tonight, 2-1. Jimmy Ballgame made his much-anticipated return to Busch by going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. At least he's doing it for the other team these days.
I did (almost) the complete ride of Grant's Trail on my bike this afternoon then came home and cleaned up for the evening. This year I spent the 4th of July evening in Festus with my parents and friends at a cookout hosted by some of their friends from church. I indulged in the St. Louis tradition of pork steaks and all the fixins' and dessert on the 4th Of July. I am stuffed, I ate so much. There were several kiddies present so we had a twilight kiddie fireworks show with all ground-based ammunition. The big show commenced at dusk at the neighbors' house. It was a BIG show. As in three different launching stations big. A friend and I manned one of them quite ably, thank you. I stuffed the launchers with the shells and my friend lit the fuses. I was a kid again, if only for a few minutes. It was all the stuff I wanted to buy as a boy but was never allowed to!
The Cardinals lost a close one to the Cubbies tonight, 2-1. Jimmy Ballgame made his much-anticipated return to Busch by going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. At least he's doing it for the other team these days.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
The Joy Of Baseball...
P-D sports photographer Chris Lee perfectly captured the joy of Troy Glaus' walk-off home run to beat the Mets last night.
See it here.
See it here.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
To The Zimbabwean Spokesman Who Told The West To 'Go Hang'...
"What we have here is, failure to communicate... some men you just can't reach"
Zimbabwe president's spokesman to West: 'Go hang'
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday Night SOC...
- Thank you, STL Cardinals, for finally showing up in KC. Your continuous team brain cramps while playing the Royals were beginning to frustrate and confound this blogger. A 6-3 road trip would have been preferable but 5-4 will have to do.
- So sad to say to goodbye to you, JS, but you were out of options here in the 'Lou and the change of scenery will do you good. Your magnetism drew me out of my comfort zone on several occasions. Thanks for getting me into biking.
- Had a nice visit with adorable niece Lydia after work on Friday evening. She's nearly 6 months old now and is growing up fast!
- Had a short intro phone chat with a possibility tonight...where will it lead?
- I'm not much better this year at sand volleyball than I was the previous summers I have played. Still the fellowship is enjoyable.
- Massive sales in the stores...added to the summer wardrobe yesterday.
- Some local access channels have appeared on my AT&T U-verse television service. I've really missed them since I switched.
- 4:00 p.m Friday afternoon. It happened again. Another internet shutdown happened, at the worst possible time for a newspaper to lose internet connection. With no network administrators in the house. This time it was on our end and thank goodness our network administrators appeared out of nowhere to isolate the problem. I was only a half-hour late leaving work, thank goodness.
Will it go 'round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? My latest purchase from the iTunes store.
- So sad to say to goodbye to you, JS, but you were out of options here in the 'Lou and the change of scenery will do you good. Your magnetism drew me out of my comfort zone on several occasions. Thanks for getting me into biking.
- Had a nice visit with adorable niece Lydia after work on Friday evening. She's nearly 6 months old now and is growing up fast!
- Had a short intro phone chat with a possibility tonight...where will it lead?
- I'm not much better this year at sand volleyball than I was the previous summers I have played. Still the fellowship is enjoyable.
- Massive sales in the stores...added to the summer wardrobe yesterday.
- Some local access channels have appeared on my AT&T U-verse television service. I've really missed them since I switched.
- 4:00 p.m Friday afternoon. It happened again. Another internet shutdown happened, at the worst possible time for a newspaper to lose internet connection. With no network administrators in the house. This time it was on our end and thank goodness our network administrators appeared out of nowhere to isolate the problem. I was only a half-hour late leaving work, thank goodness.
Will it go 'round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? My latest purchase from the iTunes store.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A Whole Mess Of Pictures...
I got busy with my camera phone today:
This was lying (laying?) in the street near my house this morning. Never heard of them.
The P-D Business News dept. rejoined the main newsroom today, one floor up from where they'd moved several years ago. This is the former P-D composing room across the hall from the Tech Services dept. where I work. I will miss seeing them every day.
I received this promo in the mail the other day. Thanks, Sprint!
This is kinda hard to make out, but that's news artist John Shew (near the staircase) hand-illustrating a drawing for the paper. He's actually not using a computer, folks. Neat, huh? That spiral staircase leads up to the P-D newsroom.The Gambler...
Today's P-D Sports section featured a story by our summer sports writing intern Drew Schmenner. Drew profiles Anthony Rivera, a young man from one of our suburbs who got into playing poker as a freshman at Mizzou, then dropped out to pursue it full time. He's on the professional circuit now but I found his story to be kinda sad and depressing. Check it out:
I hope that's a misquote or something taken out of context because that's not normal human behavior, to me at least.
Mizzou dropout gambles on gambling, hits jackpot
This quote shook me: "Rivera's frustration mounted during his losing spell in the dingy fraternity basement. Determined to make the transition from casual player to expert by learning "real poker" as a sophomore, the business major used a $1,000 scholarship check to get started.
"Like any normal human being, I put it on the Internet and started gambling with it," Rivera said.
This quote shook me: "Rivera's frustration mounted during his losing spell in the dingy fraternity basement. Determined to make the transition from casual player to expert by learning "real poker" as a sophomore, the business major used a $1,000 scholarship check to get started.
"Like any normal human being, I put it on the Internet and started gambling with it," Rivera said.
I hope that's a misquote or something taken out of context because that's not normal human behavior, to me at least.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
- Memo to St. Louis Cardinals: You took 2 of 3 from the BoSox this weekend...you could have just let this one slide without dragging it out 13 innings. I took my dog for a LONG walk after the ninth inning; the game was still going on afterwards. I went and bought groceries; the game was finally over. This was like a prize fight where the two boxers keep punching each other until one of them goes down and stays down. Hate these kind of games...
- Speaking of the Cardinals: this half-season has seen more injuries than a full season of "ER." Seriously! Little Cesar Izturis was minding his own business Friday night when one of his hamstrings decided to strain itself. To the DL he goes. Another player made his major league debut today. ANOTHER player. That makes like, 15 or something. Other teams would have tanked by now but this is a LaRussa team, which makes all the difference. I do concur with the local baseball writers who wonder exactly has control over the 25-man roster. Some of the roster moves, or non-moves, try the fans' patience.
- Almost lost a hard drive on Friday; one of the baseball writers brought in his ailing laptop Friday morning and a co-worker and I worked feverishly to rescue what we could. For a computer technician, the hardest phone call to make, the one you dread, is the one where you call someone and tell them their hard drive has failed beyond all hope of recovery. Luckily, that wasn't the case this time.
- I had dinner and a movie with a small group of friends Friday night. Dinner was at Red Robin, where cheeseburgers come in 25 different flavors. Leave it to me to request a basic cheeseburger and fries. You go with what works, folks. The movie was "Get Smart." I'm really not a fan of Steve Carell so I was pretty non-plussed. There were some moments of hilarity, though.
- I spent an embarrasing amount of time last week situating my home-entertainment situation. My new television arrived on Tuesday so I drove over and picked it up after dinner. I had to drill a couple of new holes in the rear of my entertainment center to accommodate HDMI cables. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally got everything situated to my liking. I rented "2001: A Space Oddysey" to fully test the capabilities of the new screen and DVD-player. Everything is working just fine, as it turns out. I felt as if I were in the space pod next to Keir Dullea while we traveled through mind-bending visuals on the way to Jupiter and the Infinite Beyond. My sub-woofer was sub-woofing mightily; massive, massive rumbling, baby.
- I'm sorry, Chili-dog, but it was past time to get your nails trimmed. I'm sorry I forgot to warn the girl about your nails' long quicks. Maybe if she knew that she wouldn't have nipped you twice and drawn blood. The beef-flavor rawhide bone was a nice treat afterwards, right? And aren't you so glad I was with you during the thunderstorm?
- So now that Tiger Woods is out of the picture for the rest of the golf year, does the average guy care about golf any more? And are his fellow golfers secretly rejoicing that they don't have him in their way? I'm with the P-D's Dan O'Neill, who wrote today that as well as Tiger played on his bad knee at the U.S. Open, he should go ahead and play out the year. He was super-human in that tournament, folks.
- Speaking of the Cardinals: this half-season has seen more injuries than a full season of "ER." Seriously! Little Cesar Izturis was minding his own business Friday night when one of his hamstrings decided to strain itself. To the DL he goes. Another player made his major league debut today. ANOTHER player. That makes like, 15 or something. Other teams would have tanked by now but this is a LaRussa team, which makes all the difference. I do concur with the local baseball writers who wonder exactly has control over the 25-man roster. Some of the roster moves, or non-moves, try the fans' patience.
- Almost lost a hard drive on Friday; one of the baseball writers brought in his ailing laptop Friday morning and a co-worker and I worked feverishly to rescue what we could. For a computer technician, the hardest phone call to make, the one you dread, is the one where you call someone and tell them their hard drive has failed beyond all hope of recovery. Luckily, that wasn't the case this time.
- I had dinner and a movie with a small group of friends Friday night. Dinner was at Red Robin, where cheeseburgers come in 25 different flavors. Leave it to me to request a basic cheeseburger and fries. You go with what works, folks. The movie was "Get Smart." I'm really not a fan of Steve Carell so I was pretty non-plussed. There were some moments of hilarity, though.
- I spent an embarrasing amount of time last week situating my home-entertainment situation. My new television arrived on Tuesday so I drove over and picked it up after dinner. I had to drill a couple of new holes in the rear of my entertainment center to accommodate HDMI cables. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally got everything situated to my liking. I rented "2001: A Space Oddysey" to fully test the capabilities of the new screen and DVD-player. Everything is working just fine, as it turns out. I felt as if I were in the space pod next to Keir Dullea while we traveled through mind-bending visuals on the way to Jupiter and the Infinite Beyond. My sub-woofer was sub-woofing mightily; massive, massive rumbling, baby.
- I'm sorry, Chili-dog, but it was past time to get your nails trimmed. I'm sorry I forgot to warn the girl about your nails' long quicks. Maybe if she knew that she wouldn't have nipped you twice and drawn blood. The beef-flavor rawhide bone was a nice treat afterwards, right? And aren't you so glad I was with you during the thunderstorm?
- So now that Tiger Woods is out of the picture for the rest of the golf year, does the average guy care about golf any more? And are his fellow golfers secretly rejoicing that they don't have him in their way? I'm with the P-D's Dan O'Neill, who wrote today that as well as Tiger played on his bad knee at the U.S. Open, he should go ahead and play out the year. He was super-human in that tournament, folks.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Be Proud Of Me!...
The weather turned G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S today so I took the opportunity to knock out a several miles on the bike after dinner THEN moved on to the Y for 45 minutes more of gym time.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sunday Night Stream Of Consciousness...
- Poor Yadi Molina; he took the Bruntlett of that home plate collision this afternoon. If C Dunc's throw is anywhere close to the correct side of home plate, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Lucky for him later that Utley's relay throw to Flash Gordon didn't go as planned so he got to be today's hero. Anthony Reyes is today's feel-good story. He was just recalled from minor-league exile and happened to be the last pitcher standing today, so he got the win.
- Father's Day tasted as good as Mother's Day did a few weeks ago. The bro, sis-in-law, and adorable Lydia spent the weekend with the in-laws so the parents met me at Tucker's for lunch. I bought my Dad a nice thick filet mignon. He's more than deserving. I also got him a nice card and the new CD by James Hunter - more on him later. Oh, and he got some Chili-time at my house after lunch. I'd say he had a pretty good day.
- Boy, the blinds above my bed were really dirty tonight. Guess I should have cleaned them at least once since they were installed a couple of years ago.
- Sometime this week I will take possession of the 40" Samsung LCD HD-television that I bought from Ultimate Electronics last week. They were all sold out because the price on that particular model was oh-so-right that many people took advantage before I did. Of course, I had to upgrade my DVD-player as well. Hey, the old stuff was 10 and 8 years old, respectively. It was time.
- got a phone number, should I call?
- As previously blogged, I saw Willie Nelson in concert for the first time in my life last night. Should have gone long before then. Willie was, well, Willie. I couldn't see it in the air but I could smell it. His two teenage sons are playing in his band now. They have a little band of their own and opened the show with a few songs. My seat was in the lower balcony, four rows from the front, just to the left of center. Not bad for waiting until Friday to buy. I was more than a little frustrated with the woman in front of me at the will-call window who suddenly decided to purchase tickets for an upcoming Dolly Parton concert. It was five minutes till show time and she was dickering with the box office clerk for the best available seats, oblivious to those around her silently steaming.
- The second opening act was a British cat named James Hunter. I'd not heard of him prior to checking him out online on Friday. He does retro Motown-style soul, blues, and R&B. His records could have been released in 1965 and they sound authentic. Think early Wilson Pickett and Jackie Wilson and you'll be in the neighborhood. He really wowed the crowd with his sound and sweet vocals.
- Got a bit of poison ivy itch going on on both my forearms. It was part of what my weed-whacker whacked out of my ivy patch last week. I wore long pants but it apparently blew up on my arms.
- A-B is rumored to be mounting a "mexican defense" to fight off its hostile European suitor. ("mexican defense" refers to A-B's purchase of the other half of a Mexican brewery that it already owns half of, thereby making themselves too expensive to take over.) If it works, maybe they can sell it to the St. Louis Rams. It's about the only one they didn't try last season.
-- Very relevant topic we're exploring at my church currently - living life on "empty" (sub-topic: what are you filling your tank with?) The scripture texts are all from Ecclesiastes. 3:14a is a pretty cool verse:
- Father's Day tasted as good as Mother's Day did a few weeks ago. The bro, sis-in-law, and adorable Lydia spent the weekend with the in-laws so the parents met me at Tucker's for lunch. I bought my Dad a nice thick filet mignon. He's more than deserving. I also got him a nice card and the new CD by James Hunter - more on him later. Oh, and he got some Chili-time at my house after lunch. I'd say he had a pretty good day.
- Boy, the blinds above my bed were really dirty tonight. Guess I should have cleaned them at least once since they were installed a couple of years ago.
- Sometime this week I will take possession of the 40" Samsung LCD HD-television that I bought from Ultimate Electronics last week. They were all sold out because the price on that particular model was oh-so-right that many people took advantage before I did. Of course, I had to upgrade my DVD-player as well. Hey, the old stuff was 10 and 8 years old, respectively. It was time.
- got a phone number, should I call?
- As previously blogged, I saw Willie Nelson in concert for the first time in my life last night. Should have gone long before then. Willie was, well, Willie. I couldn't see it in the air but I could smell it. His two teenage sons are playing in his band now. They have a little band of their own and opened the show with a few songs. My seat was in the lower balcony, four rows from the front, just to the left of center. Not bad for waiting until Friday to buy. I was more than a little frustrated with the woman in front of me at the will-call window who suddenly decided to purchase tickets for an upcoming Dolly Parton concert. It was five minutes till show time and she was dickering with the box office clerk for the best available seats, oblivious to those around her silently steaming.
- The second opening act was a British cat named James Hunter. I'd not heard of him prior to checking him out online on Friday. He does retro Motown-style soul, blues, and R&B. His records could have been released in 1965 and they sound authentic. Think early Wilson Pickett and Jackie Wilson and you'll be in the neighborhood. He really wowed the crowd with his sound and sweet vocals.
- Got a bit of poison ivy itch going on on both my forearms. It was part of what my weed-whacker whacked out of my ivy patch last week. I wore long pants but it apparently blew up on my arms.
- A-B is rumored to be mounting a "mexican defense" to fight off its hostile European suitor. ("mexican defense" refers to A-B's purchase of the other half of a Mexican brewery that it already owns half of, thereby making themselves too expensive to take over.) If it works, maybe they can sell it to the St. Louis Rams. It's about the only one they didn't try last season.
-- Very relevant topic we're exploring at my church currently - living life on "empty" (sub-topic: what are you filling your tank with?) The scripture texts are all from Ecclesiastes. 3:14a is a pretty cool verse:
"I know that everything that God does will endure forever" (NIV)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Google Street View Maps...
now include major chunks of the St. Louis area! For the unitiated, Google Street View (part of their Google Maps content) brings you to a street-level view of what you're looking at. A car roamed the streets last year and snapped the pictures you see. Try it out - go to http://maps.google.com and punch in the address of my employer--the St. Louis Post-Dispatch--900 N. Tucker Blvd, 63101 and look for "Street View" in the inset window. You'll see what I see every day! Click in the window and drag your mouse around to move the picture in any direction.
They didn't get my neighborhood. but did get all the way to the intersection at the entrance.
The P-D's "director of social media" blogged about it here.
They didn't get my neighborhood. but did get all the way to the intersection at the entrance.
The P-D's "director of social media" blogged about it here.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Sunday Night SOC...
- It was a quiet weekend 'round these parts. I drug out the ol' Toro weed-eater yesterday and trimmed 'round the edges and corners of my back yard. The jungle that was overtaking my ivy patch also is no more, alas.
- I covered the night shift at work yet again last night. My co-worker wanted to wine and dine his wife for their anniversary, so I couldn't very well say no! : ) Besides, I appreciated having lots of time to get to know my (**CAUTION!! COMPUTER GEEK MOMENT DEAD AHEAD**) new Dell Optiplex GX755! The time has come for us to force-feed ourselves Windows Vista Business Pro and so that little excuse bought us all new computers. They come with all the bells and whistles we need to get our jobs done.
- I covered the night shift at work yet again last night. My co-worker wanted to wine and dine his wife for their anniversary, so I couldn't very well say no! : ) Besides, I appreciated having lots of time to get to know my (**CAUTION!! COMPUTER GEEK MOMENT DEAD AHEAD**) new Dell Optiplex GX755! The time has come for us to force-feed ourselves Windows Vista Business Pro and so that little excuse bought us all new computers. They come with all the bells and whistles we need to get our jobs done.
- Near the end of my shift (1:00 a.m.-ish) I discovered a neat little video channel on YouTube. Someone took the time to put together the opening theme songs and credits for old television shows starting in the late '70s, running through the 1990's. Talk about a time machine!! I discovered obscure and short-lived TV shows I never even knew existed. My favorite so far is an Andy Griffith potboiler from 1979 called "Salvage 1." This show found Andy Griffith playing a salvage man whose dream was to get to the moon and retrieve old space junk for later sale back on Earth. I'm not making this up! It gets better - he hires a "former astronaut and a fuel expert" to collaborate on a moon mission. Unbelievable. It only lasted a few months, according to TV.com. Check out the YouTube channel here. One thing is for sure - today's TV landscape is not what it was 30 years ago.
- What can Big Brown do for you? Only win the first two legs of the Triple Crown and then flame out spectacularly during the third one. The jockey said he could tell his horse just ran out of gas and wisely stopped him before he hurt himself. Today I read that subsequent medical tests revealed nothing in particular wrong with him. Nothing that would explain why he didn't do his thing yesterday. I think the horse just decided he didn't want to run yesterday. Maybe he was in a contrary mood. It could be he did it to spite his trainer, who is said to be an arrogant, bombastic man. Whatever the cause, a longshot that no one was expecting to win actually went wire-to-wire to win the Belmont Stakes and I find that most exciting storyline of the race.
- My brother and sis-in-law's church made the New York Times on June 1! Check it out here. They're doing church differently and I find their approach innovative and refreshing.
- I caught much of Hillary C's concession speech on the radio yesterday. How much did it pain her to have to say those words "Yes We Can!" and "I endorse Barack Obama" ??? I think someone shot her up with a whole bunch of morphine so she wouldn't have to feel it. (JUST KIDDING!!!!) It's now Obama vs. McCain for all the marbles, folks. This one should be a doozy.
- I'm convinced that the Sonic Lemon-Berry Slush should be a new Wonder of the world. It's just that good.
Off to bed.
- What can Big Brown do for you? Only win the first two legs of the Triple Crown and then flame out spectacularly during the third one. The jockey said he could tell his horse just ran out of gas and wisely stopped him before he hurt himself. Today I read that subsequent medical tests revealed nothing in particular wrong with him. Nothing that would explain why he didn't do his thing yesterday. I think the horse just decided he didn't want to run yesterday. Maybe he was in a contrary mood. It could be he did it to spite his trainer, who is said to be an arrogant, bombastic man. Whatever the cause, a longshot that no one was expecting to win actually went wire-to-wire to win the Belmont Stakes and I find that most exciting storyline of the race.
- My brother and sis-in-law's church made the New York Times on June 1! Check it out here. They're doing church differently and I find their approach innovative and refreshing.
- I caught much of Hillary C's concession speech on the radio yesterday. How much did it pain her to have to say those words "Yes We Can!" and "I endorse Barack Obama" ??? I think someone shot her up with a whole bunch of morphine so she wouldn't have to feel it. (JUST KIDDING!!!!) It's now Obama vs. McCain for all the marbles, folks. This one should be a doozy.
- I'm convinced that the Sonic Lemon-Berry Slush should be a new Wonder of the world. It's just that good.
Off to bed.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Really?...
There really is a National Teachers Hall of Fame! In Emporia, Kansas! Who knew? How do I go about nominating my mother and my Aunt M.?
Sunday Night SOC...
- I pulled into my driveway at 5:10 this evening. 6 hrs, 40 minutes on the return trip. 900+ miles on my car's trip meter. All that driving for an 18-hour whirlwind tour of southeast Kansas. Not a bad trip, but don't ask me to do it every weekend, please, thanks! My hotel accommodations at the Best Western Airport Inn and Conference Center were adequate; not fancy but not roach motel-ish. The wedding reception buffet was definitely the best meal I'd had all week.
- Chili-dog was overjoyed/ecstatic to see me tonight. Charlie Brown said "happiness is a warm puppy," (am I correct?) but give me a 65-pound brown dog who is beside herself at her owner's return anytime. The pet sitter service apparently didn't walk her while I was gone so I took her on a nice long walk in the late-afternoon sunshine.
- I've been getting some new on-the-job training lately. The most recent round of layoffs necessitated my learning how to back up our telephone operations staff whenever needed. Basically I've learned how to program new phones, and move wires around appropriately when people move to a new desk. My dad's a retired phone man so he'd be a bit proud if I could ever remember to mention it to him.
- So Hillary C. was ecstatic about winning the primary in *ahem* Puerto Rico. I could hear Barak Obama yawning all the way from my car on I-35 in Kansas.
- Gotta hand it to my Cardinals. They're hanging tough in the NL Central behind the *ahem* Cubs. Don Tony's been surprisingly open minded about using kid players this year. He did the smart thing, tough as it was, in kicking Chris D. back to Memphis to get his head and his swing together. That kid Joe Mather that I mentioned recently came up to replace him and hit the ground running on Friday night. His RBI proved to be the game winner in his major league debut.
- Chili-dog was overjoyed/ecstatic to see me tonight. Charlie Brown said "happiness is a warm puppy," (am I correct?) but give me a 65-pound brown dog who is beside herself at her owner's return anytime. The pet sitter service apparently didn't walk her while I was gone so I took her on a nice long walk in the late-afternoon sunshine.
- I've been getting some new on-the-job training lately. The most recent round of layoffs necessitated my learning how to back up our telephone operations staff whenever needed. Basically I've learned how to program new phones, and move wires around appropriately when people move to a new desk. My dad's a retired phone man so he'd be a bit proud if I could ever remember to mention it to him.
- So Hillary C. was ecstatic about winning the primary in *ahem* Puerto Rico. I could hear Barak Obama yawning all the way from my car on I-35 in Kansas.
- Gotta hand it to my Cardinals. They're hanging tough in the NL Central behind the *ahem* Cubs. Don Tony's been surprisingly open minded about using kid players this year. He did the smart thing, tough as it was, in kicking Chris D. back to Memphis to get his head and his swing together. That kid Joe Mather that I mentioned recently came up to replace him and hit the ground running on Friday night. His RBI proved to be the game winner in his major league debut.
Breakfast in Wichita, 6/1/08...
I joined my St. Louis pals for a wedding-day-after breakfast at this eatery in "old town" Wichita. For the record I had a ham and 3-cheese omelet with sourdough toast, bacon, and house potatoes. with orange juice and milk on the side. I didn't need to eat again until mid-afternoon.
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