Fear for Our Future

Let me start this post by saying..I'm not sure if my bitching should be blamed on the divorce that affected a family across the street from me or if stupidity just runs rampant in the young adult population. About a year ago, a guy that lives across from me got in trouble with his wife when she found out that he was posting nude pics of her on the internet. This fact (and I'm sure other factors) led to a nasty divorce. For a period of a month, I would come home at night and there would be a group of cop cars at the house of this couple. There would be public fights in the driveway and even the instance where this guy tried to get in the car with his estranged wife and she drug him across the street. Needless to say, the whole situation was both entertaining, immature, and just plain ridiculous. It was like I got to watch a soap opera at least once a week. Watching 2 adults act like children was just plain sad. I guess not all divorces end in a ammicable way.

Moving along to the point of my post...the 2 older children of this couple were obviously affected by all of this drama. One child became the stereotypical goth, skateboard freak. He would walk around the neighborhood looking like he either lost his puppy, wanted to put a magnifying glass on an ant colony, or just plain hated life. I guess I can't really judge a teenager's reaction to his parents' divorce, but it just seemed so by the book(an after school special). Eventually this kid moved out of the goth phase and followed his older brother into another stereotypical 'white boy wishing he were black'/'Fast and Furious' suped-up car phase. I still don't know why young adults think that driving around 'pimped-up' wife beater cars with big stereo systems is so 'awesomely' cool. These 2 idiots now walk around their house (which hasn't had a mowed lawn all summer) with baggy shorts and the typical wife beater tank tops (oh yeah, with the white baseball cap, tipped to the side, along with a straight bill). They think its so impressive to pull into a neighborhood (filled with tons of very young kids) revving their engines, skidding out, and bumping heavy bass rap music. This whole white boy rapper phase is so prevalent across the Southern US. Eminem may be a great rapper, but seriously, I wish I could shoot him for influencing a mass population of weak minded teenagers to become even more dumb. These 2 guys have absolutely no respect for our neighborhood and the fact that many pregnant women reside within it. I don't understand how they could think it was cool to rev their cars (with blaring music) into a neighborhood at 10 or 11 at night while children are trying to sleep. It's taken about all of me not to walk over to these guys and place a stick of dynamite in their cars. These guys can try to blame their current ways of life on the divorce, but can we blame their stupidity on the divorce too? Guess some people are just so easily influenced by pop culture....stupid pop culture.

A Learning Experience

Last week was a learning experience for my wife and I. My wife really wanted to take a vacation to the beach since the baby is now here and since she didn't get to go to Cancun with me back in March (because she was too far along in the pregnancy). Last week we packed up the car and made our way towards Orange Beach. I think we were smoking something ripe to think that this whole trip would go well with a 3 month old child. We started the trip off right by splitting the first half the drive in half and stopping in Jackson, MS on the first day. The first segment of the trip went fairly well..my son was happy most of the way until about 30 min til Jackson..when he starting getting hungry and fussy. We then got up the next day and learned that 4-5 hrs drives are not made for babies. The baby didn't like to sit in the carseat for that long.

Well, when we finally made it to the beach, my wife and I learned that just because you are several hundred feet from the beach..that doesn't mean you actually get to visit the beach. The daily process of feeding the baby and then him falling asleep before we made it down to the beach seemed to happen regularly. I believe we maybe got to spend about 45 minutes total at the beach for the 3-4 days we were there. The restaurants were good, but I don't think we made it outside the condo for very long. Once we made our way home, we had the final nail get slammed into the coffin. We drove the 7-8 hr. trip back to Memphis in one day. The baby did not take too kindly to this drive. I'm thinking that next year we'll just fly to Cancun. A 2.5 hr. flight sounds a whole lot better than an 8 hr. drive with a screaming child. Oh well, here are a few pics:

































Currently listening to:

Bob Dylan
Modern Times
Released on: 8-29-06

Two Month Vacation

Well...it officially looks like its been about 2 months since I've last posted to this blog. As I've said multiple times, I'm not really too concerned considering no one but me (and maybe Jon) actually read it. It's funny that in this time span Jon has been alot more productive in blogging (heck, he even created a new blog site..which looks very nice I must say).

As I sit here tonight, I'm watching Jay Leno and Conan. As most everyone knows, Conan is a much better comedian than Leno...I still try to figure out Leno's appeal. As I watch the end of Leno, I was amazed at just how pitiful the performance from Outkast was. I have to say that most all of the many reviews that I've read thus far have really panned the new album. I haven't been in a big rush to listen to it..especially after hearing the track that was performed tonight. As a random observation, rappers just don't make very good live performers. Rappers and many R&B stars rely heavily on studio production tricks. These tricks don't translate very well to the stage. The rappers try to free-style while a drum machine track plays in the background. It just doesn't do much for me. The lack of rap production in the live presentation is like U2 without Bono singing...or like an infertile Kevin Federline. I know this is a random observation, but I doubt many people with half a brain would disagree.

Let me move on to my final topic of the night. I have been amazed over the past few weeks about how little fanfare the re-re-re-re-release of the Original Star Wars trilogy has garnered. If you are not aware, George Lucas releases a new suped up version of Star Wars every year or two. About a year ago, Lucas finally caved to pressure and released the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD. The problem with this release from last year was that it was the Special Edition that was released in the mid 90's (before Phantom Menace). As most Star Wars enthusiasts remember, Lucas made alot of changes (so did anyone decide whether Han or Greedo shot first?). The new versions that were released this Tuesday are the original editions that most older fanboys grew up on (watching on the VHS player). I'm having a really hard time justifying buying these original editions of the Star Wars trilogy. I doubt my son will want to sit down with me and compare the two versions of the film...heck..I don't even have time to worry with this. When it all comes down to it, this is another ploy by Lucas to make a few more millions/billions. In another year or two, Lucas will decide to release another version of these films in 3D, in black or white, with Chewbacca having sex with 3CPO, or Luke and Leia having an incestuous love child (during Star Wars or early Empire). I know alot of these possibilities are crazy, but I'd put money on Lucas trying to do at least one of them.

Oh well, it's late..I'm talking jibberish. Good night world.

Currently listening to:

TV on the Radio
Return to Cookie Mountain
Released on: 9/12/06

That Nostalgic Feeling

Over the past few weeks, I've experienced a feeling of nostalgia like no other. I know that this is a broad statement, but let me try to explain. Last week I came across 2 movie trailers that bring me back to my childhood. The first trailer that was released was for the third sequel in the Spiderman series. Check it out at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/spiderman3/site/ This trailer makes me extremely excited because it revolves around a villain (Venom) that I grew up with in junior high/high school. Though the back story in the movie is not going to follow the comics (Spiderman brings the alien symbiote back from another planet after the Secret Wars series, wears the black and white symbiote for a long time, and then decides that it is trying to manipulate his mind...gets rid of it in a bell tower (because it is sensitive to high pitched sound)...the symbiote hooks up with Eddie Brock..who become Venom). Though none of us right now know for sure what the story will be around Venom in the movie, all that has been leaked has said that it won't follow the comics..which stinks. I'm massively excited about this new movie..and the trailer is one of the best things I've seen in a long time.

Though the Spiderman trailer is great, I have to admit that the teaser trailer for the Transformers movie (due out next summer too) is very imaginative. Check it out at www.transformersmovie.com/. We don't get to see an actual picture of either an Autobot or Decepticon, but you get to see the shadow of one of them...which is great considering the lead up to the the appearance of the shadow. I won't spoil the trailer, but I have to say that it really psyches me up to see the movie.

Another element of nostalgia was delivered to me on Monday of this week in the mail. I got an invitation to my 10 yr. high school reunion (scheduled for Aug. 26). Though I have to say that I'm not overly excited about the reunion, it will be nice to see some of the people. My class was so small that we were pretty close knit..guess a class size of around 30 will do that to you. I'll show up at the reunion to show off my wife and my new child...wonder how many people will be married, divorced, and college graduates. Maybe I'll be surprised considering alot of my class wanted to jump the gun and get married right after high school graduation..more power to them...it definitely wasn't my cup of tea then.

Finally, I have to end my nostalgia trip with a 2 thumbs up review for the New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo DS game. Nintendo decided to go back to the look of the old games I grew up on (side scrolling, block breaking fun). I've seen some people complain about Nintendo not pushing the envelope (considering the Xbox 360), but I say screw them. This game is so addictively fun. Makes me harken back to the middle school/junior high days of sitting on my rump in front of a TV with blood shot eyes...banging the red A and B buttons. The game is worth the money..have fun with it.

Currently listening to:
The Futureheads
News and Tributes
Released on:6-13-06

What a Shame

I was looking at the website for the newspaper from my hometown today. It mentioned that the movie theater that I grew up going to is being torn down to make room for a parking lot ( http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060713/NEWS01/607130306/1002 ). The theater has been abandoned for well over 6 years because more advanced movie theaters were built in town. The theater owners didn't have the money or the desire to update with the technology and modern times...which is kinda sad. I remember going to see the Indiana Jones movies, Ghostbuster movies, my first date movie (Forrest Gump when I was a freshman in high school), the Matrix movies, and numerous crap movies that I can't remember. I know that in the big scheme of things that this theater is just another building, but to alot of people my age, it is a landmark. So many memories of popcorn, syrupy drinks, sticky floors, make out sessions, long nights standing in line, and booming theater speakers....it's a place of memories. It's just a shame that nothing was done with the theater...guess I can take my child by a parking lot in the near future and point to him and say...'Yeah, Dad saw lots of movies here when he was growing up.' I'm sure he'll look at me with a strange look, think I'm crazy, and turn on the dvd player in the minivan. Oh well, I guess it's all about the memories.

Currently listening to:
The Legends
Public Radio
Released: 6-13-06

A Proud Father

There are certain events in the life of a father that make you feel extremely proud. Since my child is only a month old now, I know that my moments of pride are few and far between. My son has yet to talk, walk, or eat solid foods, but he sure can flirt with the ladies. My wife was craving a hamburger on Wed. night of this week and asked to go eat at Hooters. Of course being the man that I am, I didn't argue and packed the car. I snuck my digital camera in my pocket as I walked out the door. My wife was not very thrilled with the thought of me taking a picture of the baby with the Hooters waitresses, but eventually grew a sense of humor. I told her that we will use this picture in 20 plus years at the rehearsal dinner when he gets married. He'll hate me for it, but he'll hopefully get a good laugh like we did. I have attached some pics below. If you look at one of the pics, it looks like he's waving a high five.
































Looking at those pictures above..all I can say is that he's made me proud for one of the first times in his life. Brings a tear to the eye.

Currently listening to:
The Twilight Singers
Powder Burns
Released on: 5-16-06

Critic's Darlings

I got ahold of the new album from Thom Yorke (Radiohead frontman) called 'The Eraser' the other day. The album doesn't come out until July 11. I liked the album, but alas, I feel sometimes like this guy is stuck in a musical rut. The album is a collection of electronic songs that harkens back to Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, etc. I used to be a large Radiohead fan and still believe that The Bends and Ok Computer are two of the best albums of the 1990's, but isn't it time for he and his group to progress. I love how the band have mentioned about going back to the sound of the Bends for the new album, but they said that with Hail to the Thief and we all know that it was no Bends. Of course the critics will definitely argue with me. I'm betting my money that the critics will throw praise upon the solo album from Thom Yorke..he could light a fart and they would rave about how inventive and powerfully moving that fart was. I'm guilty of being a critic and regularly reading album reviews each day, but it burns me when I see certain groups getting critical praise based more on their name than on the quality of the album. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few groups that are the critic's darlings, irregardless of the album's quality, inventiveness, etc. Let me know your opinion on this list:

1. Radiohead
2. Bob Dylan
3. Pearl Jam
4. Tool
5. Tupac
6. Flaming Lips
7. Green Day
8. Paul McCartney
9. Prince
10. The Rolling Stones
11. Wilco

Of course, all of the artists/groups above have one helluva a resume and continue to sell records, but over the course of a career, you're gonna have some less than superior albums. This topic could be argued forever and a day, but I just wish critics would apply some of the criticism they show to less well known artists to some of the better known artists out there. That's my 2 cents worth...and I'm sure it's not worth much.

Currently listening to:
David Mead
Tangerine
Released on: 5-16-06

Looking Back

Never in my life have weeks gone by as fast as they have the past 3 weeks. Since the birth of the baby my days have been like a blur. I was very fortunate that my company gave me 2 weeks paternity leave to assist my wife. She is absolutely exhausted from having to nurse the baby every 2-3 hours. He is like clockwork..he'll start to cry either from hunger or from a dirty diaper. I guess I don't blame him. It's been special watching the bond between my wife and the baby. I can easily say that I've never seen my wife love something as much as him. The way that she talks to him and holds him is very special. It's amazing how emotions are brought out with the birth of a child. I'm not one to cry, but I will honestly say that when my wife gave birth and they brought Jamie out, the waterworks started. I will say that all the work, sleepless nights with my wife being uncomfortable, and the current dirty diapers are totally worth it. I also have to say that I have all the respect in the world for my wife after seeing her give birth. The doctors induced her at 8 am on May 31 and she didn't actually give birth until 9:25 pm at night. She pushed for 3 hours straight until the doctors decided to assist with the forceps. I can only look in wonder at my wife and child. This is the ultimate miracle...there's nothing like it.

Currently listening to:
Hot Chip
The Warning
Released on: 6-13-06

Fatherhood (Good) Out of Town Work (Bad)

Well, it's been about two and a half weeks since my last post. Of course, I think with the new baby, all can be forgiven. This event in my life is certainly one of the biggest and amazing things that I've ever experienced. It's amazing to see the baby and marvel at how that 8 lb baby fit in my wife's stomach. Over the past week I've gotten to see a developing personality within Jamie. I love to sit him on my knees while he is awake and just have him look at me. His big blue eyes are just looking at me and his hands are waving in the air while his legs kick at my stomach. The look in his face is so innocent...all I can hope is to be man enough to lead him in the right direction in his upcoming life. I want so much for him to be happy, to get a great education, and to make something of himself. It's amazing to think of all the events that are laid out before him to experience and discover.

Well, I know that I'm being sentimental, but it's hard not to be. My life will absolutely never be the same again. As I've discussed in previous posts, my company is not the most family friendly. The only positive side to my company is that they gave me 2 weeks of paternity leave to help with the baby. Most companies do not give men any time off..so I can't complain about this great opportunity. Of course this time off was too be good to be true. My company just knew how to screw me over upon my return from the leave. The day I returned from my leave, I get a phone call and am informed that I will have to go out of town next week. It really pisses me off because I had the understanding that I would be in town for at least the first few months in order to help out my wife. My company acted like they cared about my needs, but in the long run, they didn't really give too much of a shit. So I'll be out of town next week in the middle of the delta of Mississippi. My child isn't even 3 weeks old and I'm being forced to go out of town. I hope this little screw up on their part doesn't continue to occur. They did this to me when I got married 2 years ago. They sent me out of town for the first 9 weeks of being married..it took my wife breaking down for them to actually schedule me for in town jobs. Don't know what my future with this company will look like over the next year. Oh well, enough bitching.

Since it's been awhile since I've offered up music picks, here is a list of albums that I've really been digging over the past few months:

Sonic Youth- 'Rather Ripped'
The Go Betweens- 'Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express'
Jon Auer-'Songs from the Year of our Demise'
The Elms-'The Chess Hotel'
Hot Chip- 'The Warning'
The Futureheads-'News & Tributes'
Gomez-'How We Operate'
Sunshine Rubdown-'Shut Up I am Dreaming'
Kelley Stoltz-'Below the Branches'
Primal Scream-'Riot City Blues'

Well, I'm off to check on my wife and the new baby. Maybe it won't be another 2 plus weeks before I post again, but no promises.

Currently listening to:
The Spinto Band
Nice and Nicely Done
Released: 6-7-05

Nothing Like It in the World

Well, my father once told me that there is nothing like having a child...it's the best feeling in the world. All I can say is that once again, he is totally correct. On May 31st, at 9:25 p.m., my wife Betsy gave birth to baby boy. James Caldwell Allison weighed 8 lbs and was 22 inches long. Betsy and I are planning to call him Jamie for short. Well, I'm exhausted. I'll be back later to dictate all the details. Until then, enjoy some of the pics from last night.

Another Chapter in Life

When I look back at my life thus far, I can definitely define certain chapters...such as Chp 1-Childhood, Chp 2-Teenage Years/Getting Driving License/Becoming Interested in Girls; Chp 3-College; Chp 4-Dating the Soon to Be Wife; Chp 5: Getting the First Job; Chp 6: Marriage. It appears that Chapter 7 will begin officially tomorrow..entitled Fatherhood. This will likely be the longest Chapter in the book of my life. As most everyone knows, my wife and I have not chosen to discover the sex of the baby. Either way it goes, it will be a blessing. Needless to say, today I am very nervous and apprehensive. Probably not nearly as much as my wife. She has been sleeping less and less because the baby has gotten so large that it keeps her up..making trips to the bathroom every hour. We have been cleaning the house, organizing lots of things (or as my wife says...Nesting), and charging all the batteries for the various cameras, Ipods, etc. Betsy's parents drove up this afternoon to help her take her mind off all the events of tomorrow. We will likely go out to dinner tonight and Betsy will have her last good meal for a few days. It's not like she gets to enjoy the food for very long considering that the doctor has instructed her to take an Enema tonight in order to clear her out. With her stomach messing up like it has lately, it's almost as though she doesn't need the enema. Tomorrow morning we have to be at the hospital at 7:15 a.m. and they plan to induce at 7:30 a.m. I hope and pray that the baby comes quickly and we are not still waiting for it to arrive at 8 p.m. As of right now, we have narrowed the name of the baby down to a few of both sexes. If the baby is a girl, we're thinking of either Jessica Caldwell Allison, Grace Caldwell Allison, or Elizabeth Caldwell Allison. If it is a boy, we've pretty much decided on James Caldwell Allison. I'm sure that you can see the consistency with the middle name of Caldwell. This was my grandfather's last name (on my mother's side). My grandfather had only daughters and I wanted to give this name to the baby in order to carry on the name for future generations.

Well, I'm off to dinner with the folks. Hopefully I will have pics of the new baby when I post next. What a new and exciting Chapter is about to be written. I'm sure my blog posts will be more exciting and humorous with a little child in my life. This chapter is where all the meat of my life story begins.

Currently listening to:
T-Rex
The Slider (Remastered 2-disc set)
Released on: 7-16-02

A Rush to the Finish

My wife was given the unfortunate news last Tuesday (5/23/06) about the pregnancy (dont' get worried...there's nothing wrong with the baby). Betsy was told that she was going to have to wait another week to have the baby. The doctor continues to play this cruel joke with my wife getting her hopes up that he will either induce with each upcoming visit or will decide to perform a C-Section. We went into Tuesday's appointment expecting the doctor to perform a c-section considering that the baby had measured 8 lbs 9 oz during the previous week's visit. On Tuesday, my wife had another ultrasound and we found out that the baby only weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz. This weight did not reach the cut-off point for a C-Section (which is 9 lbs 3 oz.) and the doctor told her to hold out another week to give the baby more time to develop its lungs. This was not the news my wife wanted to hear. She had come expecting to be told to go to the hospital that afternoon to deliver the baby. Needless to say, Betsy was about in tears in the examination room and appeared to want to do something unpleasant to the doctor. The doctor appeared to slip out the room quickly while I told him that I would blame him if she attempted to kill me over the next week. Luckily the doctor did inform us that if the baby did not appear within the next week then he would definitely induce during the week of May 29. Betsy made an appointment the afternoon after she left the office and we are currently scheduled to be at the hospital on Wed. morning (5/31) at 7:15 am.

Well, today is Saturday (5/27) and Betsy has not had the baby yet. She has done everything she can think of to bring the baby forth into the world (including walking on the treadmill, walking at the mall, eating, sex..heck, you name it..we've probably tried it). Betsy's hormones are definitely getting worse as the due draws near. I was trying to help out around the house today (washing clothes, vacuuming, dishes, etc) and she about wanted to kill me for no reason. She told me sternly to get out of the house and go to the gym so that she didn't say something mean or attempt to take my life. I took the hint and got out of dodge. She has chilled out as the night has progressed. She's getting tired of being cooped up in the house and can't sleep well or eat what she wants without having horrible bouts of indigestion. We should buy stock in Maalox after all we've bought during the term of the pregnancy. I think we're gonna drive to my parents' house tomorrow and sit by the pool. Maybe this change of scenery and some socialization will help things. Just keep your fingers crossed that either the baby comes soon or my wife has the strength to make it to Wed. morning.

Currently listening to:
Jon Auer
Songs from the Year of Our Demise
Released on: 5-2-06

My Emmy Thoughts (Comedy and Drama)

Earlier I posted a link to a dream Emmy ballot on TV Guide (http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700002499#comments) . Not that award shows are really that big of a deal, but it never fails that the nominations each year are so one-sided (aka, almost every woman from Desparate Housewives, alot of people from the West Wing (which is finally gone thank heavens), Will & Grace (has anyone really watched this show in 4-5 years), and a host of movie actors that appear on Sunday night TV drama/movies. It appears that lesser watched shows (on smaller networks or on cable TV) are usually ignored (the Sopranos is about the only show I can think of that is regularly nominated). Let's cross our fingers that some lesser know names get at least nominated this year. Here's my reaction to the emmy list:

Best Comedy:
One of my friends turned me on to watching Entourage this year. I've caught up on the past 2 season while my pregnant wife snores at night. I have to say that this series is top rate. I can't wait til the new season starts up in June. If you follow the entertainment industry, then you'll likely find the show hilarious (that and it will make you wish you could live the life of an actor or musician). Thought Entourage is deserving, I have to reiterate that Scrubs is the funniest thing out there today. With Turk and Carla being pregant this year, my wife and I have had so many laughs. Alot of the writers have recently had children and they have absolutely pegged the experience (from both a male and female perspective) of the 9 months leading up to the child's birth. The winner should be Scrubs, but alas, Will and Grace will likely win just because this is the last year and people feel nostalgic.

Best Drama:
I regularly watch 3 of the 5 nominated drama series (Grey's Anatomy, The Shield, and the Sopranos). I wish the Sci-Fi channel would start over and re-run all the Battlestar Galactica episodes because I've heard nothing but good about this series. The show 'Lost' never really grabbed me and I feel that trying to catch up may take awhile. From the 3 shows that I do watch, I have to pick the Shield. No show this season has made me wait in anticipation from one episode to the next. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about what the writers are gonna do (Shaun Ryan is great..another Buffy alumni that deserves mucho props). The Vick vs. Kavanaugh verbal battle all season has been top rate. I can't say that I'm dying to see each week's Sopranos. This season has been rather slow (I understand that it's about character development, but I thought they would be attempting to tie up story lines considering that they only have 8 or 9 episodes left after this week's season finale.) Grey's Anatomy was introduced to me by my wife. I've grown to like the show, but it's a soap opera. Everwood is about 100 times the drama that Grey's is..too bad the WB is becoming the CW and Ostroff (the CW head) axed this show in favor of 7th Heaven (or should I say the 7th layer of hell...a fitting abode for Ostroff). If the decision was up to me, I'd pull for the Shield (though it likely won't get nominated and some shit like West Wing will win).

Well, I'll continue my opinion spill later on. I have to go check on the pregnant wife (Wed. can't come too soon for her).

Currently listening to:
Massive Attack
Collected
Released on: 4-4-06

TV Guide Emmy Ballot

Over the past few years without the burden of studying every waking second, I have come back to one of my favorite past times...watching TV. At this time of year, the Emmy nominations are announced. In preparation for the list of nominees, TV guide online has provided a list of nominees that they'd like to see. Of course, TV guide offers alot of nominees that are on TV shows that are not watched by the American populace. Of course, this fact begs the intelligence of many Americans when they would rather tune into American Idol, rather than something of quality such as the Sopranos, the Shield, Big Love, Scrubs, or Everwood. I'm proud to say that I go against the grain and attempt to expand my mind rather than pollute it with reality TV trash. Here is the link to TV Guide's dream emmy ballot:

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700002499#comments

I'll return later to offer my opinions concerning this ballot.

Currently listening to:
The Elms
The Chess Hotel
Released: 5-2-06

Nascar Ladies

A few weeks ago I was watching some news story about how NASCAR has been influencing about every realm of pop culture, including women's fashion. I was out tonight and I noticed a woman in her mid-40's walking around in her tight blue jeans, NASCAR t-shirt, and of all things, a freaking NASCAR purse with the 28 number emblazened all over it (for those who don't follow racing, that's the number of the late Dale Earnhardt). I've grown up my entire life in the south and have yet to really understand the appeal of NASCAR. People are more fanatic about this sport than most people are about college football. More people show up at a NASCAR race than show up at an SEC football game. Back to the lady I saw today, what's the deal with the Dale Earnhardt purse? All I can say is...another weird day living in the south.

Video Try

I went to youtube.com tonight to experiment with uploading video to my blog.

Trip to the Grocery Store

One of my many tasks since my wife has been pregnant is to roam the grocery store in search of the powdered (or chocolate) bag of donuts for the wife. Of course she likes me to buy other items (such as Diet Coke), and I never complain. It's funny how many other men you end up seeing at the grocery store. I guess I've gone quite a bit more than many of them have considering their lost gazes and their wish for a map. It's funny how most of the lost men end up in the area either near the beer or near the already prepared fried foods (I guess they are nostalgic for the days when they were in college and unable to cook..why not let my friendly neighborhood Krogers cook me some fried chicken for the fourth night in a row).

I ran into a very scary sight as I rounded the corner of frozen foods (where the ice cream is located)...a Kroger employee handing out free ice cream drumsticks...not just a small drumstick..but the whole 500 calorie treat. Free ice cream in the frozen food aisle is like an unspoken alert to the many fat heffer cows that are grazing the grocery store aisles. As I turned the corner into the frozen foods..I thought Kroger's had put up a 'old fat heffer lady grazing' sign. I walked toward the free ice cream and I swear that I ran into about five to six 250 -300 lbs women in their 50's or 60's with a drum stick in their mouth. They looked hungrier after walking a few aisles of Krogers than an ugly hooker on a well lit street corner. I didn't bring my lasso to Krogers and therefore I chose to walk down another aisle to avoid the ice cream grazers.

Well, I got my shopping done and made my way to the checkout lane of Krogers. One of the ice cream heffer cows and her 16 yr old calf jumped in front of me in line. The heffer's cart was so piled down that you would have thought that the wheels would have been giving off sparks. Before the woman handed over the Kroger card, she handed the cashier 2 empty bottles of Diet Coke to scan..I guess they thought that the Diet Coke helped mask the effects of the Drum sticks. For some reason, the heffer must have thought the ice cream was delicious because she proceeded to unload 10 boxes of ice cream sandwiches, about 7 twelve packs of regular Coke, 2 or 3 Super size bags of Doritos, and the kitchen sink. The woman bought so much that the poor bag boy had to go find a second cart to put all the brown paper sacks in. Needless to say, after my Krogers experience, I wanted to go run 10 miles. I'm not the most in-shape person, but damn people, don't you heffers ever look in the mirror or watch your car sink to the ground when you get in? Guess they all drive jacked Ford super duty trucks.

Hope that someone gets a kick out of my grocery store rant. It's amazing to see the crazies every week. Grill up a steak for me...and open a box of ice cream sandwiches.

Currently listening to:
The Stills
Without Feathers
Released: 5-9-06

Raise A Glass To the Go Betweens

I woke this morning to some unsettling news. If you don't follow indie music and only listened to the radio in the 80's, then you likely missed out on an integral pop/rock group from Australia by the name of the Go Betweens. I didn't really learn much about them until around 2000 at the suggestion of a musically inclined friend. I started listening to one of their albums called 'Before Hollywood.' Needless to say, this album is essential. Most recently, the group released an album in 2005 called 'Oceans Apart,' one of my favorite albums of last year. Back to the unsettling news..the lead singer of the group Grant McLennan died of unknown cause over the weekend. If you've never checked out this group, I would suggest opening your mind and music selection beyond the radio..the Go Betweens won't disappoint you.

In the event one of my children reads my blog in the future, I have provided a description of the group from allmusic.com:

The Go-Betweens were perhaps the quintessential cult band of the '80s: they came from an exotic locale (Brisbane, Australia), moved to a major recording center (in their case, London) in a sustained bid to make a career out of music, released album after album of music seemingly tailor-made for the radio in spite of their having little use for contemporary Top 40 musical/lyrical formulas, and earned considerable critical praise and a small but fervent international fan base. Although the Go-Betweens were absent throughout the '90s before re-forming in the new millennium, both of the band's songwriters embarked on respectable solo careers in the interim and, while rarely reaching the heights the Go-Betweens scaled, they still managed to uphold the group's legacy.

Robert Forster and Grant McLennan began as a pair of teenagers obsessed with the earthy rock of Dylan, CCR, and the Velvet Underground and encouraged by the Australian punk of the Saints. As collected on The Able Label Singles, their first two singles show a fondness for scruffy, British Invasion/new wave-influenced pop/rock. Picking up permanent drummer Lindy Morrison, they recorded their debut LP, moved to England, and signed a short-lived deal with Rough Trade. Going for a lush, tuneful sound crammed with nonstandard rock instrumentation, they went on to record five more excellent LPs. Though their pre-Beggars Banquet albums were traditionally hard to find in the States, that label finally reissued all six albums on CD in 1996.

In 2000 the band reunited and released a new album, The Friends of Rachel Worth, which also featured all three members of Sleater-Kinney. It wasn't just a fluke, as the band recorded follow-up albums released in 2003 (Bright Yellow Bright Orange) and 2005 (Oceans Apart). Documenting a 2005 concert in their hometown, the DVD/CD package That Striped Sunlight Sound arrived in early 2006.

Currently listening to:

Wolfmother
Self-titled
Released 5-2-06

Another Music Lesson...

Thought that I would offer up another music lesson to my future children. Today I will introduce you to the Rolling Stones..the group that never wants to die. Enjoy the article:

By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based rock & roll that came to define hard rock. With his preening machismo and latent maliciousness, Mick Jagger became the prototypical rock frontman, tempering his macho showmanship with a detached, campy irony while Keith Richards and Brian Jones wrote the blueprint for sinewy, interlocking rhythm guitars. Backed by the strong yet subtly swinging rhythm section of bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts, the Stones became the breakout band of the British blues scene, eclipsing such contemporaries as the Animals and Them. Over the course of their career, the Stones never really abandoned blues, but as soon as they reached popularity in the U.K., they began experimenting musically, incorporating the British pop of contemporaries like the Beatles, Kinks, and Who into their sound. After a brief dalliance with psychedelia, the Stones re-emerged in the late '60s as a jaded, blues-soaked hard rock quintet. The Stones always flirted with the seedy side of rock & roll, but as the hippie dream began to break apart, they exposed and reveled in the new rock culture. It wasn't without difficulty, of course. Shortly after he was fired from the group, Jones was found dead in a swimming pool, while at a 1969 free concert at Altamont, a concertgoer was brutally killed during the Stones' show. But the Stones never stopped going. For the next 30 years, they continued to record and perform, and while their records weren't always blockbusters, they were never less than the most visible band of their era — certainly, none of their British peers continued to be as popular or productive as the Stones. And no band since has proven to have such a broad fan base or far-reaching popularity, and it is impossible to hear any of the groups that followed them without detecting some sort of influence, whether it was musical or aesthetic.

Throughout their career, Mick Jagger (vocals) and Keith Richards (guitar, vocals) remained at the core of the Rolling Stones. The pair initially met as children at Dartford Maypole County Primary School. They drifted apart over the next ten years, eventually making each other's acquaintance again in 1960, when they met through a mutual friend, Dick Taylor, who was attending Sidcup Art School with Richards. At the time, Jagger was studying at the London School of Economics and playing with Taylor in the blues band Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Shortly afterward, Richards joined the band. Within a year, they had met Brian Jones (guitar, vocals), a Cheltenham native who had dropped out of school to play saxophone and clarinet. By the time he became a fixture on the British blues scene, Jones had already had a wild life. He ran away to Scandinavia when he was 16; by that time, he had already fathered two illegitimate children. He returned to Cheltenham after a few months, where he began playing with the Ramrods. Shortly afterward, he moved to London, where he played in Alexis Korner's group, Blues Inc. Jones quickly decided he wanted to form his own group and advertised for members; among those he recruited was the heavyset blues pianist Ian Stewart.

As he played with his group, Jones also moonlighted under the name Elmo Jones at the Ealing Blues Club. At the pub, he became reacquainted with Blues, Inc., which now featured drummer Charlie Watts, and, on occasion, cameos by Jagger and Richards. Jones became friends with Jagger and Richards, and they soon began playing together with Taylor and Stewart; during this time, Mick was elevated to the status of Blues, Inc.'s lead singer. With the assistance of drummer Tony Chapman, the fledgling band recorded a demo tape. After the tape was rejected by EMI, Taylor left the band to attend the Royal College of Art; he would later form the Pretty Things. Before Taylor's departure, the group named itself the Rolling Stones, borrowing the moniker from a Muddy Waters song.

The Rolling Stones gave their first performance at the Marquee Club in London on July 12, 1962. At the time, the group consisted of Jagger, Richards, Jones, pianist Ian Stewart, drummer Mick Avory, and Dick Taylor, who had briefly returned to the fold. Weeks after the concert, Taylor left again and was replaced by Bill Wyman, formerly of the Cliftons. Avory also left the group — he would later join the Kinks — and the Stones hired Tony Chapman, who proved to be unsatisfactory. After a few months of persuasion, the band recruited Charlie Watts, who had quit Blues, Inc. to work at an advertising agency once the group's schedule became too hectic. By 1963, the band's lineup had been set, and the Stones began an eight-month residency at the Crawdaddy Club, which proved to substantially increase their fan base. It also attracted the attention of Andrew Loog Oldham, who became the Stones' manager, signing them from underneath Crawdaddy's Giorgio Gomelsky. Although Oldham didn't know much about music, he was gifted at promotion, and he latched upon the idea of fashioning the Stones as the bad-boy opposition to the clean-cut Beatles. At his insistence, the large yet meek Stewart was forced out of the group, since his appearance contrasted with the rest of the group. Stewart didn't disappear from the Stones; he became one of their key roadies and played on their albums and tours until his death in 1985.

With Oldham's help, the Rolling Stones signed with Decca Records, and that June, they released their debut single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On." The single became a minor hit, reaching number 21, and the group supported it with appearances on festivals and package tours. At the end of the year, they released a version of Lennon-McCartney's "I Wanna Be Your Man" that soared into the Top 15. Early in 1964, they released a cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," which shot to number three. "Not Fade Away" became their first American hit, reaching number 48 that spring. By that time, the Stones were notorious in their homeland. Considerably rougher and sexier than the Beatles, the Stones were the subject of numerous sensationalistic articles in the British press, culminating in a story about the band urinating in public. All of these stories cemented the Stones as a dangerous, rebellious band in the minds of the public, and had the effect of beginning a manufactured rivalry between them and the Beatles, which helped the group rocket to popularity in the U.S. In the spring of 1964, the Stones released their eponymous debut album, which was followed by "It's All Over Now," their first U.K. number one. That summer, they toured America to riotous crowds, recording the Five by Five EP at Chess Records in Chicago in the midst of the tour. By the time it was over, they had another number one U.K. single with Howlin' Wolf's "Little Red Rooster." Although the Stones had achieved massive popularity, Oldham decided to push Jagger and Richards into composing their own songs, since they — and his publishing company — would receive more money that away. In June of 1964, the group released their first original single, "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)," which became their first American Top 40 hit. Shortly afterward, a version of Irma Thomas' "Time Is on My Side" became their first U.S. Top Ten. It was followed by "The Last Time" in early 1965, a number one U.K. and Top Ten U.S. hit that began a virtually uninterrupted string of Jagger-Richards hit singles. Still, it wasn't until the group released "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in the summer of 1965 that they were elevated to superstars. Driven by a fuzz-guitar riff designed to replicate the sound of a horn section, "Satisfaction" signaled that Jagger and Richards had come into their own as songwriters, breaking away from their blues roots and developing a signature style of big, bluesy riffs and wry, sardonic lyrics. It stayed at number one for four weeks and began a string of Top Ten singles that ran for the next two years, including such classics as "Get off My Cloud," "19th Nervous Breakdown," "As Tears Go By," and "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"

By 1966, the Stones had decided to respond to the Beatles' increasingly complex albums with their first album of all-original material, Aftermath. Due to Brian Jones' increasingly exotic musical tastes, the record boasted a wide range of influences, from the sitar-drenched "Paint It, Black" to the Eastern drones of "I'm Going Home." These eclectic influences continued to blossom on Between the Buttons (1967), the most pop-oriented album the group ever made. Ironically, the album's release was bookended by two of the most notorious incidents in the band's history. Before the record was released, the Stones performed the suggestive "Let's Spend the Night Together," the B-side to the medieval ballad "Ruby Tuesday," on The Ed Sullivan Show, which forced Jagger to alter the song's title to an incomprehensible mumble, or else face being banned. In February of 1967, Jagger and Richards were arrested for drug possession, and within three months, Jones was arrested on the same charge. All three were given suspended jail sentences, and the group backed away from the spotlight as the summer of love kicked into gear in 1967. Jagger, along with his then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, went with the Beatles to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; they were also prominent in the international broadcast of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Appropriately, the Stones' next single, "Dandelion"/"We Love You," was a psychedelic pop effort, and it was followed by their response to Sgt. Pepper, Their Satanic Majesties Request, which was greeted with lukewarm reviews.The Stones' infatuation with psychedelia was brief. By early 1968, they had fired Andrew Loog Oldham and hired Allen Klein as their manager. The move coincided with their return to driving rock & roll, which happened to coincide with Richards' discovery of open tunings, a move that gave the Stones their distinctively fat, powerful sound. The revitalized Stones were showcased on the malevolent single "Jumpin' Jack Flash," which climbed to number three in May 1968. Their next album, Beggar's Banquet, was finally released in the fall, after being delayed for five months due its controversial cover art of a dirty, graffiti-laden restroom. An edgy record filled with detours into straight blues and campy country, Beggar's Banquet was hailed as a masterpiece among the fledgling rock press. Although it was seen as a return to form, few realized that while it opened a new chapter of the Stones' history, it also was the closing of their time with Brian Jones. Throughout the recording of Beggar's Banquet, Jones was on the sidelines due to his deepening drug addiction and his resentment of the dominance of Jagger and Richards. Jones left the band on June 9, 1969, claiming to be suffering from artistic differences between himself and the rest of the band. On July 3, 1969 — less than a month after his departure — Jones was found dead in his swimming pool. The coroner ruled that it was "death by misadventure," yet his passing was the subject of countless rumors over the next two years. By the time of his death, the Stones had already replaced Brian Jones with Mick Taylor, a former guitarist for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He wasn't featured on "Honky Tonk Women," a number one single released days after Jones' funeral, and he contributed only a handful of leads on their next album, Let It Bleed. Released in the fall of 1969, Let It Bleed was comprised of sessions with Jones and Taylor, yet it continued the direction of Beggar's Banquet, signaling that a new era in the Stones' career had begun, one marked by ragged music and an increasingly wasted sensibility. Following Jagger's filming of Ned Kelly in Australia during the first part of 1969, the group launched its first American tour in three years. Throughout the tour — the first where they were billed as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band — the group broke attendance records, but it was given a sour note when the group staged a free concert at Altamont Speedway. On the advice of the Grateful Dead, the Stones hired Hell's Angels as security, but that plan backfired tragically. The entire show was unorganized and in shambles, yet it turned tragic when the Angels killed a young black man, Meredith Hunter, during the Stones' performance. In the wake of the public outcry, the Stones again retreated from the spotlight and dropped "Sympathy for the Devil," which some critics ignorantly claimed incited the violence, from their set. As the group entered hiatus, they released the live Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! in the fall of 1970. It was their last album for Decca/London, and they formed Rolling Stones Records, which became a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. During 1970, Jagger starred in Nicolas Roeg's cult film Performance and married Nicaraguan model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and the couple quickly entered high society. As Jagger was jet-setting, Richards was slumming, hanging out with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons. Keith wound up having more musical influence on 1971's Sticky Fingers, the first album the Stones released though their new label. Following its release, the band retreated to France on tax exile, where they shared a house and recorded a double album, Exile on Main St. Upon its May 1972 release, Exile on Main St. was widely panned, but over time it came to be considered one of the group's defining moments. Following Exile, the Stones began to splinter in two, as Jagger concentrated on being a celebrity and Richards sank into drug addiction. The band remained popular throughout the '70s, but their critical support waned. Goats Head Soup, released in 1973, reached number one, as did 1974's It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, but neither record was particularly well received. Taylor left the band after It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, and the group recorded their next album as they auditioned new lead guitarists, including Jeff Beck. They finally settled on Ron Wood, former lead guitarist for the Faces and Rod Stewart, in 1976, the same year they released Black n' Blue, which only featured Wood on a handful of cuts.

During the mid- and late '70s, all the Stones pursued side projects, with both Wyman and Wood releasing solo albums with regularity. Richards was arrested in Canada in 1977 with his common-law wife Anita Pallenberg for heroin possession. After his arrest, he cleaned up and was given a suspended sentence the following year. The band reconvened in 1978 to record Some Girls, an energetic response to punk, new wave, and disco. The record and its first single, the thumping disco-rocker "Miss You," both reached number one, and the album restored the group's image. However, the group squandered that goodwill with the follow-up, Emotional Rescue, a number one record that nevertheless received lukewarm reviews upon its 1980 release. Tattoo You, released the following year, fared better both critically and commercially, as the singles "Start Me Up" and "Waiting on a Friend" helped the album spend nine weeks at number one. The Stones supported Tattoo You with an extensive stadium tour captured in Hal Ashby's movie Let's Spend the Night Together and the 1982 live album Still Life. Tattoo You proved to be the last time the Stones completely dominated the charts and the stadiums. Although the group continued to sell out concerts in the '80s and '90s, their records didn't sell as well as previous efforts, partially because the albums suffered due to Jagger and Richards' notorious mid-'80s feud. Starting with 1983's Undercover, the duo conflicted about which way the band should go, with Jagger wanting the Stones to follow contemporary trends and Richards wanting them to stay true to their rock roots. As a result, Undercover was a mean-spirited, unfocused record that received relatively weak sales and mixed reviews. Released in 1986, Dirty Work suffered a worse fate, since Jagger was preoccupied with his fledgling solo career. Once Jagger decided that the Stones would not support Dirty Work with a tour, Richards decided to make his own solo record with 1988's Talk Is Cheap. Appearing a year after Jagger's failed second solo album, Talk Is Cheap received good reviews and went gold, prompting Jagger and Richards to reunite late in 1988. The following year, the Stones released Steel Wheels, which was received with good reviews, but the record was overshadowed by its supporting tour, which grossed over 140 million dollars and broke many box office records. In 1991, the live album Flashpoint, which was culled from the Steel Wheels shows, was released. Following the release of Flashpoint, Bill Wyman left the band; he published a memoir, Stone Alone, within a few years of leaving. The Stones didn't immediately replace Wyman, since they were all working on solo projects; this time, there was none of the animosity surrounding their mid-'80s projects. The group reconvened in 1994 with bassist Darryl Jones, who had previously played with Miles Davis and Sting, to record and release the Don Was-produced Voodoo Lounge. The album received the band's strongest reviews in years, and its accompanying tour was even more successful than the Steel Wheels tour. On top of being more successful than its predecessor, Voodoo Lounge also won the Stones their first Grammy for Best Rock Album. Upon the completion of the Voodoo Lounge tour, the Stones released the live, "unplugged" album Stripped in the fall of 1995. Similarly, after wrapping up their tour in support of 1997's Bridges to Babylon, the group issued yet another live set, No Security, the following year. A high-profile greatest-hits tour in 2002 was launched despite the lack of a studio album to support, and its album document Live Licks appeared in 2004. A year later, the group issued A Bigger Bang, their third effort with producer Don Was.

Currently listening to:
Beth Orton
Comfort of Strangers
Released: 2-7-06

Time is Ticking Away...

My wife and I went to the OB on Tuesday of this week in order have the regular weekly check-up for the upcoming baby. The baby appears to be healthy, but it appears that it also enjoys eating. According to the OB, the baby is weighing in at 6.8 lbs., which is a little heavier than he wanted. Because of this news, it appears that my wife may be induced in about 2 weeks (possibly 3 depending upon the baby's development during next week's visit). With the sudden news that the baby may be coming in 2 weeks, my wife suddenly has become stressed with trying to get all the 'little things' done (such as getting the baby's room put together and buying little things). Some of my wife's friends from work are throwing her a baby shower this weekend and alot of both sides of the family are coming up. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and I'm looking forward to people bestowing gifts on my wife so that my pocketbook can rest for a little while. My father in law is definitely going to relieve my wife's stress by putting together the baby's crib (since God did not provide me that gift).

Next week I have to go to Huntsville in order to do some testing at a client I've had for the past 3 years now. I'm a little apprehensive about traveling with the baby so close, but I'd rather do the work now than directly after the baby arrives. I just hope that my company is able to keep me in town more often once the baby arrives. I've traveled heavily for the past 3 years now. I also have the annual consensus meeting next week where my raise will be determined. I hope that my superiors provide me some positive feedback and I get a decent raise. The combination of the travel situation and the consensus meeting outcome will likely determine how much longer I stay with this company. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Currently listening to:

Destroyer-Destroyer's Rubies

Released 2-21-06