Thursday, June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson AND Farrah Fawcett? Somebody crossed the streams.


Goodness knows there’ll be terabytes written about both of them, but what I’m tickled by is that already the coincidence that they met their demise on the same day is being pondered, mused and mulled over by everyone from the Times to Blogger Bob. They don’t, after all, really have anything in common =(Except for the fact that they now share one very unpleasant date)= other than the fact that each was a cultural icon during roughly the same era.

But icon-wise, they were both compelling in their own way; one was a hot looking white chick, and the other starred in Charlie’s Angels. =(Too easy? Sure, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.) = But really though, there’s an entire generation in the western world that grew up with them and spent far too much time either listening to the Gloved One or gazing plaintively at that poster. Sigh.

So, that said, I have to admit that although I wasn’t really a fan of either of them I did still feel that odd sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach when I heard the news of their simultaneous demise. I guess the real lesson here is that that you don’t always get to choose the influences that wire your synapses and make you who you are. Go figure.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Coffee and cows. And rain, lots of rain.


It's not that I don’t enjoy a rainy day as much as the next guy (which I don’t, actually), but I’m pretty sure that we’ve all had quite enough of this month’s Old Testament-style precipitation. We are, in fact, in the middle of the wettest, coldest June on record here in the East.= Really.

Now this may not mean much to you if you’re A: in the southwest where it’s always hot and dry and everyday would be a beach day if you had any beaches, or B: if you’re in the northwest in which case you probably wouldn’t have noticed all this rain anyway. = (Although I am now starting to get a little perspective on why Seattle is the birthplace of such things as grunge music and Starbucks: ‘cause jeez, if it really did rain all the time I would need to either drown my sorrows in the self-indulgent music that launched the careers of a thousand crappy, self-indulgent bands like Nirvana… =or, I’d be self medicating with Grande-Frappe-Mocha-Chino-Lattes till the cows come home.) =Which pre-supposes that there are any cows in Seattle, which I doubt because I’m also under the impression that vegan diets are mandatory up there. Of course I may be wrong about that last part, but it’s really not my fault because all this rain has got me a little muddled up.

Anyway, my point is that somebody had better be mostly done building an ark of some sort, because it looks like we’re going to need it sooner rather than later. And my only suggestion there is that this time we learn from experience and leave a few things behind: mosquitoes, spiders and most of the other creepy-crawlies for instance. Yuck. = Oooh, but we can’t forget to bring the cows, because unlike those hippies from Seattle I think they’re delicious.

Have a great day.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Father's day: 13 years and counting.


Oddly enough this started out as a Stay At Home Dad Blog about six years ago (Really? Is it possible that I've been clogging up the tubes for that long?) so I guess it's appropriate to give at least a passing nod to any and all dads out there, regardless of where they are or how far along they are on their journey towards producing fully grown and productive members of society. My progeny, for instance, are both teens now and there are days, quite frankly, that I can't wait for them to be done.

But anyway... I'm still looking froward to yet another Father's Day while working on a new list of entirely unreasonable demands, 'cause as far as I'm concerned if you can't exploit a day like this then you're just not trying hard enough. (Bwaa ha ha ha ha....)

Have a great Dad's day!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Who rocks? Clapton and Winwood, that's who.


Saw the Meadowlands kick-off of Clapton and Winwood’s 14 city tour last night; and it was, in a word, outstanding. A full review is forthcoming on Associated Content, but for the moment here’s a setlist and an especially crappy video I took. Whoo hoo.





01. Had To Cry Today
02. Low Down
03. After Midnight
04. Sleeping In The Ground
05. Presence Of The Lord
06. Glad
07. Well Alright
08. Tough Luck Blues
09. Tell The Truth
10. Pearly Queen
11. No Face, No Name, No Number
12. Forever Man
13. Georgia On My Mind - Steve Winwood solo
14. Driftin' - acoustic
15. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
16. Layla - acoustic version
17. Can't Find My Way Home
18. Split Decision
19. Little Wing
20. Voodoo Chile
21. Cocaine
22. Dear Mr. Fantasy (Encore)