Rain falling but the coffee tastes good and I'm in a reasonably good mood today. Despite the Rams embarrassing loss last night on MNF! I don't think we'll win consistently again until major changes are made. Mike Martz is a brilliant offensive coordinator but a poor "coach."
I'm headed downtown today for lunch with a couple of friends. I'm going to start working vacation fill-in shifts for a country radio station called the BULL soon. Sometimes I like the idea of still being in radio, sometimes I just want to stay on the sidelines and do voice over stuff, where I've found my niche and been successful. (despite myself!)
We sat around last night and watched the game, then broke away when it was obvious we were going to lose - and watched TIVO'd Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal. Love those shows, but I can't decide if television is getting better or worse. The reality thing was COMPLETELY lost on me, I enjoyed the first SURVIVOR and a little of MTV's REAL WORLD, but reality TV is anything but... so they lost me almost from the start. I didn't get to bed until 1:30, but of COURSE I didn't go right to sleep. Watched TIVO'd Dennis Miller, and he's starting to irritate me with his blind following of all things Bush. Not that I don't support George W. Bush, but Miller refuses to even admit the Iraq mistakes. Too bad, he's starting to lose one of the only 100-thousand or so viewers he has.
So anyway, it was almost 2:30 when I finally dozed off. The phone rang at 8:00 this morning to get my day started. I GOTTA stop staying up so late, I need to catch up on sleep. But I can't seem to just put down the book or shut off the tube and close my eyes. I don't think it's insomnia but I'm not real sure why it's so hard for me lately.
More later, need to get the day started.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Rain and Politics
Another day of rain - the sun was out for about 10 minutes yesterday and it looks like Wednesday before we see it again. Rain today, tonight, tomorrow... and tomorrow night maybe snow. Well shit!
Just engaging in a debate on a political message board. Some people amaze me - those who only know talking points or what their church teaches. Free thinkers are sometimes hard to find. My political beliefs are somewhere in the "middle", I'm a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. (pardon the oversimplification for conversations sake) And I believe MOST Americans are somewhere in the middle. The wings of the political parties (Hollywood on one end, Jerry Falwell on the other) represent a small minority of our countrymen. Yet those wingers are constantly touted as examples by their opposing parties. Liberals say conservatives are racist religious haters, and conservatives say Michael Moore is a shining example of the Democratic party. And because of that, the perception of our country beyond our borders is inaccurate. We're not war mongers, but we'll protect ourselves. We're not fiscally irresponsible, but we're not greedy. We are a Christian founded and valued society, but we don't (and shouldn't) impose those beliefs on our citizens. We share more of our wealth with those in need than any other country on Earth. So how did we get such a bad rap??
We need friends in the world, but our extreme political discourse paints a pretty ugly picture of who we are. Political rhetoric is at an all-time high and the world is watching. Every time I turn on a political talk show, whether left or right-leaning, my bull-shit meter pegs.
Okay, enough about politics. Into the studio now for several recording sessions. Meantime the rain falls. And falls.
Just engaging in a debate on a political message board. Some people amaze me - those who only know talking points or what their church teaches. Free thinkers are sometimes hard to find. My political beliefs are somewhere in the "middle", I'm a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. (pardon the oversimplification for conversations sake) And I believe MOST Americans are somewhere in the middle. The wings of the political parties (Hollywood on one end, Jerry Falwell on the other) represent a small minority of our countrymen. Yet those wingers are constantly touted as examples by their opposing parties. Liberals say conservatives are racist religious haters, and conservatives say Michael Moore is a shining example of the Democratic party. And because of that, the perception of our country beyond our borders is inaccurate. We're not war mongers, but we'll protect ourselves. We're not fiscally irresponsible, but we're not greedy. We are a Christian founded and valued society, but we don't (and shouldn't) impose those beliefs on our citizens. We share more of our wealth with those in need than any other country on Earth. So how did we get such a bad rap??
We need friends in the world, but our extreme political discourse paints a pretty ugly picture of who we are. Political rhetoric is at an all-time high and the world is watching. Every time I turn on a political talk show, whether left or right-leaning, my bull-shit meter pegs.
Okay, enough about politics. Into the studio now for several recording sessions. Meantime the rain falls. And falls.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Guests
Another 5-hour night. I need to get caught up on sleep, and apparently holiday weekends are NOT the time to do it.
We generally have lots of company at our house and this weekend was no exception. Next weekend won't be either, although I'm not complaining. My brother's ex-girlfriend was our guest this weekend. If it sounds strange, it isn't... she and my wife have remained friends so she visits from Jefferson City every month or two. Next weekend we have friends in town from Traverse City, Michigan. Great friends I met on a business trip to San Diego one time. We laughed our asses off about the stupidest things - and really irritated some of the people at the pool at the Hotel del Coronado. Then it was off to bother the animals at the San Diego Zoo with singer/songwriter Matraca Berg. I had ridden a jet ski all afternoon with my friend Matt Corbin - and we had been jumping the wake of an aircraft carrier that was leaving the bay. (never underestimate the wake created by a freakin' aircraft carrier) My legs were like noodles after the ride and about 18 additional margaritas. Later, walking up a slight incline at the zoo my legs just gave out and I fell on my ass. My thanks to Corbin and Jim & Ryan the Michigan friends for the laughter and pointing. Assholes.
The good news is, the Rams are playing on Monday night this week... so I can put off the pain of another loss for an extra day. Martz and the Rams just suck this year. 5-5 with no relief in sight. He's ignored the special teams and let the defense rot away under the new coaching of the Arizona Cardinals former defensive coach. HUH!?!?!?!?!
There is a really bright burning ball in the sky and some of the St. Louis natives are scared this morning. We've seen it before, but it's been a week or two. I'm going to make some breakfast now, the kids are hungry.
We generally have lots of company at our house and this weekend was no exception. Next weekend won't be either, although I'm not complaining. My brother's ex-girlfriend was our guest this weekend. If it sounds strange, it isn't... she and my wife have remained friends so she visits from Jefferson City every month or two. Next weekend we have friends in town from Traverse City, Michigan. Great friends I met on a business trip to San Diego one time. We laughed our asses off about the stupidest things - and really irritated some of the people at the pool at the Hotel del Coronado. Then it was off to bother the animals at the San Diego Zoo with singer/songwriter Matraca Berg. I had ridden a jet ski all afternoon with my friend Matt Corbin - and we had been jumping the wake of an aircraft carrier that was leaving the bay. (never underestimate the wake created by a freakin' aircraft carrier) My legs were like noodles after the ride and about 18 additional margaritas. Later, walking up a slight incline at the zoo my legs just gave out and I fell on my ass. My thanks to Corbin and Jim & Ryan the Michigan friends for the laughter and pointing. Assholes.
The good news is, the Rams are playing on Monday night this week... so I can put off the pain of another loss for an extra day. Martz and the Rams just suck this year. 5-5 with no relief in sight. He's ignored the special teams and let the defense rot away under the new coaching of the Arizona Cardinals former defensive coach. HUH!?!?!?!?!
There is a really bright burning ball in the sky and some of the St. Louis natives are scared this morning. We've seen it before, but it's been a week or two. I'm going to make some breakfast now, the kids are hungry.
Borrowed Political Humor
A cowboy was herding cattle in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses, YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing heard and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he the feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads all of his data via an email and after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full color, 150 page report on his hi-tech, miniturized HP Laser Jet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1586 cows and calves."
"That's right, so I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?" The young man thinks about it for a second and then agrees.
"You're a Political consultant" says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required," answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked; and you don't know anything about my business.
"Now...give me back my dog."
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses, YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing heard and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he the feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads all of his data via an email and after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full color, 150 page report on his hi-tech, miniturized HP Laser Jet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1586 cows and calves."
"That's right, so I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?" The young man thinks about it for a second and then agrees.
"You're a Political consultant" says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required," answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked; and you don't know anything about my business.
"Now...give me back my dog."
Saturday, November 27, 2004
National Treasure & stuff
Saw National Treasure the other night, was a good movie. It's a reality stretch, but most really good movies are. Great story line. So tonight was a movie night with just the kids and me. I tried to talk them into something else, but they REALLY wanted to see N-T. I relented. It was actually better the second time - I caught more of the nuance.
I was just reading about the Reno flight cancellations due to an 18-inch snow. Reminds me of a Thanksgiving ski trip to Tahoe 7 years ago this week. It was incredibly cold but what a great time. Skied (sp?) at Heavenly Valley... and it was. I'm a rookie on skis, I can do green slopes and sometimes the easy blues. I tried the really LONG skis the first time down the slope and discovered I was not ready for those. Spent most of the first trip down on my ass.
Had an hour or so earlier to ponder parenthood... my daughter is here now, and odd weekends. (her Mom lives in Columbia, MO) As much as I try to teach her, it's odd how much I learn from HER. For instance - parents who befriend their kids do them a disservice - and I see it often with other parents. It's natural to want to be their friend so they'll tell you what's going on. But if they think of you as a friend, the first time you challenge them the friendship is harmed. You CAN parent in a friendly way and exhibit some of the qualities of a friend... but a child has many friends - they only have 2 parents. Obviously as Courtney matures there is GREAT opportunity for friendship, it's an important progression. What 30 year old wants an authority figure for a parent???
More tomorrow. Not bad for the first day, but I'll try to discuss more interesting topics in the future!
I was just reading about the Reno flight cancellations due to an 18-inch snow. Reminds me of a Thanksgiving ski trip to Tahoe 7 years ago this week. It was incredibly cold but what a great time. Skied (sp?) at Heavenly Valley... and it was. I'm a rookie on skis, I can do green slopes and sometimes the easy blues. I tried the really LONG skis the first time down the slope and discovered I was not ready for those. Spent most of the first trip down on my ass.
Had an hour or so earlier to ponder parenthood... my daughter is here now, and odd weekends. (her Mom lives in Columbia, MO) As much as I try to teach her, it's odd how much I learn from HER. For instance - parents who befriend their kids do them a disservice - and I see it often with other parents. It's natural to want to be their friend so they'll tell you what's going on. But if they think of you as a friend, the first time you challenge them the friendship is harmed. You CAN parent in a friendly way and exhibit some of the qualities of a friend... but a child has many friends - they only have 2 parents. Obviously as Courtney matures there is GREAT opportunity for friendship, it's an important progression. What 30 year old wants an authority figure for a parent???
More tomorrow. Not bad for the first day, but I'll try to discuss more interesting topics in the future!
Day one...
With all the talk of blogging, I had to do it. I consider myself up-to-date regarding new things, and frankly... a daily/weekly journalistic release is something I need.
The snow is gone, but we got hit pretty good.
After scouring some of the other blogs on the 'net, I've decided what I want and DON'T want to do with mine. I don't want it to be one long boring political rant, I don't want it to be a play-by-play of my wife and my sex life. (have you SEEN some of these blogs?!?) I want it to be something my family can read, a place to blow off steam, and a place to begin recording my life.
It's amazing that I've traveled so many places, done so many things, yet have little recollection of much of it. Only when someone jogs a memory... I can say "hey, I've been there!" So I figure recording some of the boring day to day thoughts, prognostications and anecdotes will occasionally produce a keeper. And someday I will write a book of the story of my life and include those "keepers."
Anyway, this is the start. Hopefully I'll have time to keep it up. Like many projects, I figure I will get a quick start... then my new-found energy will wane.
Oh well.
The snow is gone, but we got hit pretty good.
After scouring some of the other blogs on the 'net, I've decided what I want and DON'T want to do with mine. I don't want it to be one long boring political rant, I don't want it to be a play-by-play of my wife and my sex life. (have you SEEN some of these blogs?!?) I want it to be something my family can read, a place to blow off steam, and a place to begin recording my life.
It's amazing that I've traveled so many places, done so many things, yet have little recollection of much of it. Only when someone jogs a memory... I can say "hey, I've been there!" So I figure recording some of the boring day to day thoughts, prognostications and anecdotes will occasionally produce a keeper. And someday I will write a book of the story of my life and include those "keepers."
Anyway, this is the start. Hopefully I'll have time to keep it up. Like many projects, I figure I will get a quick start... then my new-found energy will wane.
Oh well.
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