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Disclaimer:
Any pictures, media clips or content hyperlinked in this blog are the exclusive property of the original copyright holder. Inclusion in this blog by means of hyperlink is done so via Fair Use and is in no way a claim of ownership of the material or any attempt to diminish any and all rights held to the material by the original copyright holder. Wherever a direct quote is utilized, standard citation protocol will be followed. For further inquiries, please contact the editor of this blog, here.
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FfF:
Fumbling for Fodder
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Fodder File:
Referenced in Scattershooting, the place where unused snippets were collected until used as a post, or the occasional purge, onto the blog.
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Scattershooting:
The predecessor to FfF. There is a link to this blog located on the main page.
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U-F'er (pronounced yu-EF-er):
The Uniform Fact, Evidenced in Reality (formerly known as the Uniform Theory). U-F'er states unequivically that the changing of the design of a professional sports team's uniforms changes their fate in competition. Once a mere theory, it was proven when, in rapid succession, the Anaheim Ducks went from this to this and promptly won the Stanley Cup, the University of Kansas went from this to this and, in the very first deason after the change, won the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship and the Philadelphia Phillies introduced pinstripe-less alternate uniforms in 2008 and won the World Series. Other notable past examples include this to this, this to this and this to this.
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United Statesian:
Referenced in Scattershooting, the place where unused snippets were collected until used as a post, or the occasional purge, onto the blog.
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Scattershooting:
The predecessor to FfF. There is a link to this blog located on the main page.
~~~
U-F'er (pronounced yu-EF-er):
The Uniform Fact, Evidenced in Reality (formerly known as the Uniform Theory). U-F'er states unequivically that the changing of the design of a professional sports team's uniforms changes their fate in competition. Once a mere theory, it was proven when, in rapid succession, the Anaheim Ducks went from this to this and promptly won the Stanley Cup, the University of Kansas went from this to this and, in the very first deason after the change, won the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship and the Philadelphia Phillies introduced pinstripe-less alternate uniforms in 2008 and won the World Series. Other notable past examples include this to this, this to this and this to this.
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United Statesian:
Preferred term for citizens of the United States. "American" just sounds so exclusionary, particularly when used in a conversation with, or regarding, someone from Mexico, Guatemala, Canada or pretty much anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. We're all Americans.
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Vintage Album Review Criteria:
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Vintage Album Review Criteria:
Music Quality (5 points) -self-explanatory
Lyric Quality (5 points) - as is this*
Authorship (4 points) - did they write their own stuff?**
Production Value (3 points) - sound quality, production decisions and technical proficiency
Packaging (2 points) - as albums predate internet, were lyrics included? Liner-notes, art, etc.
First Blush (2 points) - what we thought when we first heard it, "back in the day"
Aging (3 points) - how ther material has held up
Videos (1 point) - not required, but cannot be ignored when judging an LP from the '80's
*Instrumental Exception: Granted for lyric points when a song has no words. Can be combined with the Sinatra Exception if artist is performing someone else's material (primarily applies to classical recordings).
**The Sinatra Exception : An exception granted for singers who do not write their songs, but perform them outstandingly.
**Remake Exception: Granted for an artist covering a known song.
Scoring System:
Points for each category are added and divided by 5 to get a Star rating of 0.00 to 5.00, with the latter being perfect.
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50x50:
The list of 50 things I want to accomplish before my 50th birthday, which will be 07 August 2019. The list was compiled during the week preceeding my 40th birthday, so I have ten years to finish the list.
The list:
1. Amass any combination of 5000 hours or $5000 donated to charity.The list:
2. Attend 10 Dallas Maverick road games.
3. Attend 1000 masses. (yes, that is my church)
4. Attend an opera.
5. Be alive on 7 August in each of the next ten years.
6. Coach a little league baseball team.
7. Compete – and finish better than last in – the Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred (mile) bicycle race.
8. Complete the digital restoration of my vinyl album collection.
9. Donate 25 pints of blood. (not all at once)
10. Get married.
11. Get published.
12. Go on ten spiritual retreats.
13. Go SCUBA diving.
14. Have a clean credit report.
15. Have my lifetime ban from The Grapevine Bar in Dallas, Texas rescinded.
16. If medically cleared, donate either a kidney or half my liver to someone who would die without it.
17. Kiss in the rain.
18. Learn how to play Billy Joel’s Prelude/Angry Young Man on the piano.
19. Learn how to sail.
20. Learn to read and write in Spanish, as I do the former poorly and the latter not at all.
21. Learn to read music.
22. Own a new motorcycle.
23. Own the Top Ten best selling music albums of all time (as of 7 August 2009).
24. Pay off all my personal debt.
25. Put 10,000 miles on my bicycle.
26. Read the Bible, the Koran and the Bhagwat Gita in their entirety.
27. Read the Top-Ten best-selling books of all time (as of 7 August 2009).
28. Read War and Peace. In the original Russian. OK, I made that last part up.
29. Remain married (if #10 is achieved).
30. Remember – and acknowledge – over 90% of family birthdays and anniversaries.
31. Ride a bicycle from downtown Dallas to downtown Ft. Worth, Texas.
32. Rope a calf.
33. See the AFI’s Top-Ten movies of all time (as of 7 August 2009)
34. See the 18 United States I have not yet been to.
35. Skydive.
36. Traverse a state by bicycle, 50 mile minimum. (Sorry Delaware, Rhode Island, et al.)
37. Turn 50 in the place I turned 30 and 40.
38. Visit Belfast.
39. Visit Jerusalem.
40. Visit Vatican City.
41. – 50. Future development.
Keeping Track:
Put simply, there are 520 weeks in a decade. So the formula is: (weeks since 7 Aug 09) / 520 = % of weeks used in the decade. As for tasks, I have divided them into 641 measurable units. For instance, roping a calf is a one-unit task; it's either I have roped a calf or I have not. Attending 1000 masses however, has been divided into 100 units of 10 masses, so as to be able to more accurately reflect my progress. That being the case, the formula is: (units completed) / 641 = % of list completed. I am not a mathematician, so I cop out a bit to get the Net (the variance between how much list I have left and how much time I have left). To do so, I simply subtract the percentage of accomplished tasks from the percentage of time left. If the number is positive, I am ahead of schedule; if negative, I am behind.
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