So today is the day. Yeah, that day. The Tragic Trifecta. A dead dad, a fiancée taken away far too young and a major breakup, all sharing 25 September. It's a day that makes me think. And, this year, a day that makes me thank.
I have a story to share about my father, Joseph Bates. But first, I want to talk a bit about the other two things that make this day more than the average day. And how perspective has made them not all that traumatic after all.
My life has been broken into three distinct periods: the Philadelphia, South Carolina and Texas years, with a lovely side-trip to Southern California mixed in for good measure.
The transition from the Palmetto State to the Lone Star State was the result of the first woman I truly loved. The first, and to this date only, woman I ever proposed to. Her birthday was 25 September and I interpreted that as the penultimate "sign from God" -- He took away my dad on that date so He gave me something else back tied to that date. The plan went awry and wedded bliss was not meant to be. While we had parted ways long before her passing, the news that she had died of cancer hit me hard some ten years later, when I heard it.
But I look back on her now with fondness. For she taught me how to love, how to hurt. Until her I never knew love could be so painful. But I say that in a good way. Because the upside of that feeling is amazing -- and can never truly be appreciated until one has felt the polar opposite. And while ultimately we were destined live separate lives, I learned a lot from Regina Sifuentes. And it makes me smile to think that she has been relieved of her suffering and is living a life of eternal peace in heaven.
A few years after I found out about Regina's death, on yet another 25th of September, I broke up with a girlfriend I had been with for some time. When it happened, and for several years after, I was destroyed. These days I can't really say I am. I am in a happy, healthy relationship with a good woman. There's a legitimate chance for a future together. I am happy. It's very easy to see now just how bad E and I were for each other. While I have not seen or heard from her for about ten years now, the last I heard she was married and also happy. I see that as a win-win.
Then there's Joe -- my dad.
I've shared in the link above (here it is again) the story of the day my dad died. I've shared some of my thoughts and memories of his life. One of those things is how he related to the kids of the neighborhood, particularly the older ones -- ones older than my brother, sister and me. The neighborhood, (hell society as a whole), was in flux. This was the mid-to-late 1970's when, in our working-class, Irish/German very Catholic neighborhood, a dad might drink excess, he may smack mom around a bit (my dad did neither), but he also, by and large, did two things: he went to work every day and he eventually came back home. Divorce just wasn't a part of life where I grew up.
But that was changing. So the first generation of these lost youths started to get into trouble. And eventually, inexplicably, ended up on the porch, watching a Phillies game with my dad. It wasn't every night. It wasn't even often enough to be called anything like frequent. But every once in a while I'd catch a snippet of conversation as I dragged my bike up the steps or out the door. "You need to give your mom a break. She's dealing with a lot..." "That's not the way you handle things..." "Gary, get me a beer."
I thought maybe my memory of this was a bit of revisionist history. That perhaps I had remembered one or two chance occurrences and somehow let it evolve into some sort of a part of my dad's presence that was never really there. Those doubts have been eliminated by a conversation I had just this week with someone I don't remember even knowing. His story amazed me. And made me realize just how great the man I am fortunate enough to call my dad really was.
I'm going to change some of the events and all of the names here, because of the nature of the story. But the essence is all accurate.
Facebook is an amazing tool. Over the last year, the seams between three phases of my life have been erased in a way I never thought possible. Where I always saw Philadelphia as the place I was born and grew up -- the place I had a dad, South Carolina as the place I finished high school and spiraled out of control after his death and Texas as where I have spent my adulthood, leaving each of the three phases completely behind, Facebook has brought it all together. I can talk to someone I graduated from high school with one minute, and the girl I kissed in an Alley off of Ashdale Street in Philly the next. As a result, I am more in touch with who I am and where I come from than I have ever been.
Earlier this week, "Walter" sent me a message on FB. He remembered me from when I was a little kid and remembered my dad. He is just one of several guys who have e-mailed me, specifically mentioning my father. But Walter was different. He told me about a night in the summer of 1978 that changed his life forever.
He was walking up Lawrence, toward Rockland when my father called out to him, "Hey Walter, c'mere." Now whether the game was between innings or Joe saw something in the kid's eyes or it was just fate, we'll never know. But whatever the reason, my dad stopped Walter, who made a weak attempt at moving along, then capitulated and took a seat on the top step, leaning against the column that divided the Quaid's side of the steps from ours.
Walter doesn’t remember how long he sat there or even what he talked about with my dad. He just remembers getting up to walk away and Joe saying, "Walter. You're a good kid." Walter went home that night to an empty house. His dad had taken off the previous fall; his mother was at work. He watched some television, sneaked a few beers and probably a j. He went to sleep. Just another night in the life of a teenager. Nothing miraculous happened, nothing really of note.
Walter ended up graduating from Olney High by the skin of his teeth. He bounced around Ju-Co and shit jobs for a while, met a girl, got her in trouble and straightened out. He went to school and became an Emergency Medical Technician. He has three kids now and has been married for over twenty years. He has a good life.
On that summer night in 1978, he had planned on ending that life. He was young, stupid, messed up and confused. He couldn’t see a way out and was going to take his own life. Then a man took a few minutes to talk to him. To listen to him. To tell him he was a good kid. And that was enough to keep him going another day.
My dad was that man and because of him, Walter kept the faith. There were other mentors along Walter's path, other people and things that kept him moving forward. The birth of his first child, more than anything, focused him on the Big Picture and got him on track. So Joe's impact cannot be made to be the only reason he is alive to this day. But it's one.
As an EMT, Walter has undoubtedly saved lives. He is a good man who tries to leave the world a better place than he finds it. Like anyone else, sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he fails. But he continues to fight the good fight.
Walter never had the chance to thank my father for what he did that night, so many years ago. Joe had moved to South Carolina in August of 1984 and died of cancer thirteen months later. Other than his wife, Walter had never told anyone the story about that night in 1978. Until he happened across me on Facebook. When he told me the story, he thought he was thanking me by proxy for the actions of a man I can only hope to measure up to one day. But in reality it is me who is thankful.
For while every kid thinks his dad is a great man, Walter allows me to know that mine really was.
And I look forward to telling him that, when we are reunited on the Other Side.
25 September 2009
18 September 2009
Focused on Sean "Puffy" Combs
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We're off!
Item:
(For the first time ever, we don't)...want to be like Mike. What should have been the crowning moment of the greatest career in basketball history devolved into a spiteful, bitter diatribe by a guy who just can't let go.
Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech was a train wreck. Calling out your high school coach for cutting you? AND the dude he picked over you? Really?
Many have given MJ a pass on this, chalking the whole thing up to "legendary competitiveness". We disagree. As a player, Jordan had no peer when it came to desire to win. As we have said in the past iteration of this blog, "It could be a Tuesday night in January -- in Vancouver. Mike still wants to drop a double nickel on you". But that competitiveness has not followed him into the front office in either Washington or Charlotte. And it stands to reason that success has equally eluded His Airness.
We always admired Michal for never holding out, never bitching about money and never giving a halfhearted effort. For respecting the game. But now it's time for him to respect himself. His speech at the induction ceremony was an embarrassment.
Let it go Mike. You won.
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. It's a New York Times Op-Ed column by David Brooks and speaks of the culture of self-aggrandizement we live in.
Click here.
~~~
Fare thee well, Patrick, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us a dance at Kellerman's, a stool at the Road House and a pottery wheel.
Patrick Swayze fought the good fight and we admire his working right up until the end. The tabloids had a field day with his illness, posting weekly predictions of his imminent demise. And they surely will turn right around this week and lavish praise over him for his heroic fight. The parasites. But there's a valuable lesson for us all to learn in Swayze's story. By never quitting, by continuing to fight until his last breath, he gave us an excellent example of what we should be doing as well. For are we all not foolishly making plans, in the face of certain death?
By the by, it's not just a high-casualty year in the homo sapian division of the celebrity set. We have a second celebrity animal death to report -- Geoffrey the Toys 'R Us giraffe has died. Death One of the animal trifecta was Sydney the Taco Bell Chihuahua. The Snuggle teddy bear is reportedly fearing for his life until another animal drops.
~~~
Item:
Michael Meissner was arrested last week in Arlington, Texas on seven felony counts – including possession or promotion of child pornography, promotion of prostitution and engaging in organized crime. Bad, but sadly not shocking in this day and age. Until you learn that Meissner was most recently the Police Chief of the town of Little River-Academy, Texas. Still, not anything we've never heard of, right?
Well, turns out Meissner had worked for 17 small-town police agencies in the past 18 years, according to the Texas Commission on Law and Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. No, that is not a typo. 17 jobs in 18 years, in stints ranging from three weeks to two years. This begs the question, just what standards are this commission charged to uphold?
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“But if I really say it, the radio won't play it
Unless I lay it between the lines."
--Peter, Paul and Mary, in I Dig Rock and Roll Music, 1967
Fare thee well, Mary. Save us a Puff.
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
Here.
Looks bogus to us, (the ball movement looks too jerky), but still a well-done video.
~~~
Idiot of the Week:
Mark Whicker, sports columnist for the Orange County Register. Wow. Just...wow.
The "What You Have Missed" piece is a staple of the columnist repertoire. It provides an opportunity to fill some inches without having to actually be very creative. Much like the e-mail that floats around telling you all the "necessities" that did not exist when you were born, only to tell you at the end that you'd only be 23 or so for all that preceded it to be so, this type of column can be informative, entertaining and interesting.
But it's all about the premise. In the sports world, there are many of these opportunities. For instance, "If you were born when Julio Franco debuted in the Major Leagues, you would have seen..." would be a good column. (the end of WWII, the fall of Saigon, Smurfs...). Whicker went another route in his column of 7 September 2009, entitled, "Many odd things have happened in sports the past 18 years".
But before we blast the guy, we do want to point out one positive from the piece. If we don't do this now, you won't want to hear it later. Trust us.
Wicker makes a great point as regards how we treat professional athletes, when he notes, "...some baseball players began taking drugs in order to hit more home runs and throw faster fastballs. Football players, who had cornered the market on most of their drugs, began driving drunk, slapping their wives, selling drugs, and killing people. The baseball players caught more grief."
Unfortunately, that truth was completely lost in the premise of the column: what kidnap, rape and false imprisonment victim Jaycee Dugard had missed in the sports world during the nearly twenty years she was locked in a shed in the back yard of Phillip Garrido's home.
And it's not like it was a good column that was borne of an unfortunate choice of framing. No -- the thing started out offensive as hell and only got worse, as it opened with, "It doesn't sound as if Jaycee Dugard got to see a sports page."
Gee Mark, ya think?!?
After a brief, perfunctorily-sensitive summation of what happened to Dugard, Wicker provides a pretty interesting list of events and trends that have taken place and evolved since June of 1991.
But that premise -- there is just no way around it. So Wicker apparently decided to go all in. The closing of the piece read, "And ballplayers...came up with an expression for a home run that you might appreciate. Congratulations, Jaycee. You left the yard."
Wow.
The original piece, the apology from the idiot who wrote it and another from the irresponsible editors who let it go to print can be found here.
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
John Cougar Mellencamp
Scarecrow
1985
-Rain on the Scarecrow (5:21)*
-Grandma's Theme (:56)
-Small Town (3:42)*
-Minutes to Memories (4:11)
-Lonely Ol' Night (3:45)*
-The Face of the Nation (3:14)
-Justice and Independence 85 (3:32)
-Between a Laugh and a Tear (4:32)
-Rumbleseat (2:58)*
-You've Got to Stand for Somethin' (4:33)
-R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock) (2:54)*
-The Kind of Fella I Am (2:55)**
* - singles
** - Was not on original LP, only the cassette.
What Michael Jackson was to USA for Africa and Live Aid, John Mellencamp has been to Farm Aid. At the recording session for We Are the World, Mellencamp met Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The former was quoted as saying, "I hope...they can just take a little bit of [the money]...and use it...to pay the mortgages on some of the farms and, the farmers here, [who] owe to the banks...."). The three got together and staged the first Live Aid concert, benefiting United States farmers. There has been a concert every year since.
The seeds for this endeavor were planted firmly in Scarecrow. Mellencamp had gone from Johnny Cougar to John Cougar Mellencamp, gravitating away from pop poster boy, toward serious artist. He would record one more album as John Cougar Mellencamp, before ditching the stage name altogether.
This album ended up being the best-selling of his career and for good reason. Every song on it is a solid piece of craftsmanship, with tight instrumentation, excellent timing and superb lyrics. Mellencamp covers a lot of territory here in his depiction of Middle America in the last quarter of the American Century, dealing with life, love, spirituality and the crushing financial realities of Reaganomics.
The themes that run through the album are timeless. When the protagonist tells the man he called to come auction off his farm, "Calling it your job, 'ole Haas sure don't make it right, but if you want I'll say a prayer for your soul tonight", on the title track, he could just as easily be a current day unemployed dot-commer in suburban Los Angeles.
And that is what makes this album work. The straightforward production, topical lyrics and solid vocals, particularly by backup singer Crystal Taliafero, keep the work sounding as fresh in 2009 as it did in 1985. What we derisively though of as "a bunch of songs about farms" is in reality a prescient look into the soul of the heartland.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 5 (of 5)
Authorship: 4 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 2 (of 2)
First Blush: 1 (of 2)
Aging: 3 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 23
Stars: 4.6 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
Super-big props to Carolyn Savage on doing the right thing. More on her next time...Can the Jets be as good as they look?...The Magic Number for the Defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies is 5...The results of last week's poll are in and the Pittsburgh Steelers are our readers' pick to win the Super Bowl, pulling in 26% of the vote, with the Cowboys and Other coming in second, with 20% each, followed by the Chargers at 13% and the Pats, G-Men and Eagles each pulling in 6%. This week's poll is at the bottom of this page.
And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
Item:
(For the first time ever, we don't)...want to be like Mike. What should have been the crowning moment of the greatest career in basketball history devolved into a spiteful, bitter diatribe by a guy who just can't let go.
Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech was a train wreck. Calling out your high school coach for cutting you? AND the dude he picked over you? Really?
Many have given MJ a pass on this, chalking the whole thing up to "legendary competitiveness". We disagree. As a player, Jordan had no peer when it came to desire to win. As we have said in the past iteration of this blog, "It could be a Tuesday night in January -- in Vancouver. Mike still wants to drop a double nickel on you". But that competitiveness has not followed him into the front office in either Washington or Charlotte. And it stands to reason that success has equally eluded His Airness.
We always admired Michal for never holding out, never bitching about money and never giving a halfhearted effort. For respecting the game. But now it's time for him to respect himself. His speech at the induction ceremony was an embarrassment.
Let it go Mike. You won.
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. It's a New York Times Op-Ed column by David Brooks and speaks of the culture of self-aggrandizement we live in.
Click here.
~~~
Fare thee well, Patrick, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us a dance at Kellerman's, a stool at the Road House and a pottery wheel.
Patrick Swayze fought the good fight and we admire his working right up until the end. The tabloids had a field day with his illness, posting weekly predictions of his imminent demise. And they surely will turn right around this week and lavish praise over him for his heroic fight. The parasites. But there's a valuable lesson for us all to learn in Swayze's story. By never quitting, by continuing to fight until his last breath, he gave us an excellent example of what we should be doing as well. For are we all not foolishly making plans, in the face of certain death?
By the by, it's not just a high-casualty year in the homo sapian division of the celebrity set. We have a second celebrity animal death to report -- Geoffrey the Toys 'R Us giraffe has died. Death One of the animal trifecta was Sydney the Taco Bell Chihuahua. The Snuggle teddy bear is reportedly fearing for his life until another animal drops.
~~~
Item:
Michael Meissner was arrested last week in Arlington, Texas on seven felony counts – including possession or promotion of child pornography, promotion of prostitution and engaging in organized crime. Bad, but sadly not shocking in this day and age. Until you learn that Meissner was most recently the Police Chief of the town of Little River-Academy, Texas. Still, not anything we've never heard of, right?
Well, turns out Meissner had worked for 17 small-town police agencies in the past 18 years, according to the Texas Commission on Law and Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. No, that is not a typo. 17 jobs in 18 years, in stints ranging from three weeks to two years. This begs the question, just what standards are this commission charged to uphold?
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“But if I really say it, the radio won't play it
Unless I lay it between the lines."
--Peter, Paul and Mary, in I Dig Rock and Roll Music, 1967
Fare thee well, Mary. Save us a Puff.
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
Here.
Looks bogus to us, (the ball movement looks too jerky), but still a well-done video.
~~~
Idiot of the Week:
Mark Whicker, sports columnist for the Orange County Register. Wow. Just...wow.
The "What You Have Missed" piece is a staple of the columnist repertoire. It provides an opportunity to fill some inches without having to actually be very creative. Much like the e-mail that floats around telling you all the "necessities" that did not exist when you were born, only to tell you at the end that you'd only be 23 or so for all that preceded it to be so, this type of column can be informative, entertaining and interesting.
But it's all about the premise. In the sports world, there are many of these opportunities. For instance, "If you were born when Julio Franco debuted in the Major Leagues, you would have seen..." would be a good column. (the end of WWII, the fall of Saigon, Smurfs...). Whicker went another route in his column of 7 September 2009, entitled, "Many odd things have happened in sports the past 18 years".
But before we blast the guy, we do want to point out one positive from the piece. If we don't do this now, you won't want to hear it later. Trust us.
Wicker makes a great point as regards how we treat professional athletes, when he notes, "...some baseball players began taking drugs in order to hit more home runs and throw faster fastballs. Football players, who had cornered the market on most of their drugs, began driving drunk, slapping their wives, selling drugs, and killing people. The baseball players caught more grief."
Unfortunately, that truth was completely lost in the premise of the column: what kidnap, rape and false imprisonment victim Jaycee Dugard had missed in the sports world during the nearly twenty years she was locked in a shed in the back yard of Phillip Garrido's home.
And it's not like it was a good column that was borne of an unfortunate choice of framing. No -- the thing started out offensive as hell and only got worse, as it opened with, "It doesn't sound as if Jaycee Dugard got to see a sports page."
Gee Mark, ya think?!?
After a brief, perfunctorily-sensitive summation of what happened to Dugard, Wicker provides a pretty interesting list of events and trends that have taken place and evolved since June of 1991.
But that premise -- there is just no way around it. So Wicker apparently decided to go all in. The closing of the piece read, "And ballplayers...came up with an expression for a home run that you might appreciate. Congratulations, Jaycee. You left the yard."
Wow.
The original piece, the apology from the idiot who wrote it and another from the irresponsible editors who let it go to print can be found here.
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
Scarecrow
1985
-Rain on the Scarecrow (5:21)*
-Grandma's Theme (:56)
-Small Town (3:42)*
-Minutes to Memories (4:11)
-Lonely Ol' Night (3:45)*
-The Face of the Nation (3:14)
-Justice and Independence 85 (3:32)
-Between a Laugh and a Tear (4:32)
-Rumbleseat (2:58)*
-You've Got to Stand for Somethin' (4:33)
-R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock) (2:54)*
-The Kind of Fella I Am (2:55)**
* - singles
** - Was not on original LP, only the cassette.
What Michael Jackson was to USA for Africa and Live Aid, John Mellencamp has been to Farm Aid. At the recording session for We Are the World, Mellencamp met Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The former was quoted as saying, "I hope...they can just take a little bit of [the money]...and use it...to pay the mortgages on some of the farms and, the farmers here, [who] owe to the banks...."). The three got together and staged the first Live Aid concert, benefiting United States farmers. There has been a concert every year since.
The seeds for this endeavor were planted firmly in Scarecrow. Mellencamp had gone from Johnny Cougar to John Cougar Mellencamp, gravitating away from pop poster boy, toward serious artist. He would record one more album as John Cougar Mellencamp, before ditching the stage name altogether.
This album ended up being the best-selling of his career and for good reason. Every song on it is a solid piece of craftsmanship, with tight instrumentation, excellent timing and superb lyrics. Mellencamp covers a lot of territory here in his depiction of Middle America in the last quarter of the American Century, dealing with life, love, spirituality and the crushing financial realities of Reaganomics.
The themes that run through the album are timeless. When the protagonist tells the man he called to come auction off his farm, "Calling it your job, 'ole Haas sure don't make it right, but if you want I'll say a prayer for your soul tonight", on the title track, he could just as easily be a current day unemployed dot-commer in suburban Los Angeles.
And that is what makes this album work. The straightforward production, topical lyrics and solid vocals, particularly by backup singer Crystal Taliafero, keep the work sounding as fresh in 2009 as it did in 1985. What we derisively though of as "a bunch of songs about farms" is in reality a prescient look into the soul of the heartland.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 5 (of 5)
Authorship: 4 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 2 (of 2)
First Blush: 1 (of 2)
Aging: 3 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 23
Stars: 4.6 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
Super-big props to Carolyn Savage on doing the right thing. More on her next time...Can the Jets be as good as they look?...The Magic Number for the Defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies is 5...The results of last week's poll are in and the Pittsburgh Steelers are our readers' pick to win the Super Bowl, pulling in 26% of the vote, with the Cowboys and Other coming in second, with 20% each, followed by the Chargers at 13% and the Pats, G-Men and Eagles each pulling in 6%. This week's poll is at the bottom of this page.
And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
11 September 2009
Focused on Richard Riley
We're off!
Item:
Beware the Georgetown Cuddler!
With two attacks in the last month, DC police fear a return of the scourge of the neighborhood. In eleven separate incidents over the last two years, a white male of 25-30 years old has broken into the homes of female university students as they slept, climbed into their bed...and cuddled. Yes, that says "cuddled". The understandably freaked out victims have all reported that when confronted, The Cuddler immediately flees. Presumable to hook up with the Johns Hopkins Spooner.
We don't make this stuff up. OK, we did make up the Spooner part.
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. President Obama spoke to our nation's schoolchildren this week. By all accounts, the overwhelming majority of United Statesians are just fine with the contents of his address. (If you wish to see it, click here. If you wish to read it, click here.) Prior to the talk though, passions ran high both for and against Obama's planned speech. FfF is proud to welcome two friends of the blog, who will serve as guest commentators to weigh in on both sides of the issue: Patrick Philips and Joel Williams. Patrick will represent the side in favor of the speech and Joel will represent those opposed. After a coin toss, it was determined Patrick would lead off.
Joel Williams
Happy, TX
__________
Patrick Philips is television producer, writer, Mac lover, and Christian, though not necessarily in that order. He lives with his dog in Charleston, South Carolina. His blog, Patrick's Place can be found here.
Joel Williams is a Texas Panhandle farmer, poet and youth minister. He lives with his wife and daughter.
~~~
Fare thee well, Army Archerd, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us some scoop.
~~~
Item:
Trouble's a-brewin' in South Texas, (with a capital T and that rhymes with B and it stands for Border)! Seems Kelt Cooper is entering his first school year as Superintendent of the San Felipe del Rio Independent School District. Having come from the Nogales, AZ school district, Cooper is familiar with the distinct challenges of running a school system in a border town.
One of those challenges is children coming across the border from Mexico to go to school. In his previous position, he had once discovered 32 students listed as living at the same address, which turned out to be a vacant lot. He knew he had similar problems in Del Rio. So he asked border authorities to count the number of school-aged children coming into the country on school days, for a week. Authorities advised the superintendant that an average of 540 children were crossing the border daily.
Now let's put this in perspective. The population of Del Rio, Texas is 33,867. According to 2000 Census data, there were 10,778 households, 42% of which had at least one child under the age of 18 living within them. So that would leave 4,527 households with minors in them. With an average family size of 3.56 people -- and assuming none of the children are too young to go to school -- that would be 16,116 children. The Del Rio Chamber of Commerce estimates the total school-aged population to be 10,450, so let's split the difference and call it 13,283. 540 students would represent a full 4% of the total school attendance in a district whose median household income is $27,387. So this is a legitimate financial problem for the district.
But things get a little tricky here. A 1982 Texas Supreme Court ruling makes it illegal to discriminate against a student based on immigration status. However, Texas state law decrees that in order to attend any public school, the student must reside within the district's limits. This effectively, if enforced, prevents the child from benefiting from his mother coming across the border, having said offspring and returning to the homeland. The kid may be a citizen, but if he does not live here, he cannot go to school here.
Cooper though, realizing this is a residency issue and not an immigration one, is trying to do the right thing for all parties involved. He has sent out letters advising that the students who do not live within the district's area will be unregistered from classes until they can prove residency. But instead of just kicking the kids out and washing his hands of them, the superintendent is working with state agencies and the school board to calculate an appropriate tuition scale, so the option may be offered to these students to remain in school and get their education. Or, as he put it, "We are saying if we have room, you can pay tuition. We don't want this to be a burden on the taxpayers but we don't want to turn kids away."
This is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, compassionate, pragmatic approach that is sorely lacking in almost everyone in authority who approaches the immigration issue. Washington would do well to take a look to the Southwest to see how, with a little ingenuity, workable solutions can be realized.
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“I've seen the rats lie down on Broadway; I watched the mighty skyline fall."
--Billy Joel, in Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), 1976
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
Here.
Now, the video has not been updated since June of 2006 but if you have absolutely no life whatsoever and want to see the all of the pictures, as of 31 July of this year, click here. You sick bastard. You clicked, didn't you? Well, having no life is a prerequisite of reading this blog, so we guess we should not be surprised. You should probably click on this too, though. No, really. Go back and click. You'll thank us.
~~~
Ridiculous Story That Actually Appeared in a Publication, of the Week:
Here.
We just want to see this dude. I mean, he had a wife and three girlfriends, got at least one of them to lend him money and had her pay for the room. Wow. He's clearly not rich, but something drew them to him.
~~~
Idiot of the Week:
Easily goes to Joe Wilson, (R) SC. This is clearly not a good year for Palmetto pols. Not only did dude make an ass of himself by insulting the President of the United States in front of a joint session of Congress, while on national television. He then took the cowardly way out by giving a bogus apology. In a statement released by his office, Wilson said, "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me", following that up the next day with, "it was spontaneous". Really? How is that possible, Joe, since members of Congress are each provided advance copies of Presidential addresses? We realize we may need to explain this to you, since you're from South Carolina, where apparently everyone but the politicians have some damned sense, so let's do just that. It means you had your "emotional reaction" when you read the speech, not when the President made the remark. Your entire display was a calculated, premeditated action. If not, then how would a photographer have known to be trained on you at this exact moment? Had you manned up and said, "you know, I just can't stand the guy constantly misleading the American people and something bold had to be done", then we would have respected, if not agreed with, you. But no. You didn't do that. You took the cowardly way out.
And no, Joe, Glenn, Rush, et al, saying, "they did it to Bush" is not an acceptable rationale. Barack Obama is the President of the United States and as such deserves the respect commensurate with the office. If people disrespected GW Bush, GHW Bush, Harry Truman or Franklin Pierce, they were just as wrong. Doing the same thing does not necessarily make it right. (take the pun as intentional or not)
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
The Hooters
Nervous Night
1985
-And We Danced (3:50)*
-Day by Day (3:27)*
-All You Zombies (6:02)*
-Don't Take My Car Out Tonight (3:56)
-Nervous Night (4:01)**
-Hanging on a Heartbeat (4:23)
-Where Do the Children Go (5:31)*
-South Ferry Road (3:44)
-She Comes in Colors (4:16)
-Blood From a Stone (3:59)
* - singles
** - not included on the original LP
Many a record label has destroyed the career of one of their own bands. What Columbia Records did to The Hooters is one such tale.
Toiling in relative obscurity, Philly bar band The Hooters caught a break when one of their buddies made it big. They rode his coattails into a record deal, wore the clothes the label bought for them, adopted the image the A&R guys picked out for them and went along with it all, thinking, "yeah, but once we get a hit, we can do what we want. Then we can be who we want to be." They quickly learned that it doesn't quite work that way. It is a common tale in the recording industry.
In 1984, producer Rob Chertoff, who had attended the University of Pennsylvania, recruited a couple of his buddies from a local bar band to serve as session players for an album he was producing. While in the studio, one of the guys in the band sat down with the artist whose album they were working on and wrote a song. The album they were working on was Cyndi Lauper's debut, She's So Unusual, the song, Time After Time. And Chertoff's buddies were Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters.
When Lauper exploded into stardom and Time After Time became a #1 single, Chertoff parlayed that into a record deal for his buddies and they hit the studio to record their major label debut. Columbia scored them the opening slot for the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid and The Hooters were on their way.
Then the suits took over.
All You Zombies was released as the first single. By far the heaviest song on the album, it's biblical themes and foreboding tone was definitely different than anything else on the radio at the time and it really made no sense to make it the first single, other than the fact that it was on a previously-released indie label album and they were hoping that the Philly fan base, recognizing the song, would rally around it and spring the band mainstream, a la WMMR's playing an unauthorized copy of Captain Jack, in 1973, launching the career of a certain Piano Man. Even if this was the case, the disparity of the song from the rest of the album made it an extremely poor choice for a debut single and the charts reflected it, as the song peaked at #58.
Columbia got it right with the second single, And We Danced, the melodica-intro'd, guitar-fueled romp that soared to #21 on the Billboard chart, opens the LP and sets the tone for the best of its material. Again, the label blew it with the next single though, releasing Day by Day which, although it actually charted higher than it's predecessor (#18), was one of the weaker tunes on the album, so laden with synthesizers that it started sounding dated about five minutes after it was recorded.
Then it just went off the rails, as the label decided it was time to release a "message song". Enter Where Do the Children Go, with a guest appearance by Patty Smyth, who was apparently taking a break from shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang-bang went Nervous Night's chances and with it any sense of continuity for the audience to grab onto. Children was a good enough song, but releasing it at this juncture completely confused the listening audience. Were the Hooters a Bad Company wannabe band, Philly's version of the Stray Cats or a sappy Message Band?
By the time the follow up album was released two years later, no one knew. Or cared. And that's a shame, because there is some excellent music on Nervous Night. Don't Take My Car Out Tonight and South Ferry Road pulse fast and free and the reggae'd-up reworking of the previously locally-released Hanging on a Heartbeat would have served much better as the requisite "ballad" single.
This album is clearly from the mid-1980's in sound and production but this is not a bad thing. Outside of Day by Day and, to a lesser extent She Comes in Colors, (the latter of which was the only song on the album the band did not write), the material sounds retro without being stale. For a fun, carefree trip back to the mid 80's, one could do much, much worse than this hidden gem of a collection.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 3 (of 5)
Authorship: 3 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 2 (of 2)
First Blush: 2 (of 2)
Aging: 2 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 20
Stars: 4.0 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
We're still waiting for a WMD to be found. Just one...Incidentally, in the 24 hours following his staged outburst, Joe Wilson raised over $200,000 in donations from his supporters...There is nothing new or original we have to add to the September 11th rememberences, so we just remind you -- We have 2996 reasons to NEVER. FORGET. Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them; may their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
Item:
Beware the Georgetown Cuddler!
With two attacks in the last month, DC police fear a return of the scourge of the neighborhood. In eleven separate incidents over the last two years, a white male of 25-30 years old has broken into the homes of female university students as they slept, climbed into their bed...and cuddled. Yes, that says "cuddled". The understandably freaked out victims have all reported that when confronted, The Cuddler immediately flees. Presumable to hook up with the Johns Hopkins Spooner.
We don't make this stuff up. OK, we did make up the Spooner part.
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. President Obama spoke to our nation's schoolchildren this week. By all accounts, the overwhelming majority of United Statesians are just fine with the contents of his address. (If you wish to see it, click here. If you wish to read it, click here.) Prior to the talk though, passions ran high both for and against Obama's planned speech. FfF is proud to welcome two friends of the blog, who will serve as guest commentators to weigh in on both sides of the issue: Patrick Philips and Joel Williams. Patrick will represent the side in favor of the speech and Joel will represent those opposed. After a coin toss, it was determined Patrick would lead off.
President Obama’s plan to address the nation’s school children immediately spawned a furor from those who were convinced that the speech would be hardcore propaganda about the health care debate. Clearly, these are parents who don’t want their own propaganda challenged in their own home.
Let's face it: there's no other reason parents would object so strenuously. Expecting a mere difference of opinion on views of health care wouldn't warrant such hostility.
On Facebook, parents angrily debated whether a president should have to obtain prior written approval from parents before addressing children. As if any president could possibly obtain a permission slip from every single parent in the nation. Some parents won't even bother showing up at their schools' open houses.
But these parents were just sure they knew what he was going to talk about: he was secretly going to ram his agenda down the throats of their little darlings.
Secretly, despite the fact that his address will air in classrooms around the country. Secretly, despite the fact that every local station is already trying to make arrangements with schools to shoot footage of local students watching the address and interview a few of them about what they thought. Secretly, despite the fact that the address will also be streamed live on the internet, so even parents who are busy working can still log on and see it. And secretly, despite the fact that it's been the norm for years now that the White House would make transcripts of major addresses available before they are delivered.
Doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for some covert conspiracy, does it?
Such opposition begs two important questions: first, have these objecting parents dropped the ball? Have they done such a poor job of training their kids to think for themselves that anything their kids hear becomes the ultimate truth, no matter what it is? The notion that one single speech could totally "brainwash" their children is ludicrous. Yet that seems to be what the fear centers on.
The second question is even more damning: if, say, a 5th grader, who's about 11 years old, hears one speech and is that easily influenced, do parents truly believe that in the seven years it will take before that child can place a vote that matches his "new" world view, they won't be able to snap him back onto the, pardon the pun, "right" track?
If we are truly a nation that values everyone's right to free speech, and if we really value the American way of truth, justice and democracy, we wouldn't be trying to suppress opposing views. We wouldn't be trying to control what everyone hears.
We'd be trying to teach our kids right and wrong by looking at all sides. How else can they learn how to judge for themselves?
Patrick K. Philips
Charleston, SC
__________
__________
Isn't it bad enough that the Liberal Agenda has so permeated our society that my child can have an abortion without my permission but her school cannot dispense an aspirin without my written consent? Why should she also be compelled to listen to the single greatest proponent of a lifestyle my wife, myself and my God are opposed to?
My child is at school to receive an education, not to be brainwashed by neuveau Nazis of the liberal intelligencia. Sure Oblahma's speech was innocuous enough, but only through the courage of Fox News and the Republican base, who forced him to change it.
I am responsible for setting the moral tone in my child's home. I do not need my work undone by the school system. My daughter is already faced with the onslaught of a morally bankrupt society. The last thing we as parents need is for her to hear someone of the stature of a President tell her that we should be paying for insurance for illegal aliens, letting terrorists run amok for fear of "offending" them and that the murder of unborn innocents is just fine because, "after all, the President said so."
There are parents who voted for Barack Hussein Obama. And their children are more than welcome to listen to his snake oil sales pitch. My child, however will NEVER be compelled to accept as right what the Demon-crats try to pass as of as "moral".
Joel Williams
Happy, TX
__________
Patrick Philips is television producer, writer, Mac lover, and Christian, though not necessarily in that order. He lives with his dog in Charleston, South Carolina. His blog, Patrick's Place can be found here.
Joel Williams is a Texas Panhandle farmer, poet and youth minister. He lives with his wife and daughter.
~~~
Fare thee well, Army Archerd, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us some scoop.
~~~
Item:
Trouble's a-brewin' in South Texas, (with a capital T and that rhymes with B and it stands for Border)! Seems Kelt Cooper is entering his first school year as Superintendent of the San Felipe del Rio Independent School District. Having come from the Nogales, AZ school district, Cooper is familiar with the distinct challenges of running a school system in a border town.
One of those challenges is children coming across the border from Mexico to go to school. In his previous position, he had once discovered 32 students listed as living at the same address, which turned out to be a vacant lot. He knew he had similar problems in Del Rio. So he asked border authorities to count the number of school-aged children coming into the country on school days, for a week. Authorities advised the superintendant that an average of 540 children were crossing the border daily.
Now let's put this in perspective. The population of Del Rio, Texas is 33,867. According to 2000 Census data, there were 10,778 households, 42% of which had at least one child under the age of 18 living within them. So that would leave 4,527 households with minors in them. With an average family size of 3.56 people -- and assuming none of the children are too young to go to school -- that would be 16,116 children. The Del Rio Chamber of Commerce estimates the total school-aged population to be 10,450, so let's split the difference and call it 13,283. 540 students would represent a full 4% of the total school attendance in a district whose median household income is $27,387. So this is a legitimate financial problem for the district.
But things get a little tricky here. A 1982 Texas Supreme Court ruling makes it illegal to discriminate against a student based on immigration status. However, Texas state law decrees that in order to attend any public school, the student must reside within the district's limits. This effectively, if enforced, prevents the child from benefiting from his mother coming across the border, having said offspring and returning to the homeland. The kid may be a citizen, but if he does not live here, he cannot go to school here.
Cooper though, realizing this is a residency issue and not an immigration one, is trying to do the right thing for all parties involved. He has sent out letters advising that the students who do not live within the district's area will be unregistered from classes until they can prove residency. But instead of just kicking the kids out and washing his hands of them, the superintendent is working with state agencies and the school board to calculate an appropriate tuition scale, so the option may be offered to these students to remain in school and get their education. Or, as he put it, "We are saying if we have room, you can pay tuition. We don't want this to be a burden on the taxpayers but we don't want to turn kids away."
This is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, compassionate, pragmatic approach that is sorely lacking in almost everyone in authority who approaches the immigration issue. Washington would do well to take a look to the Southwest to see how, with a little ingenuity, workable solutions can be realized.
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“I've seen the rats lie down on Broadway; I watched the mighty skyline fall."
--Billy Joel, in Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), 1976
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
Here.
Now, the video has not been updated since June of 2006 but if you have absolutely no life whatsoever and want to see the all of the pictures, as of 31 July of this year, click here. You sick bastard. You clicked, didn't you? Well, having no life is a prerequisite of reading this blog, so we guess we should not be surprised. You should probably click on this too, though. No, really. Go back and click. You'll thank us.
~~~
Ridiculous Story That Actually Appeared in a Publication, of the Week:
Here.
We just want to see this dude. I mean, he had a wife and three girlfriends, got at least one of them to lend him money and had her pay for the room. Wow. He's clearly not rich, but something drew them to him.
~~~
Idiot of the Week:
Easily goes to Joe Wilson, (R) SC. This is clearly not a good year for Palmetto pols. Not only did dude make an ass of himself by insulting the President of the United States in front of a joint session of Congress, while on national television. He then took the cowardly way out by giving a bogus apology. In a statement released by his office, Wilson said, "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me", following that up the next day with, "it was spontaneous". Really? How is that possible, Joe, since members of Congress are each provided advance copies of Presidential addresses? We realize we may need to explain this to you, since you're from South Carolina, where apparently everyone but the politicians have some damned sense, so let's do just that. It means you had your "emotional reaction" when you read the speech, not when the President made the remark. Your entire display was a calculated, premeditated action. If not, then how would a photographer have known to be trained on you at this exact moment? Had you manned up and said, "you know, I just can't stand the guy constantly misleading the American people and something bold had to be done", then we would have respected, if not agreed with, you. But no. You didn't do that. You took the cowardly way out.
And no, Joe, Glenn, Rush, et al, saying, "they did it to Bush" is not an acceptable rationale. Barack Obama is the President of the United States and as such deserves the respect commensurate with the office. If people disrespected GW Bush, GHW Bush, Harry Truman or Franklin Pierce, they were just as wrong. Doing the same thing does not necessarily make it right. (take the pun as intentional or not)
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
The Hooters
1985
-And We Danced (3:50)*
-Day by Day (3:27)*
-All You Zombies (6:02)*
-Don't Take My Car Out Tonight (3:56)
-Nervous Night (4:01)**
-Hanging on a Heartbeat (4:23)
-Where Do the Children Go (5:31)*
-South Ferry Road (3:44)
-She Comes in Colors (4:16)
-Blood From a Stone (3:59)
* - singles
** - not included on the original LP
Many a record label has destroyed the career of one of their own bands. What Columbia Records did to The Hooters is one such tale.
Toiling in relative obscurity, Philly bar band The Hooters caught a break when one of their buddies made it big. They rode his coattails into a record deal, wore the clothes the label bought for them, adopted the image the A&R guys picked out for them and went along with it all, thinking, "yeah, but once we get a hit, we can do what we want. Then we can be who we want to be." They quickly learned that it doesn't quite work that way. It is a common tale in the recording industry.
In 1984, producer Rob Chertoff, who had attended the University of Pennsylvania, recruited a couple of his buddies from a local bar band to serve as session players for an album he was producing. While in the studio, one of the guys in the band sat down with the artist whose album they were working on and wrote a song. The album they were working on was Cyndi Lauper's debut, She's So Unusual, the song, Time After Time. And Chertoff's buddies were Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters.
When Lauper exploded into stardom and Time After Time became a #1 single, Chertoff parlayed that into a record deal for his buddies and they hit the studio to record their major label debut. Columbia scored them the opening slot for the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid and The Hooters were on their way.
Then the suits took over.
All You Zombies was released as the first single. By far the heaviest song on the album, it's biblical themes and foreboding tone was definitely different than anything else on the radio at the time and it really made no sense to make it the first single, other than the fact that it was on a previously-released indie label album and they were hoping that the Philly fan base, recognizing the song, would rally around it and spring the band mainstream, a la WMMR's playing an unauthorized copy of Captain Jack, in 1973, launching the career of a certain Piano Man. Even if this was the case, the disparity of the song from the rest of the album made it an extremely poor choice for a debut single and the charts reflected it, as the song peaked at #58.
Columbia got it right with the second single, And We Danced, the melodica-intro'd, guitar-fueled romp that soared to #21 on the Billboard chart, opens the LP and sets the tone for the best of its material. Again, the label blew it with the next single though, releasing Day by Day which, although it actually charted higher than it's predecessor (#18), was one of the weaker tunes on the album, so laden with synthesizers that it started sounding dated about five minutes after it was recorded.
Then it just went off the rails, as the label decided it was time to release a "message song". Enter Where Do the Children Go, with a guest appearance by Patty Smyth, who was apparently taking a break from shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang-bang went Nervous Night's chances and with it any sense of continuity for the audience to grab onto. Children was a good enough song, but releasing it at this juncture completely confused the listening audience. Were the Hooters a Bad Company wannabe band, Philly's version of the Stray Cats or a sappy Message Band?
By the time the follow up album was released two years later, no one knew. Or cared. And that's a shame, because there is some excellent music on Nervous Night. Don't Take My Car Out Tonight and South Ferry Road pulse fast and free and the reggae'd-up reworking of the previously locally-released Hanging on a Heartbeat would have served much better as the requisite "ballad" single.
This album is clearly from the mid-1980's in sound and production but this is not a bad thing. Outside of Day by Day and, to a lesser extent She Comes in Colors, (the latter of which was the only song on the album the band did not write), the material sounds retro without being stale. For a fun, carefree trip back to the mid 80's, one could do much, much worse than this hidden gem of a collection.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 3 (of 5)
Authorship: 3 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 2 (of 2)
First Blush: 2 (of 2)
Aging: 2 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 20
Stars: 4.0 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
We're still waiting for a WMD to be found. Just one...Incidentally, in the 24 hours following his staged outburst, Joe Wilson raised over $200,000 in donations from his supporters...There is nothing new or original we have to add to the September 11th rememberences, so we just remind you -- We have 2996 reasons to NEVER. FORGET. Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them; may their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
PS: By way of Housekeeping, we are aware the Definition of
Terms link is broken. It will be fixed shortly. We have also
removed the Countdown feature, until some technical issues
can be resolved.
Terms link is broken. It will be fixed shortly. We have also
removed the Countdown feature, until some technical issues
can be resolved.
04 September 2009
Focused on Tito, Randy, Jermaine and Marlon
Welcome to the new blog. Take a look around and tell us what you think.
We're off!
Item:
Are you ready for some football? The NFL season is about to begin and that means we can all rest in front of the television again on Sundays. Just like God did.
A few predictions:
Brett Favrvrvrere and Adrian Peterson notwithstanding, the Minnesota Vikings are still not going to make the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys' season will be determined in the first four weeks: if they are 3-1, look for a 13-win season; if they are 2-2, they'll go 8-8; if they are 1-3 or worse, it will be a very long season in Big A. Don't buy what Eric Mangini is selling. The Cleveland Browns coach claims that the quarterback competition between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn is still too close to call. Looks from here to be posturing to get a better deal when he trades the loser. Our money is on Quinn winning the job in Cleveland. San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers is going to be the MVP this season, Arizona Cardinals RB Beanie Wells, the Rookie of the Year. In fashion, the Lions have updated their look, maintaining the color scheme, adding a little more black and updating the logo a touch. The number font is not great, however. Is this a 51 or a 57? Still, overall not a bad update. The Jaguars though. Wow. The uniforms are bad enough with XFL-looking piping added to the jerseys. But the helmets! They use boat paint now that makes the helmets look black in some light and green in others. Eeek! Hands-down winner for this season's Fashion Award though has to be the San Francisco 49'ers, who ditched the red facemasks, uniform number shadows and all the other gimmicks and went old school. Great look.
As for the playoffs...
NFC
Philadelphia Eagles*
New York Giants
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons*
Arizona Cardinals
*-wild card
NFC Champion: Eagles over Giants
AFC
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins*
Pittsburgh Steelers
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans*
San Diego Chargers
AFC Champion: Chargers over Patriots
SUPER BOWL: San Diego Chargers over Philadelphia Eagles
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. We seem to be inundated these days with stories of women taking fertility drugs or undergoing in-vitro fertilization, then having litters of children. And while Octomom is certainly the epitome of irresponsibility, these few, highly-publicized instances cast a long shadow on every other couple turning to extraordinary measures in their effort to become parents. By its sheer nature, IVF is a numbers game -- the more embryos created and implanted, the better the chances of conception. But in the media's haste to blast multi-moms (while letting dads off the hook, by the way), they overlook a serious question: what happens to the leftover embryos? For a thoughtful, insightful examination of the issue, click on this link to a piece that appears on cnn.com, written by Laura Biel, of Parenting magazine.
~~~
Fare thee well, Teddy K, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us a barstool and a coed. Let her drive.
In the end, the youngest brother may end up having the longest-lasting effect on the nation. We've never been fond of Kennedys but, while we may not agree with all of his politics, we do respect the work the late senator put in. And now that we're older, we can only imagine what dude went through, having two brothers murdered and another killed at war. Hell, we'd drink too!
Can we say ultimate donkey payback: Senator Michael Dukakis?
~~~
Item:
At least we do one thing right in the United States. Former "Manson Family" member Susan Atkins, who stabbed actress Sharon Tate to death more than 40 years ago and is now terminally ill with brain cancer, has been denied parole. See how that works? You kill someone, you get locked up and never, ever, evereverever get out. Until you die. Perhaps Atkins should have gone on her killing spree in Scotland.
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“There is no monopoly of common sense on either side of the political fence."
--Sting, in Russians, 1985
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
With the internment finally occurring this week, we just had to go with this. Fare thee well, Mike.
~~~
Ridiculous Story That Actually Appeared in a Publication of the Week:
Here.
Which pretty much now guarantees we'll be proved wrong, and the story validated, any day now.
~~~
Idiot Criminal of the Week:
Anthony Miller, 39, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Here's why.
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
Bruce Springsteen
Tunnel of Love
1987
-Ain't Got You (2:11)
-Tougher Than the Rest (4:35)
-All That Heaven Will Allow (2:40)
-Spare Parts (3:45)
-Cautious Man (3:58)
-Walk Like a Man (3:45)
-Tunnel of Love (5:13)*
-Two Faces (3:03)
-Brilliant Disguise (4:17)*
-One Step Up (4:22)*
-When You're Alone (3:24)
-Valentine's Day (5:11)
* - singles
How do you follow up the Album of Your Life? This is the question that confronted Bruce Springsteen in 1987. Born in the USA was a defining moment not only in his career but in the music of a decade. What Thriller was to pop, Born was to rock. And the easy thing to do would be to crank out a Born in the USA II. But Bruce reversed course, disbanded the E Street Band and delivered a stripped down, at times even spartan collection of songs. It's a very personal collection, focused primarily on his crumbling first marriage and the vagaries of entering middle age. Where its predecessor was just flat-out, good-time rock and roll, this album is introspective, pensive and self-doubting.
The listeners' first exposure to the material was through the single Brilliant Disguise, released a few weeks before the album proper. The opening lyrics, "I hold you in my arms as the band plays", seem to indicate this album will be a lot like the last one. But by the end of the song, "Tonight our bed is cold; I'm lost in the darkness of our love; God have mercy on the man; Who doubts what he's sure of", it is readily apparent that the fun times are over.
This is essentially an album of stories and some of them are sweet, like the protagonist haggling with the bouncer at a bar, trying to get in, "because I have a date with All That Heaven Will Allow. There's Springsteen appearing to reference his relationship with his father, while recalling his wedding day in Walk Like a Man.
And some of the stories are heart-wrenching. Whether it's facing one's own demons in Two Faces or the proverbial "first time" on the title track, Springsteen leaves no heartstring unplucked, no emotion protected. Nowhere is this more evident than on a song which absolutely destroyed us when we first heard it. One Step Up is so simple, so beautiful -- so absolutely perfect a song that it transcends the artist and his music and actually places us inside the song when we hear it, and blows us away, to this day.
We didn't really get this album when it came out. We were 17 and the themes, while we understood them, just weren't relevant to us. We thought, "ok, yeah, you're marriage is in the shitter -- we get it". But this album was so much more than that. At 40, listening to this album again opens up an entire world we missed the first time around.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 5 (of 5)
Authorship: 4 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 1 (of 2)
First Blush: 1 (of 2)
Aging: 3 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 22
Stars: 4.4 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
Irony: ( n ) Matt Cassel spraining his MCL...big props to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff for approving the Jackson family's request that the Gloved One's estate be billed for all funeral-related expenses, to include police overtime...bigger props to the Jackson family for making the request...Let's hope whatever healthcare solution comes about is managed better than the bailouts that went to seven-figure bonuses and junkets, and Cash for Clunkers...Happy Birthday, internet, on 2 September, you turned 40! DJ Gallo of espn.com did a piece listing 40 ways the sports world has changed as a result of your birth. Here's the link...All we want to know about this last item is WHY?... And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
We're off!
Item:
Are you ready for some football? The NFL season is about to begin and that means we can all rest in front of the television again on Sundays. Just like God did.
A few predictions:
Brett Favrvrvrere and Adrian Peterson notwithstanding, the Minnesota Vikings are still not going to make the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys' season will be determined in the first four weeks: if they are 3-1, look for a 13-win season; if they are 2-2, they'll go 8-8; if they are 1-3 or worse, it will be a very long season in Big A. Don't buy what Eric Mangini is selling. The Cleveland Browns coach claims that the quarterback competition between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn is still too close to call. Looks from here to be posturing to get a better deal when he trades the loser. Our money is on Quinn winning the job in Cleveland. San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers is going to be the MVP this season, Arizona Cardinals RB Beanie Wells, the Rookie of the Year. In fashion, the Lions have updated their look, maintaining the color scheme, adding a little more black and updating the logo a touch. The number font is not great, however. Is this a 51 or a 57? Still, overall not a bad update. The Jaguars though. Wow. The uniforms are bad enough with XFL-looking piping added to the jerseys. But the helmets! They use boat paint now that makes the helmets look black in some light and green in others. Eeek! Hands-down winner for this season's Fashion Award though has to be the San Francisco 49'ers, who ditched the red facemasks, uniform number shadows and all the other gimmicks and went old school. Great look.
As for the playoffs...
NFC
Philadelphia Eagles*
New York Giants
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons*
Arizona Cardinals
*-wild card
NFC Champion: Eagles over Giants
AFC
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins*
Pittsburgh Steelers
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans*
San Diego Chargers
AFC Champion: Chargers over Patriots
SUPER BOWL: San Diego Chargers over Philadelphia Eagles
~~~
Item:
Here's some food for thought. We seem to be inundated these days with stories of women taking fertility drugs or undergoing in-vitro fertilization, then having litters of children. And while Octomom is certainly the epitome of irresponsibility, these few, highly-publicized instances cast a long shadow on every other couple turning to extraordinary measures in their effort to become parents. By its sheer nature, IVF is a numbers game -- the more embryos created and implanted, the better the chances of conception. But in the media's haste to blast multi-moms (while letting dads off the hook, by the way), they overlook a serious question: what happens to the leftover embryos? For a thoughtful, insightful examination of the issue, click on this link to a piece that appears on cnn.com, written by Laura Biel, of Parenting magazine.
~~~
Fare thee well, Teddy K, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us a barstool and a coed. Let her drive.
In the end, the youngest brother may end up having the longest-lasting effect on the nation. We've never been fond of Kennedys but, while we may not agree with all of his politics, we do respect the work the late senator put in. And now that we're older, we can only imagine what dude went through, having two brothers murdered and another killed at war. Hell, we'd drink too!
Can we say ultimate donkey payback: Senator Michael Dukakis?
~~~
Item:
At least we do one thing right in the United States. Former "Manson Family" member Susan Atkins, who stabbed actress Sharon Tate to death more than 40 years ago and is now terminally ill with brain cancer, has been denied parole. See how that works? You kill someone, you get locked up and never, ever, evereverever get out. Until you die. Perhaps Atkins should have gone on her killing spree in Scotland.
~~~
Quote of the Week:
“There is no monopoly of common sense on either side of the political fence."
--Sting, in Russians, 1985
~~~
Internet Video of the Week:
With the internment finally occurring this week, we just had to go with this. Fare thee well, Mike.
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Ridiculous Story That Actually Appeared in a Publication of the Week:
Here.
Which pretty much now guarantees we'll be proved wrong, and the story validated, any day now.
~~~
Idiot Criminal of the Week:
Anthony Miller, 39, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Here's why.
~~~
Vintage Album Review of the Week:
Bruce Springsteen
1987
-Ain't Got You (2:11)
-Tougher Than the Rest (4:35)
-All That Heaven Will Allow (2:40)
-Spare Parts (3:45)
-Cautious Man (3:58)
-Walk Like a Man (3:45)
-Tunnel of Love (5:13)*
-Two Faces (3:03)
-Brilliant Disguise (4:17)*
-One Step Up (4:22)*
-When You're Alone (3:24)
-Valentine's Day (5:11)
* - singles
How do you follow up the Album of Your Life? This is the question that confronted Bruce Springsteen in 1987. Born in the USA was a defining moment not only in his career but in the music of a decade. What Thriller was to pop, Born was to rock. And the easy thing to do would be to crank out a Born in the USA II. But Bruce reversed course, disbanded the E Street Band and delivered a stripped down, at times even spartan collection of songs. It's a very personal collection, focused primarily on his crumbling first marriage and the vagaries of entering middle age. Where its predecessor was just flat-out, good-time rock and roll, this album is introspective, pensive and self-doubting.
The listeners' first exposure to the material was through the single Brilliant Disguise, released a few weeks before the album proper. The opening lyrics, "I hold you in my arms as the band plays", seem to indicate this album will be a lot like the last one. But by the end of the song, "Tonight our bed is cold; I'm lost in the darkness of our love; God have mercy on the man; Who doubts what he's sure of", it is readily apparent that the fun times are over.
This is essentially an album of stories and some of them are sweet, like the protagonist haggling with the bouncer at a bar, trying to get in, "because I have a date with All That Heaven Will Allow. There's Springsteen appearing to reference his relationship with his father, while recalling his wedding day in Walk Like a Man.
And some of the stories are heart-wrenching. Whether it's facing one's own demons in Two Faces or the proverbial "first time" on the title track, Springsteen leaves no heartstring unplucked, no emotion protected. Nowhere is this more evident than on a song which absolutely destroyed us when we first heard it. One Step Up is so simple, so beautiful -- so absolutely perfect a song that it transcends the artist and his music and actually places us inside the song when we hear it, and blows us away, to this day.
We didn't really get this album when it came out. We were 17 and the themes, while we understood them, just weren't relevant to us. We thought, "ok, yeah, you're marriage is in the shitter -- we get it". But this album was so much more than that. At 40, listening to this album again opens up an entire world we missed the first time around.
Music: 4 (of 5)
Lyrics: 5 (of 5)
Authorship: 4 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 1 (of 2)
First Blush: 1 (of 2)
Aging: 3 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 22
Stars: 4.4 (of 5)
~~~
Parting shots:
Irony: ( n ) Matt Cassel spraining his MCL...big props to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff for approving the Jackson family's request that the Gloved One's estate be billed for all funeral-related expenses, to include police overtime...bigger props to the Jackson family for making the request...Let's hope whatever healthcare solution comes about is managed better than the bailouts that went to seven-figure bonuses and junkets, and Cash for Clunkers...Happy Birthday, internet, on 2 September, you turned 40! DJ Gallo of espn.com did a piece listing 40 ways the sports world has changed as a result of your birth. Here's the link...All we want to know about this last item is WHY?... And with that, we bid you adieu.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith
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