Wednesday, December 30, 2009

White on White

With the weather around here in East Central Illinois, the scenery is draped with white sky and white landscape showing grass stubble. Up in Iowa though there was no stubble to be had. And the white landscape was significantly deeper in white.

Here in Coles county we don't have near as much snow as the Cedar Valley has, but we went sledding yesterday. The snow around here isn't good packing snow yet. Last year we had enough to make a snowman, our first since one year in St. Louis a number of years back.

After visiting my mom in her rehab/assisted living facility, I'm thankful it looks like she'll be able to come home sometime in the near future after breaking her hip. It was a strange Xmas trip with us having to visit her at that place and not having Xmas eve at my old house.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Music Friday [Saturday]: "Zombie"

Maybe it's just the toy-induced hangover from Xmas, but this is a song I have rattling through my head this morning.

Click HERE for "Zombie."

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Wintry Mix and Counting Crows

The forecast for driving tomorrow doesn't look good. Weather.com provides the menacing "wintry mix" descriptor of what'll be like on the roads. Thank goodness it's all interstate from Chucktown to Waterloo.

But we'll be taking our time.

A friend from high school quoted a snippet of "Anna Begins" from the Counting Crows as one of her Facebook statuses (or stati?) today, which then turned me on to listening to August and Everything After.

That's a great album, and like Blind Melon's first album, August... reminds of a certain place and time (Kirksville and in particular the "Gin Mill"). Good times were had, people.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Music Friday: "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart"

Click HERE for a clip of Whiskeytown playing in St. Louis from over a decade ago.

Oh, and the video also features Beatle Bob.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Deja Vu All Over Again: Pac 10 Considering Expansion

Click HERE to read about how the Pac 10, like the Big 10, is considering expansion.

I wonder if Vegas odds-makers have lines on this stuff?

If the Pac 10 can persuade Colorado to switch conferences, I would expect TCU to be embraced by the Big 12.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Big Ten [11] to Expand to be the Big Ten [12]

As has been reported, it's time for the talk about expanding the Big 10 to begin again. It was probably about a decade ago when the conference courted Notre Dame, who simply said, "No thanks, we're making major money with NBC, fellas."

So I wonder if the Big 10 will try to seduce ND to become part of the conference again? Perhaps last go-round, Big 10 officials asked this question: "If we were the last conference on the earth, do we have a chance of you joining us?" to which Notre Dame replied with "Maybe." The Big 10 brass thought, "There's still a chance!"

Big 10 = Unrequited Lover

I imagine speculation is out there on who the Big Ten conference will court this time, and here are my so-called thoughts:
  • U of Pittsburgh: They expanded over to Happy Vallley, so why not the Land of Piroges?
  • U of Cincinnati: Since they've become a football power at present, this might make sense. However, I wonder how long that will last.
  • U of Louisville: This would be a serious expansion southward for the conference. Athletically the school is strong in both football and basketball. For U of L, a move from the Big East to the Big Ten is a no-brainer.
  • Boston College: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes ... you just might find ... you get what you need." This is a very strong academic school, and they're good in football. This would mess up the ACC, and Boston is long ways from Big 10 country though.
  • Iowa State: What if ISU jumps ship to the Big 10 and then TCU moves into the Big 12 where it should be? Pipe dreams, yes. But this makes lots of sense, people. I smell conspiracy and collusion.
So what do all of you sports fans think?

Who should the Big 10 seriously court?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Traveling Thoughts

As is usual on every Monday (gymnastics) and Thursday (dance), we trek over to Mattoon for Hannah to do her thing.

On the way over yesterday, Hannah informed me the Pocahontas is still alive today, that there are no more Native Americans but there are Indians, and that people came over and "took the Indians' world" a long, long time ago, "like when great grandpa was alive."

So I proceeded to play History Professor during the commute, but she was on to something about those "people" who came over and took over this world. They say "we" discovered America, but Europeans really just invaded it.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Music Friday: "Mississippi Snow"

Click HERE for a showing of Caroline Herring doing her thing.

I discovered her recently through the the annual music issue of The Oxford American.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Stay Positive: Winter is Here

It's funny that just Sunday I harvested the last few patches of lettuce in my garden. The outside leaves weren't so good because of the cold weather, but they're still good eating, folks. And the produce is better than the stuff you'd get at the grocery store. Organic, home-grown--all that stuff.

Nevertheless, wintery weather has hit east central Illinois, providing a crunchy mix produced by rain followed by sleet followed by a little bit of snow.

Of course, my kids, like most, love the stuff because they look forward to sledding. Hopefully the snow holds on for the weekend.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Jason Isbell Interview with Three Songs

For you fans of Jason Isbell, you can click HERE to get KDHX's website that provides an interview with him before he played at Off Broadway in St. Louis.

It's a short interview, and his performance of "The Blue," "Streetlights," and "Soldiers Get Strange" is solid.

It's just a poet and his guitar.

Thanks to Foz, a friend of Planned Obsolescence, for passing this along to me.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Florida--SEC Championship

What an outstanding performance yesterday. The Tide won its 22nd SEC Championship.

The Tide flat out out-muscled the Gators. While Alabama didn't get many sacks of Tebow and he had a couple of long runs, the defense, besides giving up a drive for a touchdown in the second quarter, limited the big plays of Florida and executed a solid game plan on pass rush. Whether you can sack Tebow or not, you don't go past him, and you simply try to keep him in the pocket since he's at his most dangerous outside of the pocket.

And McElroy simply outperformed Tebow, the chosen one of the media. McElroy played well with strong and accurate passes while the OLine did a great job for him and the Tide's trio of runners--Ingram, Richardson, and Upchurch (pictured above).

Ingram is back in the spotlight for the Heisman, and I hope he wins it. I, like some media types, think Suh from Nebraska deserves an invitation to the Downtown Athletic Club too. But Ingram amassed 189 yards of stats while Alabama had 490 yards of total offense against the defense that is statistically the best defense in college football.

After reading post-game comments from players, they felt that they just wore out the Gators' defense. And their D did look tired and beaten down, especially since the time of possession difference was 39:37 (Tide) to 20:23 (Gators).

Alabama played well in all phases of the game.

Roll Tide.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Music Friday: "Do the Evolution"

I got the recent Pearl Jam album, Backspacer, a while back, and I've enjoyed it. However, like most Pearl Jam albums, they take a while to grow on me.

In contrast, this song from Yield though hooked me right away.

Click HERE for the imaginative video of "Do the Evolution."

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

The Tide's performance in the Iron Bowl is one that doesn't inspire confidence about how they'll fare against Florida on Saturday.

But Alabama won behind the solid play of McElroy and Julio Jones in the fourth quarter. The Auburn defense held Ingram in check while both Richardson and Upchurch (pictured above after the game-winning touchdown) played well even though Auburn's DLine consistently created problems for Alabama's OLine.

However, Javier Arenas showed why he's one of the best return men in the country with his prolific punt and kickoff returns, and the Tide won. Statistics were on Auburn's side, but Alabama won through pluck and grit.

I wonder whether playing a cream puff the week before left a mental hangover for the team because the first quarter brought back memories of the horrific Sugar Bowl versus Utah. But besides Barron getting beaten badly on a stop-and-go route early in the third quarter, the D got it together after Auburn threw all kinds of reverses and trick plays at them.

Once again, the SEC Championship is the route to entering the BCS Championship. I hope the Tide plays much better in Atlanta.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Disney Post-Mortem

As is our fashion, when we visit the grandparents in Florida, we usually take in a Disney theme park or two.

Here are some random observations from this trip to Disney:
  • What is it with going to Disney that makes college football fans wear all of their gameday gear? I saw scads of LSU fans with their garb on along with Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. There was lots of double- and triple-dorking going on. For example: a guy wearing a Michigan jersey along with a hat; a dude wearing a strange camo-like sweat suit with LSU on the pants, jacket, and hat--all matching; and a fellow decked out in Georgia red and black. Less is more, people.
  • I'll say this again: tattoos don't age well.
  • I'm not being xenophobic here, but in America we tend to walk on the right side of the street like we drive our cars. Get with it, Europeans.
  • We destroy main streets across America, but then we create hokey facsimiles of them in theme parks? Is America, as Bill Bryson relates I'm a Stranger Here Myself, prone to celebrating things it destroys? Is American culture a Faux Culture?

Music Friday: "Gin and Juice"

To celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, I hereby present the Gourds' cover of "Gin and Juice."

Click HERE to watch them perform this hip-hop classic via the medium of bluegrass.

"Laid back ... with my mind on my money and my money on my mind."

Monday, November 23, 2009

Stay Positive: Looking at the Stats

I like it when people look at assumptions by examining raw data.

This is college football related, but if you read and listen to the pundits, Greg McElroy is doing a really poor job as Alabama's QB. McElroy has admitted that he had some rough games during the middle of the season, especially versus South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Well, the good folks at The Bama Sports Report examine this situation by comparing McElroy against the rest of the SEC QBs. Their analysis is quite revealing. Click HERE if you're interested.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Don't Call Me Warrior

The latest issue of Mother Jones interviews one of the best American writers out there, Sherman Alexie.

If you're interested, you can read the interview by clicking HERE.

His collection of short stories, Ten Little Indians, ranks as one of the best short collections in American literature, in my opinion. I look forward to reading War Dances.

Sunday Hangover: Tennessee-Chattanooga

I don't have much to say about this game since we're weren't home yesterday. I did get to catch the last ten minutes of the fourth quarter, however. I was happy to watch Roy Upchurch (pictured above) score a touchdown since he's a senior and he's battled injuries all his career at the Capstone.

After reading post-game interviews, examining the stats, and perusing some articles about what some folks would call a scrimmage instead of game, it sounds like Ingram had a solid game in limited action, and the Tide decided to get a lot of players involved in order to rest folks for the Iron Bowl, which is earlier this year--the Friday after Thanksgiving.

So Alabama travels to Auburn for its final regular season game. The Plainsmen/War Eagle People/Tigers would love to spoil the Tide's season. And they have solid athletes on their team; it's not like Tubberville left the cupboard bare. We'll see what happens.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Music Friday: "Belvedere"

Click HERE to watch a video from one of Patterson Hood's songs from his solo effort, Murdering Oscar.

Have a good weekend, folks.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Brief Tracks

I received a postcard in the mail today from Truman State University where I got both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

I was sad to see that one of my former professors passed away this year. Jim Thomas was a Professor of English at Truman for over thirty years, and students knew him well as a kick-ass raconteur and poet. On December 3rd, there will be a poetry reading in honor of him in the 'ville, and Truman State University Press has published a selection of his poems from his lifetime collection called Brief Tracks.

Thomas had a wicked sense of humor, and he loved to read his poetry in class. I took him for three classes: creative writing, American Realism & Naturalism, and a special topics course where we read the novels by John Updike and Toni Morrison (an odd pairing). One of my favorite short quips of his was that one of Dreiser's lesser known but great novels was A Canadian Tragedy. He turned me on to Updike, which led me to write my Master's thesis on Updike's four novels about Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom.

If you're interested in checking out Brief Tracks, click HERE.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Mississippi State


I got a fever. And the only prescription is less cowbell.

If you watched this game on ESPN last night, you might have noticed all that noise in the background. Yes, those were cowbells.

The Bulldogs came out strong in the first quarter, but the Crimson Tide D and offense did a fine job of silencing, well perhaps more like muffling, them since they're catalyzed by the play of the Bulldogs of Mississippi State.

I do have to say that Anthony Dixon, State's senior RB, is a load.

But the Alabama D played well, especially the two fellows featured above, safety Mark Barron (4) and cornerback Marquis Johnson (24). Barron had two interceptions while Johnson had one at the end of the game. And Johnson had some excellent pass breakups. And you can see Barron's vertical leaping ability after he had knocked the ball off course on one play. Since Kareem Jackson and Javy Arenas are the top two corners on the team, Johnson gets thrown at a lot, and he's been doing well under the heat. He needs to keep it up.

Ingram had yet another solid game, and McElroy had two long TD passes.

A game against the Tennessee-Chattanooga this Saturday, and then it's the Iron Bowl on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Music Friday: "Times Like These"

It's been a hell of a week. I won't bore you with the details.

But click HERE to enjoy the smooth musical stylings of Jack Johnson.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sunday Hangover: LSU

This game lived up to the hype. There was great defense, and both teams made big plays.

Thankfully, QB McElroy looked much better. The Crimson Tide offense started out by passing more than running. Although Coach Saban stated that the game plan was to begin the contest by passing more and doing so had nothing to do with getting the Alabama QB some confidence, I suspect the coaching staff wanted to get their QB off to a good start while showing LSU that, yes, Alabama can and will pass.

But there were missed opportunities. In the first half, McElroy failed to hit Maze on a long pass that no. 4 would have taken in for six, he missed a wide open Julio Jones for a score, and threw an interception to stop an impressive drive at the end of the second quarter.

Pundits and LSU lovers will cite the "incomplete" pass in the fourth quarter that wasn't overturned as some mass conspiracy. But with six minutes to go, no timeouts left, and their second string QB who is prone to throwing interceptions in the game, it's improbable that the Tigers would have overcome the seven point deficit. LSU would have had the pass a lot, and the Tide D would have eaten up that QB like it did last season.

And Ingram is one heck of running back--22 carries for 144 yards.

Total offense for Alabama: 452; total offense for LSU: 253.

The Tide has now won the SEC West with three regular season games to play: Mississippi State, the mighty Moccasins of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and finally Auburn at Auburn. The Tide needs to finish strong.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Tim O'Brien Reading

While I've only read two books by Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods, I was really impressed by both. My academic speciality is in Writing Studies and Rhetoric, but I like reading a good selection of short stories, a book of poetry, and even a novel from time to time even though most of what I typically read is non-fiction.

O'Brien was at EIU for the annual James Jones Lecture, and he was impressive.

Since the lecture is associated with the James Jones Literary Society and that Chairship in WWII Studies shared by the English and History departments here, much of what he talked about was war-related. He talked a great deal about one of his stories in The Things They Carried where a young man who is going to be drafted spends a week in International Falls, MN contemplating going over the border to Canada.

The salient message of his talk was the power of the story to approximate the complexity and truths of our lives but to also be wary of those profess to know the "truth."

That message is one that doesn't necessarily have to relate to fiction writing, but our lives.

Music Friday: "Mount Marcy"

I can't remember exactly how I came across this band. I suspect I happened upon them while I was surfing the InterWebs. Or maybe from some magazine? But I recently purchased The Orion Songbook by Frontier Ruckus (great name).

If I remember correctly, they're from the Detroit area, and they have this folky, quasi-bluegrass sound with trumpet added. The lead singer's voice takes a while to get used to. Fair warning.

Click HERE if you want to watch them perform on a porch somewhere in Portland, Maine.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Bye Week

While the Crimson Tide got some much needed rest this weekend, I still watched some games on Saturday.

I enjoyed the Oregon Ducks giving the USC Trojans a beat-down in Eugene. The offense of the Ducks is powerful and diverse. Wow. Whoever has the misfortune of getting them in a bowl game is going to get clocked. They made the USC D look like a tattered collection of two-bit chumps.

The Gamecocks losing to Tennessee was disappointing, but when a team has that many turnovers, it's hard to win the game. Regardless, no matter how you might feel about Tiffin, I look for Tennessee to be a force next year, especially with Tebow gone (finally) and Georgia trying to learn how to play defense.

In other bad news, the Ole Miss Rebels got their butts kicked by Auburn.

And if you're interested in why Florida's LB Brandon Spikes should be suspended for a game, click HERE.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Music Friday: "Outfit"

Click HERE for a fine song by the songsmith Jason Isbell.

I'm getting psyched about seeing him perform at Off Broadway.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Stay Positive: Learning How to Read


Since Hannah has started reading, she likes to test her skills on a tough but usually attentive audience.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Tennessee


This game shouldn't have been this close. If Ingram doesn't get the ball ripped out late in the fourth quarter, then there's no probably no touchdown by the Vols and no onside kick foolishness.

But Alabama almost lost this game because they didn't put away Tennessee when they had multiple chances. The Tennessee defense is good, but the Tide offense was lethargic. With LSU playing much better offensively and Mississppi State playing surprisingly well, the Tide offense needs to get it together soon, so the off week comes at the right time. I hope McElroy can return to throwing the ball like he was earlier this season, and maybe receivers can catch some of those contested passes and footballs that seem to be bouncing off their hands. While TE Peek not playing yesterday kept Alabama's leading receiver on the bench, receivers were open yesterday, and McElroy didn't hit them. And then some receivers ran sloppy routes.

But two guys came through in special teams. Terrence "Mt." Cody is getting all the press coverage for the two blocks in the game. However, Leigh Tiffin hit field goals from 22, 38, 49, and 50 yards.

The Crimson Tide, as a whole, looked like a tired team yesterday. With LSU next at home, we'll need the time to get the offense back into shape.

An ugly win is a win. But the Tide offense should play better than they have the past three games. If the offense doesn't get more dynamic and effective and if the D can't play better on third downs, we don't win the West.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Music Friday: "Hey, Good Lookin'"

Click HERE for Hank doing his thing.

When I was a kid, my mom always enjoyed singing this song. For a long time, I thought it was some song from the Big Band era, but then I discovered later on it was Hank Williams.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Band Blogs

If you aren't a fan of Jason Isbell, you should be. He's put out two solid solo albums after he left the Drive-By Truckers.

He's playing at Off Broadway in November (maybe on a Wednesday), and I'm seriously thinking of driving over to see the show even though I'll get back to Chucktown until very late.

He recently started up a blog ("Trythespecial"), which I've linked on my "Recommended Blogs." And another great band, Son Volt, has had a blog for while that's written by the drummer.

Good stuff people.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Trying to Stay Positive: Asian Lady Beetles


With recent nice weather surging here in central Illinois, so surface the Asian Lady Beetles.

They look like ladybugs, but they stink. Biologists will tell you that they're good at killing aphids, the nemesis to many a garden. But they invade our homes, they stain when squashed, and God do they stink. My Dust Buster is getting a workout.

I'm trying to stay positive. I'm trying.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday Hangover: South Carolina


When your team's no. 1 running back rushes for 246 yards in game, you would expect it to be a blowout. But this game wasn't. Alabama won hard fought 20-6 game over a very stout pass defense.

On the decisive drive toward the end of the game, Ingram took the direct snap five consecutive times. And then to finish off the drive, he took a quick pitch and drove into the end zone. He accounted for all 68 yards on the drive and didn't come out of the game. Alabama lined up in the wildcat, and pretty much said to South Carolina, "We're going to run no. 22. Try to stop him." And they didn't.

The Alabama D was constantly relied upon to stop the Gamecocks, who had a short field to work with way too many times. With CB Javy Arenas out for the game, the D enlisted the help of the often-maligned Marquis Johnson to cover S Carolina's best WR. He played well. Even his pass interference penalty during the first half was a smart play.

The major concern of any Tide fan right now is to get consistent play from QB McElroy. He started out very well this season, but the last two games he has been lackluster at best. During this game, he was very lucky not to have thrown more interceptions. The Gamecocks' D got halfway decent pressure, but McElroy looked out of rhythm and sometimes seemed like he was throwing scared. This is not good. We need to see the GMac who came alive during the second half of the Virginia Tech game.

In more negative news, the kickoff coverage stunk ... again. And this game the majority of penalties against the Tide were on kickoffs or punts. WTF?

Up next is Tennessee, and I don't feel good about that game. If providing a beat-down to UGA was a big deal to the Vol faithful, then a win over the Tide would make Tiffin's season.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Music Friday: "Human Wheels"

Click HERE for one of Mellencamp's lesser known hits, which is probably one of his better songs.

This land today, shall draw its last breath
And take into its ancient depths
This frail reminder of its giant, dreaming self.
While I, with human-hindered eyes
Unequal to the sweeping curve of life
Stand on this single print of time.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Tabletop Ms. Pac Man


Since I'm usually looking to burn time when my daughter is at her two-hour gymnastics practice, my son and I stopped by the original Burger King in Mattoon after some grocery shopping.

It's a an old fashioned burger joint, with customers getting numbers and numbers being called for burgers, shakes, and fries. It's a Steak-n-Shake type of establishment but family owned.

With dated decor and booths--I'm guessing early 80s--I discovered something I haven't seen in years: a tabletop Ms. Pac Man. It was not as pretty and fresh as the combo Ms. Pac Man/Galaga tabletop shown above, however.

It was vintage; the screen noted 1981. It had also see its fair share of use for the past 28 years.

I remember being told that video game enthusiasts enjoyed Ms. Pac Man more than Pac Man. I never understood the reasoning why. Anyone know? Is it because of the cute pink bow?

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Ole Miss


Well, the season-long streak of scoring 30 or more is over because the Tide didn't convert its chances in the red zone into touchdowns. Instead, Tiffin kicked five flippin' field goals.

But after about the first quarter, this game was sort of watching a character on The Sopranos "getting taken care of," and you, the audience member, knew it was going to happen. You didn't know the exact plot line, but you had some educated guesses.

The plot turned out to be written by the Tide defense. In contrast to the Kentucky game, the Tide D shut down the run for the most part, and while they didn't sack Snead, the Rebels' QB, he was hurried and discombobulated all afternoon. Two of his picks weren't his fault, but the fault of his receivers. But the Alabama D played a ball-hawking style of defense--Jackson made an outstanding pick.

A season-long negative theme surfaced in this game though. The kickoff coverage stunk in spots. I'm still waiting for this aspect of special teams to improve. Still waiting...

And McElroy, while efficient for the most part, locked on Julio Jones too much. Other receivers were open when no. 8 was double-covered.

One of the ESPN or CBS pundits yesterday started talking about Tide RB, Mark Ingram, for Heisman. He's a serious longshot, but he has the stats to back up a bid.

Regardless, I hope to watch an improved Tide offense next week--better pass blocking, better passing game--and stronger play from special teams.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Music Friday: "Home"

I had never heard of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros until I saw the band's performance on Letterman--click HERE.

They remind of another mass ensemble band I saw in Baldwin Auditorium, Poi Dog Pondering.

These folks give out a neo-hippie, crunchy, granolish vibe. The CD is pretty decent, and "Home" will stick in your head once you hear it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Stay Positive: College Love

As I was taking my son for a bike ride on Sunday, I saw love in college form.

We drove down 4th Street past campus and the Panther Paw where the apartment ghettos begin. And that's where I saw a couple walking down the sidewalk and holding hands. The dude was on the left, and young lady was on the right. In right hand she held a very nice looking beer bong--white funnel, forest green transparent tubing, with some type of lock system to keep the tubing wound.

That dude has found a keeper.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Kentucky


In the history of Alabama football, the Tide has only lost to the Wildcats twice. I'm pretty sure that's the right figure. The last time it happened was when Tim Couch was the UK QB. They tore down the goal posts at Commonwealth Stadium that night. Lots of bourbon was drank.

That wasn't the case Saturday with a balanced Tide offense and strong defense.

In comparison to last game versus the Razorbacks, the running game looked better. RB Ingram had yet another solid game, yet frosh Richardson struggled. The OLine pass-blocked well, with McElroy maybe taking one sack. And the Tide QB played well. One poster on the Tide website I'm a member of compared McElroy to Danny White, the solid but not flashy QB of the Dallas Cowboys way back when. And that comparison makes sense to me for now.

The D gave up a big passing play for a touchdown, but it was a great pass and catch on the part of Wildcats. I'm still concerned about our run defense since Kentucky broke some good runs against the good guys, and I don't like that.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Music Friday: "This Ol' Wheel"

Click HERE to watch Shooter Jennings perform one the tracks from his album, The Wolf.

Currently he's touring with J. J. Grey and Mofro. That twin bill kicks butt.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Stay Positive: Scooby-Doo


One of the many great things about having kids is that you get to revisit old cartoons you used to watch when you were a kid.

And my kids are passionate about one of my favorite cartoons from childhood--Scooby-Doo. My son especially loves that Great Dane. You can still see the old episodes on Cartoon Network with their crude animation and wonderfully dated music. Those were good times, people.

And I always had a thing for Daphne.

'Rover here!

Monday, September 28, 2009

The "Wildcat" Formation

People act like this "wildcat" formation is some new thing. It isn't.

Alabama used David "The Deuce" Palmer in that way during his playing days for the Crimson Tide. And, heck, I remember the Tide using Freddie Milons to take direct snaps from center too.

And I would venture a guess that other football coaches have used skilled players besides the QB to take direct snaps even before Milons' playing days.

Click HERE for various highlights of the Deuce.

And click HERE for Milons' famous run in the '99 SEC Championship Game vs. Florida.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Arkansas

Because of a thunderstorm that took out our home's power, I didn't get to watch all of the game; I only got to watch most of the first quarter, a good portion of the third, and all of the fourth. That was annoying, but the positive effect is that I didn't have the displeasure of watching the Razorbacks score.

Regardless, the Tide played a solid game defensively by harassing the much lauded Mallet and the trio of solid sophomore receivers.

The O played well too, especially in the passing game since Arkansas sold out to stop the run by regularly putting eight in the box. As a result, McElroy had a record-setting game for his career so far--almost 300 yards passing and three touchdowns.

I was disappointed with the run game though. While the DLine played solidly, the OLine didn't look as strong in the running game. That is probably a basic result of how the Hogs implemented their defensive scheme, but the run blocking is still a concern in my eyes.

The worst part of this game was Hightower, the talented sophomore LB, getting hurt. It's a knee injury, and he'll be out the rest of the year.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Music Friday: "Silver Rocket

Click HERE to watch a video of a song from one of the best albums from the 80s, Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Stay Positive: Psychological Research on Moral Grounding

I like it when people in one camp don't buy their side's propaganda.

I recently read an article in Utne titled "Liberals Aren't Un-American. Conservatives Aren't Ignorant." The writer of the article focuses on the work Jonathan Haidt, a Psychology Professor at the U of Virginia, and his work in trying to make people see political viewpoints from moral and diverse perspectives.

What he's hitting on is what I've learned from studying classical rhetoric and teaching argument-based writing over the years. People can have the same data, the same info, the same examples, and they will argue about a problem or proposed solution because they have very different beliefs and assumptions, what the Greek rhetoricians called pathos.

As the author states that Haidt's quest is to "help people overcome morally motivated misunderstandings." Although the professor is a self-proclaimed liberal atheist, he has this to say about our strange and limited liberal-conservative dichotomy: "I do believe if liberals ran the whole world, it would fall apart. But if conservatives ran the whole world, it would be so restrictive and uncreative that it would be rather unpleasant, too."

You should note, however, that recent psychological research has found that the old saw about young people being liberal and then turning conservative later in life is pretty much bs. As Winograd and Hais, authors of Millenial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics, assert, "most people rarely change the fundamental patterns of perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes they learn when they are growing up."

Haidt has a couple of websites too: CivilPolitics.org and YourMorals.org. The second site offers a battery of quizzes that are pretty interesting. I took a few, and my answers tended toward my liberal-leaning brethren, but I'm more like conservatives in my valuing of authority and loyalty.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Sunday Hangover: North Texas


The guy you see above is the second string QB for Alabama, Star Jackson. He played a lot yesterday.

Besides a fumble caused by the LT getting beat on the first snap of the game and a couple of defensive breakdowns, the Tide dominated (53-7), so much so that Jackson ran the two-minute offense at the end of the first half. McElroy played in the first series of the second half, but after then fans got to see a lot of Star Jackson at QB and Terry Grant at RB.

Up next are the Razorbacks, who bring a potent passing offense to T-Town. The Tide D needs to be ready.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Music Friday: "Dylan's Hard Rain"

Click HERE to listen to a slowed-down acoustic version of Ryan Bingham singing "Dylan's Hard Rain."

Have a good weekend, folks.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Stay Positive: Alison Krauss

I'm sure I've said or written this before, but if there is a God and if there are angels, their voices sound like Alison Krauss.

That's all I've got.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Florida International



A 40 to 14 win looks like a game that Alabama dominated, which they did. However, I'm sure Coach Saban would say that the team has a lot to work on.

In the first half, the defense gave up some big plays in the passing game and gave up a long kickoff return for a touchdown ... again. That happened last Saturday too. I will say that FIU has two WRs that are really good--T. Y. Hilton, a guy who might play on Sundays in two years, and a taller receiver who seemed to have glue on his hands.

But for the second week in a row, the Tide turned it on in the second half with a dominating defense. There were no points scored on them in the second half even though FIU sometimes had a short field to work with since the kickoff team pooched some kicks to negate Hilton.

Tide fans got to see the highly touted freshman RB, Trent Richardson, tote the rock during the game, and he was impressive: 119 yards on 15 carries and two TDs. With Ingram playing but not at 100% because he was still recovering from the flu and Upchurch out with an injury that is not clear, both Richardson and Terry Grant got opportunities to showcase their skills.

And because Julio Jones bruised his knee, senior Mike McCoy stepped up with a 100 yard receiving game. The junior QB McElroy had a solid game, and pass protection for the most part was quite good. The backs picked up blitzes well, and I can only remember McElroy throwing one shaky pass.

The Tide faces North Texas next Saturday. I suspect the theme for the D this week will be making sure you're mentally focused.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Stay Positive: Pickling

Ok, so I'm late again dear readers. But with all the stuff I had going on yesterday, this weekly post just kind of slipped my mind, which makes me ponder whether I need to drop Wednesday from the title like I did with this post.

Nonetheless, with a garden kicking out produce all summer, a man turns to pickling. And I think I'm getting better at it. This summer I bought a bunch of pickling cucumbers at the Charleston Farmer's Market, but mostly I've been pickling okra. Lots of it. And the other day I was so tired of eating my cherry tomatoes that I pickled a pint of them too. We'll see how that experiment turns out.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Illini Post Mortem

Well, I was surprised by the beat-down Mizzou put on Illinois on Saturday, but it sounds as though Gabbert is replacing Daniel quite nicely. He's certainly taller. I don't know if he'll be better. But I'll leave such an evaluation to those who watch Mizzou on a regular basis.

Nonetheless, click HERE if you'd enjoy reading a sports column that tries to understand the nonsense coming out of Champaign-Urbana.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sunday Hangover: Virginia Tech


498 to 155--that contrast of numbers shows how the Tide dominated the Hokies last night. But that statistical dominance didn't translate to final point total dominance until the fourth quarter rolled around.

With the Alabama offense given a short field and unable to convert on third downs early on, they settled for field goal tries in the first half while Beamer ball happened when the VT kick returner ran for a 98-yard score.

The Tide D was stout and swarming with the exception of about three plays. When VT was in third and long situations, white shirts swarmed Tyrod Taylor and made him look like an inexperienced QB.

During the first three quarters, the Alabama offense featured its own inexperienced QB, Greg McElroy, who withstood the onslaught of a very good Hokie D. After finally getting past locking on no. 8, he found other receivers--Hanks, Maze, and Peek-- to catch the pill. In fact, I think Peek, if he stays healthy, could be a primary receiver for this team like they used the two senior TEs last season.

The big difference was that the offensive line, which had three new starters, began to gel at the end of the game, so the running attack figured prominently with Ingram and Upchurch bringing some pain for Hokie fans.

So it's two straight seasons starting out with a win in Atlanta against an ACC foe. And it's time to move one to face Florida International on Saturday.

Click HERE if you're interested in a Hokie's view of the game.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Music Friday: "Rock of Ages"

Click HERE for a video that brings up memories of junior high school for me.

Van Halen was my favorite band back then, but Def Leppard's Pyromania album rocked.

"What do you want?
I want rock and roll."

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Opening Week

It's finally here, people. Tomorrow college football begins with South Carolina taking on the NC State Wolfpack, and, heck, EIU takes on IL State in the Prairie State Rivalry game. I'm sure there might be some other games on Thursday, but those are the ones of particular note for me.

Most of the games during Week 1 of college football pit the big programs against the lesser ones, with the small or "developing" programs reaping some financial rewards from the arrangement. But there should be some good ones this week:
Georgia at Oklahoma State,
Miami at Florida State (Monday),
Minnesota at Syracuse,
Illinois vs. Mizzou,
Oklahoma at BYU,
Oregeon at Boise State,
and of course Alabama vs. Virginia Tech.

I'm picking the Hokies to win, but I'd like to be proven wrong.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Sickening

If you want to read about a sickening "father," click HERE. This guy deserves more time than he'll likely receive.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Music Friday: "Feel Free"

Click HERE for a Jay Farrar classic. This song drips with dark irony.

This is tune I featured early on when I started blogging. If you want to read the lyrics, click HERE.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Parent Volunteering

Today I began my adventure as a parent volunteer at my daughter's kindergarten. Almost every Thursday morning from 10:15-11:10 I'll be helping out in Mrs. J's class. The students at that time are put into small groups and they rotate learning stations a couple of times.

The theme early on in Hannah's class has been bugs, so I got to hear some songs about those critters, especially a tune about the three main parts of insects: head, thorax, and abdomen. The singing made me finally realize why so few men take jobs as elementary school teachers. Could it be because singing seems to be the m.o. in the early grades?

Regardless, I was impressed by Hannah's teacher, an educator who gracefully balances too many kids in a class, attends to students' individual needs, trucks in positive reinforcement, and crafts lesson plans that connect to varied learning styles and forms of intelligence.

After learning time was done, it was lunchtime, so I paid two dollars and change to eat an industrial beef-n-bean burrito, pallid peas, and chocolate milk. I also got reacquainted with the spork, a utensil that wasn't helpful against that burrito.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Silence

Amidst the cacophony of our world, silence is hard to come by.

After a hard day at work, kids who don't want to go to bed, and some late night work to be finished, silence is solace.

Silence provides a counterweight to the chaos of our lives.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Coffee

I sure wish Coffee would have stayed for his senior year for Alabama, but it seems possible that he made a good business decision.

For a short video of his Week 2 work against the Raiders, click HERE.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Chicken Breasts with Aromatics

I made a pretty decent chicken dish tonight. The ingredients and directions are below.

3 chicken breasts
3 medium size carrots, cut into thin medallions
1 yellow onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 bell pepper, cut into half-inch slivers
3 cloves of garlic, cut thinly
Roughly a pint of chicken stock
Enough Cajun seasoning to coat chicken breast
1 teaspoon Boquet Garni
Cracked black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Olive oil for searing

I sprinkled the breasts with the Cajun seasoning and seared them on both sides on medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet. After both sides were seared properly, I put the skillet into the oven on 375 degrees until the internal temp of the breasts was 185. Once the breasts were done, I set them on the cutting board.

I used chicken stock to deglaze the skillet by using a large wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan. I added the carrots, onion, garlic, bell pepper, Boquet Garni, salt, and black pepper and cooked that combo [medium-high heat] until the carrots were about fork tender. In the meantime, I cut the breasts into slivers and placed them back into the pan to soak up the stock and juicy goodness of the aromatics. After about five minutes, it was ready.

Music Friday: "Left of the Dial" & "Alex Chilton"

Click HERE to watch The Replacements play a couple of their classic tunes. They were a great band although excessive partying did them in.

I saw them in concert back in high school down in Cedar Rapids in some older theatre that I had never heard of and certainly can't recall now.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Setting the Record Straight...

Click HERE and enjoy.

Or for a non-partisan take on all the crud out there, click HERE for "Seven Falsehoods about Health Care" by factcheck.org.



Stay Positive Wednesday: Rediscovering Bands You Used to Listen To



Shortly after earning my Master's in English and working for a horrible salary as an Admission Counselor based out of the Kansas City area, I sold a bunch of CDs for some quick cash. If I remember correctly, I sold between twenty or thirty CDs that I thought I would never listen to again. I was wrong, and I've been rediscovering old bands lately.

The unloading of discs back in '95 let go of music from assorted bands and musicians of the "alternative" variety. Recently I've rediscovered The Jayhawks, a great band that garnered some attention with songs like "Waiting for the Sun" and "Settled Down Like Rain," tunes that received a heavy rotation on Mtv back when that station actually played videos.

So here's to discovering old bands you used to listen to. I'm pleased to meet me.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Deep Thoughts from the Road

The boy and I went up to Iowa to visit my parents, and we got back this evening. While I had to deal with some heavy rain on the way up and a severe thunderstorm today on the way back down, I had plenty of time to let my mind wander. Here a some notes from the road.

I spent a little time at the beach and some quality time at the public pool this summer, and I've come to this solid conclusion through the powers of induction: tatoos don't age well.

I saw a wind turbine blade getting hauled by a semi. Those things are huge.

Most talk radio programs truck in self-aggrandizing or ill-informed bluster along with truthiness-inspired rants.

If you listen to people who follow the Cubs or tap into the collective unconscious of Cubs fans, the Cardinals really have to mess up royally not to win the Central.

Driving with with the radio on scan (I'm too cheap to fix the CD player) is like musical Russian roulette. Sometimes you find some good stuff, such as The Who and Led Zeppelin and Metallica and newer tunes, or you hit upon the bad stuff of Phil Collins, Bananarama, and Toby Keith. After the deluge at Bloomington-Normal, I turned off the radio and passively listened to Cars as Quinn watched the movie in back.

Ka-chow!

I was slowed from time to time from road work on the interstate brought to us by the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Damn you Obama! How dare you provide money to the states to repair our country's crumbling roads. I need to shout at my elected officials about this. It's socialism, I tell you, socialism!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Music Friday: "Fight Like a Brave"

If you're interested in watching a vintage music video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, circa 1987, click HERE.

For a long time, the Peppers were one of my favorites bands, with great albums like their self-titled release, Freaky Styley, Mother's Milk, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

But I never got around to listening to their later stuff. Anyone listen to them, and how is their relatively newer stuff?

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday[Th]: Kids Imitating Parents

What you're looking at is one of Quinn's attempts to stare a person down. He feigns a look of extreme disappointment and anger, a move he's learned from his parents.

Lately he's been pretty good at telling his mom or dad to "Go away!" and "Go timeout" while crossing his arms in an adult manner when he doesn't like what we're doing or doesn't like what we've told him.

It's cute right now (see, I'm staying positive), but it might get a little old in certain situations. Regardless, it's pretty funny.

1st Day of Kindergarten





Today was Hannah's first day of kindergarten.

Does anyone know a word--English or another language--that describes feeling a mixture of sadness and excitement? That's how I feel.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Think Globally, Drink Locally

Click HERE if you're interested in reading a blog post about the reasons why it's a good idea to drink locally brewed beer. I did just that when we were in South Carolina since I imbibed in some beers by the Palmetto Brewing Company.

The blogger, a guy from Indy, references two solid microbreweries: Schlafly and Market Street Brewery (Nashville).

But the one counter-argument I have with him is that many folks also like some of the mass-produced brews, such as how I have been known, on occasion, to enjoy a Schlitz, PBR, or Old Style. While I can be a bit of a beer snob and also think true beer drinkers should test their palates with local craft brews, some occasions warrant a corporate brew but hopefully not some behemoth's beer-flavored water.

And when you're hankering for some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or a Sam Adams Boston Lager or an Abita Turbo Dog, I say drink it, man, drink it. Sure, it changed a bit during the trip to you, but it's still good stuff.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Texting

As I was driving my daughter back from swim class, I saw a teenager riding a bike. The dude was texting while riding a bike.

I'm not a fan of texting because I don't like talking or messing with a phone in the first place. Hell, it took some serious persuasion to make me get a cell phone. But this penchant for texting while driving (a bike or even worse a car) is not good. It's not good at all.

I've heard about bills in Illinois and other states that will ban texting while driving, but I doubt the legislators have thought about the law covering bicycles or golf carts or horses or clown cars.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Music Friday: "Don't You Forget about Me"

As you might have guessed, with the death of John Hughes, this Music Friday is devoted to the iconic song associated with one of his most famous movies, The Breakfast Club, a movie I remember watching many times in high school.

Click HERE for the video.

It's mostly based on nostalgia, but I still like that movie along with one of my all time favorites, Sixteen Candles.

It's hard to forget the Donger. And Molly Ringwold and Anthony Michael Hall were great.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Thoughts on Our Trip to Edisto Island

It was a nice trip for a few days down to South Carolina to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. My in-laws graciously let us use their points for their time-share with Wyndham, and it was nice to be back in the South for the change although some people (in particular, Chicagoans) would argue that our five years in St. Louis were spent in the South.

Regardless, once we stepped off the plane we had the humidity of the deep South smack us in the face. I thought this: "Oh yeah, I remember this."

While the town is technically called Edisto Island, it's not like you have to take a ferry or bridge to it since the area is South Carolina "lowcountry." In the case of Edisto, you can buy houses with "marshfront" property since one side of the town is situated on the Intercoastal Waterway, and the other side of the town faces the beach.

If you ever want to take a vacation to a place that is more of a regional vacation spot--it seemed like mostly people from the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia frequent there--it's a great place, no Myrtle Beach stuff.

If we ever go again, I'm sure we'll take the kids and also check out Charleston.

Stay Positive Wednesday: Online Rating Systems

As much as I think the value of the internet and the Web gets overblown sometimes, online rating systems for products that consumers have purchased on various websites are very, very helpful.

We plan to shop for a new refrigerator this weekend, and trolling various store's websites has been helpful for find out how other people like or extremely dislike their purchases. Armed with Consumer Reports and people's personal experiences, we hope to make a good decision.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Makeshift Gazpacho

The big tomatoes in my garden are beginning to ripen, and they'll continue to do so as long as I can rig the plant so it stays upright.

So I made some this cold soup by picking and choosing ingredients and methods from recipes from the Food Network website. Most recipes call for tomato juice, but I forgot that item when I went to the store. Instead, I used low sodium V-8.

Here are the ingredients:
3 large-style tomatoes (I used a large, medium, and small size of a tomato similar to Better Boy or Big Boy) peeled and diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 bunch of green onion chopped
1 lime forked for its juice
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
1/2 of a red onion diced
1 small bunch of cilantro (maybe 3 tablespoons) chopped
1 small bunch of sweet basil chopped
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 12 oz. cans of low sodium V-8
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1-2 refined sugar

I put all of the ingredients in a big mixing bowl and used an immersion blender, one of the best kitchen gadgets out there, to blend it all together.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Belated Music Friday: "Ain't Life Grand"

Ok, I'm late. But I have a good excuse. Last Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary, and as I stated in my previous post we went down to Edisto Island, South Carolina.

It was a great time: slept in every day, went to the beach, ate fresh seafood, and kayaked on the "Sound" and in Mud Creek with dolphins.

I was lucky enough to discover a very good radio station as we tooled around the area in our rental car. The station is 105.5 "The Bridge," and it comes out of Charleston. They play tunes from Patterson Hood to Tom Petty, from up-and-coming bands to classic rock, from blues to soul, from jam bands to alt-country.

Click HERE to watch Widespread Panic perform one of the tunes we heard on that station while driving around.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Naps

Probably like a lot of people, when I was a kid I hated naps. I rebelled against the concept of nap time and rarely took one.

Now I love them, even the five-minute power nap.

Mrs. Nasty and I are going on trip for our 10th anniversary tonight, sans the Nasty kids. So in between sightseeing and eating good grub in Edisto Island, SC, we plan to take some naps and sleep in. It's going to be great.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Up To Speed

The Sierra Club has an interesting compedium of environmentally and politically related stats and factoids from the last two months on its website. Click HERE if you're interested.

In other factoid/stats related matters, here are some interesting tidbits from the August "Harper's Index":
Number of Louisiana towns the porn star Stormy Daniels has visited on her "listening tour" for a possible Senate run: 5

Projected percentage change by 2050 in the amount of mercury in the Pacific Ocean: +33

Estimated number of cars that it takes to produce as much CO2 as a single large cargo ship: 10,000

Projected percentage change in worldwide electricity usage this year: -3.5

Percentage by which moderate Internet surfers are more productive in thier jobs than non-surfers: 9

Estimated percentage of all existing blogs that have not been updated in four months: 94

Don't fear, dear readers, I plan to keep on keeping on with this humble little blog. I am part of the six percent, and I plan to keep you all being productive.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Music Friday: "Mercy, Mercy Me"

Click HERE for a classic from Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On album, one of my top twenty favorite albums.

The person who made this video has a green agenda, one I like.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Homebrew

I write this post as I have wort boiling. I'm making an extra pale ale for the end of summer.

Homebrewing is something I've enjoyed for quite some time. A shout out to Aaron is necessary since he was the person who initially taught me the process and got me hooked.

The craft beer and microbrewery scene exploded in the 90s, but at one time homebrewing was one of the best ways to drink more full-bodied beers unless you lived in a large metro area. And it was cheaper. There's always that.

But one of the greatest aspects of homebrewing is pride. You made beer. Those of us tired of the insipid Duffs clogging up the marketplace reveled in heavier beers. And we still do.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Where You Fit on the Political Map

Click HERE if you're interested in taking a very short quiz about your political leanings. A dedicated reader of the blog passed this along to me, and it's a pretty good little quiz.

As some of you readers might imagine, here is my result: Liberal

My personal issues score was 80%, and my economic issues score was 0%.

This is how the makers of the quiz define liberal: "Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant governmental control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded 'safety net' to help the disadvantaged, [unnecessary comma] and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles."

One of my favorite online quizzes of all time is the Famous Leader Test. If you take the 45 question test it's supposed to be the most accurate. My result came up as Einstein, but I know folks whose results are Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Gandhi, and Saddam.

Click HERE to take the test. I'd be interested to see what famous leader you're similar to if you're inclined to post your result.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

McElroy

While I'm still skeptical about what type of play the Crimson Tide will get from the QB position, I recently read an article that is making me cautiously optimistic.

Apparently, Greg McElroy did quite well at the annual Manning Passing Academy down in Louisiana.

While I'm not ready to drink the Kool-Aid just yet on his talent and poise as the starting QB for my beloved Crimson Tide this season, this article makes it sound like McElroy will be an improvement from Wilson.

We'll see.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Music Friday: "Can't Turn You Loose"

Click HERE to watch a vintage performance of Otis Redding, a fellow I consider to the be one of the best R&B artists in music history.

Even if you don't enjoy his music that much, you might enjoy checking out the trio of dancers who are gyrating--60s style.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Newton, Iowa

Once Whirlpool took over Maytag a few years ago, it didn't look good for Newton, Iowa, a town that had an economy almost entirely dependent on one company.

Once the factories were shuttered and some of the now Whirlpool jobs transferred to Michigan (and probably elsewhere), the town hit rock bottom but stayed positive in gripping unemployment and crappy prospects.

As you can read about by clicking HERE in Audubon magazine, Newton is attracting "green collar" jobs and now has three separate companies employing its skilled workforce. The three companies don't fully make up for all of the lost Maytag jobs, but there are really positive developments.

So here's to a one-company town remaking itself.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

"Great For Cooking!"

I use chicken broth in various dishes. Lately I've been purchasing Flavorite Chicken Broth for my culinary needs.

On the label the company markets the product with this tag phrase: "Great For Cooking!"

I have to wonder. What else would chicken broth be used for? Any thoughts?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Music Friday: "She's a Little Randy"

I'm a big fan of the Drive-By Truckers, and one of the members of the band, Patterson Hood, put out his second solo record, Murdering Oscar, this summer. I didn't even know he was doing solo work.

I was skeptical before listening to it because in the past I've made unkind comments of his singing ability. There are some DBT songs where I think he's stretching it. And although I like DBT's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, there are a few dogs on that opus, such as "I'm Sorry Huston," "Bob," and "Home Field Advantage." Those aren't Hood songs though. So maybe his singing is getting better?

Anyway, click HERE to enjoy "She's a Little Randy" from his solo album.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Facebook

Okay, I admit this weekly post is hard for me, so I'm going to have to volley a snide observation before I get to the positive: social networking sites are a strange mix of narcissism and voyeurism.

So let's move on.

Yep, I joined Facebook almost a month ago. Initially, I joined to create a FB page for the center that I'm the director of, but I can see some good with social networking sites.

I've connected and "friended" a number of people I haven't seen or heard from in years, so the site does provide ample opportunities to see what's going on in other people's lives. Some of the quizzes can be really interesting. And I'm especially fond of one application called "Pieces of Kirksville" where you can send pictures of the 'ville to people who have experienced the glories of the hub of northwest Missouri.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Bane of My Garden



If you have a garden, you might recognize the enemy above: the Japanese beetle.

These bastards are going after my beans and my collard greens right now, and I need to take them out. I tried some organic pesticide a while back, and I'm pretty sure it made my beans and greens taste a little funky.

So after some cursory research, it seems like catnip is a natural repellant. I need to get some soon.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Music Friday: "Fourth of July"

Click HERE to watch the video of "Fourth of July," a song by Shooter Jennings.

For a more comedic look at how people spend the holiday, check out this episode (Click HERE) of Man in the Box.

Have a good Indpendence Day, folks.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Laughter

I've read articles that talk about how laughter is good for you. It increases your heart rate, reduces stress, etc.

But it's just good to laugh. I guess I haven't watched a good comedy in a while since I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud when watching a movie. Any suggestions, folks?

But I have guffawed out loud a few times recently as I've been reading. Good ole Montaigne offers some sound advice about raising kids: "To return to my subject, there is nothing like arousing appetite and affection [for learning]; otherwise all you make out of them is asses loaded with books."

The best laughter in my life is laughing at what my kids say or hearing the laughter of my children. And that's good enough for me.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Alabama vs. Mizzou in '12? It Could Happen.

Click HERE for a solid breakdown of what might happen for the season opener of 2012: a SEC/Big 12 matchup in the new Cowboys stadium.

The Tigers playing the Crimson Tide is a distinct possibility.

Monday, June 29, 2009

The Sack

I'm a fan of baseball, and being in a fantasy baseball league for the past eight years has only intensified that passion.

However, I pine for some pigskin, in particular college football.

So to assuage my need for some football, I've trolled YouTube for what Alabama football fans call "The Sack," a brutal hit by Conrelius Bennett that knocked Steve Beurlein out of the game.

Click HERE to enjoy some controlled violence.

Unnecessary Quotes

If you liked the blog about apostrophes, I bet you'll enjoy this one (click HERE) about unnecessary quotation marks, another annoying habit some people have.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Free Mark DeRosa

Dear Cubs Management:

Free Mark DeRosa.

Trade for DeRosa soon. Although we hope that Aramis gets back healthy soon, DeRosa would be a significant improvement at second base at the very least. I like Fontenot, but DeRosa is a big step above him. And DeRosa, when needed, could spell Ramirez or any of the corner outfield spots, especially if Milton Bradley has to be sent home from time to time.

In an interview with the media prior to the Indians series, DeRosa said his two years in Chicago were the best years of his career. And it was obvious to me that he wants to return to Wrigleyville.

Free Mark DeRosa.

Music Friday: "Who'll Stop the Rain"

So you though I would have linked a Michael Jackson video, huh? Think again. I'll let the chattering cable news networks do their thing as they pick through his bones, metaphorical and otherwise.

So click HERE to enjoy Fogerty doing the CCR classic, a song with a chorus those of us in the Midwest can identify with.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

"Greening with Envy"

If you're interested, click HERE for a short article in The Atlantic that details how the company Positive Energy, led by professor Robert Cialdini, is harnessing the competitive spirit of people to help them make their homes more energy efficient.

I know if I got a utility bill that showed how my energy or water use stacks up against my neighbors, I would make it my goal to destroy them in regard to energy efficiency. I would try to kick their inefficient asses.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Ice Cream Sandwiches


With summer having awakened here in central Illinois with 90 plus degree days recently, the best prescription after coming in from outdoors is one of the greatest food product inventions ever: the ice cream sandwich.

Although I'm sure there are many highbrow ice cream sandwiches out there that employ different types of ice cream in the middle (cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, etc.), I prefer the simple ones--vanilla in between two basic chocolately product slices. Or, if I want to switch it up a bit, I go Neopolitan.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Chronicling Misuses

A friend of the blog sent along a link to another site that chronicles "apostrophe abuse."

The common mistake most people know about is this one: its (possessive) versus it's (contraction). While I'm not really someone who gets all bent out of shape about grammatical snafus from time to time (However, if they're happening on a regular basis, then there's a problem.), apostrophe abuse is one practice annoys me quite a bit. I especially don't like people writing decades with apostrophes, such as the "80's."

Click HERE if you want to view examples of apostrophe abuse.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Music Friday: "Welfare Music"

I ordered a great cd this summer. It's The Brooklyn Side by The Bottle Rockets, a band based in St. Louis. I had heard their songs from time to time when listening to KDHX, but I had never bought one of the band's albums.

This album from 1994 is outstanding. Click HERE for the opening song of the opus. But there are some great tunes on it: "Sunday Sports," "1000 Dollar Car," "Stuck in a Rut," "Idiot's Revenge,", "Radar Gun" (the one song that got national airplay), among others.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wisdom from Montaigne

I recently purchased The Complete Works of Michel De Montaigne because I wanted to read all of his essays since he's the Frenchman in the 16th century who invited the loose-form essay.

Since the book is over 1300 pages, not a text you want to carry around, I decided to read one essay a day, and I'll be doing that for a good while until I get to his travel journal and his letters.

But I thought I'd share some statements from Montaigne to ponder, ones I particularly liked.

From "By Diverse Means We Arrive at the Same End": "Truly man is a marvelously vain, diverse, and undulating object. It is hard to found any constant and uniform judgment on him.

From "Ceremony of Interviews Between Kings": "Not only each country but each city has its particular forms of civility, and so has each occupation."

From "That the Taste of Good and Evil Depends in Large Part on the Opinion We Have of Them": "To judge of great and lofty things we need a soul of the same caliber; otherwise we attribute to them the vice that is our own. A straight oar looks bent in the water. What matters is not merely that we see the thing, but how we see it."

From "Of Fear": "The thing I fear most is fear."

So I wonder, how does your city have a peculiar or "particular" form of civility? And it seems that F.D.R. channeled an aristocratic Frenchman in one of his most famous speeches.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Stay Positive Wednesday: Bikes

I'm going to try out a new feature of this humble blog, which I'll call "Stay Positive Wednesday."

I tend to have a pessimistic bent, and a recent quiz I took on Facebook might validate that leaning. I took the "What Crazy Writer Are You" quiz, and my result was Cormac McCarthy, who is described in this way: "You love sunsets, the open range, and the freedom of the west... it would be a stretch to say that such things make you happy, though. All you see around you is darkness and greed; everywhere men go, they bring with the darker side of nature. All you can do is escape to your ranch and become one with the part of nature that mankind hasn't yet corrupted, keeping an eye on the evening redness in the west, looking for that glimmer of hope that pierces the darkness. What a fun guy..."

I actually prefer the Midwest or the South, but that's a small quibble. Regardless, to pull me out of the darkness, I'm going to be like The Hold Steady and "stay positive." So here it goes.

If you prefer a more environmentally-focused reason why bicycles are good things to use, you can click HERE and read onward. However, it's fun just to ride a bike because it gets you back to being a kid. For Father's Day, I got the bike that's shown above, a cruiser variety of a Schwinn. Like the famous Howlin' Wolf song, it's built for comfort and not for speed.

But it's a good time for my whole family to take a bike ride, enjoy the wind whipping by, and get a little exercise on a nice day.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Pimento Cheese

You see pimento cheese quite a bit in the South, and I like it. Spreading it on bread or some crackers is good eats. I've heard it's also good on top of hamburgers. I might have to try that soon.

Regardless, here's a recipe for making it, a recipe I adapted from a magazine.

24 oz. shredded sharp cheddar
2 4 oz. jars of diced pimentos
4 tablespoons of mayo
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
4 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of dried sage
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
1 tablespoon of Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning
4 dashes of hot sauce
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
Lots of cracked black pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients (I used a mixer) until mixed thoroughly and enjoy.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Grocery Store Pontifications

Proper and effective bagging at grocery stores is a lost skill. But I found someone who knows what to do. Her name is Angel.

I went to the local grocery store tonight, and I was pleased that Angel sacked bags right. I use sturdy reusable bags for shopping, and Angel sacked the right way: large items, such as a gallon of ice cream or cans, on the bottom to act a base to support the softer or bruisable goods at the top.

The main culprit to this lost skill are all the damn plastic bags that take up space in our lives and float about America as detritus, symbols of our throwaway consumer culture.

I also noticed as I was checking out that a young couple, college age, was buying a six-pack of Natural Light, a beer that screams, "Buy me in a 12, 24, or 30 pack because you need that much to enjoy my alcoholic treasures."

The image of a six pack of Nattie Light is some good incongruity. A beer that needs to be drank in heavy quantities is bought in six-pack form. To which I ask, "What's the point?" If you're buying that crappy of beer, buy in bulk, my friends, buy in bulk.

Now if they would have bought a sixer of tall boys, then that's a different story. Beer, by its nature, should be quaffed in pint form.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Music Friday: "America's Favorite Pastime" & "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues"

It's another week, and another great musician put out a new album. The incomparable Todd Snider released The Excitement Plan.

Click HERE to watch Snider play a track from his new album, titled "America's Favorite Pastime," in some hotel room with Don Was nodding along with the song. The tune recounts Dock Ellis's no-hitter in 1970 for the Pirates, a no-hitter he threw under the influence of LSD, which he admitted to doing in 1984.

And for more fun, click HERE to watch Snider talk about an encounter with Slash and sing one of the songs he's more famous for.

Since it's baseball season and the first song is about baseball, as Ernie Banks was fond of saying, "Let's play two."

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Darby Gets Spooked

Our dog has been spending a ton of time outside lately, which isn't a surprise since it's been nice out. But ole Darby has been on a mission. For the past week it was obvious some type of animal was under our shed in the backyard.

Initially I thought it was a chipmunk since she waged an war with one of those last summer, a war she lost.

This morning I looked out to see the dog light out toward the shed in hot pursuit, and then she suddenly stopped as if she was spooked. And she was. A little, maybe an adolescent about the size of a rat, possum waddled out in front of her from one corner of the shed to the other corner as Darby stared at it in disbelief. 

Ugliness is obviously a natural defense mechanism. 

But with a certain link in mind (Click HERE), maybe I should do some hunting?

Monday, June 8, 2009

Long Tall Abe


What you see here is the enormous statue at Lincoln Springs Resort, which is just east of Charleston. It's billed as the tallest statue of Lincoln in the world. All fiberglass, baby!

Lincoln Springs has the best miniature golf course I've ever played on though. The owner shelled out some serious dough to create those eighteen holes, and the restaurant on the premises has pretty good barbeque too. 

The "resort" is strange though. Right beside the establishment is a quarry and the Charleston Speedway for dirt tack racing.

Shake and Bake!