31 January 2003

Ed Sullivan with his finger on the 5 sec delay censor

I usually don't watch the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (long story dealing with a good friend who worked there that informed me what an incredible ass he is, and it was downhill from there, but I digress), but as KO was surfing on the couch, we came across a musical appearance by the Doors! Yes, there's Ray ticklin' the ivory, a familiar face on the skins, Robby shreddin' away, and Jim on the mic! At least, that's what the LSD was telling me...
It turns out that the Doors are back with a vengeance, recording a new album with Ian Astburyof the Cult and, not to leave Gordon Sumner out of the mix, his former mate and accomplished composer Stewart Copeland of the Police on drums.
Here's a brief article from the BBC News:

The Doors postpone reunion
A new formation of seminal rock band The Doors has been forced to postpone its first shows because the drummer has broken his arm.
Original members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger were due to perform on Sunday with The Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stuart Copeland.
But Copeland was injured when he fell off his bicycle on a path near his Los Angeles home during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Doors' original drummer John Densmore was ruled out of the reunion by severe tinnitus.


Needless to say, KO and I were a little shocked.
I still am undecided about my feelings with this. What do you think?

27 January 2003

$171?
That's a pair of Red Wing boots and 4 tickets to see Skynyrd.
Down the drain.


Well, the great elimination pool has come and gone, along with another NFL season. On top of that, even though I was a front-runner thoughout the entire season, so much so as to leading be a win in the final two weeks, the lowly Bengals managed to screw me over royally.
Maybe I'm being a little too hard on the Bungles. I mean, just because their only 2 wins came on weeks that I picked against them.
See, one of my sub-strategies of the season was the pick the lowliest team in the league [i.e. Cincy], and in a tough week here or there, ride their opponent till she bucks me. This strategy worked beautifully, so naturally, I got a little cocky.
What's the old saying in Vegas? Quit when you're ahead? Should've heeded those wise words.
Instead, I went for Houston over Cincy in Week 9. Sounded good in theory. The Texans were one of the better expansion franchises in recent memory, and the Bengals were....well, the Bengals. It should also be noted that I worked ahead to map out the rest of the season's picks, and save any unforeseen collapses or hot stretches, was looking in the face at a conceivable perfect season. Not so fast, Bob Griese! Hold up, Don Shula! Your perfect record is in jeopardy.
Needless to say, I lost the game, bringing me into a tie with the other front-runners in the league. No worries. I've still got the rest of the season locked up, and Cincy had to win ONE game, right? Right?
Wrong.
See, this is where the blame shifts from Ohio to the Big Easy. Hey, I sure as hell am not going to blame myself.
So here we are, Week 16, again in front by a game on the pack, everyone pissed at me for sticking to my bread and butter, dancing with the one who brung me, and whatnot, and the Saints, with their division leading record, are strolling into Paul Brown Stadium for a late season tilt with the Bengals.
Now, keep in mind that the Saints have been seriously underachieving since Week 5, and, in hindsight, the well was running dry. But , c'mon, the Bengals?!
Famous last words. Like a broken record of the Week 9 debacle, although much worse. At least Houston was an expansion team. Plus, as if losing wasn't bad enough, if the Saints had pulled it out, I could've taken a bye the next week and WON.
One hundred seventy dollars. Gone. Thanks New Orleans.
So, here I am...A huge Chiefs fan....season tickets, the whole nine....rooting for the hated Raiders to win the Super Bowl.
A sure sign of the apocalyse.
That should've been enough to make me a Bucs booster, but alas, 'twas not meant to be this year.
Oh well. Only another month till I throw away ten more bucks for a piece of paper with a bracket on it.
Ain't life grand?

21 January 2003

Hooks 'n Horns

Is it just me, or do more rock bands need a horn section? Not all the time, mind you, but much like the cowbell, a little couldn't hurt (Oh, who am I kidding? I need all the cowbell I can stand).
But seriously, I've been hooked on The Doobie Brothers G Hits Vol II (They made more than one? hehe), and I love "Dependin' on You". The horns in the song are great. Now I know a lot of great bands over the years incorporate horns into their music, albeit few and far between. My best most recent example would be Wilco's "Monday" (though admittedly not that recent) and not so recently the sax solo in The Stones' "Brown Sugar".
I'd love to hear more horns in music, but alas, no one cares to make music like Elvis any more.
Rectifying a falsehood

Well, there I went, spewing about how the tag board will be be great and I'll never have to worry about the server being down, and what happens?
Yeah.
Oh well. Hopefully soon, the tag board problems will be fixed and order in the galaxy will be restored.
Hopefully.

19 January 2003

TagBoard off & running

Well, the new TagBoard is up, and now you'll have a new and improved place to leave a comment or chat with me or fellow visitors. I like this system much better than the comments because it's always up [unlike the comments server}, and it's instant. Hopefully, it will become a nice little forum for you all.
Also, I hope you like it's new home at the top of the page. Don't worry - all the links are still below. [Yeah, right like you were]....
Note News
The Blues continue to plug away despite all the injuries heretofore. What a season! Even on the heels of Cajanek staying out for 5-8 weeks with the broken leg, the Blues continue to play hard and play with the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings for the division title. Let's hope the second half doesn't dissappoint as the road to the playoffs continue....


STL visits the Thrashers this tuesday - KO and I will be in attendance! Go Blues!

18 January 2003

It's off da hizzle fo' shizzle, my nizzle
KO turned me on to what may be the funniest activity on the web: Snoop-da-fying any web page in the world.
True dat, this shiznit is da bomb, yo. Check it out fo' yo'ass.
Word.

New Feature
Although I tended not to update my page in the past, with a new year springs forth new resolutions. So, with that in mind, I'm adding a tagboard to my site. It's located on the left hand side and it hopefully will serve a place to leave comments or chat and not have to worry about the comments link server being down (which is always the case).
Happy tagging!

13 January 2003

Hoops 101
Ever wonder what goes into making Bobby Knight's offense go?
Or Roy Williams "Kansas Fast Break"?
How about the 2-3 zone?
The 2-2-1 press.

The answer to these and other questions are broken down in Hoops 101 at ESPN.com. Coach Fran Franscilla breaks these and others down and helps you to understand the effective and pratfalls of each common strategy.
Check it out.

09 January 2003

a depressing aside

How sick am I of the music industry? Well, you can get a good idea by checking out the Grammy Award nominees. Here's a few tasty morsels; my picks in bold are either the best, or in some cases, least offensive.
[Comments can be found in italics]:

Record of the Year: [off to a great start]
"A Thousand Miles," Vanessa Carlton;
"Without Me," Eminem;
"Don't Know Why," Norah Jones;
"Dilemma," Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland;
"How You Remind Me," Nickelback.

Album of the Year [At least 1 good album made it this year]
"Home," Dixie Chicks;
"The Eminem Show," Eminem;
"Come Away With Me," Norah Jones;
"Nellyville," Nelly;
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen.

Song of the Year
"Complicated," Avril Lavigne & The Matrix
(Avril Lavigne);
"Don't Know Why," Jesse Harris (Norah Jones);
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen);
"A Thousand Miles," Vanessa Carlton (Vanessa Carlton);
"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," Alan Jackson (Alan Jackson).

New Artist [Sigh]
Ashanti;
Michelle Branch;
Norah Jones;
Avril Lavigne;
John Mayer.

Pop Vocal Album [Ugh!]
"Come Away With Me,"
Norah Jones;
"Let Go," Avril Lavigne;
"Rock Steady," No Doubt;
"M!ssundaztood," Pink;
"Britney," Britney Spears.

Rock Album [Tonic has a new album out? HUH?]
"When I Was Cruel," Elvis Costello;
"C'Mon, C'Mon," Sheryl Crow;
"Dreamland," Robert Plant;
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen;
"Head on Straight," Tonic.

Rap Album [Voted Least Painful: Nelly]
"The Eminem Show," Eminem;
"Word of Mouf," Ludacris;
"Tarantula," Mystikal;
"Nellyville," Nelly;
"Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry," Petey Pablo.

Country Album: [Atta boy, Willie!]
"Home," Dixie Chicks;
"Drive," Alan Jackson;
"The Great Divide," Willie Nelson;
"Man With a Memory," Joe Nichols;
"Halos & Horns," Dolly Parton.

Female Rock Vocal Performance [Nice to see Bonnie on the list]
"Steve McQueen," Sheryl Crow;
"The Weakness in Me," Melissa Etheridge;
"Sk8er Boi,"Avril Lavigne;
"Gnawin' On It," Bonnie Raitt;
"Alone," Susan Tedeschi.

Male Rock Vocal Performance: [This is more like it]
"Slow Burn," David Bowie;
"45," Elvis Costello;
"The Barry Williams Show," Peter Gabriel;
"Darkness, Darkness," Robert Plant;
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen.

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: [Someone alert security; 2 good catergories in a row]
"Girls of Summer," Aerosmith;
"In My Place," Coldplay;
"My Sacrifice," Creed;
"Hero," Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott;
"When I'm Gone," 3 Doors Down;
"Take Me As I Am," Tonic;
"Walk On," U2.

17. Hard Rock Performance: [Grohl battles....himself? Win-win]
"All My Life," Foo Fighters;
"I Stand Alone," Godsmack;
"Youth of the Nation," P.O.D.;
"No One Knows," Queens of the Stone Age;
"Aerials," System of a Down.

18. Metal Performance: [Ugh! part 2]
"Here to Stay," Korn;
"Portrait," P.O.D.;
"My Plague," Slipknot;
"Get Inside," Stone Sour;
"Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)," Rob Zombie.

Rock Instrumental Performance: [Well played, Wayne!]
"Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)," The Flaming Lips;
"Sco-Mule," Gov't Mule;
"Apollo," Tony Levin;
"Starry Night," Joe Satriani;
"Love Theme from 'The Godfather,"' Slash.

Rock Song: [It's those pesky Fighters of Foo again!]
"All My Life," Foo Fighters (Foo Fighters);
"Hero," Chad Kroeger (Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott);
"I Stand Alone," Sully Erna (Godsmack);
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen);
"When I'm Gone," Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts (3 Doors Down).

Rock Album: [Again with the Tonic! Has anyone heard this album?]
"When I Was Cruel," Elvis Costello;
"C'Mon, C'Mon," Sheryl Crow;
"Dreamland," Robert Plant;
"The Rising," Bruce Springsteen;
"Head on Straight," Tonic.

Alternative Music Album: [Best catergory of the night; Maybe they can split the phonograph 4 ways...]
"Sea Change," Beck;
"Walking With Thee," Clinic;
"A Rush of Blood to the Head," Coldplay;
"Cruel Smile," Elvis Costello and The Imposters;
"Behind the Music," The Soundtrack of Our Lives.


Finally, the real crime of the evening:

ALTERNATIVE/AC: GRAMMY SNUBS
(New York-AP) -- The Grammy nominations cover just about all
aspects of music and it seems like just about everyone has been
nominated. There were a few snubs, though. Josh Groban was expected
to pick up a Best New Artist nomination but didn't get a thing. The
new wave of alternative bands were also ignored -- The Strokes, The
White Stripes and The Hives.

ROCK/POP: TONIC HAS AN ALBUM OUT -- AND IT'S UP FOR GRAMMYS
(Los Angeles-AP) -- Tonic is up for two Grammys, which is
prompting some people to ask, Tonic has an album out? Guitarist
Jeff Russo is wondering that same thing. He says the album, "Head
On Straight," has been out for a few months but they haven't
really done a big publicity push. He says he was surprised any of
the Grammy voters had even heard of it. Tonic is up for the Grammys
for rock album and rock performance. Russo has sized up the
competition and he's a bit worried. For rock album, they're up
against Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow and Robert
Plant. He says, "I'm thinking that might be an uphill battle."
The awards will be given out February 23rd in New York.

05 January 2003

New Addition Note
A favorite sportslady of mine just got her blog up and running [sans comments link for the moment], and I hope all of you will check it out and let her know what you think. It's called "Postcards from Columbus". I've installed a link on the top line of the COD mainframe, and I guarantee she will A.) post more frequently than I, and 2.) have something more intelligent to say.
So, go on, check out the better half's i-net home.

Welcome to 2003
I know it's been awhile, but now I have a home computer, so now my lackluster posting isn't an excuse. Hope every one had a wonderful holiday season. Now it's back to work. Ho-hum....