Friday Vid(s)
“Clampdown” – The Clash “Johnny Appleseed” – Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros Joe Strummer would have been 63 today. Here are two songs that sum up the second and third phases of his career about as well as any. “Clampdown” is an absolute blowtorch of a song. It is roughly four minutes of righteous fury; a warning to either jump…
End Of Summer Catch Up
A very busy couple of weeks. I thought I was alone in trying to cram 857 activities into the finals days of summer break, but it sounds like that’s par for the course for the modern parent. Glad I was not alone. We hit approximately 83 different parks over the final two weeks of summer. Parks we had been…
Friday Vid
“Queen of Peace / Long and Lost” – Florence + The Machine WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS NUDITY A very artsy, very long video for one of the best tracks on Florence Welch’s latest album. Not sure I get the visuals,[1] but the opening song is fantastic. And rumor has it the segment for “Long and Lost” was shot in one take.…
R’s: Crazy Times
(Note: I wrote this last night while watching the Royals play Detroit. The R’s were up 4–2, Edinson Volquez was cruising along, and a sweep of the Tigers seemed imminent. Then an infield single, a walk, and another infield single to open the top of the 8th launched a 4-run Tigers rally that helped them salvage the final game of…
First Day
This morning, the alarm went off at 6:20. I roused the girls about 10 minutes later, they shuffled down for breakfast, then back up to get dressed. We cut tags off of new pairs of shorts, found skirts that fit correctly, and laced up new shoes so they were nice and tight. Snacks and lunches were packed, book bags loaded…
Friday Vid
“Summer of ’69” – Bryan Adams I heard this song yesterday and it seemed perfect for this weekend, our last one before school begins next week. A moment of nostalgia on all the fun stuff we’ve crammed into the last two months. Granted, Adams was looking back at slightly different subject matter than the girls and I will think of…
July Books
Up, Up, & Away – Jonah Keri Keri’s first book, The Extra 2%, was destined to disappoint. Its focus was the small market, small budget Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays and their rise to become perennial contenders in the American League East. That was a problem, because it was impossible not to compare it to Michael Lewis’ Moneyball, his look at…
R’s: Some Week
Some week for Your Kansas City Royals! Let’s review. Last Sunday they acquired Johnny Cueto from Cincinnati then went out and beat Houston ace Dallas Keuchel to get a series win against a possible playoff opponent. Monday they flew to Cleveland and pounded the Indians in game one. Tuesday they made another trade, grabbing Ben Zobrist from the A’s. That…
Monday Links
Finally getting the backlog cleared out. Some more tidbits about the rather excellent summer movie lineup of 1985. 14 Blockbuster Facts About the Summer Movies of 1985 I’m not sure why, but I’ve enjoyed Tiger Woods’ fall. I don’t get it because I absolutely loved him in his prime. It’s not like he was Lance Armstrong and cheating and lying…
Friday Vid
“False Hope” – Laura Marling If the year ended today, this would be in my top 10 for songs of the year. Possibly top 5.