Cheese of the Week

The first cheese is a swiss cheese from Norway called Jarlsberg Lite. It's an OK cheese, very mild with a heavy texture. Because of it's mild taste it was pretty good on anything, but nothing about it really stood out.

The second cheese is a gem made by Smith's Farmstead in Winchendon MA. It's a sun-dried tomato & basil gouda and is just fantastic toasted on bread. It's like eating a little pizza. To be honest we haven't really eaten it any other way, it's that good.

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Not my cup of tea.

Weezer - Weezer [Blue Album] (Top 500 Countdown)

This list is so male-centric it's a bit ridiculous. It's an ok album, but I can't say I see any reason for it to be this high up on the list. It's a good pop album, very consistent, but to me there is nothing that really stands out about this album.

Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison

I'm so happy to see them doing an ad for Claritin. I've been a big fan of Kelly's ever since she had the single "I Don't Want to Love You" back in 1990. She once made People's most beautiful people list. Bruce is best known as a songwriter and has a nice sound himself. If you don't know their music it's definitely worth checking out.

The Cat Who

It is a good time for entertainment. Luckily our public library has signed on with NetLibrary and I am able to download books to my mp3 player and listen to them while I drive in and then walk to work. Currently I am completely hooked on the Cat Who mystery series by Lilian Jackson Braun. These books are so simple and mindless it's really more like watching a nice TV show than reading a book. The only sad part is that NetLibrary only has from book 20 in the series to the present. Luckily for me our public library system has a very good collection of books on tape as well and so I'll be able to fill some in with those. I guess when that time comes I'll have to break out the old portable cassette player. The rest I'll actually have to read. Hmm, I guess I can do that.

Scrubs Season 1

I remember when this show first came on the air. A couple of guys I worked with really raved about it, but I never watched. Lately I've caught a few episodes randomly, since I have no idea where or when it comes on, and I've enjoyed them. Because of this I decided to get it through NetFlix. Margaret and I are both really enjoying the first season so far. It is very funny and I can certainly see why it has survived this long.

One of the Best Bad Guys

I love Treasure Island. Jim Hawkins is a very likeable character as is the captain, but Long John Silver makes Treasure Island. I'm watching the Muppet version starring Tim Curry as Silver and I think they really captured the spirit of the man. They've got a great song where Silver is trying to convince Jim that the pirates are in the right and he should join them. Silver is such an enticing character.

Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (Top 500 Countdown Update)

There are a few songs that stand out and it is an interesting mixture of sounds, but all in all it's like many other Dolly Parton albums I've listened to. When she hits it just right she is fantastic, but those songs are far and few for me.

Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I'm not a huge Dylan fan so it is probably no surprise that this album doesn't do anything for me. There are no real standouts here and unless you're a pretty hard core fan I don't see much interest.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album is much better than The Eminem Show. The songs flow well and are more focused, with much better music. It still goes too over the top for me, especially the second half of the album. With this album I can see how the guy became a star. If The Eminem Show is any sign it would appear that he peaked artistically with The Marshall Mathers LP.

Cheese of the Week

Well we had two cheeses last week to report on.

The 1st was a New York white cheddar, not sure who the producer was. It was a very good middle of the road cheddar, not too strong and not too mild. Margaret loved it both on sandwiches, with crackers, and toasted on rice cakes. I didn't have that much of it, but it did have a very nice taste and was so different after all of the European cheeses we've been eating.

The 2nd was Parrano a cheese out of Holland. It's a hard cheese and good for shredding on things like pasta, potatoes, etc. It's a good cheese though maybe a little oily for our tastes. It has a nice mild taste and melts nice and smooth.

Jeff Buckley - Grace (Top 500 Countdown Update)

It's a good album, but I'm not very drawn to it. One review I read referred to it as mixing folk with Led Zeppelin and I can see that, but can't say that has great appeal for me. The sad part is that Buckley died before ever finishing his second album, who knows what could have been. To me this album is very much a first album, an artist trying to find their way to their voice and sound. With some artists their first album may as well be their last because they so well define their sound and voice that their is not much room left to grow, but I feel this album is merely an introduction to Buckley. In that sense I think it is a good effort, but probably should not be in the top 500 countdown.

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On a Gravel Road (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Music is a funny thing. In the end it comes down to what we like. There is no real reason for what we like it's just what we like. I don't like Lucinda Williams' music and I guess that's just it.

A few years back a friend gave me a copy of this album to listen to and so I put it on a couple of times, but just never felt anything for it, not good, not bad, nothing. I realized listening to it now that it's just something about the sound, the overall sound of the songs, her voice, the album.

Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I think the album is a bit heavy with 15 tracks, but the arrangements are so solid and Sinatra's voice is so at its prime it is hard to pass on this one. For me it doesn't have the same grip as September of My Years which he would release 10 years later but it certainly has its moments with great Sinatra classics like I've Got You Under My Skin and You Make Me Feel So Young.

Roxy Music - Avalon (Top 500 Countdown Update)

OK as I've said I like what I refer to as pop music and I've also defined what I mean by pop. To me this album is a great example of all that I've talked about.

Roxy Music put out 7 studio albums before Avalon. I've not listened to them all but Siren (1975), Country Life (1974), and For Your Pleasure (1973) are all part of the top 500 countdown. They are heavy with art rock and are lacking any real sense of pop value except for the occasional taste. After Siren they took 4 years off and did solo projects. After returning they moved in more of a pop direction focusing more on Bryan Ferry's vocals and more concise songs. They incorporated disco and soul into their art rock sound and they put out 3 albums in 4 years the final album being Avalon, the bands final studio album.

I think this album is a fantastic blend of everything that makes for good pop. The bands old art rock sound is still there, but it is so finely blended with pop beats and soulful singing that it turns into a colorful and unique background that brings all the songs brilliantly together as one solid piece of work.

I heard Avalon for the first time in 1988 and it was my first intro to Roxy Music. I enjoyed it so much I quickly went out and bought Siren and was terribly disappointed. In case it hasn't been made clear this album is unique among Roxy Music albums and to me represents why true musical artists should never be afraid of creating pop music and why fans should never look down on pop music. The album has aged extremely well and will because it offers such a simple and yet complex and unique sound that is not tied to any real trend or time.

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I always thought it was shocking that anyone would give these guys a record contract. I feel they are the most overrated band of all time. Having to sit through two of their albums as part of this countdown has only helped to grow that belief in me.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I hadn't listened to this album in quite a while, but I very quickly was reminded why I played it so heavily back in 1991 when it first came out. The songs have very infectious beats and there are only 3 bad tracks on the whole 17 track album. Again this album shows the negative side of making albums too long and how hard it is to go beyond 10-12 songs.

I don't know a lot about the Peppers except for this album and what songs of theirs I've heard on the radio. It's funny but as much as I enjoy this album and those singles I have never had a desire to seek out more of their stuff.

I Guess It Pays to Time Trial

One thing that Bjarn Riis has done for CSC is to really improve the teams time trialing abilities. It has paid off for them in a big way the past two weeks. Fabian Cancellara showed his abilities last week at Paris-Roubaix as he powered off the front with 19km to go and then Frank Schleck did the same this week at the Amstel Gold with 10km to go.

It's funny but I don't know that I've ever really thought of time trialing abilities being a help in winning anything but time trials. I suppose I still have a lot to learn as a cycling fan.

Our Time in Charlottesville VA

I've always heard good things about Charlottesville VA, so when Margaret signed up for a half marathon scheduled there I looked forward to getting a chance to check out the town.

We decided to camp out before hand and so made reservations at a KOA in the area. It turned out to be a perfect location since it was a very convenient route to parking for the run, and even though we got heavy rain and lightning the night before we enjoyed camping as always. Puppy Dog especially enjoyed sleeping all snuggled up in the sleeping bags.

Saturday morning we went to the town early and parked near the mall area in downtown. It's an area where they closed off the streets, bricked them and opened up a lot of shops and cafes. Very cute and something that Margaret and I have always said would be a good move for Burlington's downtown. There were soon a lot of runners milling around and Puppy Dog and I left Margaret to go and find a good spot to see the start of the race. Walking around the historic district of downtown I could easily see the appeal that the town has for so many. Interesting hilly streets with quaint old houses. Cute shops and pretty green parks with plenty of flowers, Red Buds, and Dogwoods in bloom all around. It was a very nice walk for Puppy Dog and myself.
I must say though that the rest of Charlottesville wasn't so appealing to me. Driving was a mess and the streets weren't able to handle the campus traffic. Out of town the roads were narrow and winding and seemed a bit dangerous. I suppose if you could live in the historic district and never see anything else it would be a nice existence, but as that is not realistic I think I will happily pass on returning to Charlottesville anytime soon.

Margaret by the way was fantastic in her run. As is always the case when I've seen her in a race she was smiling and waving and just seemed to be having a great time. This was the case even at mile 12 of a very hilly and very tough course.

How do you do what you're doing and how do you do it for as long as you do it?

So here's my big question - how do you do what you're doing and how do you do it for as long as you do it? What? This probably sounds crazy but here is where it started. At the lunchtable the other day I asked a fellow teacher about his teahcing career and he said he had been teaching for 16 years, another then another teacher said, oh yeah I've been doing this for 20 years and then another for 14 years. I'm sitting now at 7 years and I'm asking myself this question: how do you do what you're doing and how do you do it for as long as you do it? I'm kinda amazed that I'm still teaching to be honest because I could never imagine myself doing anything for that long a time but then I look around and see myself in the other teachers when I asked how long they had been teaching. Sure, I know you do it because you have to work, right? I mean we have to work to make money to afford all the cool stuff in our lives, but how? Do you make a conscious decision and say I have X amount of years until retirement or until I have vested money or do you say, that's enough I'm moving on to something different. Of course I might not be best person to ask this question seeing that in college, I worked at about 15 different restaurants and bars. It was this weird thing where I just knew when it was time to move on- either I got up enough gumption (sp?) to move on or places went out of business or the management changed, but I just knew when it was time to move on. Does that change when you grow up and get a real job? Or do you just tweak your job and try ot make it new and interesting? Everytime a fellow teacher says oh yeah I've been doing this for 18 years, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up? Am I some sort of snob? Why does the thought of doing something for 30 years give me the cold chills? It's not really about whether or not you like your job or not, I really like my job, ALOT, but can I really do this for 30 years? You say, change it up, well hoping to next fall to take some classes but still, I think, can I do anything for 30 years? What about you?

Does training help?

Last November right before Thanksgiving I ran 1/2 marathon in Pinehurst, NC. This was somewhat of a whim. Since I am a teacher I usually do more miles in the summer and then once school starts up again my miles decrease so come November I really wasn't doing as much as I should have been to get ready to do this run. I also tried to cut back on eating sugar. But I ran it and there Matthew and PD were, cheering me on right at the last mile or so. I was doing good until I got to mile 7 where I needed some fast energy and ate some GU, some sugary, carb stuff. I was beat and really needed something but the GU gel stuff gave me bad stomach cramps and I felt really lathargic. I finished the run and got a pretty nice t-shirt out of the deal. I ran at an ok pace which I was really happy about but to be honest, I wanted to get faster. I honestly thought I'd run alot slower so I was pleasantly surprised but it got me thinking about working on my speed. Matthew got me the Garmind Forerunner 201- about 2 years ago and I was slow to using it- it was a little bulky on my wrist but now it's hard to find me without it on. Matthew found me a killer half-marathon training schedule in Runner's World-March 2006. Since January, I have been doing yoga, swimming and running but then he found this training schedule and it really gave me something to shoot for. I figured it out- I really like intervals, love going fast, then slow then really really fast and then a little slower but I'm not crazy about pace runs. Interval running is when you go fast for a short distance and then slow down to let your heart rate slow down and then pick it up again. Pace running is when you set a pace and stick to that. Anyways Saturday is the big race day and we'll see how my training has helped.

The half a marathon was in Charlottesville, VA. It was an incredibly hard race- having never really been to Charlottesville before I didn't know what to expect. To be honest, the run wasn't much fun, the course description said rolling hills, they weren't rolling they went on and on and never seemed to end. Who would put a tough hill at mile 11 of a race? I found myself asking that question- and then I asked that question again at mile 12. I did ok, slower than the first half a marathon but this race was by far alot harder. So does training help?I'd have to say yes, because without the training I probably would have run slower-alot slower. Would I do this half a marathon again in Charlottesville? No way. The joy of the race was taken out with the number of hills and where they were located. It's not that I minded the hills, but having so many tough ones really at every mile made it a race about hills. I just found myself dreading the next hill but there were some postives-Oh yeah and you get a really cool t-shirt and you get to say you finished it. I really like the t-shirt. There was this really cool lady that had a sign that said Conquer the Hills! I cheered after seeing that. But the absolute best part of the marathon was seeing Matthew and PD right at the beginning of the race and then later on at mile 12, just before one of those killer hills. Seeing them right before that hill made me run up it smiling. Then I saw them cheering me on at the finish line. That made the whole race and all of the training worth it.

CommonCensus Sports Map Project

If you haven't seen this take a look it's a very cool idea and good web site.

http://www.commoncensus.org/sports.php

What is Pop Music to Me

I talk a lot in my album recaps about pop music and a pop sound. I think of a pop song as merely being a song that has a beat, tune, and lyrics that are catchy. This of course means that pop can be layered onto any genre of music and I think that's fine. It also doesn't mean that the songs are necessarily made for a mass market, just that they have that certain something that catches your attention and keeps you listening. This can then be different for everyone and so it is a very individualistic thing.

What defines the pop music genre, is music that is aimed specifically at trying to meld the three together in singles that fit what is popular with most people at the time of production with no attention to the overall album.

One thing I want to make clear is that it is not necessarily important that all songs on an album or that an album itself have a pop basis to be considered good by me. I think Quadrophenia by The Who is a great example of this. Although there are definitely songs like The Real Me that fit my definition, the album has plenty of other moods and moments that don't fall into my definition of pop, but the album works because the songs work together to create an atmosphere that entertains and draws in the listener.

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Continuing with my theme on pop music, I always thought what made Nirvana so special was their ability to make great sounding and sellable songs while sticking to their roots in sound. They weren't the first to mix the sound of hard, punky alternative with pop, but they were certainly the first to make it as mega stars and open the genre up to big business.

Personally I've never been a huge fan myself. I enjoy the singles, but never found a full album that kept me interested and this album is no different. Maybe I just don't get the whole mystique but I don't see the performance as being anything too special and would absolutely never pick this album up to listen to it.

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Top 500 Countdown Update)

When you get older and you disconnect from the radio, MTV, etc., you can really miss out on some good new music. This was the case with me in 1998 when this album first came out. I kept hearing the name Lauryn Hill and heard people talking about how good she was, but I really had no clue who or what they were talking about. Well around 2002 I got my hands on a copy of the album and listened to it and immediately understood why it had made such a splash.

The album is a great mix of hip-hop and r&b and really has a nice feel to it. Though I don't believe there are any standout tracks on the album, it doesn't take away from the fact that all the tracks are incredibly strong on their own and work very well together.

My only problem with the album is the length. With CDs came longer albums and I think personally it is hard enough to make 12 tracks work well together let alone 15 which is how many are on Miseducation. Toward the end of the album I was losing a little steam for it and felt that it wasn't a fault of the songs as much as the number of songs. If it were 10 to 12 tracks long I think you could argue this is one of the best albums of all time, as it is I think the extra tracks leave it hanging a bit.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Never being a big Tom Petty fan I have to say I was very surprised by how good this album is. If you've been reading my comments on these albums you have a sense by now of what I'm looking for and this album has it. It has it's own sound, that classic Tom Petty sound. But it also has a pop sense that flows over the entire album.

The album opens with Refugee and Here Comes My Girl two big hits for Petty, but really most any song on the album could have been released as a single and they all work to build toward a concise sound on the album.

Now as I said I'm not a big Tom Petty fan, so this album isn't one I'll be picking up to play anytime soon, but it's a good album and I would think that anyone who is into jangle rock would enjoy it.

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album is quite nice. I was a bit surprised to find that it was solid all the way through. I'm not a huge fan of The Velvet Undeground and so I don't know that I would pick this album up to listen to it, but if it was on I wouldn't mind it.

What are the US Plans for Iran?

If you have not read the New Yorker piece on Iran do so, http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060417fa_fact. You can also hear the author on http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5334760.

I don't really know what to say about this. I do know that if this is true it is very scary, very scary indeed and something that needs to be exposed and ended before it is allowed to escalate to the point of no return. I would suggest that we all write to our congresspeople and tell them how we all feel about starting another war, especially when we haven't even finished the war in Afghanistan yet.

Danger Mouse

Just got Danger Mouse Season 1 Disc 1 via Netflix today. Hadn't seen it since the 80's. I found a nice web site http://www.dangermouse.org/. It talks about how Danger Mouse began being shown in Nickelodeon in 1984. I'm sure I was one of the many watching it and I was certainly not a young kid. It's funny seeing it now I remember it so well and find it just as entertaining.

The Pixies - Surfer Rosa (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I thought I was generally a Pixies fan, but now I'm not so sure. I know they take a bit of getting use to, but there is really nothing on this album that grabs me. Doolittle works for me because it is edgy and cantankorous, but it does it with a certain pop sensibility. In other words the songs have catchy beats despite the jangled harsh sound being produced by the band. The album also seems to have a flow to it that this album is lacking. Perhaps it is included in the list because it is the Pixies first full album and they went on to have such a large influence on other bands. I would argue that Doolittle is the album to make that representation as I see Surfer Rosa as merely a warmup for what is to come.

No Doubt - Rock Steady (Top 500 Countdown)

Like too many albums I've heard on this countdown there are a few really strong songs and then the rest of the album is fairly weak. Hella Good and Hey Baby start off the album and it's a strong start. Then comes a weak song Making Out followed by another strong one Underneath It All. If side 2 had held 3 such solid singles then I could see this album being listed in the top 500 of all time, but really the remaining 8 tracks hold nothing for the listener.

I wasn't that crazy about Tragic Kingdom which is also on the list, but I felt that at least when it came out it had a very fresh and different sound. This album is really aimed at the pop market and with only 3 good songs it's a disappointment.

Eminem - The Eminem Show (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This guys a joke right. The beats are lame, the mix is the same, and the lyrics are a joke.

The O'Jays - Back Stabbers (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I have to admit I'm completely shocked by how much I enjoyed listening to this album. I would really like to put it on and listen again, but I know that I will definitely be making an effort to listen to more O'Jays.

I don't even know at this point if I can express why I enjoyed the album so much. This is the first album I've listened to as part of this countdown that I had never heard before that really grabbed me like this. Perhaps later I'll listen to it again and come back to this post and explain what I liked so much about it.

Story Corps a Fantastic Time

If you don't know what it is check out the web site http://www.storycorps.net/. Ever since I heard the first story on NPR I've wanted to participate in it and today was my chance along with Margaret.

We had a great time and the people running the portable trailer were really nice and made you feel very comfortble. I really think this is a great idea and I'm so glad we've had a chance to participate.

Check out our interview by using the player below.

The Wailers - Burnin' (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I don't even know where to begin with this album. Is it good? Yes. Would I pick it off the shelf and listen to it? Probably never. Why? I don't know. When I listen to Marley or The Wailers I really enjoy it. I'm drawn into the beats, the lyrics, the frustration of life in poverty and powerlessness, and I enjoy it. But when I'm not listening to it, I'm not thinking about listening to it. There are no songs that have ever really grabbed me and held on to me to the point where I was just dying to hear that album, or put some Wailers on. I know a few people who would think me an idiot for saying this, but I guess in the end it is merely a preference. I'm just not that crazy about reggae.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (Top 500 Countdown Update)

If I were still 20, a smoker, and living in an apartment I could definitely see the appeal of this album. It is quiet and sad and would make good music for a night sitting out on the balcony talking with friends and feeling all alone. But happily I'm no longer 20 and have a wife, a house, a great dog and a wonderful life and so the music's appeal is a bit lost now. I guess I've discovered Nick Drake too late in life to really appreciate him.

Maybe this is why they've used the song Pink Moon in a TV ad with youngsters driving around in their convertable and being all reflective. The entire album has that whistful sound and works to bring you down into your thoughts, into the music and it works quite well.

The Police - Ghost in the Machine (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Uggh another awful Police album. This is the 4th so far on the countdown and I know there will be one more. None of them are good, it's that simple. They each have a few good pop tunes and then the rest of the album is complete junk. Definitely the most overrated of the bands in this top 500 countdown so far.

David Bowie - Station to Station (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I've never sat and listened to a David Bowie album, so I was kind of excited about this one. The album is a 1976 release and definitely has a 70's feel to it, but it's an interesting album. It has the popular song Golden Years and an interesting version of the jazz standard Wild is the Wind that caught my ear. It's an odd mix of sounds and leaves me curious to hear more Bowie.

For me the album just isn't consistent enough in sound to really hold up. The mixture of styles is interesting, but I feel it fails to capture my attention fully as the sounds change too much and so the songs seem completely disconnected. Also beside Golden Years there really isn't any song that captures the ear with a strong melody or can get by with a strong sound or captive lyrics.

Eric Clapton - Slowhand (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album starts off with Cocaine, Wonderful Tonight, and Lay Down Sally from then it's all downhill. Nothing on the album is bad, but nothing even comes close to those three songs which all have catchy melodies. They each have a bit of a pop blues sound that is lost on the rest of the album which is more blues and a lot less pop (except for the instrumental Peaches and Diesel the last song which doesn't fit at all).

I'm not a big Clapton fan to begin with, but I think this album represents what is so difficult to do which is make 8-12 solid songs that blend well together on a record. As I said none of the songs are bad, but the first three are so different and the rest have no real spark that to me it's a throw away album for sure.

The Cure - Disintegration (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Back in 1989 I left college life to move back in with my parents. I'm pretty sure none of us were too happy about the arrangement. I know none of us were happy about how I had been doing at college academically. Well moving 4 hours away from where all my friends were and back into a town that I didn't care much for and had no friends in was a bit of a downer, and so naturally I was drawn to The Cure and this album in particular.

It was new, depressing, and somewhat popish. In other words it was a perfect fit for me in that situation. I played that album to death over the next 6 months before returning to college and probably have not listened to it since.

I must say that I was curious to see how I would like it now with all of that angst so far behind, and I can say that I was pleasantly surprised. The album has held up very well over time, much better than some of their other stuff and if you drop the two tracks that were bonus on the CD (I had the LP) the album is very very solid all the way through.

The Cure have always had this certain some kind of depressing anger and this album exploits that to the nth degree. The lyrics are solid, the melodies grab you, and they are slow, soft, and yet violent all at the same time. As much as I love Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me this is probably their best album because it is so consistent and so tight all the way through.

City Council Meetings Here I Come

I went to my first ever city council meeting tonight and I'm hooked. I'll be there for as many meetings as I can so that I can stay tuned in to what is happening in my community. I hope everyone in this country will remember the price of independence and how lucky we are to live in a society where we can go and actually participate in the decisions being made. We owe it to those who died for this country, for our children, and their children to be a part of this process.

To vote is not nearly enough. We need to know what the decisions are that are being made and better understand how those decisions will effect us. We need to hold the people in our towns, states, and federal government accountable for their decisions if we believe their decisions go against what we believe is best for our communities.

It should not be acceptable to us that corruption exists in our governmental bodies. It should never exist because we all have the ability to stamp out corruption with the power of the vote. If you know the issues and know the individuals you are voting for then you should always have faith that your governmental bodies will represent your needs in a straightforward and honest manner.

I hope that everyone in this country will begin to pay closer attention to these things. I know that I have waited far too long, but I know that I will never again be blind to what is being done by my government.

P'tang Yang Kipperbang

We have most of our videos in storage, and with nothing to watch on TV but too lazy to drag out videos we have stored, I found an old video laying around with no label and decided I would put it in the VCR and see what was on it. To my happy surprise it was a movie I taped off of A&E back in 1990 called Kipperbang. I really like this movie and had no idea I still had this tape lying around. It's fun seeing it again after all of these years, and fun seeing the commercials like the ad for Lee Sculptured Nails.

I think one of the things I like so much is the innocence of Alan Duckworth and his love as it compares to the mess and ugliness of the adult characters' sexual relationships. You know when you first start to feel something for a girl you never are thinking about how ugly the whole thing can become. As his moment of getting the girl gets closer all the innocence of his feelings start to fall apart, and the magnitude of what his so desired kiss will represent for him completely overwhelms him. It's a wonderful movie with very good writing.

There Are So Many People Who Care

I just attended a meeting that involved members of our city's parks and rec department. Now these guys don't have to be attending meetings after hours to help a group of interested citizens, but they do.

Maybe I'm prejudiced because I'm a state employee and my wife is a teacher, but there are so many people working for the federal, state, and local governments who don't do it for the pay or the benefits. They do it because they want to give something to their community to their country. They choose to work in a job that pays a lot less than they could make with their abilities in the private sector because they want to work for something they believe in.

If you believe in this country, if you believe in your community show these people the respect they deserve by being involved and helping to make a difference as well.

Whatever Happened to My Love for Basketball

When I was a kid I would spend hours on end outside shooting basketball. I would pretend to be KY vs LSU or some other rival team. I knew at least the starting 5 for LSU and Tennessee and all the players for UK. I would have good hard fought games. KY wouldn't always win, well that's probably not true, but anyhow I had a real love for the game.

Today I was buying something, Little Debbie cake of some sort, and the guy behind the register asked me about the tournament. For the life of me I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Now don't get me wrong. I've been following the games at a distance, reading the stories every day, studying the brackets to see who is progressing, but my burning desire to know, to watch is not there. What happened?

I can honestly say I really don't know. There is no time I can go back to and say I quit caring about basketball at that moment, it just happened over time. Perhaps that's what happens as we get older. I know that my father was a huge baseball fan when he was a kid, and I can honestly say I hardly ever remember him watching a game when I was growing up.

It's sad to know that basketball is lost to me maybe forever, but it has been replaced I can say by cycling, the NCFA and my wife and dog. It's a wonderful life now and so I can say I am much happier now than I was when I had basketball.

Technology and Individualism

I would argue that technological development has in many ways allowed people to become much more individualistic. The world wide web is the best example of this. Now a kid living in Paducah KY can follow the world of cycling if he wants to his hearts content even though in his local area there is no coverage and no interest. In fact he could communicate if he wanted with cycling fans from all over the world. With developments in computers, cameras, music people can create their own films, broadcast their own radio stations, it goes on.

Today on the Splendid Table I heard an interesting story about a new product called MooBella. It's interesting because it lets the individual create the flavor of ice cream they want in under a minute. Through a menu system you can choose flavor and mix-ins. I really think this is a great idea and another example of how technology allows for individualism. Margaret can't wait to make coffee, butter pecan.

Fort Macon State Park

Another good place we visited on our trip to the beach was Fort Macon State Park. NC has a wonderful state park system and Fort Macon is no exeption to that rule. The beach was interesting since no swimming is aloud, but a good place to walk and enjoy the scenery. Again we were happy since it has free parking with bathrooms for changing.

Best Day Use Area Ever

We were heading down toward the Hatteras Lighthouse on route 12 and looking for a good place to stop and enjoy beach. We wanted a spot with parking, bathrooms, showers (if possible) and we found it. Just south of Avon before Hatteras is a day use area facing the Pimlico Sound. It has changing rooms, shower, and bathrooms and a simple stroll across the street will take you right to the Atlantic Ocean side.

All I can say is it was a truly fantastic beach experience. The weather was wonderful and there was absolutely no one around. Puppy Dog and I spent about an hour strolling on the beach while Margaret was off running and we were absolutely the only ones around for as far as the eye could see up and down the beach. We were told by locals that the experience is not quite so tranquil during season, but I know where we will be going back to the next time we're on Pea Island.