Current events & the slanted view

The current state of politics here in the United States is pretty amazing. In general, we are doing well. The federal government has noticeably contributed to helping improve the economy. There were such dire economic predictions at the start of the year as Obama first became president.

Yet, there are spiteful remarks from former V-Pres. Cheney (& he has a clueless daughter, too!) that were publicized later. In January, he pathetically and dismissively said that the new administration "wasn't ready for prime time" with respect to the Jewish-Palestinian problem.

Very, very ironic! This is where a good deal of hypocrisy radiates through Cheney's critique.
There he was Vice President, and his pathetic Bush administration did virtually nothing about the Jewish/Palestinian problem during the first several years Bush was president. At the start, President Obama has former Senator George Mitchell (who made peace in Ireland) as the primary negotiator of the corrosive situation in Israel.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney held his own administration he was involved in to a pathetically LOW standard. Yet, his enemy, the liberals in the Obama administration are supposed to do things perfect, and if they don't, then he will excoriate them.
We have an administration, we can be proud of. Obama doesn't have a Secretary of Defense like a Rumsfeld openly disdainful of Germany and United Kingdom. The world, most notably Europe, is working with us about the problems affecting the globe. Reactionaries sit there ignorantly ignoring global warming and cited hack scientists who were paid by petroleum companies (where Bush worked at when he was a younger man) to vainly bleat that "global warming" is fiction. All the while we continue to pollute and make the climate warmer still. How can Republicans ignore that? Yet they sit there doing just that.
Republicans and reactionaries sit there excoriating Obama, b/c he has directed the CIA not to torture. Yet, they are woefully and completely clueless that the wide-scale torture done during the Bush administration, the torture at Guantanamo base has been used to recruit more terrorists in Iraq & Afghanistan, which has led to killing of American lives in Western Asia! It is well documented as FACT that prisoners captured by Bush's forces in Afghanistan were tortured to the point that they would say anything and tell Americans (torturing them) lies. Lies that put our forces in peril! Documented facts are there, yet it's all ignored just so Republicans can get back into power ASAP. Poorly read, lack of select reading and listening skills, because they would rather hear Beck, Limbaugh & Roger Ailes (an political hack from Bush Sr.'s administration) leading Fox News.
Republican and reactionaries fail to acknowledge the capture of terrorists, Najibullah Zazi and his father. They don't say a damn thing about that, b/c they want you & I to be shnookered into thinking Obama is stupid and clueless.
Republicans have fell out of touch and their failure was well described by the very famous pollster, Nate Silver of http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/
"(The reason) why conservatives don't win elections anymore… is not that conservatism generally permits less nuance than liberalism (in terms of political messaging, that is probably one of conservatism's strengths).
Rather, the key….(is that) there is a certain segment of conservatives who literally cannot believe that anybody would see the world differently than the way they do. They have not just forgotten how to persuade; they have forgotten about the necessity of persuasion."

Further, when they do attempt to persuade, it's done in the most ham-fisted ways. These same conservatives brand Liberals as "UnAmericans", "instruments of terrorism" all the while denying the Democratic administration's effective attempts at fighting terrorism. They fail to acknowledge that Democrats (a majority of them) voted for funding the war in Afghanistan back in 2001.
No, Republicans love to mislead. Currently, that's why a majority of Americans are sick of them!

Ted's tough game/Andy's work of art

the painting has a glass w/ too much reflection, sorry folks

Ted's Homecoming game started off rough w/ 2 TDs scored by the Broncos. Then, Ted suffered a hard hit to the knee, straining the ligaments and was crying as he came out. With 3 minutes left in the game, the other assistant coach told him to just relax, and if he felt better, he could come in for the 2nd half. His mother who administrated the team's ice pack, asserted the same.

Ted ignored them both. He was upset that without him the Broncos scored another TD while Ted's mom held the ice pack against his knee. But he was upset and wanted to get out there. Within one minute, he went from laying down, to standing up, walking, and running out onto the field to play center for his team. To my delight, he countermanded both the other assistant coach and his mom. You could hear the 49er parents from a 1/2 mile away as they loudly cheered Ted as he ran back on the field.

The hardest part came at halftime as I had to work very hard to lift his spirits. Down 20-0, this was a game that we fully expected to win. Ted and I both scouted the Broncos and were very misled. They played the Oak Forest Steelers 2 wks. ago and the Broncos looked little and underwhelming. What we did not realize was that one of their big linemen were out of the game we scouted and was back in during our game. So Ted felt worthless, as he got beat on the run outside as a defensive end and didn't get any flags/tackles on defense, and didn't catch any of the poorly thrown balls thrown to him on offense.

The biggest problem that our 49ers face is that every team circles the game they play against Ted's team on their calendar. We have NOT won a game in a season & a 1/2 as we started 2008 as an expansion team in the league. The coaches have not done a good job of drafting big strong players. The teams come in very, very motivated and hyped that the 49er game is the one they will win. The Broncos came at our small line with 9 or 10 players.

Rallying the team at halftime worked. The 49ers shut the offense of the Broncos out in the 2nd half. Ted pulled a flag and held the running back to no gain. He knocked a defensive end to the ground pulling on a sweep which sprung our running back for 25 yards. As you can see, from the picture below, he earned another "POW" for his flag pull as DE and another football for his good blocking and flawless snaps as a center.

The Broncos got frustrated that they failed to push the 49ers around in the 3rd quarter so they resorted to punching. When I went out onto the field to coach the defense, Pablo Vega had tears in his eyes. The coach's son punched him on repeated plays (Bully #22) I responded by calling a blitz where Johnny Nietzel sacked their quarterback. "Where did that boy (Johnny) come from???" the Broncos coach said in a fog of confusion.

On offense, Head Coach Nietzel ordered Teddy and 2 other teammates to body slam and pile onto dirty #22 slamming him to the ground. Teddy saved his hardest hit for "dirty 22". Next play, when Dirty 22 raced into our quarterback to hit him after the play, Liam popped his elbow into his ribs. The gun sounded as the game was over. The 3 of us coaches confronted the Broncos coach, and boldly discussed Dirty 22's uncalled-for punches. The coach didn't mouth off, but rather, meekly played "stupid". He even admitted that Dirty 22 was his son!!

Ted was tired and winded. He deserved a lecture from both Mom and me. He admitted that he refused to eat lunch (which I tried serving him) because he was too finicky to eat. He admitted that he was light-headed from going 8 hrs. with nothing to eat but a big breakfast of bacon, milk and pancakes. He admitted he nearly fainted on the last play. His mother wisely told him that if he refused 5 options of food at lunch, he had no one to blame but himself. I glibly told him that he takes after both parents, who were both picky eaters as kids. Mom angrily denied being picky, but I silently recalled the fact that both kids graduated high school scrawny. Like a good Communist rewriting history, Momma forgot her own self-admission on that point! Just kidding, we don't fight nearly as much as 2002-05.

I've concluded that when I compare Ted to me as a 5th grader, we both suffer the curse of being a slow runners. We both played in pain when we got hurt in a game. My experience was a basketball game in Highland where I had the same injury but came back while our team won.

Ted, however, is more mature, smarter, and stronger as a football player. I just couldn't come close in grade school to accomplishing what he has. He has faithfully learned the plays, and, as center, snaps the ball with 99% accuracy, not only on direct snaps but on the shotgun play too. As coach John said last year, "Ted gets it!" Coach John Neitzel in the last 2 years has never said one discouraging word to Ted, and we calmly make suggestions whenever Ted makes mistakes. We have all recognized that Ted leads the team along with the 2 alternating quarterbacks. He proudly wears his All-American blue "C" for Captain that I had sewn into his jersey. (He's even a voice of reason at home!) With a better offensive line, the 49ers would have 2 more victories in a 4 game season. Seeing the start of Ted becoming a young man is an inspiration to all of us!

Coach John said the following during Homecoming dinner (& there are no dates for the 2nd through 5th grade team, lol, just a big ole supper by a large group of great parents, especially the football mothers who are with the 49ers through thick and thin!!)

"We had 3 goals I wanted the '9ers to accomplish.

1. Play the whole game hard and never quit.


2. Score a touchdown.


3. Win Homecoming.

We didn't win, but we held the ball 8 of 14 minutes in the 2nd half. We didn't score, but we at least accomplished 1/2 the goal. We definitely did NOT quit through the entire game. So by accomplish 1 1/2 goals and rounding up, we won today. Our young team rallied to Pablo when the Broncos gave him the brunt of their dirty play. Did we punch back, team?

NOOOO! shouted the young team.

"That's right, we played good, clean 49er football! We held our heads up and denied them any scoring that 2nd half. We begin as a team, and we'll end as a team. Now, let's give a big round of applause to the fine 49er moms who put out a sumptuous feast for all of us!"

Cheers and applause. Ted was hurt and dejected at halftime, but he and the rest of his teammates joined together after supper playing on the playground like the young winners they are.

___________------------------________________--------------___________

We all know what a tough year my oldest son, Andy had last year. A 25-foot fall off a balcony last 9-13-2008, scoring 60th percentile in the standardized reading test in Illinois, suffering and struggling with below average grades in Writing and Reading both last year and currently this year, and of course, suffering Asperger's Syndrome. We've helped, and we rewarded him, because in the 4th quarter, he finished strong in the end. He earned a white belt in Karate this summer; his white belt test brought tears to his supportive mother's eyes. He was rewarded for working and doing a great deal of housework by earning over $30 these past 2 weeks. He finished all of his homework, and during Homecoming game, he ran the first down chains with 2 football parents and loudly supported Ted. During the 2nd half as he intently watched Ted and his team losing, Andy (at 5'7", taller than his mom and a lil' over 160 lbs.) turned to me and said, "I wish that I could give that offensive line 50% of my size!"

Now, you and I have had a supportive grade school teacher when we were much, much younger. From the ages of 5-13 yrs. old, there was that one teacher who guided and nurtured us. Andy found that teacher after his fall, last year, his wonderful art teacher, Mrs. Nix. He earned an A in Art in 2008 and is well on his way to an A+ this quarter with this painting. My phone camera didn't do it justice, but there it is, above. Last month, Mrs. Nix has enthusiastically invited him to the Art Club where he meets every Tuesday afternoon, and he is really enjoying his 1st extra curricular activity after school! By the way, Andy has continued to do very well in Math, was in the mid80th percentile in the standardized Illinois test, and continues to work hard and do his schoolwork with Bs and As on his tests.


God bless, Mrs. Nix. When she beheld Andy's work of art above, she spent $15 for the glass and frame. MB & I know that she is definitely going to be invited to Andy's 8th grade graduation party. Andy hopes she will be there. Special thanks goes to Andy's Aunt Karen who gave him a very nice art set about 5 years ago, and Andy used on a regular basis until the colors were gone and the colored pencils were short.

sorry,women,friends&men,but give me your patience!

Here is Darth Vader before the man joined the Dark Side this past summer. I liked him before then!

Sorry, but can't post results of Ted's Homecoming game yet. It's a bit of a long story, and I hope you can all wait. Plus, Darth Vader is playing tonight against the mighty Packers. Potential MUST = ACTION, tonight!

a distant Homecoming

My own son is playing at Homecoming w/ a lot of people and a nice spread of food afterwards. (No, it's not like the high school homecomings; he's only 11).

It made me think the Homecoming I went to my senior year, (with Therese Berns Deckert, nice time was had by all after the dance). This is what I looked like that year.

The mixed bag called this weekend……….

Good
A lot of the weekend has to do with my kids beginning to come of age. Brianna continues to enjoy learning to ride bike. She rode for at least 2 or 3 miles and at one stretch rode a solid ½ mile. Then when I complement her about how well she is doing, she asks, “if she’ll get paid a dollar” for a fine job of biking. At nearly 8, she doesn’t quite understand the idea that not all “activities well done” mean you get money for them.

A lot of my enjoyment in life overall is seeing Ted grow up and really showing leadership skills as the oldest member of his flag football team and at home. He tells other kids what they should be doing on the field, and the coach sometimes has given him the toughest blocking assignments which he has handled well (He may be the oldest kid on our team but definitely not the biggest kid in the leagues as there are a number of kids bigger than Ted). & he has emerged as a voice of reason even at home, sometimes he’ll tell me that I am too tough on someone, like Andy.
This weekend we both had a lot of hope that his team would finally win their 1st flag football game. (If the Detroit Lions can do it, why not us??). We had fun talking about the impending football game and our 2 fantasy football teams (1 of our teams finally won while the other is winning & we’ll find out after the Mon. Night Football game).

Bad
Ted’s team did not get their 1st victory. They lost 20-0. They make stops on defense but, as opposed to 2 weeks ago, just cannot get anything going on offense. The head coach was disgusted with the lack of blocking. & Ted was disgusted he did not get a catch as a receiver or a tackle/flag on defense. He cried his eyes out and left the field in disgust before the rest of his teammates. The head coach kind of thought favorably of that and felt that at least Ted cares! After the game, some of the kids admitted that they don’t like blocking, and he promptly told them to quit if that was the case. So this Tuesday’s practice will be kind of interesting. What bothered us coaches is that if they had blocked, they would have won. & if they block next Sunday, they can definitely win their homecoming game.

1 coach is allowed to go onto the field w/ the team to either call plays (on offense) or call formations (on defense). I came up w/ a new formation (a 5 man line instead of the usual 4 man defensive line), and our defense did not allow the Bucaneers to score. I came off the field and triumphantly yelled to the defensive coach who usually goes out on the field, "Now that's a formation that works!!" Hope he didn't take offense and think that was a dig at him. Probably not, I said it w/ a smile on my face. & besides, he went out on the next series and used the same one he did before and they didn't score that time either.
Ted wasn't happy that I found a defense that worked against the opponent's offense. It was a tough game, and he cut his hand. At times, Ted gets so morose and dejected, that I worry about him staying that way. Luckily, his intellectual curiosity, his confidence prevails, but will there come a time when it won’t ?

Good
There’s a long saying giving advice about parenting, and one of the sentences go, “If you compliment children, they will learn to appreciate.” That certainly is true of Andy. He is very earnest and doesn’t have the jaded fuck-all attitude that some teenagers have. We found out that on the state standardized test, Andy only was in the 60th %ile in Reading. He had always done well in all his subjects on the standardized tests before. As he gets older, we learn more about the innate problems he has. We sat down and I had a long talk with him that just as a basketball player must practice new moves each summer (even though that's not as fun as doing commercials and spending their millions), he must read more. & he agreed, and he has followed through.

Bad
I was taking a short afternoon nap Sunday; when Andy was walking around the room I was sleeping. He was crying. We worked on his Science project Saturday, but he failed to inform me that it was due today, the 28th. We took 8 pictures of plants and animals, and he needed 16 to even pass, 19 to get a C and 25 to get an A. So, I had to rouse myself up and take 11 more pictures of plants and animals in less than an hour’s time. It got so that since there was no daylight, I had to go into grocery stores and take pictures of plants. Andy needs to learn to STOP procrastinating and get better organized. But maybe many of us were like him when we were young. I keep hoping and feeling confident that Andy will have a productive adult life if he gets the right direction. We were hustling so much last night that MB said, “I am so past caring what grade he gets!” Better buck up, dear, we still have 7 months until graduation. & she realizes that and will continue to help. She only was frustrated b/c she worked 13 hrs. then came home w/ Andy & I working on it for a few hours already. Again, why couldn’t Andy have told me the day before? Then she wouldn’t have done anything but relaxed after a hard day’s work.

Bad at the very end.
Before we went to bed, there was a tornado warning for Cook County until 10:15 and a tornado watch until 2 am. So, Brianna really freaked out. First, she vomited then she was shaking from hearing the hail pounding the brick walls of our condo. When the hell was she traumatized by a damn storm?!? We haven’t suffered through any tornados, (thank God!). So, she easily persuaded Mom that she must sleep with us, and the 3 of us were very crowded in our queen-size bed.
When I woke up, I asked, “Did you dislike that it’s so cramped in our bed, Brianna?”
“No,” she cheerily replied this morning, “it felt just fine.”
Luckily, I don’t let her sleep in our bed except in very rare circumstances.

SEQUEL TO THIS STORY

No, the assistant coach didn't take offense (see my remark made during the game) to my formation at all. Our team, the O.F. 49ers are planning to use a 5-man defensive line most, if not all, of the game!! I couldn't planned it better myself, and the funny thing was that Coach Geoff thought of it all by himself (maybe he received a little osmosis learning after my remark last Sunday).

GO OAK FOREST 49ers!

stay tuned tomorrow for results of the O.F.49ers-O.F. Broncos game. Root the 49ers on! It's Ted's HOMECOMING GAME, (even his mother took off work to watch)!

My New Postings/Threads on Wikipedia

Here are some entries that I have originated or have made substantial contributions to. If you get a chance, please check them out. I will hasten to add that I had some help with these articles, and it was, by no means, a 1-man effort. The total effort was the work of 2 or 3 people. As most of you know, all you have to do is click onto the link below, and it will automatically take you to the Wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presto_%28album)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Don%27t_Tell_%28song)

Both Presto (album) and the song “Show Don’t Tell” were small entries into Wikipedia that were begun by some other editor. I significantly added to both articles and took them out of “stub status”. I had read a doctoral dissertation and several other on-line articles relating to Rush’s Presto and their song “Show Don’t Tell”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_the_Truth_%28song)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glad_%28song)

These next two songs, “Tell the Truth” by Derek & the Dominos and “Glad” by Traffic, are songs that I originated. I was inspired to write them, because I witnessed and enjoyed the fantastic concert by Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton who were instrumental in writing these songs separately.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_The_Rolling_Stones

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Progressive_Rock/Members

I am also in a Wikipedia group dedicated to making all Rolling Stones-related better researched and better written. There are 13 of us. I have made minor contributions to the article on their great guitarist Mick Taylor and the article on the Jagger – Richards songwriting team.

I am also in a group dedicated to Progressive Rock. This is music that features concept albums, sophisticated instrumentation, rhythms, extended songs like Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” which runs 23 minutes. Rush, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Supertramp are just a few of the bands that are considered to play Progressive Rock. Interestingly enough, the group only had 2 members in it a month ago (just me and the founder of the group), then I invited someone else, and checking tonight, we have grown to 12 members. My 2 above articles on Rush are inspired by joining this group.

If you have an interest in either Prog Rock or Rolling Stones, you are more than welcome to join our group. We not only feature the article but have a talk section that talks about the behind the scenes discussion of making the articles and any arguments or controversy that may be raging behind the article. Some very interesting things occur behind the scenes as you may imagine!

Congratulations, Blogging Buddy! :)

My Blogging Buddy, Amel @ http://ailema4ever.blogspot.com/ is going to be published. I'm so happy and proud of her! I hope that she makes lots of money and is famous (I always wanted to know someone famous, lmao, he-he).

I know that a lot of us who do blog, dream of someday getting into a good publication where more can read about us. I dream of someday writing for the New Yorker but until I get well-connected and become a better writer, I will continue to write and improve my skill, and hope!

So, thanks for reading me, congratulations, Amel, you deserve it!! You're a very good writer!

random actions and thoughts

Several things have happened, so I just wanted to give a few updates:

• I think a friend of mine from work is pregnant. It's an amazing office. There's less than 30 people in the office, and yet, ever since I started working here 4 yrs. ago, there's at least 2 women pregnant at any given time!! I am not sure, and I'm kind of shy about asking her if she is pregnant. I will be happy for her if she is, b/c she is getting into her upper 30s and in a few years she won't be able to have any kids. She's not married so apparently hasn't been lucky in love (until now??).



• I feel happy about the Packers getting a win in their opening game. I'm pretty starved for victories since the Milwaukee Brewers have been "laying eggs" since sometime in July. They are soooo far out of the playoff race, but what do you expect when you don't have decent starting pitching??



• I was very happy for my son, Ted, who had a great game in flag football last Sunday. He made a stop on defense, caught a ball for 5 yards and blocked the toughest kid on the opposing team successfully. Can you imagine the pride I felt when the coach came up to me on the sideline during the game and said, "Your son knocked that tough kid on his ASS!". (lots of pride, indeed!!). The team did not win, but we are definitely claiming a moral victory after the drubbings they suffered last year.



• I hope that the healthcare reform passes Congress and becomes law. It's about time the United States reverse the trend of more and more people not being insured and healthcare costs spiraling upward higher than inflation!!

embarassed

I was on the train & I made an alarming and really embarassing discovery. There's a woman/"casual friend" that I ride the train with (about once a week for the last 2 years, sometimes more, sometimes less). I realized after sitting next to her yesterday and today that I can't stand sitting next to her.
Why?? At first it was hard to figure out. But then I realized that it was b/c she talks so much and she has a very nasal, guttural voice that's irritating to listen to. Monday, I was on an earlier train so I didn't expect to see her, but she was early that morning and took the same train and got into the same train as me. She sat next to a perfect stranger and talked the whole 35 min. to her. I guess that should be impressive that she can engage a stranger to hold a conversation w/ her so effortlessly!! But for me it was very hard to listen to. & today, she talked on the train I would usually see her, and I just felt almost like getting up and walking away from her.

BUT I CAN'T! B/c I am not only friends w/ her but 3 other people and if I walk away from her, I'm walking away from my other friends. I can't do that. I feel very embarassed, b/c this woman has always been nice to me, has NEVER done anything mean to me. I've even seen her during church. So, I'm feeling a lot of guilt. I always pictured myself as this NICE, cool, urbane person. Now that I have these feelings, I feel like a misanthrope, like a nasty person.

Sunday

Ted’s football team is much better than last year. The Saturday scrimmage went well and resulted in our team having a slight edge even though the other team was bigger and faster.
The played well in the exhibition game on Sunday, but the other team was also very good and beat them 20-0 inspite only 1 half being played. The problem was that the other team capitalized on our mistakes and it seemed like nearly every mistake our team made we ended up paying for by the other team’s touchdowns.
I was the assistant coach, and I was actually coaching the defensive unit for one of the series. They did a great job for 3 plays. But the last play, one of our players got burned on a pass play and we had a TD scored on us. (UGH!)
The offense improved but we are a very long ways from scoring with any frequency. We only had 1 first down, and that was from a roughing the passer penalty. We did complete our first pass on the very first play so that was great. Our little QB didn’t complete ANY last season, so that had to feel good for him. Offense is SO HARD to do b/c all of the players have to do a good job on the same play. That’s 11 boys all between the ages of 7 to 11 (not the best attention span and concentration there!!!). Then 1 good play is not good enough a lot of times. It will only 5 -10 yards, and usually the team has to move 50 yards to score. So that’s 11 boys concentrating 8-12 plays. You multiply 11 boys times the number of plays they have to do very well w/ great concentration & it’s 88-96 smart actions by boys between the ages of 7-11. That’s a lot to ask of those boys. So scoring seems very hard. Our only hope seems to score TD w/ long runs which don’t require so much concentration. I hope that we win 2 games, but I am not so sure it will happen (UGH!)

I scouted another game, and that was an experience too. The smaller, less skilled team beat the bigger, more talented team. All b/c of one mistake, one breakdown by the defense. & for one time, those collection of 11 little boys concentrated, ran the play well, and they scored a touchdown. & there still needed to be a mistake made to score the winning TD.

I love watching Pawn Stars! I wrote an entry about this last month (July), and incorrectly called it “Pawn Shop”. It’s on 9pm CST Sunday on the History Channel. The website is http://www.history.com/content/pawn-stars This is a funny, interesting show!

unreal sight

I was walking to work (I work in downtown Chicago) and saw a homeless man arguing/yelling/swearing at an outside wall of this large building. I just walked past him, didn't really stop, but it was an amazing sight to behold. He was talking in such an animated way!
Homelessness is really bad in Chicago. It's so prevalent that they have their own paper. If you buy their paper for $2, most of the money goes to the homeless. The paper is called Streetwise. You should check out their website (just Google Streetwise and put in the terms "Streetwise" & homeless & Chicago) The paper is actually well written. I see at least 4 or 5 homeless people every single day in Chicago. That's no lie!

Sometimes I do give money, & I buy Streetwise sometimes, but I just don't have the kind of money it takes to give every homeless person a dollar. I would be spending over $20 a week on that. I've seen a lot of homeless people, but I don't think I'll ever forget what I saw today when I saw a person arguing with a wall.

A word about a new link

I have added a new link to my blog. If you look on the right side of this blog, you quickly see some very good links like Amel's Realm and Crow's Feet. I also wanted to provide you with a link to my other writing which is with Wikipedia.

Wikipedia, as some of you already know, is an encyclopedia which is not written by hired experts as there are for Britannica, Colliers or World Book. Wikipedia is written by regular laypeople like you and I. However, it is important to note that when I write articles, they are given peer reviews and if they don't meet standards, the article is deleted. Articles that are written most of the time become group projects. For instance, a couple of my articles that I wrote drew enough interest where someone else improved upon them.

If you click onto the new link, "Vince's page on Wikipedia", you will be shown several articles that I have written. It also gives you a "thumbnail sketch" of my background including a wild "blast from the past" where my successor teacher at a school where I once taught was given poison by her own students. Hope you get a chance to check it out.

a night on the town with kids (Windy City Ribfest)

I went to the Windy City Ribfest where my two nephews Zach & Chris  were playing in their band, Catchpenny (see http://www.catchpennyband.com/ ). They sounded great, they seem to have a harder edge to their rock which I loved to see. For instance, they played Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" rather than "Ramble On" complete with expert feedback. Clearly, the heart of their set is their own music that is on their debut CD and also their second CD From Where You Are. Catchpenny has been touring in Iraq repeatedly, and is always and consistently well received there.

Also, in attendance was Maribeth's co-worker, Annie, who is shown in the first picture. She was able to see Catchpenny for the first time. She was kind enough to take a picture of Chris, Zach, my kids and me, but unfortunately, I didn't press SAVE, & the picture she took became lost to oblivion. However, Chris took a picture too, thank God, so, our hope is that Chris will send his picture to me which I will add.

Then we saw a band greatly admired by Catchpenny which is from New Orleans called Cowboy Mouth. They put on a very energetic and engaging show. They're a very talented band, and one of the view bands where the drummer/lead singer is right at the front of the stage.

After hearing Cowboy Mouth, the trip home on the interstate was speedy, fast and short. We took an admiring look at the lit up skyscrapers and loved hearing Santana on the classic rock radio station, The Drive, 97.1. I wholeheartedly agreed with Ted that Chicago is a great city to live in. This month marks 20 years that I have lived in the Chicago area. It was 20 years ago that I moved from LaCrosse, Wisconsin to take a job teaching for the Archdiocese of Chicago at one of the parochial schools in the neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago.

about an ad on dairy farm

There was a great ad by Google AdSense that I was proud to have on my blog. By the time you are reading this, I am not sure if you will see it or not. Anyway the website is

http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/DairyFarmingToday

I would strongly encourage you to look at this ad, because I grew up on a dairy farm. I worked on and off on dairy farms until about 1987. The summer of 1987 marked the last time I worked on a dairy farm (my father's) full time. Dairy farming is a vital, noble profession. It is a very tough profession as my 3 older brothers do it; 2 of them are required to wake up at 4:30 am each and every morning. Dairy farmers are required to milk their cows either 2 or 3 times a day. That means if you go to a wedding and then the wedding reception, when the clock strikes 3:30 or 4pm, you are required to leave and go feed and milk the cows and come back (depending on how much help you have and how many cows you have to milk) to the wedding dance until sometime around 7 or 8. If you don't have replacement help, you don't get to go on vacations.

Dairy farming is one of the best places to raise your children, because it's a great place to teach the value of hard work. I sometimes miss the farm, b/c it seems that my kids' day revolves around play whereas when I grew up their day revolves around work. Now, I don't want to say that my kids are a bunch of "good-time Charlies", they work very hard during the school year, and they are given lots of chores to do during the summer. Still, it seems like they are loving the computer and PlayStation a bit too much at times. Yes, they are also outside (rather than inside watching the TV), b/c our condo has a swimming pool, and they swim a lot there.

At any rate, please check out the ad. I agree with the ad, and I would look at all the aspects of the webpage which is very educational to those not knowing a lot about dairy farming.

health insurance statistics

The average income of health insurance executives: $11.9 million
The profit growth of health insurance from 2001 to 2007: 484%
The percentage of people that have become uninsured in the same time period: 19%

Wanting to smile/wanting to frown

Wanting to smile

Last night Charlie Rose interviewed Nora Ephron and Meryl Streep. Nora Ephron directed the new movie about Julia Child, and we all know that Meryl Streep is Julia Child in the movie. I loved listening to Meryl Streep being interviewed by the very clever Charlie Rose. She's the best actress of our generation, if not the best actress ever.

My oldest sister is the same age is Meryl Streep. Apparently, in 1949 (when she was born), Tarzan. So her invitations say what do Michaeleen and Tarzan have in common? They both started in 1949! Duh, Michaeleen! Use a better cultural reference with MERYL STREEP!
She has an amazing sense of balance. She knows she's an excellent actress. Yet, she finds a way to be humble without making people roll their eyes and thinking she's putting them on. She was asked about the toughest role she ever played. She explained about the process of how she usually assumes a character in a movie. Then she discussed how that doesn't work, and she has to "start from scratch" and figure out how to do the role better. Then in the middle of explaining how she performed her toughest roles, she looks at Ephron & Rose and said, "Neither of you know what I'm talking about" and the implication was, "& I feel embarassed going off on a tangent!" Then they stated in unison they understood what she was saying and wanted her to continue to explain herself. But she didn't........

Consistency at a high level is one of the hardest things to do. That's what makes Meryl Streep such a great actress. I've seen her read many of her interviews. She consistently doesn't want the interviewer to go on and on and count the ways she is great. With Rose, she didn't have to!
Seeing her be interviewed is nearly as fun as watching her act. Wish I saw last night's interview from the very beginning.

Wanting to frown

I had a written a previous blog entry about Michael Jackson. Now that I read the large Rolling Stone (Issue 1,084), I feel a strong sense of loss. Why do I feel this way??!?? I only like about 5 of his songs and the rest I either don't like or am entirely indifferent to. Why does it hurt that he's dead? I'll try to answer that now.
The pognant feelings are on 2 levels. We heard that when M. Jackson was trying to be revived, his kids were fearfully crying, "Daddy! Daddy!" That situation strikes a painful chord for many parents. My biggest fear (as recent as 1 1/2 yrs. ago) was that I would retire sick and poor. I haven't saved nearly enough money for retirement, & in the next 3 years, I know that I will invest less than $500 in my retirement accounts. So, that's a big fear, but the worst fear is leaving my kids, b/c I died before they were 18. There's an unbreakable bond between my three kids. The scary thought hurts, and it makes one think about a tragic death and the kids left behind. You can think of one instance right now as you read this. I think of President John Kennedy being shot, and during the funeral procession, his 3 year old son salutes him. Ouch.
The second level/reason why I feel bad is the sense of what might have been. I read in Rolling Stone that Jackson was finally somewhat in touch with reality. He wanted to be better than his rival Prince. He was preparing for his concert. Who knows if it was going to be the best ever as he wanted it to be, but even with me being biased against 90% of his music, even I knew the concerts in London were going to be something to behold. Then he died.

He was in better physical shape, and he didn't act as old and go around in a wheelchair like he was last year. He wasn't sleeping with little boys anymore. He was trying to be a good father. He wasn't even dangling his kid off of hotel balconies anymore. Then he died.

Like millions of people, including me, he had a problem with insomnia. Unlike me, he was one of the very, very few that would take 40 Xanax to sleep and live to tell about it. The night before his death, after his very triumphant rehearsal, his physician give him an IV of a drug that is used to sedate patients before surgery. Then he died.

Today & tomorrow

Today is my parent's 62nd wedding anniversary. 62 years! It seems like a lifetime, doesn't it?

I wish I could celebrate a 62nd wedding anniversary, but I most definitely won't! Oh well, that means I need to redouble my efforts being a good dad.

Tomorrow is MB's 42nd birthday. She seems to have aged well. She still is attractive, and she seems more mature, more tolerant of opposing view than she once was. She could still work on sharpening her budget-cutting knife and her subjectivity, but tomorrow, we'll celebrate all the progress she's made.

a new season w/ new hopes

Ted has started football season again in the Oak Forest Park District league. Last year was successful insofar as he had fun, learned a lot and he played nearly every down of football as he was starting defensive end and center. However, his team, the expansion 49ers of Oak Forest, were winless and in 5 games, they only scored 3 touchdowns. I know a little bit about that as 2 teams I was on were winless (my 7th grade and my sophmore year). The first time we were winless, we came back the next season and posted a 4-1 record! Let's hope that's what Ted does.

The 49ers have all but 2 starters back this year, and they have some pretty good new players. The hope is that they will score more touchdowns as that was lacking last year. We had some good moments on defense, and Ted was able to sack the quarterback several times. The hope is that they consistently do well on defense.

I am assistant coach, and the head coach says that I'm in charge of special teams. That's fine I know a thing or 2 about specials teams. He has some new ideas that will hopefully help us be a better team, so there is a lot of hope.

PS. If you look at the helmet in the 2nd picture, each decal he got was a personal or team award that Ted earned. For instance, he received a decal for each sack and also defensive stops he made by himself.

missing Mike Sullivan!

I was catching up with a former boss of mine. I heard he left our old law firm and started his own. I asked him how a mutual co-worker of ours was. The co-worker's name was Mike. He quickly e-mailed me back and said Mike died in March at the age of 49, of a heart attack. Very sad, not very surprised. Mike smoked like a chimney, and if you smoke like a chimney, it's not incredibly shocking to die of heart disease at the tender age of 49. But as a fellow paralegal, I really really admired Mike Sullivan, so much!!! He was quite simply the best paralegal I ever knew!!

We worked together for less than 2 short years, and I saw him run a Workers' Compensation Dept. by himself. Well, he was a paralegal, so he had to have a lawyer go to the Commission instead of him, b/c as a paralegal he couldn't. But that lawyer didn't have to do a ton of WC work b/c he already had over 120 PI cases that I was helping him with. The lawyer who Mike & I worked for was Jim. Jim was the man that e-mailed me today about Mike's death. He must have felt terrible, b/c Mike & Jim worked great together. They were a synergy. They worked so well together that we nicknamed them Batman & Robin. I could go on for a 100 pages about all the things Mike Sullivan did to help me be a better paralegal.

He was a great paralegal and an even better person!

Brianna learns to bike/My past

Brianna knows that we wanted her to get a bike, so she hasn't been shy about asking. We were delayed when we had to get a refrigerator when our old one died after 14 years. Yesterday, the day finally came where she got her beloved bike. I took her out on her first lesson. I taught her the same way I learned. I would go down hills because you don't have to work so hard at pedaling. & I wanted her to pedal down a grassy hill so that she wouldn't get scraped up if she fell (which is pretty inevitable when you first learn).

So, we went to this park not far from where her grandpa/my FIL lives. She learned quickly!! So quickly that I was really surprised. Then she said something pretty funny. I said, "Brianna, you are doing a great job!"

She associated "job" with being "paid", so she asked, "Do I get $3?"

I replied, "Brianna! I just gave you $54"

"What?"

"$54 was the cost of the bike!"

"Oh".

So, she kept learning and doing well. I was very impressed and now Brianna passed one of those little milestones that a kid goes through!

--------------------------- ********** --------------------------------

MY PAST
When I was a growing up, I lived on a dairy farm. It was a good childhood, because there wasn't a better way to learn a good solid work ethic than working as a kid on a dairy farm. There were high expectations, and my parents and older brothers and sisters were not shy about telling me if my work fell below expectations. The lessons have helped me a great deal even now!!
Well, last night I saw a new show that will be on weekly on the HISTORY CHANNEL called Pawn Shop. The story is of a grandfather, his son and the grandson running a pawn shop. Seeing the dad chew out the son really seemed like a flashback of the old times during the 70s when my father and Jerome, my brother, would get into a bitter argument. It was amazing, the argument would on a rare occasion seem to last the entire time of milking (about 2 hrs.) Usually when they fought, it was "only" an hour.
Last night the young son was approached by a man who wanted to sell him a boat for $25,000. They haggled, and he bought a boat for $16,500, and the motor was shot on it so it couldn't move in the water. Thinking he made a terrible deal, his dad was furious with him, and the son knew there was going to be a big argument. Of course, the big argument happened with plenty of bleeping and deleting of swear words. The son also was knocking stuff off of the drawers. But lo and behold, everything worked out! They son took the boat to an expert repairman who charged him $4,000 to make the boat run again and make it look like new. The repairman said the boat was really the Cadillac of boats so they shouldn't have any problems getting $30,000 for the boat. (That would be a $10,000 profit for their pawn shop).
There was a scene where they were riding on this grand boat and father, son and friend were all smiles. It made me smile too! I wonder how many times Jerome and Dad were all smiles??

Another similarity was that the 3 men all gave a damn about their business wanted the business to succeed. So, I would be very surprised if they have an episode where they are having a hard time making a profit.
That's the way our father was, and his wife, sons and daughters also wanted the farm to succeed! Most of the time Dad was working, it seemed he was worried. Usually it was about a good cow that was sick. One time when we were milking, he said something that I would never forget. The 70s were a very good time for dairy farmers, much better than the 80s. He looked at the brothers and I and said, "You really have to be a screw up to not make money at dairy farming." He didn't talk much (except when he was arguing w/ Jerome), but that was one time when he didn't have to. It was one time when Dad really seemed content that he was a farmer. I later learned that there were many times that he was happy to be a farmer. One of the best college projects I did was interviewing my parents. My father told to me he loved being on the field and planting and harvesting crops.

The farm did very very well and earned trophies and many plaques because our cows gave so much milk. We had one cow who, during her lifetime, gave over 200,000 pounds of milk. We had another cow that gave over 32,000 lbs. of milk in 1 year. Our farm earned a number of plaques when they found out the average cow on our farm in 1 year would give 700 lbs of butterfat (cream) and over 20,000 pounds of milk.

Walter Cronkite and a little perspective

Less than a month ago, Michael Jackson died. Tonight, Walter Cronkite died. Michael Jackson's death is the more tragic. A man only 50 years old cut down while he still could have made music, and he still had kids to raise. Far more people will be sadder at the death of Michael Jackson than they will the death of Walter Cronkite. For the same reason, Cronkite's death doesn't carry the same pain and tragedy of Tim Russert's death early last summer. ($5 for each of you who remember Tim Russert!!)

I confess I never was that big a Jackson fan. I feel that Walter Cronkite's death means more. He was so trusted, so admired, so listened to!!!! He was the newsman and then anchorman for CBS for a long time 1962-1981. I know some reading this may have either been extremely young or not even born in 1981. I grew up with him. CBS was the only station my family was able to get because it was the only VHF station in the area. (NBC, ABC & PBS were all UHF stations and did not transmit strong enough signals to reach us situated in a valley ringed with high hills).

He was a calm, cool, collected voice. He loved the space program just as I did, & I listened to him cover the 6 space flights to the moon spanning from 1969-1972. He represented a time when the news was covered objectively. Journalists or political talking heads didn't have an "axe to grind" in those days.

I can't really say how terrible the death is or how awful it was, because at 92, what else is there to accomplish?? He was born in 1916 and died tonight. He wasn't in the middle of his career or leave young sons and daughters behind. His kids are probably approaching retirement age. He was 92; he lived a fantastic life. He accomplished so much and did the achievements of 5 men. He'll be missed, but he was in retirement for 28 years. He still was heard from and was seen in his retirement. Still, it's sad that a large group of people younger than 30 don't know very much about him.

I have very mixed feelings about Michael Jackson, but I can state unequivocally and without hesitation that I not only admired Walter Cronkite, but loved all the coolness, objectivity and professionalism that he stood for. All the tributes and statements made about Walter Cronkite are true. He was an AMAZING GIANT in the field of journalism. He is a symbolism of journalism that enjoyed a better more prestigious time and is a painful contrast to the lack of funds, cutbacks and subjectivity that journalism suffers now.

The death hurts more because it shows in bleak terms that the way news is covered may not be done quite as well as before. Someone with an opposing view can state that news is more available and easier to get than it was before. Consider this, however. There were many millions that saw Walter Cronkite (or even other objective, professional anchors at ABC or NBC). Those millions received news from a damn good source, and it made us a better informed, smarter country as a result. Now, there are some people out there that get their news from a Rush Limbaugh or a Sean Hannity. The mind reels at the contrast between the former icon and the latter 2 jokes.

Walter Cronkite was voted "The Most Trusted Man in America" back in the 1970s. Now, the 70s get criticized for a lot of things, but there was NOT a shortage of excellent journalists. "The Most Trusted Man in America" wasn't a priest, journalist, singer, preacher, or the president. Think about that for a second! The Most Trusted Man in America spent less than a 1/2 hour on TV and explained what happened that day. He was trusted precisely because he didn't have an axe to grind, wasn't partisan, and didn't exaggerate to make a point. His trust was extremely well deserved and never, ever lost! Sadly, we'll never see a journalist like him again on TV. No one will command the attention of that high a percentage of American audience that Mr. Cronkite commanded and very much deserved.

more on summer fun

I had a nice weekend and didn't go anywhere. Thursday night, I went to a community festival (Oakfest) where the kids could go on lots of rides. Then Saturday and yesterday, I went to the condo get-together and had a nice time w/ my neighbors. It's not about spending a bunch of money that I don't have, it's about having a nice time w/ people I care for. My kids were upset we didn't go to Oakfest more often, but if we don't have the money, then we can't go, that's that. We were going to go to Taste of Chicago, and see Buddy Guy. But they had him scheduled later in the evening & we would have only been able to see him for about 15 min. b/c our train left soon after he started his show. So we said, "no, doesn't make sense".

The money issue has been playing a more prominent issue because our refrigerator has been making very loud noises. It has always ran quiet before and now sounds like a buzzsaw, something is definitely wrong. In fact, MB told me just this morning that the motor is out and it's OPD! (officially pronounced dead). So we better start saving up money for that.

Which brings me to another issue. I was not looking forward to early morning today. I loved the relaxing 3 day weekend. But I am thankful for a job, and it logically follows that I'm thankful to get up go to work this morning. We need the money, and I plan on doing overtime to pay for all these additional expenses.

summer fun

part of the summertime festivities was our condo having a hula hoop contest. Brianna won 2 of the contests. Ted did not fare as well. I even entered. I wasn't the best but I wasnt the worst, believe it or not. The hoop stayed on me all of 2 seconds, lmfao!

An awesome concert from Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood

I'm going to have a difficult time writing about what transpired at the concert. Why? Because it clearly doesn't do justice to the fantastic, superior music I heard on June 17, 2009. As I write this, I realize sometimes the best gifts are the ones we give to ourselves. For my Christmas of 2006, I gave myself the Led Zeppelin DVD of them performing in concerts from 1969-1979. Frankly, I have a very difficult time thinking of a better Christmas present I ever received. Well, it wasn't the best. That would be the money my dear parents give me before every Christmas. The concert was exactly one week after my 46th birthday. What a sweet present it turned out to be. Chicago is only 1 of 14 places the Clapton/Winwood concert will play!! Clapton/Winwood set list Wednesday at the United Center

1. Had to Cry Today (Blind Faith)
   1st impressions: Winwood and Clapton both playing guitar. Why the hell is Winwood wearing a white T-shirt underneath (Winwood is no nerd, but the picture of him above in that same t-shirt does look a little strange, doesn't it?!?) Don't you get hot playing in a rock n roll concert, you know those bright lights and all the activity? Well, he is 60, and older people like that sometimes dress warmer than someone younger (poor circulation and all). Winwood sings great! How the fuck does he hit every single high note when he's in his 60s? Must take great care of his vocal cords (no smoking??). Everyone knows how great Clapton is on the guitar, and everyone knows what a great keyboardist Winwood is. Not enough people know that Winwood plays some very good guitar, TOO! The notes I wrote on this song state that there is some "heavy riffing" on this song - just the way I like it!
2. Low Down (J.J. Cale)
   Damn! Another song I don't recognize! I didn't know the names of 7 of these songs until Greg Kot put this HEAVEN-SENT SET LIST ON THE WEB!!!!!!!!
3. After Midnight (J.J. Cale)
   Yes, finally a song I recognize!! Is this going to be like the studio version (the best one that expresses pure, unadultrated joy)? Or is it going to be like most of his concert versions where he sings the song with all the confidence of a man that's going to get laid at "midnight"? It's more like the usual concert version. The studio version has a faster tempo and this seems a little faster. "After Midnight" goes right into song #4 which I also recognize.
4. Presence of the Lord (Blind Faith)
   This is a song that Clapton wrote when he discovered and purchased his first house, Hurtwood. I don't really care for the harmonizing that they do, which isn't sung together but is some sort of muddled, echoish "call-response". This is only 1 of 2 disparaging things I have to say (& the only musical criticism) about this very hallowed and unforgettable concert!
5. Sleeping in the Ground (Sam Myers/Blind Faith outtake)
   Another song I don't recognize. But here's the magic of an Eric Clapton concert that I soon discover. Clapton is a blues master! He has every right to draw not only from his very formidable catalog of songs he's built up for over 44 yrs., but he's a bluesman, so he can draw from these blues songs like this one and song #s 2, 8, 9, 15, & 21. The irony is that Winwood's and Clapton's respective discographies are large, so by choosing blues numbers (which is a solid choice) they can't play as much from each other's catalogue.
   I was planning on getting an accurate set list whether I got it from the web or not. One method I planned on doing was writing down the lyrics of songs I didn't know. Then I would match them up with the lyrics sheet on the web. The lyrics to this song is a common blues theme of the double-crossin' woman cheating on her man. & Winwood sings, "I would rather see you 6 ft. in the ground!"
6. Glad (Traffic)
   What an awesome SWEET SURPRISE!!!!!FUCK YEAH!!! Not a Clapton song at all, but a song Traffic did w/o David Mason. One of my favorite songs by Traffic, and the very reason I bought the album it's on, John Barleycorn Must Die. Clapton's guitar substitutes for the saxophone very nicely. They don't play the final section of the song, but that's ok. I heard that Clapton told Winwood that he would pick the Winwood songs Clapton liked the most, and Winwood would pick out Clapton's. If that's the case, Clapton hit gold w/ "Glad".
7. Well Alright (Buddy Holly/Blind Faith) - back in mid 1990s, I went to Traffic's last concert tour. They had released the album Far From Home. During the concert, they played this song, and Winwood was playing lead guitar. It was the first song ever that made me realize, "Damn, Steve's not only great on the keyboard, but good on the guitar too!" This concert, Clapton plays the guitar solo.
8. Tough Luck Blues (Big Maceo)
   Didn't know this song but was aimin' to find out what it was. I wrote the lyrics on this one too. "It's too bad!", "I used to have a car & painted white & black" "I used to smoke cigars".
9. Pearly Queen (Traffic)
10. Crossroads (Robert Johnson)
    One of my favorite Cream songs and the only Cream song played in the concert. But it's fantastic blues, so a good choice. Wouldn't mind hearing "Sunshine of Your Love" but hey, who am I to be pickin Clapton's set list?
11. There’s a River (Winwood), slow ballad song
12. Forever Man (Jerry Williams/Clapton)
    DEFINITELY ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONCERT! I was just pining for Clapton's guitar solo that starts w/ a beautiful long, sustained Bflat. When I heard it, it felt like euphoria washing over me. This is another instance where one chooses from the other's catalogue. To Clapton's surprise, Winwood chose to include in the set list "Forever Man". It was "surprising" b/c Clapton had not played that song in concert for years. Great choice!
13. Georgia on My Mind - Winwood solo (Hoagy Carmichael)
    Winwood is alone on stage. He very humbly thanks everyone and tells us how much he enjoys playing in Chicago. This is a little bit of a contrast to the very reticent Eric Clapton whose talking is a quick, high-pitched "thank you" after each song. I'm not complaining! The music is "front and center" of this very masterful concert.
14. Driftin' Blues – acoustic (Charles Brown)
    Don't know this song, but know that it's from Clapton's awesome album From the Cradle (which I proudly own). He's all alone on the stage.
15. How Long Blues – acoustic (Leroy Carr) This is also a From the Cradle song.
16. Layla – acoustic (Derek and the Dominoes)
    They play the acoustic version of this song, not the studio version. So, it's like the album Unplugged. Winwood plays guitar on this song for the 1st time since the 1st song of the concert.
17. Can't Find My Way Home -- acoustic (Blind Faith) Wnwd on guitar again
18. Split Decision (Winwood)
    Great choice of a song from Winwood's solo career! Clapton plays a great guitar solo making it a highlight of the concert.
19. Voodoo Chile (Jimi Hendrix)
    By far the longest song of the night, didn't even know the name of the song until Winwood sang the chorus. Another thing many people don't know is that Winwood played organ on the original version of the song done by none other than Jimi Hendrix. Clapton makes it 2 IN A ROW for ass-kicking, sweet-soaring guitar solos! I think I died and went to heaven!
20. Encore Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson) Easily the most crowd-pleasing song of the night. 3 things come together to make the crowd so happy. Obviously, people wanted Clapton/Winwood back out playing music after they left the stage the 1st time. So when they did come out, everyone was happy. 2ndly, people were elated to see the great, legendary Buddy Guy, and finally, people were flattered at hearing a song that is so clearly a tribute to my great city.
21. Drowning on Dry Land (Al Jackson) Buddy Guy does a masterful version of playing to the crowd and "acting" humble when he talks about what his dad told him, then when he's about to sing about what his mom told him, he said something like, "I tell you what she said, and then I'll quit." We didn't want him to quit on June 17. When the lights first went on after this concert, you could hear a very clear groan from people who did not want this night to end. I was definitely one of them. It's got to be a pretty fuckin' uplifting concert if you spend over $100 to be there and believe that it's money WELL SPENT!

here's what a man who knows more about music than I, Greg Kot, is from the Chicago Tribune. I am putting quotes so that the reader knows exactly what was said by Mr. Kot.

Concert review: Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood (and Buddy Guy!)
at United Center
By Greg Kot
"Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood shuffled on-stage Wednesday at the United Center like a couple of golf buddies in loose-fitting jeans and untucked shirts. No introduction, a couple of waves, a brief smile, and then they got down to business.
When the concert ended more than two hours later after a satisfyingly intense exploration of most facets of their careers, together and apart, they ceded the stage to a man who inspired them both: Buddy Guy. Without introduction, the shaven-headed Guy radiated testosterone and charisma, and Clapton and Winwood traded a knowing smile as the master in their midst tore into his solos with a violence that was jarring.
The performance capped a night in which Clapton and Winwood renewed their vows to a style of music-making that is no longer particularly in fashion, a style of in-the-moment interplay that has been replaced by more choreographed brands of entertainment. But on this night, it was a love that burned, to paraphrase an old Peter Green classic cut in the mold of Chicago blues.
A few years ago, Clapton was coasting as a live performer. The nadir was his defanged version of "Layla," a song once so intense it approximated a sob. Now it had been reduced to a cabaret parody. Clapton was touring with a big band of competent pros but nobody who could really push him, and he turned in rote versions of his hits.
But then at his 2007 Crossroads Festival at Toyota Park in southwest suburban Bridgeview, he looked and sounded renewed, in no small part due to the brief but intense cameo turned in by Winwood.
That energy translated to the stage Wednesday, with Clapton and Winwood fronting a relatively small, no-fuss, five-piece band abetted by two backing singers. The musicians were in excellent form, particularly drummer Abe Laboriel, who kept the rhythm oil flowing and stretched out with orchestral flair as the longer pieces ebbed and surged.
The headlining duo opened by looking back 40 years to "Had to Cry Today," the first song on the first and only Blind Faith album, released in 1969. That was to be the only album-length studio collaboration between Clapton and Winwood in their long, much-acclaimed careers. Upon returning to it, they clung to every note with tenacity. Clapton took the first solo, then went toe-to-toe with Winwood on the second, and things were off to flying start.
Winwood had his piano-pounding romp on "Glad," with Clapton’s guitar mimicking the original saxophone fills by Traffic’s Chris Wood, and got his Ray Charles fix (via Hoagy Carmichael) with a solo "Georgia on My Mind." Clapton indulged his obsession with the J.J. Cale shuffle ("Low Down," "After Midnight" --- though, thankfully, no "Cocaine"), ‘80s blues-pop ("Forever Man"), and the obligatory lounge version of "Layla."
They were at their best putting their stock in Blind Faith: a yearning "Presence of the Lord," split open by Clapton’s wah-wah-pedal guitar solo; a celebratory version of Buddy Holly’s "Well Alright"; and an acoustic "Can’t Find My Way Home" with Winwood’s still pliant voice turning it into a hymn.
Above all, there was the common vocabulary of the blues, from an acoustic version of Charles Brown’s "Driftin’ Blues" to Jimi Hendrix’s intergalactic "Voodoo Chile." The songs became vehicles for extended interplay, Winwood primarily on Hammond organ while Clapton leaned into his solos with purpose. There was no preening, just graying, grizzled grown-ups re-devoting themselves to their life’s work. It was inspiring to see, a throwback to an era when young manhood in Britain was defined by how well a singer or guitarist could emulate the scarifying spirit of Chicago blues.
And then, Buddy Guy showed up. Not to be outdone, he tore through "Drowning on Dry Land" with a mixture of eerie poise and lion-like ferocity. School, even for sixtysomething British rock legends, was still in session."

A very nice birthday

I had a really nice birthday made very special by my dear family. MB gave me a card; the kids decorated our home, BOUGHT me my present and MB took me out to have my favorite snack: an awesome chocalate malt!

Earlier in the morning, one of the clerks that I manage at the law firm bought donuts for me and the other clerks. The clerks also got together and got me a card. I must be doing something right if they thought enough of me to do that!

There were a few donuts left at the end of the day and I was telling my son, Andy about that before I came home from work. Andy told me something special was going to happen and I came home filled with anticipation. They didn't disappoint me. As soon as I opened the door, they all yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

As I noted, MB wanted to take me to Jack Frost, where I had my beloved malt and she also treated our kids. Earlier in the afternoon, MB had given my kids money when they went to McDonalds. My 3 awesome, dear kids decided not to spend all of it and the money they had left they would give me a gift card to a place that I go to often. They knew I would love their gift, AND I DO!

Having a wonderful family is indeed a blessing!

a variety of things

here's a few kinda sorta axioms I've come up with:

1. More often than not, people grow more taciturn with age. (and I know 1 unfortunate exception to that axiom, but it's not nice "to knock" the ex)

2. Never underestimate the power of routine!

3. Can anyone humble you more thoroughly and more easily than your ex??

4. Gaining weight and going into debt are both as easy as losing weight and accumulating wealth are difficult!

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So I joined Facebook (yawn, BFD). I really despise the fact that my office manager can google my first and last name and see me and all my glory on this "hallowed" website. & I really do love Kevin, my dear ofc. manager, but I don't like him having that extra bit of knowledge on me.
I had every intention of NOT posting my picture up on there. & I'm not either. So, I decided to put my "hero" Keith Olbermann on as my profile picture. After all, it is my responsibility to disabuse everyone on our fair globe that I'm NOT a Republican. What is the one thing that I love about Keith Olbermann? His wonderful, venerable ability to rip Rush Limbaugh "a new one".

The thing I least like about him? His obsession over the Obama administration prosecuting Bush officials on torture. Look! They can't get that loudmouth former vice president DICK in prison soon enough. However, this isn't the most important thing our federal government can do right now. Really, it isn't. Let's talk about the effect of the stimulus package awhile back, let's talk about the progress being made or NOT made in kicking the nation's addiction off of oil. & by the way, the word "addiction to oil" were the words of our wonderfully-now-reticent-ex president, they aren't mine. Having your dear friend Professor Tully of George Washington University getting on there in the same tone of voice as our "neighborhood scold" and bitch out the Obama administration for being complicit to torture makes me yawn. by the way, Professor Tully, nice hairdo. I only say that b/c I'm jealous that I don't have that much hair.

So, Keith, please lose the "still Bush'd" feature. It's old. Who gives a fiddler's f*ck for the previous administration (not this blog!!!!!!!)? Create a feature about progress being made.

Hostile encounter on the train

I commute to Chicago by train. It's very nice b/c there are much fewer intersections (than when you ride a bus) and the only time we ever have to stop is if the "signal light" is malfunctioning. Well, my peaceful ride home was shattered soon after I sat in my seat. I sat next to this blonde woman about 5'4" and 90 lbs. I got out my paper and opened it up to read. Since her personal space extended about 2 feet past her skin, she lurched into the window to avoid my hand as it opened the paper. As I went to get something out of my bag, I barely brushed the fibers of her sweater and she lurched into the window again. She objected to the way I ate my apple. So I made damn sure that I ate my chips next to her too.

Toward the end of my ride, I started laughing. She knew why I was laughing so she said, "IGNORANT!" I looked at her and said, "HAUGHTY!" "You elbowed me 3 times and didn't say excuse me" (Ladies & gentlemen, I elbowed her 0 x 900 !) So I laughed at her again. Then she said I was "FAT"! So then I said, "You're haughty and I'm not the 1st time person that said that." She didn't say anything so I must be right. Think about it, I've ridden the train for 17 years and this is the first time I ever had a hostile encounter. & there's been other passengers that have been difficult to sit next to!

The only part that made me feel remotely bad was this nice looking young woman looked at me as I got off the train. I'm just wondering if that bitch convinced others that I elbow people. SO UNTRUE! Still, I think the whole encounter was funny. I was telling some of my friends about the encounter on my morning ride to work the next day. So one of my friends said, "Excuse me, Vince, but your arm is brushing against the fibers of my sweater." We all had a good laugh over that.

SEQUEL: I saw the very same woman the next day. It was on a train earlier than the one on Monday. On Monday, I took the train that leaves Chicago @ 5:40 pm. Tues., I took the train that left @ 5:20. There she was busily TMing much like she spend some of her time doing the day before. I had no desire to sit by her and there was no room in her car either. I walked away from her, and she didn't see me. I walked through car after car looking for a place to sit through the train.

Then there was an older lady who put her stuff on an empty seat. So, I said, "Hello?" and the lady knew she had to move her stuff and let me sit (it's not right to put stuff on an empty seat when the train is real crowded like it was). When she moved her stuff, I said "Thank you" sweetly as I didn't want a repeat of Monday's escapade. She sweetly said, "your welcome" right back and we had no problems sitting together. That's the way it's supposed to be, she was a nice lady.

I have a feeling I'm going to see the woman I had problems with Monday again and again. I figured I wouldn't see her much again. But she was on a different train. It stands to reason that you get out of work roughly the same time everyday to go home, so why wouldn't I see more of her? I certainly have no desire to sit next to her again or remotely in the same area again. Ewwwwwww!