I Heard This Song Today

So I'm putting down a few thoughts, something I've not done in awhile.

I first saw this video just a few months before he died. I was flipping the clicker late one night and ran across it. Scared the crap out of me, especially when I realized who it was. I guess the video won some awards.

The "album" it comes from is American IV, the last one released "pre-posthumously", so to speak, and is one of my favorites.



The last cut of this album is "We'll Meet Again". A particularly meaningful track considering it was the last song on the last album prior to his death. I think of that every time I listen to it.

The Good Friday Feel

I've found a few days of the year have "a feel" to them. By a feel, I mean they don't "feel" like any other ordinary day. They have "a" feel, distinct from any other.

When I was younger, my birthday had a feel to it, but it seems to have lost it as I've grown older. Christmas always has had one, but not as strong a one as it did when I was younger.

As time has passed, the opposite has become true for Good Friday and Easter. Their feels have become stronger. Actually more so for Easter. Good Friday has always had a strong feel to me, even when I was a kid. Maybe it's because it was a school holiday, but there was always a sense of there being something different about this day.

Anyway, I feel it again today. Maybe it's attributable to the familiarity of Holy Week itself that creates this heightened sense of awareness, which carries through the whole weekend. Must be something like that.

If so, then I think the hymns have a lot to do with it. There are definitely a set of hymns that come out this week, from Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and, of course, Easter.

Including my own favorite, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, LW #241. Seems like we always sing it Thursday. Hence, the feel of Good Friday.

"Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.

King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads it vanguard on the way
As the Light of Light, descending
From the realms of endless day,
Comes the powers of hell to vanquish
As the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
'Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, Lord Most High!'"

Here's a particularly beautiful rendition from St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina. Thanks again, YouTube.

More Miller Time

I always enjoy Wednesday's with Dennis Miller. The Miller Time segment, during the 2nd half of the Wednesday O'Reilly Factor, is something I always look forward to watching. Rare in the vast wasteland of TV.

This week he unloaded on health care, the intolerance of the tolerance police, f-bombs and Biden.

Opening Day 2001

Another YouTube find posted by someone else. This one is of Opening Day at Busch Stadium in 2001. Thank you quincymike.

What follows is a very interesting video from an historic perspective.

So much has changed in 9 years. Consider that:

- 9/11 was 5 months in the future.

- Old Busch Stadium still stood proud. The new stadium lobbyists were really pushing hard, though. Fools.

- This was Jack Buck's last opening day. He would be dead in 14 months. The sound of his voice over the PA at the beginning of the video is comfortingly familiar yet a little haunting. And his appearance later on shows a very thin man affected by Parkinson's.

- Will Clark had just retired and was asked to throw out the first pitch.

- Mark McGwire was untouchable as an icon of his sport. It was also his last year.

- A young kid named Albert Pujols had surprised everyone and made the club that spring. And he does look like a kid, making his first appearance at just past the 1:00 mark, and being introduced to fans for the first time at Busch Stadium later on.

- A young pitcher named Ankiel was seen taking a few practice cuts. Probably wondering then if he could make it as a hitter in a few years. Remember, he was coming off a disastrously wild 2000 post-season.

- Future Cardinal Larry Walker, with hair, appears at the 3:30 mark. With ex-Card Ron Gant watching.

- Tony LaRussa- okay, he just looks the same.

It's fun to see old faces I had forgotten appear during BP.

Stan the Man was still a vibrant man, playing the Star Spangled Banner on harmonica, with accompaniment.

The first 5 minutes are a little slow, but it's fun to just take in the old stadium once again. So be patient. The video really gets going about the 5 minute mark.



I do miss the old place. Which is why I finally ordered this.

So Where've I Been, You Ask?

Okay, I'm sure you've all been wondering why I haven't been around in awhile.

Well, I've been pretty darn busy in my new modeling career.

In case you haven't seen, I was recently on the cover of National Wildlife.

It was a tough shoot.

I don't care for their politics much. But that Ranger Rick's a gas.

Pick up an issue, please.



It's tough having two careers, but I'll probably stick with it.

Innsbruck 1976

Lake Placid was pretty cool, but for some reason this was my favorite Winter Olympics. I'm sure it has something to do with this legendary downhill gold medal performance that emerges from my memory vault every 4 years.

And By The Way...

The list grew shorter this year. I was right about New Orleans.

And then there were four. Who will be the next team to get out?

I'd have to say Houston.

How Bad I Did

Yes, I'll point out, unless anyone has forgotten, that in September, right before the start of the football season, I tried to Carnac how the teams would do.

And yes, it is true that I picked the Colts and the Saints, the two best teams this year, to finish 3rd in their respective divisions.

And yes, I picked the Bengals to finish last. But who could have seen that one coming?

I did pick 3 division winners right. Of course, there were 8 division winners total, but is that really important?

I also got the entire NFC West and AFC East correct.

I also picked 16 out of the 32 teams to finish in their correct standing slot, which is up significantly from last year.

So I guess, despite a couple of embarrassing moments, I did okay.

Things Not Appreciated

When it first aired, I watched Hee Haw for the comedy. I'd leave the room when a song started and come back when it was over. Or at the very least, try not to pay attention. Unless there was a cartoon dancing pig or farm animal band.

Even though I still laugh at the jokes and surreal twist on country life, now that I'm watching episodes again after 40 years have passed, I'm amazed at the musical talent on the show. I've probably watched 15 episodes from the years 1969 to 1971, and so far the guests have included Charlie Pride, Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Tammy Wynette, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Loretta Lynn and George Jones.

And that doesn't count Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Grandpa Jones and Stringbean being on every week.

Here's a clip of Grandpa, String, Roy and Bobby Thompson from Hee Haw.



It's interesting to note how different their playing styles are.

I'll never forget riding to school one day, when I was in 5th grade, and learning Stringbean had been murdered. Sadly, because I didn't watch many of the musical acts back then, all I knew about him until recently was that he was on Hee Haw and he was killed at his home by armed robbers.



Thanks to reruns and YouTube, I have learned what a great talent he was. It's like watching a great guitarist.



There's so much of this stuff out there to enjoy. Beats anything on TV now, most assuredly.

Super Bowl Pick

It's been so long, I've forgotten how to make a post.

Anyway, the long two weeks ends today. For the year, I'm 178-88 in my picks, my best season in years. In the playoffs, I'm 5-5, which actually is pretty good for me.

In the recent past I've gone with the underdog in the Super Bowl, at least the last two years. I'm still pretty impressed by my picking the Giants two years ago, but it was just more of a hunch than anything. I usually pick from my gut, and find over-analysis bad for my picking health.

Last year, I went with my gut again, and almost got another upset.

Both times, I picked the team I was going to root for. As I also noted in the past, that is not a good thing. I usually pick a loser to root for in this game.

But this year is different. No matter how I slice it, I can't see the Colts losing. I'm not rooting for them, obviously, but I can't pick against them.

I find it a rather easy pick, actually.

Baltimore--ERRRRR--Indianapolis wins today, in a game that won't be too close.

And that's all I got for this season.

Adieu, until September, NFL.

NFL Conference Finals

There is a story behind every team this year. The Jets brashness and inexperience. The Colts corporateness and lack of desire to be the best they can be. Brett Favre (sorry Vikings, you're just windowdressing for Brett's story). The Saints seeking to deliver a first championship to a desolate city.

Very few people thought the Jets would make it this far, so naturally they're all now on the bandwagon. Makes no sense to me. I'll root for them with every fiber of my being, but I just don't see them taking down the Colts.

The Saints have had a nice year, but it's going to end this weekend. They've never made it to the Super Bowl, one of the few teams left that haven't. The Vikings pass rush will get to Drew Brees a lot today and advance.

Which could end up being bittersweet for Minnesota, because should they win today and in 2 weeks, it will mark the franchise's first Super Bowl victory in 5 tries. Their first loss still plays in my head at times.

But the story will be Brett Favre and will always be Brett Favre for the rest of history. And that will be just fine with Brett Favre. Minnesota will just be the vehicle of the Brett Favre story. An "oh yeah, by the way, the Minnesota Vikings won it all that year" footnote to his story. That's just the way the media and history will play it.

Indianapolis.
Minnesota.

NFL Divisional Playoffs

This is always a great football weekend. Four games over two days. And the four games are all good matchups. I'll be glad to split them, as I did last weekend.

I am still rooting against the Colts, which means I'll be for the Ravens. It feels strange to root for an east coast team against a team 150 miles from my house, but I still feel betrayed by the Colts. I was rooting for them to go 16-0, and they didn't give it their best shot. I guess I should just get over it. Especially because I think they'll win.

The early game today features the two most explosive offenses, New Orleans and Arizona, so it should be a track meet, probably the funnest game to watch this weekend. I almost typed St. Louis instead of Arizona. I'm stuck back in the '80s.

Tomorrow we get the game the experts are anticipating the most- Minnesota v. Dallas. I think the winner of this game will get to the Super Bowl. Funny how Dallas went from ridicule to favorite in a matter of 3 weeks.

The last game has the most swagger- Jets v. Chargers. Both teams think a lot of themselves. I'll again root for the underdog but pick the favorite.

Arizona.
Indianapolis.
Minnesota.
San Diego.

NFL Wildcard Weekend Picks

Last week I finished the season 13-3, so that made my overall record 173-83. Not too shabby. I finished behind only Hoge. But I struggle usually during the playoffs.

I've never seen a year where three of the four opening round games are repeats of games the previous weekend. Very strange. The only difference is Cincinnati plays at home against the Jets this time.

I would love it if the Jets won and got to play Indianapolis again. The only reason they are in the playoffs is because of the Colts playing dead for them two weeks ago. It would be sweet poetic justice if the Jets played the Colts again and knocked them out.

However, I don't think that is going to happen.

I'm tempted to pick every team that lost last week:
Philadelphia, because it is hard for any team to beat another three times in one year.
Arizona, because they can't play that poorly again.
Cincinnati, because they are playing at home this week.

This round is a crapshoot anyway, so what the heck. I'll just go for it.

Cincinnati.
Philadelphia.
Baltimore.
Arizona.

NFL Picks Week 17

Hard to believe, but the excitement of the season is about to end. Football, not the holidays. Final games today. For the first time all year, all 32 teams play today.

Last week I finished 10-6, so that made my overall record 160-80. I'm 3 games out of first, as far as the humans are concerned, so I need a big week to win. I'm actually tied for second, which isn't bad. ESPN Experts' picks and records here and here.

I'm utterly confused and disgusted with the Colts. Their decision to tank their game last week against the Jets was criminal. A lot of money, as well as the fate of other teams in the playoff hunt, were riding on that game, and in the spirit of fair competition, they should be held in the utmost contempt.

Even if they win the Super Bowl, I think their organization (not the players, who had no part in this decision) will not deserve respect for disrespecting the competition of the league. What a sham.

As you can tell, I'll be rooting hard for someone to knock them off now. And I won't be foolish enough to pick them again.

Lots of toss up games. I could pull this off.

Buffalo.
Jacksonville.
Chicago.
San Francisco.
Pittsburgh.
Minnesota.
Atlanta.
Carolina.
Houston.
Arizona.
San Diego.
Tennessee.
Baltimore.
Dallas.
Denver.
Jets.

Success And Failure

First the successes-

I easily finished my readings for the year. I found reading the Bible "from cover to cover" made more sense than having readings from the Old Testament and New Testament each day.

I also found I liked the KJV, although at first I had a little trouble. Once I got used to the sentence structure and what the unfamiliar words meant, it was like reading anything else.

Regarding getting exercise, yesterday I was glad to finally reach my goal of 25,000 squats and push-ups. I have to admit I coasted just slightly the past few weeks, which isn't right because I probably could have gotten 26,000 if I'd kept up my pace earlier in the year. Oh well, I set a goal, and I reached it in spite of myself.

I feel rather blessed that I was allowed to achieve these goals.

Now the failures-

For whatever reasons, I failed in my final two goals for 2009.

My posting was never on pace to reach 450. If this is my final post of the year, it looks like I'll end up with only 353. I started out too slow. I needed to average 37 posts a month.

I think my goal was set too high, but I also think I didn't try hard enough on this one. There are a lot of posts I've started drafts on and never finished. There are a lot of pictures I wanted to post but never did.

I have to admit it, I've had good ideas, funny ideas and a good portion of stinky ideas for posts that I could have briefly let fly with, but something held me back. I think that something is that blogging isn't as exciting as it once was. I still like doing it, but like most things, it isn't the shiny new toy I used to play with for hours anymore.

I've also been far busier as this year has went on, and my blogging priorities weren't set high enough to reach 450 posts.

The other reason I failed is a lack of planning. The two goals I was successful with required me to set a small goal each day in order to not feel overwhelmed. If I just met that daily goal, I was going to make it by the end of the year.

I didn't do that with the blogging. I posted most days, and felt satisfied just getting the one post a day out. I needed to put out around 9 posts a week and ended up around 7. I think next year I'll be happy with 7 posts a week.

Finally, what can I say about the landscaping except it was utter failure. I not only didn't complete one major landscaping project this year, I never even got one started. I was wanting to build a new waterfall and fountain. I told myself as the year went on that keeping up with maintaining what was there was about all I could do, but I know I could have done better had I just planned better.

I think the bigger problem was I never decided what I wanted. I still don't know. It is impossible to complete something if one cannot even decide how it's supposed to look like in the end. All my other goals had specific endpoints I could see. I still can't "see" what it is I want here.

The other problem is as the year went on, I decided I wanted to finish off my beds at the same time as tackling the big undertaking of a waterfall. I still have beds I want to dig out and beds I want to finish.

But it'll happen next year, I'm telling ya...look out.

Or maybe not.

Happy New Year.

NFL Week 16 Picks

Last week I cooled off further to 9-7, so that made my overall record 150-74. I'm falling off a little again, so I need a big week. If not, I may have to go "all in" next week and pick a lot of upsets. ESPN Experts' picks and records here and here.

This is the last Monday Night game, and who should appear but the Bears. Who would want to spend a Monday night outdoors in Chicago is beyond me, but I'm sure there will be plenty who do.

Once again there appear to be mostly easy games to pick, but that usually means a bad week looms. I just wish I knew which teams were going to lay an egg.

Atlanta.
Cincinnati.
Cleveland.
Green Bay.
Pittsburgh.
Miami.
New England.
New Orleans.
Giants.
San Francisco.
Arizona.
Indianapolis.
Philadelphia.
Dallas.
Minnesota- Monday Night.

Christmas NFL Pick

Tennessee.


Honestly I don't remember a Christmas Day game since the infamous Dolphins-Chiefs game that went 2 OT and delayed a lot of Christmas Dinners. I still remember it being on and playing with the new GI Joe with fuzzy hair and beard I had gotten for Christmas.

Mr. Laid Back

There are, of course, two Christmases in the US, one secular and one religious. How and why this happened is irrelevant to this post.

We should all know what the religious Christmas is and that it starts December 25th. The secular Christmas starts after Thanksgiving and revolves around the holiday experience itself, that is, the shopping, the winter season, family meetings, Santa Claus, mistletoe and all that jazz. It can definitely get all confused.

But where the two mix themselves up the most is in the music. Radio stations and "albums" have long been an alternating assortment of songs referencing Jesus' birth followed by the violent death of a family member at the hands of semi-domesticated hoofed thugs.

Kind of drives me nuts. At least stick with a theme. Play a series of Jesus-referencing songs in a row between commercial breaks, then maybe go secular, but don't go back and forth. Too "schizophreniac" for me.

At any rate, Andy Williams and Perry Como have long been associated with Christmas music. I kind of posted about Mr. Andy previously. So, listening to some old Christmas albums last night on the turntable, and hearing some of his songs, I got to thinking about Perry Como. I realized I didn't know a lot about him, other than he was very popular and thought of as casual and relaxed.

Which made me think of what follows. This was from the early 1980s. One of the funniest sketches ever on SCTV, which just so happens to be one of my favorite shows ever. That's Eugene Levy as Perry. And check out John Candy.

Week 15 NFL Picks

Last week I cooled off to 10-6, so that made my overall record 141-67. Thankfully, I'm still only a game behind Tom Jackson, Keshawn Johnson and Hoge for 1st place. That is, among humans. The computer picks by Accuscore now lead the way at 144-64. I think this is the first year this has happened. ESPN Experts' picks and records here and here.

Surprisingly Dallas won last night. I thought they were going to fold it up like they usually do in December. New Orleans better watch out or they may not end up with home field after all.

Most of the games are straightforward this week. The hard part about picking this time of year is accouting for the teams that are not playing their starters, either because of injury, resting for the playoffs, or those that have given up and are taking a look at players for next year. I think this will make for mediocre picking this week, despite the straightforward appearance.

Should be another embarrassing week for the Bears. Can't wait to see how many picks Cutler throws against Baltimore.

I was going to go for Carolina over Minnesota, but with New Orleans' loss, the Vikings are still alive for home field.

New England.
Arizona.
Tennessee.
Kansas City.
Houston.
Jets.
Denver.
San Diego.
Seattle.
Baltimore.
Philadelphia.
Green Bay.
Minnesota.
Giants- Monday Night.

One Of The Few

This has had over 2,000,000 views and been around for 3 years. So why hadn't I seen it?

The song and the show are classics. I've watched Thomas for many years, since the Ringo days. Some of these episodes were hilarious. This was very well done.

Saturday NFL Pick

New Orleans.


I finally won a Thursday pick in the last few minutes. Would have been embarrassing to lose them all. Must have been from being drunk on eggnog.

Thursday Night NFL Pick

Indianapolis.


This may turn out to be a great game, what with a playoff berth and a perfect season at stake. Kind of like the Ravens-Pats game from two years ago.

NFL Week 14 Picks

Kept rolling last week, finishing 12-4, so that made my overall record 131-61. Amazingly, I'm now only a game behind Tom Jackson for 1st place. ESPN Experts' picks and records here and here.

Last year at this time, my record was 121-70-1, the year before 117-75, the year before that 112-80, and the year before that 125-67. So this is my best season in years.

And yet, I can't win on Thursday night. I have yet to pick a Thursday night winner this year. I did win twice on Thanksgiving, but those were the day games.

Fortunately for me, everyone else also misfired this past Thursday. Who saw that one coming? This week is my last chance for Thursday night victory, as there are no more Thursday games after next week.

Next weekend also gives us our only Saturday game this year.

I used to love the Saturday games. But since we only get one this year, what will we do with Saturday now that college football is over?

This week's games look very interesting. The biggest game looks to be Dallas-San Diego. Honestly, I think the Cowboys whole season hangs in the balance today. If they lose, they won't make the playoffs. Even if they win, they still have games left at New Orleans, at Washington and then at home against Philly. Tough row to hoe. Two wins, tops, in these last four, and I think there is a real chance of them not winning any of these final four.

Which brings us to tonight's Philly-Giants game. If they lose, the Giants will be out of the hunt in the East. Philly has two home games left against San Fran and Denver before going to Dallas. Meanwhile the Giants have to go to Washington and Minnesota, with a home game against Carolina in the middle. Should be a hard fought game tonight.

Right now, it looks to me like Philadelphia will win the East, even if they lose tonight.

And the Bears have Green Bay. The Packers are looking good for the playoffs right now, but if the Bears come through today, Green Bay has to play two rough road games at Pittsburgh and Arizona. Quite possibly, even probably, two more losses. Green Bay only has one more "lock" win, against Seattle in two weeks, making today's matchup that much more important. If they lose today, they may only get to 9 wins. So it should be another hard fought game.

Here we go...

New Orleans.
Green Bay.
Jets.
Jacksonville.
Baltimore.
Houston.
Indianapolis.
Kansas City.
Minnesota.
New England.
Oakland.
Tennessee.
Dallas.
Philadelphia.
Arizona- Monday night.

Thursday Night NFL Pick

Pittsburgh.

NFL Week 13 Picks

Last week turned out better than expected at 13-3, making my overall record 119-57. This week catapulted me back ahead of many and only 4 games out of first with 5 weeks to go. Thursday's loss put a damper on things for the moment.

There are fewer toss up games this week. I almost went with KC over Denver, but I finally sided with Denver. Jacksonville is at home, so I'm picking them over Houston. I've got a couple upsets- Giants over Dallas and Arizona over Minnesota.

And the Bears should get a win again. Maybe.

Philadelphia.
Chicago.
Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh.
Indianapolis.
Denver.
New England.
New Orleans.
Carolina.
Jacksonville.
San Diego.
Giants.
San Francisco.
Arizona.
Green Bay- Monday night.

Thursday Night NFL Pick

Buffalo.

NFL Picks Week 12

Finally a return to winning last week, with a satisfying 12-4. For the year, that made me 106-54. Two losses, Thursday and Monday, bookended a stellar 12-2 Sunday. Hoge is way out in front with 112 wins, Tom Jackson has 111, and then the rest of the field ranges from 102 to 109. These ESPN Experts are here and here.

Now so far this week I am 2-1 like most of the rest of the world. This week has a lot of mines in the field, as there are many games where injuries could play a role in the outcome, including Pittsburgh-Baltimore and Arizona-Tennessee. How 'bout them Titans, by the way? Arizona has no chance if Warner doesn't play, so I'm going with Tennessee.

I see no one has the Bears. No surprise. What is a surprise is how many people picked Houston over Indy.

Jacksonville-San Fran looks like a good match-up, I've got to go for the home team even though Jacksonville is looking better and better as the season progresses.

Of course, then there is the Monday Night game. This is probably one of the most anticipated games on Monday night since the Baltimore-New England match-up 2 years ago. A can't miss football game. I like New Orleans- they most likely won't go for it on 4th in their own territory.

This week will likely make or break my season. There's just a lot of toss-up games. If they break my way, I'll be in contention. If not, I may be in last place.

Atlanta.
Miami.
Cincinnati.
St. Louis.
Jets.
Philadelphia.
Indianapolis.
San Diego.
San Francisco.
Minnesota.
Tennessee.
Baltimore.
New Orleans- Monday Night.

Weekend Reading

As you've already guessed, I haven't spent a lot of time reading this week, but rather I've been watching videos of Hee Haw and moonings. Now my humiliation is complete.

The Humiliation Is Almost Complete

Although the suffering is not yet legendary.

So, maybe the Bears aren't going to win the Super Bowl this year after all.

And maybe they won't even get there.

Okay, so maybe they aren't even going to make the playoffs.

Or even finish with a record over .500.

Alright, already- maybe they won't win another game this year. Happy now?

But is player de-pantsing really necessary? Thankfully I missed this the other night when it was live. The mere fact this video even exists is reason enough to declare this season a total failure.



Hat tip Burn Monkey Burn.

Raiders Rule

Okay, the football team stinks, so one never hears those words anymore. But they broke out the retro uniforms again, and they are awesome. Best looking uniform, I think.



Dallas doesn't look to shabby, either. This was by far the best LOOKING game of the day. Photo credits to AP/Mike Stone.