Zat You, Santa Claus?

Those who need some Christmas music prior to Thanksgiving seriously need to chill. But now, that we are onto the leftovers, have at it. This is a little dated now, but apparently so is Outkast. It’s still the best team up since Bowie and Crosby.

Speak of the devils, check out the dialogue before the song.

I guess I can handle hearing a few of these for the next few weeks.

and finally,

Years of living across from my brother and his scope of musical interests has genuinely made me a threat to any member or fan of the Ray Conniff singers, but for a few weeks I can dig these.

Advertisement

Turkey Scraps

Some mental leftovers being reheated from the week:

I had a grand time at a great concert last Sunday as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band ended their latest tour (not their last, settle down) at HSBC Arena. Despite the arena being curiously odd about how people were let in, (4 ticket takers for 18000 folks?) it was a great show. I was in the 200 level, about halfway up the arena, great site line and everything. Most of the arena was seriously into the show, but there were a few exceptions. I had to laugh a little as there were two guys who look like they were being punished. I’ve never been the king of overly-demonstrativeness at shows, but these guys sat, arms crossed for the whole show. I wasn’t sure if they were being punished or what. The “last show” hype did a number on the souvenir stands. I’ve never seen a concert clean things out before. Happily, the one thing I wanted is cheaper on the Live Nation site anyway.

Guessed wrong again as to where to spend a holiday. The one consistency in going from groom to ex groom is that you are still never right. I don’t hate this season. I just don’t approach it with much in the way of enthusiasm. Kids are older so it is easier to think of it as one day.  I think the Black Friday chowderheads are exactly that. I have forever put myself through unnecessary handwringing over what I can and can’t do for my kids and since resuming my bachelorhood struggle with my own placement. Their mom and I have brunched with them the past few years and that has evolved into a highlight for me. The rest has proven to be emotionally trying. I think the upshot is I think too much. When you’re in one place, you feel you should be in the other. When you’re in the other, you feel like you are in the way.

Nobody wants to take responsibility anymore. A financial institution holding a loan for me had a busted website. I won’t say who it was, citi (oops), and while having the nerve to celebrate “customer service week,” their website got hung up and took more money than they were entitled to take. This five second screw up took a week to complete and repair. They’ve made a believer out of me. No bailouts. I told the local folks that when this can’t be done right, they really shouldn’t be dipping into areas like Aflac’s.

Got criticized by a potential date for being involved with my kids, like there is no room for something or someone else. Apparently I am supposed to compartmentalize my time. We all should be catered to on that sort of level, but jeez, give things a chance to evolve. As this is the second time I’ve heard this, I think I’m holding a minority opinion, yet another one.

A weatherman mocked my use of the phrase “almost decent” on a facebook status. Seems kind of petty since he almost watchable (but not quite).

My culinarily gifted sister (psst, that is a career waiting, just saying) offered up a rockin turkey that I was all to happy to finish off with yesterday’s lunch. Only down side was nobody else was around to appreciate the groovy scents coming my microwave.

Nice footnote to the week, last night at dinner with my younger two, the restaurant radio actually played “Incident on 57th Street” and had the good sense to let it play right into “Rosalita” as God intended.

A beautiful thing, indeed.

No Line on My Horizon

Didn’t get to this tour this time out. Because this thing is such a monstrosity, U2 probably won’t to the amount of places they played last time out. Still, watching it come together is riveting viewing.

One last look at last Sunday Night

It was a good one

Here’s what ought to happen

Our representatives in Albany will stop saying everything is on the table and stop attacking school expenses first. They should then put everything actually on the table from their own expenses, their offices, the monies wasted on committee seats, the hellaciously over generous stipends, the “Authorities” and more. To just attack healthcare and the schools because their tabs are big is lazy. There is a reason their bills are large.

Bruce Springsteen releases a live record heavily borrowing from Sunday night. I’ve seen him nearly three dozen times over the years and any show that can have Pat Riley in the pit in Buffalo and Debra Messing and Mariska Hartigay squealing like school girls merits commemoration.

The bank that took seven days to correct a 10 second mistake would apologize for trying to blame me for their web site error and quit telling me about customer appreciation week.

A pending computer upgrade goes smoothly (it won’t, I’m like Han Solo in this realm as I have “A bad feeling about this.”)

The former Vice President quits griping about how the current President is trying to mop up a war that the former advocated but never bothered finishing. Dick, follow John Wayne’s lead: “I didn’t vote for him, but I hope he does a good job.”

The Buffalo Bills stop crapping on the intelligence of the fans here (both of them). We know Bill Cowher won’t come to Buffalo. We know Jon Gruden won’t come here. Mike Shanahan probably won’t come here either, and that is okay. Let’s see some evidence of a plan. Go get a real football GM and the world would welcome Jim Haslett or Marc Trestman with open arms, provided we get evidence the organization wants to win along with just filling the seats. A good product solves a lot of issues.

Christmas stuff can’t come out while Halloween stuff is still on the shelves and the music stays mothballed till Thanksgiving. The holiday is just a day, and it isn’t always Currier and Ives for everybody. Some of us struggle a bit with the weight of the holidays and seeing that simulated cheer on your mug (which is usually gone the day after Boxing Day) makes us want to smack you that much harder.

Work on these, got others.

Rock on with your bad selves

Tonight!

That was the marquee at Shea’s for my first Bruce Springsteen concert, at least we got his name spelled right. In the intervening 31 years (damn!), a lot of bootlegs have come through the cassette and cd player, the albums are sometimes flawed, and I’m getting closer to the answer of my daughter’s question “Just how many copies of Prove it All Night does your Ipod need,” but the sum of the experience is greater than the parts. Part political rally, part dance party, part schtick, it’s just good for your soul. Only thing missing is the ability to wear my t-shirt (yeah, I’ll buy on tonight) to school to show the others kids that I was there.

Dorky Good Times

The Strong Museum in Rochester has some seriously cool exhibits. The bulk of the stuff there is geared toward little kids, which thankfully is slowing down for my guys. Occasionally, something catches notice. They recently launched a new exhibit called Videotopia, which tickled my inner geek. Videotopia is a room set aside and loaded with 120 fully functioning full size video arcade games from the late 70s and early 80s. Forget your Halos, as Marble Madness, Tempest, Mr and Mrs Pac Man, the entire Donkey Kong clan and many others were represented in their early form. If they had drink service, I could have stayed all day.

Game Night!

Something about game night, when you and it all is about to play out in front of you. You can feel the anticipation, you have a great seat, thanks to Clarence Grad 72. Six rows off the ice behind the visitors bench is a great place to see a game, but when the home team is having a monday, it’s the images you take with you. Enjoy the pictures, forget the outcome:

 

 

A Evelyn Wood twist on Game 6

This is cool, a time-lapse look at the World Series Game 6 (and you thought time stopped when Pedro pitched, this fixes that.).

World Series Time-Lapse by Robert Caplin from Robert Caplin on Vimeo.