On Swingsets, trees, NKOTB, and Lump's 1st and hopefully last car accident

Today wasn't as busy or productive as Saturday. Lisa had switched hours and worked 1st shift, forcing me to take Smiley and YaYa into work with me while I did some morning paperwork in lieu of the manager that quit.

Smiley insisted on wearing his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles slippers.

Then we dropped YaYa off at her religious ed classes - yes, she attends Catholic school, but they farm them out to their home parishes for First Communion classes. That's a lame requirement, but I'm proud of her, especially since she seems to know much more than the other kids in the Sunday School class (duh - they don't take religion class daily).

Smiley and I then returned to work for an hour, then picked her up and attended mass. At heart I'm a very religious person, and very happily Catholic, and it does my soul good to devote a Sunday morning to the church. It makes me feel closer to God, and not in a Nine Inch Nails way.

I picked up lunch then settled the kids in for a nap while I flipped between the Brewers and the Packers. You know how both those stories turned out.

* * * *

I was set to go on a bike ride when my mother-in-law called to say that she and Lump had been involved in an auto accident. No one was hurt, thank God. I drove out to the scene and picked up my baby.  My mother-in-law's car had been hit pretty hard by a teenage leaving Starbucks, that den of overpriced dirt water.

I'm kind of glad it happened the way it did, as far as Lump goes. One of my mild superstitions involves getting a 'first accident' out of the way with as little harm as possible. YaYa was on a school bus that hit a van on the freeway, LuLu was in our van when it was totaled in '06, and now Lump got hers out of the way. Smiley's is still out there . . ah, no! Come to think of it when I was moving my folks I backed our van into a stone wall attempting a Y-turn in a narrow dead-end. Smiley was in the car, and that counts, right?

Upon our return I hit the bike with the kids and wound up at the park where the kids played for about twenty minutes.

When Lisa got home and the Brewers clinched the Wildcard I took the family out to Ponderosa to celebrate (hey, I'm a big guy. How was I supposed to celebrate, with jazzercize and celery?).

Before we went we picked up LuLu from yet another park, where my Dad had taken her to play with her cousin. Here YaYa chose to climb some trees while Lisa hit the swingset herself.

* * * 

After dinner, with the kids in bed, we watched a great VHI special the New Kids on the Block. A lot of rare footage coupled with some genuine insights. Most shocking:  Jon never 'left' the band, as has been reported for over a decade. (Hell, I remember Joe moaning about Jon's 'betrayal' in a VHI piece years ago.)

Nope, turns out he was doing so much whining and 'maybe I should go/maybe I should stay' that the guys got sick of it and put it up for a vote. By a count of 3-2 he was asked/told to leave the group. Huh.

The special was followed by a kick-ass three song set live from a concert in Boston. What a great taste of the concert we'll see next Saturday in Chicago. 

New Kids 'The Block' debuts at #1 on Pop Charts, #2 Overall

Eleven more days until we see NKOTB in Chicago, one of two New Kids concerts we have on tap  for October!

My friend Tre called me up the other day.

"Guess what I found for you when I was cleaning out my Mom's house," he said.

"What?"

"Oh, well it's maybe 12x12 and it's got a picture of five guys from Boston on the front, and let's see . . the round thing inside says, um, 'Hangin' Tough'." he said and laughed.

I darn near squealed, despite the fact I was at work.

"A New Kids LP? For real? Why the hell would your Mom have that?" I asked.

"Who knows man. I take it you want it?" he asked.

"Uh . .duh!" I said.

* * * *

This next bit is for Lisa, who was wondering about the record sales of The Block. I imagine it's a bit dicer to track than in 1988, given the emergence of digital tunes. But they seem to have done well across the board:

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
THE BLOCK
DEBUTS AS #1 POP ALBUM

THEIR FIRST NEW MUSIC IN ALMOST 15 YEARS DEBUTS AT #2 OVERALL
ON BILLBOARD TOP 200

(New York, NY) – Pop supergroup, New Kids on the Block, make their comeback debut as the #1 Pop Album in the country with The Block, their first album together in almost 15 years. Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and Jordan and Jonathan Knight, who as a group have sold over 80 million albums worldwide, are now back at the top of Billboard’s coveted Top 200 Chart at #2 overall.

After huge performances on “The Today Show” and “The View” and rave reviews from People Magazine and the LA Times, the group officially secured their place at the Top of Pop with their remarkable ranks as #1 Pop Album and #2 Album overall.

The reunion of all five members of the famed 90s group continues to ignite fan frenzies nationwide. Loyal fans turned up in droves from all over to follow the group across the country on their album promo tour. The group was enthusiastically embraced by large crowds of screaming fans at all performances, interviews and signings. Throngs of fans in Boston lined up for nearly three days, braving harsh weather, just to see the guys for their hometown signing. A phenomenal fan base has always been one of the cornerstones of the group’s success.

The Deluxe Edition of the album holds the #1 spot on iTunes Album Pop Charts and #5 on the iTunes overall chart with their new single, “Single” featuring Ne-Yo already jumping into the top forty on the iTunes Pop Singles Chart. “Single” officially debuted at #140 on Billboard Singles Chart with a 114% sales increase from last week. The group’s first single, the hit mellow jam “Summertime,” is a top 20 single that has sold over half a million copies.The New Kids on the Block Greatest Hits album saw a 100% increase in sales this week, making BOTH New Kids albums Top 30 albums.

That info is  a week old and located on NKOTB.com's 'news' page. I'll try to find more current sales info as the week progresses.

Tags: NKOTB, New Kids on the Block, blogplugs

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NKOTB Videos

My [permanent] recording capabilities have been hanidicapped by - oddly enough- the presence of my Time Warner DVR. If anyone out there can record a DVD of NKOTB's appearances on The View, The Today Show (both appearances), and any/all other clips, PLEASE let me know.

Meanwhile here's a few clips off the album to stir your interest. This first one is The Today Show appearance promoting 'Single' with Ne-Yo. The actual video is available on You-Tube but unavailable for embedding.

Here's 'Full Service' w/ New Edition

A great ballad called 'Don't Cry'

The funky 'Grown Man', w/ the Pussycat Dolls

and finally 'Offically Over'

 

Tags: NKOTB, New Kids on the Block, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls

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REVIEW: New Kids on the Block - The Block

On Tuesday September 2nd, at 8 a.m. on the dot, I entered our local Target and picked up not one but two copies of the extended version of the newly released New Kids on the Block album The Block.  One copy for our listening pleasure, another never-to-be-opened CD for our NKOTB collection. I also picked up an extended version of their greatest hits album.

'Twas a grand day.

I like the album. Yeah, sure, I'd say that no matter what. But I really do. I like some songs more than others, and some much more than others, but I like the album as a whole. By and large it's smooth R&B but has a definite nostaligic vibe that hides in the shadow of  very contemporary arrangements. Definitely a hightened sexual openess in the lyrics, but they're all in their 30's - I reckon it shouldn't come as a shock that they're not virgins.

What's that? You want a track by track breakdown of my opinion? Are you sure? I don't know . .well, if you insist. The bold titles indicate a song worthy of extra attention.

1. Click, Click, Click -  best known to me as the background music of the NKOTB website. A relaxed Timberlake-ish track

2. Single (featuring Ne-Yo) - solid enough, but NKOTB is largely in the background on this one. A good song but not a favorite of mine, despite being their next release.

3. Big Girl Now - a dance track featuring Lady Gaga. Some funky parts that catch your attention. From this point on the CD picks up quickly.

4. Summertime - their first release and their first Top 40 hit in over a decade. A great nostaligic song and a wise re-introduction to the group.

5. 2 in the Morning - a catchy chorus and a pleasant tune, but nothing grand.

6. Grown Man  - featuring the Pussycat Dolls and Teddy Riley. A great song that begins with a retro/Ray Charles feel and cruises through the rest of the song with a funky, fun, and nasty attitude.

Do you like my body?

Girl you know I do.

Do you think that I'm a hottie?

Girl you know I do.

 Do you want to go and party?

Girl you know I do.

Well whatchu want to do?

Here's what I want to do: I'm gonna give you some grown man. I'm gonna give you some grown man.

7. Dirty Dancing  - not as fun as track six but a blast. A vaguely Shaggy-feel to the song. "Ooh, you're so crazy. She's like, baby, I'm like Swayze." Love it! "I ain't looking for no drama/ I don't want no karma/ cause my baby's sleeping in bed back at home/ but you know I'd be lying if I said I ain't trying/ to get the shorty with me all alone."

 8. Sexify My Love - the chorus is pretty good  with a bit of a late '80's feel to it. Not hard on the ears, just not a great song.

9. Twisted - it has some fun beats, but at its heart its a standard issue dance club tune. A waste of space. Yawn.  

10. Full Service - another great song! a full out collaboration with New Edition, who NKOTB has always paid homage to over the years. Fun and funky with a steady beat that'll get you moving. Great to hear New Edition back in action!

11. Lights, Camera, Action - a song about photographing yourself in a sex act. Yawn. Been there done that - why listen to a song about it? Seriously though, just not a very good song IMHO.

12. Put it on My Tab - a slow R&B tune. It's fine and I'm sure beloved by many people, but relaxed R&B has never appealed to me and this is no exception.

13. Stare at You - a romantic ballad featuring all the guys. It reminds me of Joe/Jordan solo work. BONUS: at the tail end of the song Donnie speaks with his young son. Very cute and a reminder of how these guys have grown up over the years.

I can just stare at you forever (Oh, baby)
I can be here with you doing whatever (My lady)
It's not the way you look that brings me to my knees,
It's the way you look at me
I could just stare at you forever
If forever you were staring at me

That concludes the 'standard' edition of the album. I purchased the extended 'deluxe' versions with four extra songs.

1. One Song - an inoffensive but largely forgettable dance track. I can see why it wasn't included on the standard CD.

2. Don't Cry - a GREAT song! In Lisa's words 'this is what can happen when Joe and Jordan work together." Amen my love. Great song, great music, great voices, great sentiment.

I learned not to diss my words and fight over little things
Like when I used to wait all night,
Just to say I'm sorry, I love you
Oh, tell me what would there be left to say? Nothing
Oh, what if God wants to take me away?
Oh, you better...

Kiss me like it's the last time,
Love me like it's the first time
I'll kiss you like it's the last time
And I'll love you like it's the first time
I'll be trippin', can't wait for the next time
But if there isn't a next time...

Baby, just don't cry...

3. Officially Over - My FAVORITE song on the whole album! Just a great Joey-centric song about breaking up. Get me two notes into this one and I'm bopping around. A great bleeping song and a grand chorus to sing along with.

4. Looking Like Danger - the lyrics say 'it's hard to be faithful' but I find this song 'hard to describe'. A mix of a dance track, an '80's pop tune, and  a bit of a '80's soundtrack flair. I don't dislike it, but I can't say I like it either.

* * *

For pete's sake go and buy the thing. It's a heck of an album with six tracks that are guaranteed gems. What are you waiting for?

NKOTB Album Info

Ok, from what I can find online the release date for the new NKOTB album will be September 8th.

That info is courtesy of a May 30th article in Billboard.

To quote the article (edited by me, so go read the real deal):

Both the band and the label [Interscope] describe the deal as a "partnership." One source close to the deal notes that the label will partake in merchandise and touring revenue."We were driven by the music," group member Joey McIntyre tells Billboard of the decision to reunite. "Donnie [Wahlberg] and I both live in L.A., and we have had conversations about the offers we've gotten in the past. This time around, Donnie was the loudest and pushed the hardest in terms of getting going on the music. His excitement was really infectious."EM>

"Our friends' kids are listening to the tracks, and they are excited," says group member Jordan Knight. "We don't come across as old guys on the record, and songs like "Summertime" have a great, '80s vibe that can be enjoyed by everyone."

Of course things might have changed since May 30th, and to me a September release date seems awfully late in the game when you've had a single out for months, but what do I know?

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Video of NKOTB's 'Summertime'

Ony four months until we see NKOTB in concert, but I've yet to find out when the whole album hits stores. I'll have to surf the net for a bit today and get a release date.

In the meantime here's the video of their song 'Summertime', featuring many scantily clad women in bikinis, none of whom I believe are their spouses. Reason #55 to become rich and famous . .well, #'s 2-55 actually, behind only 'buy a lot of stuff' ;)

Just in case the song is yanked from YouTube, here's the official link from VH1.

New Kids on the Block on the 'Today' Show

Wouldn't you know it, I go through all that hassle for the Chicago tickets and they go and expand the tour by leaps and bounds, including a MILWAUKEE show a mere two days after Lisa's birthday.

Man, I've been to Joe's house (ok, stood outside his driveway on a public street). Seeing as I have his address I might as well just mail the guy a check, since they seem intent on taking all my money anyhow.

Lisa's talking about selling the Chi-town tickets if we score good ones here, but I'm leaning towards going to both, maybe taking YaYa to the Chicago concert if Lisa's friend opts out of the second show. Oh, yeah, yet another of my wife's childhood friends has come acallin' for tickets, so this is turning into a bit of a group outing.

To reiterate, I am not gay. Attending the concert with Lisa would be enjoyable and memorable. Attending it with her and a friend, still enjoyable, still memorable, with maybe a bit of the luster taken off. Going to a show with a bunch of screaming women who will spend the evening gushing about how they will use and abuse the guys on stage until parts fall off may just breach my self-imposed ( and admittedly low) standards of minimum testosterone.

(Naturally, I'm blowing smoke. I'll go.)

Anywho, NKOTB appeared on the Today show this morning and performed for the first time in nearly 15 years. I thought they seemed mighty rusty on the opening medley of old hits, did grand on their new song Summertime, and were fine if not awe-inspiring on Tonight. Donnie was still a gansta attention hog, Joe and Jordan did most of the singing, Danny stayed in the background, and Jon looked scared as hell. Serves him right, what with Lisa wearing a 'I heart Jon' button at our wedding. That's karma biting you in the butt Jon; you better recognize.

I kid I kid.

Here's the clips of the show. By the way, and I'm not saying this to justify my manhood, but which one of their wives gave the go-ahead for those backup dancers? The girl in the black mini at about a minute and a half into  Summertime . . Yowsas.

And for the serious fan, here's the lyrics to Summertime.

Spoken:
Jones Beach 1988. Come on!

Do you remember,
Or should I rewind,
To that summer when you caught my eye,
I played it cool,
The weather was hot,
You had the beauty and the beach on lock.

With your flip flops, half shirt, short shorts, mini skirt,
Walkin' on the beach, so pretty,
You wasn't lookin' for a man,
When you saw me in the sand,
But you fell for the boy from the city.

I was like, "hey, girl, can I get your number"
I remember what you told me too,
"Don't call after ten"
But you know that I did,
'Cause I couldn't stop thinkin' 'bout you.

I think about you in the summertime,
(Oh oh)
And all the good times we had, baby,
Been a few years and I can't deny,
(Oh oh)
The thought of you still makes me crazy,
I think about you in the summertime,
(Oh oh)
I'm sittin' here in the sun with you on my mind.
You're my, my summertime.

Do you remember,
I'll never forget,
Touchin' your body all soakin' wet,
The water was cool,
The feelin' was hot,
Kissin' on you while the ocean rocked.

In your strapless sundress,
Kickin' back, no stress,
As long as we was together,
'Cause we were feelin' young love,
And we couldn't get enough.
Baby, I could reminisce forever.

And now I'm like,
Hey, girl, don't you know I miss it,
And I wonder if you miss it too,
Never thought it would end 'til it did,
Now, I'm here and I can't stopthinkin' 'bout you.

I think about you in the summertime,
(Oh oh)
And all the good times we had, baby,
Been a few years and I can't deny,
(Oh oh)
The thought of you still makes me crazy,
I think about you in the summertime,
I'm sittin' here in the sun with you on my mind.
You're my, my summertime.

Spoken: Break it down.

Summer ended,
Winter started,
It got colder,
When we parted ways,
(Spoken: I like this part.)
As the seasons change.
(Spoken: Bring it forward, bring it back)
Winter melted,
Spring I felt it,
Summertime will never be the same,
(Without you. My summertime.)
My summertime.

I think about you in the summertime,
I think about you
(Oh oh)
And all the good times we had, baby,
We had baby
It's been a few years and I can't deny,
I can't deny
(Oh oh)
The thought of you still makes me crazy,
Makes me crazy
I think about you in the summertime,
I'm sittin' here in the sun with you on my mind.
On my mind,
My summertime.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, oh yeah

Here's a grand karaoke style version of the song w/ lyrics attached.

We've got NKOTB Tickets!

Whew. Around ten this morning  I got my hands on some tickets for the NKOTB show in Illinois on October 4th.

Crap tickets, mind you. I had told Lis we *could* go as high as $350/ticket for 'the meet and greet/guaranteed first 10 rows' package (mind the 'could', not 'should'), but the IL version was sold out.

We'd always said that if NKOTB or Led Zeppelin reunited, or Kurt Cobain returned from the grave to avenge himself on The One Known as Courtney and return to the stage, then all bets were off. Besides, that's what the economic stimulus  package is for, right?

New Jersey still had some of the packages left, and I was willing to make the trip since I've never been to NY/NJ and might've been able to work the September concert in with a Yankees game, but Lis vetoed it.

(Fly halfway across the country  just  for the New Kids? Don't forget, on Dec 31st, 1999 we rang in the millennium at a Boston bar listening to Joey McIntyre perform live.)

Instead, the second the internet sale for IL started I was there typing away. My wife's friend Jolene wanted to go with us - her man being a Non-Believer- and that 3rd seat proved elusive.

Within 4 minutes the site said the show was sold out of three consecutive seats, so I threw Jo to the curb and tried for two tickets. Nothing. It was selling out. A few minutes later, the same thing, and then on a whim I typed in '3' again and boom, someone had forfeited their tickets and we had ours.

They are about as far away from the stage as I am from being anorexic, but they are tickets. I console myself with the knowledge that  Lisa has been within feet of Joe and Jordan over the last ten years, and that someday Donnie will star in the film version of one of my novels and we'll have the guys over for lunch.  ;)

* * * *

For fans:

On their myspace page, linked to on the prior NKOTB post, there's a very good article about the reunion. I must say they display surprising maturity - yeah, yeah, the youngest is three months older than me - but there's a lot of crap they put up with over the years. The inclination, I would think, would be to spin a good PR tale and get on with it.

But they acknowledge their past, crediting Maurice Starr and once again bluntly stating stating that they were preceded by New Edition. Joe, being Joe, mentions that one of the best things about the reunion is that all the female fans are now of legal age - and then mentions his wife will  tag along to keep him out of trouble.

Here's how the reunion came about, told mostly in the words of the ever-talkative Donnie:

The brand new New Kids album was really sparked when Wahlberg was in New York for a costume fitting for the upcoming film Righteous Kill that finds him living out another life-long dream by acting in a film alongside two of his greatest heroes, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino . . .  Finding himself around the block, Wahlberg visited the office of his longtime music lawyer who handed him a demo tape  . . .

Putting the CD on while driving a few days later, Wahlberg heard two songs that spoke to him powerfully. “I got in the car in Boston on my birthday and I popped it in,” he recalls. “ The first song was called ..Click, Click, Click’ and from the minute it started, it just grabbed me. . . – I immediately recognized that Joey McIntryre is going to love this record, Jordan Knight is going to love this record and I love this record. The music speaks to all of our sensibilities, but they’re all totally different. It was hip-hop and honest enough for me. It was soulful enough for Jordan and pop and unselfish enough for Joe. It just had it all.

After years of blocking any reunion, Wahlberg was suddenly energized and drove to Jordan Knight’s house that night and played him the songs, “I told him. ..Jordan, this could be the moment right here.’ Jordan heard ..Click, Click, Click’ and he loved it. Then I emailed them to Joe and the same reaction — and more importantly his wife cried. So I pulled out my checkbook and we started going.”

“We’re not kids, we’re just the guys now,” Donnie Wahlberg says  . .Long the hold out from any sort of New Kids On The Block reunion, Wahlberg – who has enjoyed considerable success as a constantly working actor in the intervening years – has long made it clear that he had absolutely no interest in simply cashing in on the Kid’s good name. . . .“We never sold the New Kids house to anyone. And until we got together in a recording studio in Orlando two months ago, I haven’t even been in the same room with these five guys for fifteen years.”

 . . over the years, I’ve often thought I’d like to experience the group with that feeling of self-respect — instead of just the fame and hysteria, so it’s not about just getting something back, but about really doing something.” 

The bit about not being in a room together for 15 years needs an explanation. It's true all five might not have been in the same room, and there is some hint of bad blood in the past between John and Joe because of John's exit from the group. Still, Donnie and Joe have been in contact,  as has Donnie and Danny, Joe and Jordan, and of course Jordan and John. They obviously weren't strangers over the years.

NKOTB's New Song!

Tonight 'Summertime' by New Kids on the Block' was the challenger on 103.7 KISS FM's 'KISS Kombat'. On 'Kombat' two new songs battle head to head with the winner chosen by listener votes. 

I've learned some tricks from having lived near Chicago all my life; I personally voted three times.

The boys won, and it's on to battle again tomorrow night against Wiz Khalifa.

It was the first time Lisa and I had heard their new song, and it's pretty damn good. It stays true to their style, seems to work in many of them on vocals, and has a light and playful sound.

Frankly, it sounds like the guys  had fun making the song, and I dig the shout-out to 1988 (a pivotal year for them).

Here's a link to their myspace page with the song, and as long as it lasts, here's the YouTube version:

Tickets for their Chi-Town concert go on sale this weekend, and you better believe we're getting the best tickets available.

Keep Keepin' On, and don't forget to vote for them tomorrow night!

Tags: New Kids on The Block, Summertime, NKOTB

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"New Kids on the Block? WTF?"

I noticed this review of Slapinions on Blog Explosion a few days ago. Whoever wrote it - thanks for the laugh. Feel free to drop me a line to introduce yourself.

Review by 93118 at 2008-04-02 18:06:22
Word to describe your blog	Personal
What user liked the most	Good writing
Review Type	Rating	comment
Design / Style	3
Recent / Regular Updates	5
Loadtime	5
Interesting Content	5
Technical Errors	5
Colors	4
Grammar	5
Too many plugins	4
Layout	4
Review total score	91 of 100%
Summary: Lots of personal blogs out there. Like the entertaining ones the best. New Kids on the Block??? WTF? I'll be back.

 

Tags: Blog Explosion

NKOTB on NBC's Today

Well that was a whole lot of hype for nothing. All that for a few minutes of an interview drowned out by screaming fans, no performance . . just the announcement of a May 16th performance on Today, a summer album release, and a fall tour.                                          

                     

Lisa pointed out that during the first segment Jon looked shaky and uncomfortable (remember, he now suffers from severe panic attacks) and that Donnie screened him from the cameras as often as possible.

Naturally, Donnie did most of the talking :) Odd, he's without question the most successful of them post NKOTB (The Sixth Sense, Band of Brothers, the Saw franchise) and yet he's the most eager to reunite.

I guess he really did love performing.

              

Ok, on to May . . I've already taken myself off the work calendar for that day.

Not on AOL/AIM? Comment here

Tags: NKOTB

1st Pic of the Reunited NKOTB!

Today Katrina, one of my employees,  presented me with a great surprise - a printout of the FIRST PICTURE OF THE REUNITED NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.

Of course, L-R thats Joey McIntyre,  Jon Knight, Donnie Walhberg, Jordan Knight and Danny Wood.

She herself admits to dumping many of their items when they lost popularity - may the Lord forgive her - but like the Prodigal Son, she now freely admits NKOTB rules. Well, maybe not in so many words . .

Here's a pic from back in the day to compare with the one above:

Less than two days until their appearance on the Today show, and not a single person has come forward with an offer to record it.

Have you no decency?

UPDATE: From an AP article of 4/03/08

Wahlberg said he was convinced to get back together with his former bandmates - Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood - when they decided to record new music. Wahlberg said he wrote 80 percent of the new material with McIntyre and Jordan Knight.

"I had no interest going out on a nostalgia tour and singing the same material," said Wahlberg, 38.

But he added, "We absolutely will do the old songs for sure."

Tags: NKOTB

Happy April - No Fool's Day joke here

I know this runs the risk of sounding like an April Fool's Joke, but believe me, I detest that lame tradition.

 

On Friday April 4th ALL FIVE MEMBERS of the New Kids on the Block will be performing LIVE on the Today show on NBC.

 

I will be at work at that time, and just as importantly my DVR is still not working well with the HDTV.

 

So I BEG of my readers: Someone, somewhere must record the performances/interview and get me a copy, preferably on DVD. I will of course reimburse whoever goes the extra mile for me should it involve postage, etc.

 

This is not a joke . . PLEASE PLEASE let me know if anyone can do this.

 

Thanks!

 

* * * * *

 

You know that whole "I don't care about this (baseball) season' thing? Yeah, right out the window. When I got home from work I sat down and watched the end of the Brewers/Cubs game, then some of the Twins/Angels game and via psychfun got an update on the White Sox contest.

 

Oh, and the kicker, the moment when I knew my protests had all been smoke and mirrors? When I was on the phone with work and the Brewers gave up a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game (which they won in 10 frames)

 

Right there, with my work Nextel glued to my face and a fellow manager on the phone I screamed . . well, some very colorful words. 

 

I'm baaaack.

 

* * * * * *

.

 

A quiet night at home with the Mrs. Then right at the end I managed to slip and fall down the entire length of the basement stairs. These would be the same stairs that stand in legend among my parent's generation, as my Great-Grandmother took a serious tumble down them thirty or more years ago and the story is still in circulation.

 

I wound up in a heap on the basement floor, and even knocked a shoe off my foot.

 

No harm really, as it was by and large just an embarrassing and inconvenient moment. I emerged with only a neckache, some scraped and sore arms, a nasty cut and welt on my lower back, and a tidy little scrape right down the middle of my plumbers crack.

 

I'm grateful I got off easy. When 300 pounds goes flying down a flight of stairs, the shockwave of the impact alone coulda killed me.

 

* * * *

 

I got Lisa a mp3 player for Mother's Day last year and spent much of the last two day's filling it with songs she loves. I love not having to trip over CD's at every turn.

 

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Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp is a pretty fun show to watch. It's nice to see Willie Aames again, as my Mom was a huge Eight is Enough fan in the day. And might I just say, Tina Yothers . . well, I never thought she was attractive on Family Ties but I've had a change of heart.

 

It's probably the hair. I'm a sucker for a woman with short, dyed hair.

Tags: NKOTB, New Kids on the Block, Eight is Enough, Tina Yothers

OMG! (and please excuse all the !'s)

THIS IS NOT A JOKE

Woohoo!

People magazine's online edition is reporting a reunion of the New Kids on the Block, the seminal boy-band of the late '80's - early '90's!

Long time readers will recall that my wife and I have nearly 30  videotapes chock full of concerts and news footage of the band, and we have a trunk in storage jam-packed with everything from NKOTB slippers to trading cards to marbles and lunchboxes.

We even spent the turn-of-the-millenium in Boston at a Joey McIntyre concert. Hey I know it sounds odd, but my wife was a super fan and what the heck - they grew on me.

Who says you can't love Zeppelin and New Kids on the Block?

Man, what great news!

Here's the complete text of the article:

After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.

The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.

Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.

Tags: NKTOB, New Kids on the Block, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey Mcintyre, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, Jonathon Knight

The Post about NKOTB December 28th

As the veteran of nearly a decade of marriage, I know that honesty is the cornerstone of a good relationship, and a smooth lie the bedrock of a happy one.

In the same vein, my relationship with my readers has been a happy one so far, but I can't end the year living a lie. In the interest of full disclosure I have to tell you the embarrassing truth:

I am a New Kids on the Block fan.

That wouldn't be so bad if the person at the keyboard was a thirty-year old woman who once pined over Kirk Cameron and knew the words to Wind Beneath My Wings. Instead I'm a thirty-year old man who stands 6'3" tall and weighs over three hundred pounds.

And except for one awkward summer at band camp, I never had any feelings for Mr. Cameron.

My bewildering obsession coincided with my marriage. My wife was a hard-core NKOTB fanatic in her early teens: a member of the fan club, obsessive stalker, hopeful future lover of Jonathan Knight, ticket holder to four concerts, and possessor of more useless trivia than Ken Jennings.

I was, most assuredly, the opposite. It shames me to think of how many derogatory twists on their name I created, how many times I insulted my sisters for their allegiance, and how many times I passed up NKOTB merchandise (at '80's prices!) without a second glance.

In 1999 two of the New Kids went solo, and knowing it would make my wife happy I indulged her long-suppressed impulses to scream and yell and wait in line for hours just to catch a glimpse of them.

And wouldn't ya know it, they grew on me.

They're not Led Zeppelin or Benny Goodman by any means . But Face the Music could hold it's own with any R&B out today, Jordan Knight is incredibly gifted, Donnie's a hoot, and the worst of their schlock is still pretty catchy.

I still don't understand my wife's love for Jonathan, but hey, to each his own.

So five years later my wife and I have twenty-nine videotapes devoted to NKOTB. We have NKOTB slippers, dolls, trading cards, marbles, cups, jackets, books, comics, magazines, a sleeping bag, sheets, pillows, toys, and more. We've been to every concert in Wisconsin and once flew to Boston to see Joe McIntyre.

I even made the newspaper thanks to the New Kids.

Back in '99 Joey McIntyre appeared for a CD signing at a local restaurant. We waited in line outside for hours on a bitter cold winter night. When we finally reached the front of the line security declared the event over and closed the doors.

Correction: They tried to close the doors.

The 'security guards' were local high school football players. That might have been sufficient to intimidate the average fan, but the only place I'm average is the bedroom. I thrust out my paws and kept the door from closing. Whatever I said to the poor kid didn't matter. All he saw was a very large, very angry man who, given the circumstances, was apparently quite gay to boot.

He let us in.

The next day the signing was in the newspaper, because at some point somebody (?) had knocked the front door off its hinges.

Now my wife sometimes doubts my sincerity, pointing to my constant thirst for attention. True, there really was no call to wear the No More Games tour jacket to a job interview, but aside from that I'm on the up and up. But she can keep doubting me if she likes.

Me, I just keep keepin' on.

 

My wife wishes to add that this post unfairly maligns her home as some 'crazy house' where NKOTB stuff can be seen on the mantel. This is categorically untrue; the NKOTB stuff is kept in a room of its own.