Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids.
Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy.
Enjoy!
Sunday morning we had breakfast together then packed off the whole family to church. We didn't make it through the entire mass (Lauren's first!) but it wasn't Lauren's fault; Parker was terrorizing an autistic boy in the crying room by simply being his typical two-year old self, so we had to leave early.
We then picked up AnnaBelle, the girl Lis had watched all summer, to fufill a promise I'd made all week: to take the kids on a picnic.
We debated going over to the playset by Miller Park but instead went to 'the deer park' aka Whitnall, where we found a beautiful, empty spot by another play area.
The meal itself was standard fare- PBsandwiches, carrots, etc. But the company was great.
In a desperate attempt to knock out the jaundice and end the daily trips to the Dr, we put the baby out in the sun.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Worst Picture of Me since freshman year yearbook:
Unfortunately YaYa had a hissy fit at the park (jealousy over the baby?) and we packed it up and left. It was getting hot anyway, and I'd realized that we'd screwed up our schedule. Lisa's cousin was due to drop off a dinner for us that morning, but I'd forgotten and packed the family off for church. D'oh!
[BTW - Lauren's belly-button fell off later that night]
It was then time for yet another Dr. appointment, and I dropped the family off at Lisa's friend Jolene's house to wait out my trip with Park and Lauren. Good news - the billibrubin was on the way down and her wait up, ending the need for the trips, and Parker's infection was better.
Sweet!
Here's Jolene and her kids with Lauren:
Later that evening Uncle Kenny stopped by with Aunt Carol to see the baby:
And that pretty much ended the honeymoon . .the next day I had to return to work. As I told my boss, 'it was the best week of my life. Bar none'.
Why? The birth, naturally, and the baby and Mom safe and healthy . . no worries about work . . relaxing trips to the library . . evenings alone with the baby . . endless time to interact with the kids . .
I should be rich so I could do that full time. I'd do right by it, honest I would - I just enjoy time with the family.
One thing: Lauren merged seamlessly with the family. It was as if we had 3 kids one minute and four the next (which I guess technically, is true). But do you know what I mean? She was a part of our family right from the start, like she belonged.
Here's a link to my memories of that horrible day.
What I find incredible is the overall lack of emotion/interest/horror the event inspires here in 2007.
It's been SIX years folks, not sixty, and yet everyone seems to have pushed the day into the history books and out of the mainstream. I'm guilty of it myself, but six years ago I'd have taken bets that the day would perpetually loom front-and-center on the American consciousness.
Maybe it's a good thing - certainly it shows that our country is more than capable of absorbing a tragedy and pushing forward - but somehow, in my mind, it just seems to brand us as shallow.
On September 3rd, the 24th anniversary of my maternal grandfather's death and the 19th birthday of my cousin Elliot and most importantly for 2007, a day the Brewers blew a big game, we tried potty training Parker.
Yeah, it didn't go well.
I mean, there was some success. At 5:08 pm , after literally an hour of keeping him on the toilet and singing and reading and blah blah, he peed . . and peed . . and peed.
Ditto 9:02 am the next day.
But in between he shat his pants several times (tho' he did walk to the bathroom after doing the deed) and peed all over the house.
I should mention that the boy shows unusual . .dexterity with his, uh . . .well, yeah. He amused himself to no end with the acrobatics he demonstrated. I was impressed enough to consider contacting the circus . .
Anyhow, on a serious note: we have temporarily suspended the activities until the chaos of four kids has settled into a reasonable mode, and until Park shows more interest or vocal skills.
Saturday started with a bang. Parker couldn't put weight on his leg and was crying in pain. Overnight the scraped knee - this piddly diddly scrape - had become infected and swollen his knee.
Crap, and on my watch too.
So we loaded him up to piggy-back Lauren's appointment. This time Lis went too, in part because she is very close to Parker and sometimes the boy all but refuses to acknowledge I'm alive. Largely however, she was just p.o'd at the doctor about the comments she'd made yesterday.
Well, naturally the clinic spat out a different doctor, one who was quick to point out the fast-acting infection in Parker's knee. He drew a line around the site to track the progress of the infection and gave us two prescriptions. He also ordered some blood work, and brother Parker did NOT like that.
The baby's blood was drawn again and the count had climbed to (if memory serves) something close to 13.7. We were instructed to take her in AGAIN on Sunday.
There was another trip to the library that day, but I did it on my lonesome.
That afternoon Lisa left to go pick up a lot of premie girls clothes she'd seen on Craigslist (including an awesome baby binding blanket called a Kidapotamus, which I constantly and mistakenly call 'the papoose', genuinely at first and now for effect)
Meanwhile I set out to cut the grass, and just as I finished - I mean literally as the engine sputtered from a lack of gas and the last blade was trimmed, company arrived in the form of my Uncle Ken and my cousin Becky and her husband (w/ their new baby in tow), and her sister Mindy.
Here's a completely out of place pic of Lauren and YaYa, but what the heck.
Here's Lauren with my cousin Becky
Here's LuLu's Godmother, Becky's sister
Becky's husband Pon
My Uncle Ken
Here's Becky's son Gentavon
and Caitlin, who went home that afternoon, with Parker
To try and snuff out the jaundice we put Lauren (still refered to by me at that point as 'the baby', 'it', and other generic terms) on the porch
meanwhile her siblings joined us. Keep in mind, the shirt Park is wearing at age 2 fit YaYa loosely when we bought it in her K4 year!
I don't remember much about that evening in particular, save that it was wonderful and relaxing and full of love and all that good stuff. Sometime that weekend or thereabouts Lauren also had the joy of seeing ARod hit a homerun (albeit on TV) - indoctrination to Yankee lore is an important aspect of raising any child!
[note: I have some footage of me and YaYa during the 2001 World Series, screaming and scaring her as the Yanks hit a homer to win the game]
[note#2 - just to F with me, as she is now happy to do, YaYa will go around professing her love for the Red gag Sox and the (vomit) Cubs . . then giggle while her eyes sparkle. Disgusting!]
Sometime this week Lisa and the girls also had a talk about breastfeeding, 'tho I think that took place much earlier in the week . . by Saturday the baby was being supplemented with formula for a number of reasons, including the fact that formula fed babies tend to fight off jaundice earlier. . . .
From a clerk at my place of business, greatly annoyed at my protests of ignorance after being informed that I had to run the show solo while my staff attended a baby shower:
"Dan stop pretending to be incompetent and just fess up to being lazy!"
Friday was a heck of a day [sadly, one with few if any pics worthy of inclusion however].
To start the day I had to take Lauren in for the scheduled jaundice checkup. Bear in mind I didn't have to - Lis was certainly willing - but a newborn isn't exactly difficult company. They just lay there sleeping while you soak in praise for the 'bravery' you showed in taking them with you.
Actually I took all the kids, which (pat on the back) is a wee bit harder, but not exactly the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest.
We waited for the doc in relative peace, then waited some more in the examination room itself. At some point Park spilled water on the exam table, making a puddle on the paper sheet.
Naturally the doctor walked in and had a cow, making a relatively big production out of a small matter.
The checkup proceeded and all seems ok, tho' the Doctor was still worried about jaundice. She left to go get a lab order for bloodwork and said to me, as she left the room, 'Don't let the baby fall off the table'.
A. The baby's newborn - she can't roll.
B. She could roll like a ship in a tsunami and I wouldn't let her fall.
I let her know my opinion of the statement, although it amused me more than I'm letting on here.
Give her credit - she apologized when she returned and even complimented me on bringing the kids, saying her husband would never have managed the feat.
She went all overboard on the potential jaundice, saying I'd have to bring the baby back every day, blah blah.
Look, YaYa was so jaundiced you could have mistaken her for a highlighter. I wasn't worried about a kid who had a taste of the stuff - I think it eventually tested at ~ a 12 or so.
The worst part was of course the bloodtest, holding my newborn as her heel was pricked and blood drawn. I'd done that for YaYa too - it sucks.
So I leave the Dr's office and on the way home call and update Lisa. By the time I got home the Doctor had called LISA and updated her too, saying she didn't trust a man to relay the message.
SWEET!
I found it amusing but it really pi**ed Lisa off.
After lunch and a nap I took the brood out again. To the appliance store (we'd gotten the wrong part) - but this time I remembered quarters for the candy machine - and to another appointment we had.
At this second appointment Parker fell and scraped his knee. No big deal - he's pretty tough that way - but it had ramifications later in the weekend.
Now you may recall I'd gone to the library -our local branch - the day before. But the book I REALLY wanted was only available downtown (Scalzi's last old man novel). So I decided to take the kids down there, to my old stomping grounds.
Only I had my fill of watching 'em all, and no way was my anxiety ridden self going to watch all of them in the huge central library.
Thus, I drafted my niece Caitlin to go with us.
Not much to note there, save the fact that the kids LOVED the lightower in the children's section and played up there forever.
[note: one neat thing I love about my kids. They are such frequent patrons of the library that they request you go to a specific location, identified by the activity in the children's room or the shape of the building: the 'round library' (Zablocki), the 'robot' library (Washington Park), the 'Lightower' (Central), etc. ]
[a librarian heard yelling from the tower and came to scold me (being a man) for not watching my kids. I'd had enough testosterone bashing for one day, thank you. "Those are boy's yelling. Last I checked, I have one boy and he doesn't talk. Go talk to her" I said, gesturing to a nearby Mom.]
The kids rebelled a bit at the checkout desk, leading one punk clerk to say "That's why I don't have kids". Lucky for the world, a*hole, lucky for the world.
At my girl's request Caitlin stayed the night at our house.
In the evening word came back from the Doc - Lauren would need to be seen again tomorrow.
* * * * One more thing, and I don't know if it was Friday or Thursday, but my sisters made my family dinner and dropped it off at the house to ease the post-birth burden on us. Mashed potatoes, roast, corn . .yum. It's such a good idea, and so helpful to the family that I think it will become our new 'gift' to new parents.
Ok, so she was born on Tuesday and went home on Wednesday. That first night with her in the bassinet in our room went so-so and we were understandably tired in the morning.
Still, there were guests to entertain.
Then I did something I'm prone to do, jumping straight into the fire with a new baby and taking the whole kit and kaboodle - in this case, all four kids - out with me. Consider it a way to convince myself I haven't screwed up and jumped in water over my head.
I hedged my bets a little and grabbed Chris's two kids, just so I could have the 9 year old as an emergency set of eyes.
Six kids. Yikes.
We popped over to YaYa's friends house [the one we babysat all summer; she wasn't with us Thurs/Fri to give us family time] to drop off a bag and show off the baby, then hopped over to an appliance part store to replace a broken refridgerator shelf.
The kids were good at the store but it dragged on and on and they began to lose it. On the way home picked up a pizza, then had the kids eat lunch and retire for a nap as it rained outside.
Visitors continued to arrive to see the lass; Aunt Royette was one of them :)
Sometime during the day I escaped to the library, one of four or five times that week I managed the feat. It was a deliriously happy experience.
Here's some pictures of the kids with the baby. We tried hard to get YaYa to connect with Lauren by pointing out how much they look alike (although she quickly began to display aspects of all her siblings)
There's some cute CUTE pics of the baby from that night but they're so adorable I'm going to post them seperately.
Here's a pic of Parker feeding our pet turtle Franklin. Excuse the mess, please.
We got Franklin in August of '05 and originally Lisa was TERRIFIED, comically so. Now she not only loves the guy, she's the one to clean his tank 75% of the time (although that might be more due to my laziness than anything else)
He seems to like our new house a lot better then the old one, probably because of all the sunlight his new spot gets during the day.
249. Award Tour – A Tribe Called Quest 248. Love Rollercoaster – Red Hot Chili Peppers 247. Don't Speak – No Doubt 246. I Will Follow – U2 245. Eye – Smashing Pumpkins 244. Forty Six & 2 – Tool 243. Holiday in Cambodia – Dead Kennedys 242. Selling the Drama – Live 241. Peaches – Presidents of the U.S.A. 240. Dissident – Pearl Jam 239. Devil’s Haircut – Beck 238. Friday I'm In Love – The Cure 237. Fight The Power – Public Enemy 236. Beautiful Disaster – 311 235. Stardog Champion – Mother Love Bone 234. Take The Skinheads Bowling – Camper Van Beethoven 233. Rape Me – Nirvana 232. Lips Like Sugar – Echo and the Bunnymen 231. Caress Me Down – Sublime 230. Burden in My Hand – Soundgarden 229. The Impression That I Get – Mighty Might Bosstones 228. Plowed – Sponge 227. Sweet Dreams – Marilyn Manson 226. What's The Frequency Kenneth – R.E.M. 225. I Wanna Be Adored – Stone Roses 224. Down in a Hole – Alice in Chains 223. My Name Is Mud – Primus 222. Down By The Water – PJ Harvey 221. Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart – Stone Temple Pilots 220. Rock 'n Roll Lifestyle – Cake 219. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker – The Ramones 218. Good – Better Than Ezra 217. Pretend We're Dead – L7 216. Welcome to Paradise – Green Day 215. Landslide – Smashing Pumpkins 214. Paul Revere – Beastie Boys 213. I Was Wrong – Social Distortion 212. You – Candlebox 211. Da Funk – Daft Punk 210. Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam 209. Praise You – Fat Boy Slim 208. Unsung – Helmet 207. I Fought The Law – The Clash 206. Down In It – Nine Inch Nails 205. Dumb – Nirvana 204. Zombie – Cranberries 203. Gone Away – Offspring 202. Freedom – Rage Against The Machine 201. Bullet The Blue Sky – U2 200. Institutionalized – Suicidal Tendencies 199. Glycerine – Bush 198. Born Slippy – Underworld 197. I'll Stick Around – Foo Fighters 196. So What ‘Cha Want – Beastie Boys 195. Heaven Beside You – Alice in Chains 194. Gone Daddy Gone – Violent Femmes 193. Breaking The Girl – Red Hot Chili Peppers 192. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows 191. Tennessee – Arrested Development 190. Unglued – Stone Temple Pilots 189. Possum Kingdom – The Toadies 188. Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure 187. Feel The Pain – Dinosaur Jr. 186. Stop – Jane’s Addiction 185. Zero – Smashing Pumpkins 184. Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon – Urge Overkill 183. Mrs. Robinson – Lemonheads 182. Once In A Lifetime – Talking Heads 181. Stupid Girl – Garbage 180. Black – Pearl Jam 179. Sell Out – Reel Big Fish 178. Miss World – Hole 177. Detachable Penis – King Missle 176. Bizarre Love Triangle – New Order 175. Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana 174. Karma Police – Radiohead 173. Stinkfist – Tool 172. Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind 171. Bring The Noise – Anthrax 170. Live Forever – Oasis 169. Outshined – Soundgarden 168. Panic – The Smiths 167. Lump – Presidents of The U.S.A. 166. I'll Be You – The Replacements 165. I Stay Away – Alice In Chains 164. The One I Love – R.E.M. 163. Ruby Soho – Rancid 162. Shine – Collective Soul 161. Creep – Stone Temple Pilots 160. She Don't Use Jelly – Flaming Lips 159. Tomorrow – Silverchair 158. Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones 157. Girl – Beastie Boys 156. Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins 155. It's Tricky – Run DMC 154. All Mixed Up – 311 153. Santa Monica – Everclear 152. Ring of Fire – Social Distortion 151. Even Flow – Pearl Jam 150. Where It's At – Beck 149. Popular – Nada Surf 148. Otherside – Red Hot Chili Peppers 147. My Name Is Jonas – Weezer 146. The Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana 145. Train In Vain – The Clash 144. More Human Than Human – White Zombie 143. Shimmer – Fuel 142. Smoke Two Joints – Sublime 141. Machine Head – Bush 140. My Own Worst Enemy – Lit 139. New Year's Day – U2 138. Far Behind – Candlebox 137. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star 136. Hunger Strike – Temple of the Dog 135. Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band 134. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver – Primus 133. Love Song – The Cure 132. No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys 131. Big Empty – Stone Temple Pilots 130. Never There – Cake 129. Busy Child – Crystal Method 128. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day 127. Fire Woman – The Cult 126. Tonight Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins 125. The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson 124. What's My Age Again? – Blink 182 123. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division 122. Alive – Pearl Jam 121. Smack My Bitch Up – Prodigy 120. Ball and Chain – Social Distortion 119. A Girl Like You – Edwyn Collins 118. Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode 117. The Kids Aren't Alright – Offspring 116. Lithium – Nirvana 115. Spiderwebs – No Doubt 114. Rock The Casbah – The Clash 113. Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters 112. Jump Around – House of Pain 111. Fell On Black Days – Soundgarden 110. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies 109. Terrible Lie – Nine Inch Nails 108. Mysterious Ways – U2 107. Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve 106. No Excuses – Alice In Chains 105. All Over You – Live 104. Suck My Kiss – Red Hot Chili Peppers 103. Guerilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine 102. Kiss Off – Violent Femmes 101. Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys 100. Vasoline – Stone Temple Pilots 99. Basket Case – Green Day 98. Champagne Supernova – Oasis 97. Flag Pole Sitta – Harvey Danger 96. 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins 95. Anarchy In The U.K. – Sex Pistols 94. Insane In The Brain – Cypress Hill 93. Got The Life – Korn 92. Down – 311 91. Better Man – Pearl Jam 90. Smile – The Gufs 89. I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones 88. Bound For The Floor – Local H 87. Wrong Way – Sublime 86. All Apologies – Nirvana 85. Cannonball – Breeders 84. Higher Ground – Red Hot Chili Peppers 83. Pictures of You – The Cure 82. Undone (The Sweater Song) – Weezer 81. Come Down – Bush 80. Dragula – Rob Zombie 79. What It’s Like – Everlast 78. Story Of My Life – Social Distortion 77. My Hero – Foo Fighters 76. Just A Girl – No Doubt 75. Rooster – Alice In Chains 74. Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band 73. Come Out And Play – Offspring 72. I Alone – Live 71. Sex Type Thing – Stone Temple Pilots 70. Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2 69. Head Like A Hole – Nine Inch Nails 68. Dammit – Blink 182 67. Bulls On Parade – Rage Against The Machine 66. When I Come Around – Green Day 65. Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins 64. Add It Up – Violent Femmes 63. Pepper – Butthole Surfers 62. Give It Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers 61. Daughter – Pearl Jam 60. Sex And Candy – Marcy Playground 59. Time Bomb – Rancid 58. She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult 57. Song 2 – Blur 56. In Bloom – Nirvana 55. Doin' Time – Sublime 54. Say It Ain't So – Weezer 53. Epic – Faith No More 52. Blue Monday 88 – New Order 51. No Rain – Blind Melon 50. Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins 49. Fight For Your Right – Beastie Boys 48. The Distance – Cake 47. Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chili Peppers 46. Spoonman – Soundgarden 45. London Calling – The Clash 44. Wonderwall – Oasis 43. Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters 42. Gotta Get Away – Offspring 41. Would? – Alice In Chains 40. Only Happy When It Rains – Garbage 39. Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2 38. Low – Cracker 37. Been Caught Stealing – Jane's Addiction 36. Interstate Love Song – Stone Temple Pilots 35. The Rockafeller Skank – Fat Boy Slim 34. Freak On A Leash – Korn 33. Just Like Heaven – The Cure 32. Loser – Beck 31. Come As You Are – Nirvana 30. Intergalactic – Beastie Boys 29. Hey Man, Nice Shot – Filter 28. What I Got – Sublime 27. Longview – Green Day 26. It's The End Of The World As We Know It – R.E.M. 25. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden 24. Buddy Holly – Weezer 23. Soul To Squeeze – Red Hot Chili Peppers 22. Where Is My Mind – Pixies 21. Man In The Box – Alice In Chains 20. How Soon Is Now – The Smiths 19. Everlong – Foo Fighters 18. Lightning Crashes – Live 17. Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine 16. Self Esteem – Offspring 15. Plush – Stone Temple Pilots 14. Should I Stay Or Should I Go – The Clash 13. Sabotage – Beastie Boys 12. Sober – Tool 11. Today – Smashing Pumpkins 10. Creep - Radiohead 9. Closer – Nine Inch Nails 8. One – U2 7. Brain Stew – Green Day 6. Jeremy – Pearl Jam 5. Santeria - Sublime 4. Jane Says – Jane's Addiction 3. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers 2. Blister In The Sun – Violent Femmes 1. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
I haven't had time to study the list in detail, but I certainly give a strong nod of approval to their choice for #1. Not sure I'd have included any Beastie Boys at all, but that's just me.
Take a hard look at #177 on the list. This used to play all the time on my Renault's tinny AM radio, courtesy of the WARP, an alternative rock station that died out years ago. The station didn't even have DJ's, just a tape recorded intro once in awhile.
If you want a giggle and a 'What the F*?' take a look at the song's video on YouTube
(This post is apparently too big to be a single post, so I'm dividing it up into two)
FM 102.1 is an alternative rock station here in Milwaukee and this past weekend they had played the Top 500 Flannel Flashback songs.
Essentially, this is a list of the top grunge era (but not necessarily grunge) songs.
500. We Care a Lot – Faith No More 499. The Fly – U2 498. H – Tool 497. Starseed – Our Lady Peace 496. Animal – Pearl Jam 495. J.A.R. – Green Day 494. Celebrity Skin – Hole 493. All I Want- Offspring 492. Breathe – Prodigy 491. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? – Nirvana 490. Love Removal Machine – The Cult 489. Egg Man – Beastie Boys 488. 21st Century Digital Boy – Bad Religion 487. Go – Pearl Jam 486. Shame – Stabbing Westward 485. Too Much – Dave Matthews Band 484. Rebel Yell – Billy Idol 483. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2 482. Bad Habit (edit) – The Offspring 481. Pretty Penny – Stone Temple Pilots 480. Rain King – Counting Crows 479. El Scorcho – Weezer 478. Runaway Train – Soul Asylum 477. Why Can't I Be You? – The Cure 476. Pretty Noose – Soundgarden 475. Debaser – Pixies 474. Living Dead Girl – Rob Zombie 473. Clumsy – Our Lady Peace 472. Push It – Garbage 471. Rocket – Smashing Pumpkins 470. And She Was – Talking Heads 469. Sick of Myself – Matthew Sweet 468. Policy of Truth – Depeche Mode 467. Paranoid Android – Radiohead 466. Rearviewmirror – Pearl Jam 465. All I Want – Offspring 464. Heroin Girl – Everclear 463. Lust For Life – Iggy Pop 462. All Around The World – Oasis 461. VerseChorus Verse – Nirvana 460. Pass The Mic – Beastie Boys 459. Special – Garbage 458. My Friends – Red Hot Chili Peppers 457. The Killing Moon – Echo and the Bunnymen 456. Mouth – Bush 455. Laid – James 454. Criminal – Fiona Apple 453. The Day I Tried to Live – Soundgarden 452. April 29, 1992 (edit) – Sublime 451. So Much to Say – Dave Matthews Band 450. Where the Streets Have No Name – U2 449. Bombtrack – Rage Against The Machine 448. Superman's Dead – Our Lady Peace 447. In The Mean Time – Spacehog 446. Nutshell – Alice in Chains 445. Round Here – Counting Crows 444. Geek Stink Breath – Green Day 443. Let's Go To Bed – The Cure 442. Master And Servant – Depeche Mode 441. Connection – Elastica 440. Not For You – Pearl Jam 439. Save Yourself – Stabbing Westward 438. Infected – Bad Religion 437. Natural One – Folk Implosion 436. I Kissed a Girl – Jill Sobule 435. Crackerman – Stone Temple Pilo 434. Candy – Iggy Pop 433. March of the Pigs – Nine Inch Nails 432. Joey – Concrete Blonde 431. Kitty – Presidents of the U.S.A. 430. The New Style – Beastie Boys 429. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads 428. Perfect – Smashing Pumpkins 427. Bull in Heather – Sonic Youth 426. Again – Alice in Chains 425. A Long December – Counting Crows 424. Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might Be Giants 423. State of Love and Trust – Pearl Jam 422. Wave of Mutilation – Pixies 421. Bigmouth Strikes Again – The Smiths 420. Hits From The Bong – Cypress Hill 419. Prison Sex - Tool 418. Mountain Song – Jane’s Addiction 417. Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers 416. On a Plain – Nirvana 415. It's a Shame About Ray – Lemonheads 414. Roots Radical – Rancid 413. Until The End of the World – U2 412. Everyday is Halloween - Ministry 411. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley 410. Rusty Cage – Soundgarden 409. Get Off This – Cracker 408. Never Say Never – Romeo Void 407. Black Gold – Soul Asylum 406. Fascination Street – The Cure 405. In The Garage – Weezer 404. Linger – Cranberries 403. Don't Follow – Alice in Chains 402. A.D.I.D.A.S. – Korn 401. Queer – Garbage 400. Shake Your Rump – Beastie Boys 399. Guilty – Gravity Kills 398. Stand – R.E.M. 397. Gold Dust Woman – Hole 396. Plush (Acoustic) – Stone Temple Pilots 395. Tripping Billes – Dave Matthews Band 394. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead 393. Save it For Later – English Beat 392. Mayonnaise – Smashing Pumpkins 391. With or Without You – U2 390. Stars – Hum 389. Don't Look Back in Anger – Oasis 388. Never Let Me Down Again – Depeche Mode 387. Teenage Lobotomy – The Ramones 386. Banditos – Refreshments 385. Why Go – Pearl Jam 384. Don't Stay Home – 311 383. Lakini's Juice – Live 382. Bad Fish – Sublime 381. Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy 380. Desperately Wanting – Better Than Ezra 379. Breed – Nirvana 378. Song For The Dumped – Ben Folds Five 377. In Between Days – The Cure 376. Salvation – Rancid 375. Connected – Stereo MC's 374. Down Rodeo – Rage Against The Machine 373. Sheep Go To Heaven – Cake 372. Swallowed – Bush 371. Body Movin' – Beastie Boys 370. Regret – New Order 369. 88 Lines About 44 Women – Nails 368.Hitchin' a Ride – Green Day 367. Einstein on the Beach – Counting Crows 366. Blow Up The Outside World – Soundgarden 365. Firestarter – Prodigy 364. This is a Call – Foo Fighters 363. Angry Chair – Alice in Chains 362. Burning Down The House – Talking Heads 361. Hurt – Nine Inch Nails 360. So Alive – Love and Rockets 359. Crazy Mary – Pearl Jam 358. Super Bon Bon – Soul Coughing 357. Salvation – Cranberries 356. Ask – The Smiths 355. Dancing Days – Stone Temple Pilots 354. Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) – Offspring 353. Can’t Hardly Wait – Replacements 352. Seether – Veruca Salt 351. Are You Gonna Go My Way? – Lenny Kravitz 350. Girls and Boys – Blur 349. Ava Adore – Smashing Pumpkins 348. Orange Crush – R.E.M. 347. Aenema – Tool 346. Monkey Gone to Heaven – Pixies 345. Everything to Everyone – Everclear 344. Euro Trash Girl – Cracker 343. Glorified G – Pearl Jam 342. Time to Get Ill – Beastie Boys 341. Beat on the Brat – The Ramones 340. Around The World – Red Hot Chili Peppers 339. Pets – Porno For Pyros 338. Dancing With Myself – Billy Idol 337. Polly – Nirvana 336. I Think I'm Paranoid – Garbage 335. River of Deceit – Mad Season 334. Even Better Than The Real Thing – U2 333. Into Your Arms – Lemonheads 332. Violet – Hole 331. Little Things - Bush 330. It’s No Good – Depeche Mode 329. Nearly Lost You – Screaming Trees 328. High and Dry – Radiohead 327. Say Hello To Heaven – Temple of the Dog 326. Supersonic – Oasis 325. Thunderkiss '65 – White Zombie 324. The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe 323. Close To Me – The Cure 322. The World I Know – Collective Soul 321. The New Pollution – Beck 320. God Save The Queen – Sex Pistols 319. Over Now (MTV Unplugged) – Alice In Chains 318. Somebody to Shove – Soul Asylum 317. Cornflake Girl – Tori Amos 316. Seasons – Chris Cornell 315. Date Rape – Sublime 314. I Will Buy You A New Life – Everclear 313. Big Bang Baby – Stone Temple Pilots 312. People Are Strange – Echo and the Bunnymen 311. Molly – Sponge 310. Punk Rock Girl – Dead Milkmen 309. Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three 308. Under The Milky Way – The Church 307. Thirty Three – Smashing Pumpkins 306. Hey Ladies – Beastie Boys 305. Jerry Was a Racecar Driver – Primus 304. Life During Wartime – Talking Heads 303. Love Spreads – Stone Roses 302. Dreams – Cranberries 301. Corduroy – Pearl Jam 300. I Will Survive – Cake 299. People of the Sun – Rage Against The Machine 298. Crash (Into Me) – The Gufs 297. Lake of Fire – Nirvana 296. Rush – Big Audio Dynamite 295. December – Collective Soul 294. She – Green Day 293. True Faith – New Order 292. Scooby Snacks – Fun Lovin' Criminals 291. Circles – Soul Coughing 290. My Wave – Soundgarden 289. White Wedding – Soundgarden 288. Block Rockin' Beats – Chemical Brothers 287. Girlfriend in a Coma – The Smiths 286. What Do I Have To Do? – Stabbing Westward 285. Cut Your Hair – Pavement 284. Them Bones – Alice in Chains 283. Father of Mine – Everclear 282. Perfect Drug – Nine Inch Nails 281. She's Crafty – Beastie Boys 280. Dead and Bloated – Stone Temple Pilots 279. Head On – Jesus and the Mary Chain 278. Drown – Smashing Pumpkins 277. Radio Free Europe – R.E.M. 276. Why Don't You Get a Job? – Offspring 275. 3 Strange Days – School of Fish 274. Blind – Korn 273. What Would You Say – Dave Matthews Band 272. Aeroplane – Red Hot Chili Peppers 271. How I Could Just Kill a Man – Cypress Hill 270. Rock 'n Roll High School – The Ramones 269. Elderly Woman Behind The Couch – Pearl Jam 268. Fire Water Burn – Bloodhound Gang 267. Big Me – Foo Fighters 266. People Who Died – Jim Carroll Band 265. About a Girl – Nirvana 264. Kool Thing – Sonic Youth 263. Bad Luck – Social Distortion 262. All The Small Things – Blink 182 261. Here Comes Your Man – Pixies 260. Everything Zen – Bush 259. Teen Angst – Cracker 258. Sureshot – Beastie Boys 257. This is Radio Clash – The Clash 256. #1 Crush – Garbage 255. Got Me Wrong – Alice in Chains 254. Bitchin' Camaro – Dead Milkmen 253. Doll Parts – Hole 252. Wicked Garden – Stone Temple Pilots 251. Brick – Ben Folds Five 250. American Music – Violent Femmes
Argh, there is so much to do. The following posts are past-due:
mingolf
arab fest
brian and delaura's
1st day of school
trip to the zoo
radio commercial
4th of July
Lauren's 1st week
stonefire
general Lauren and kid's pics posts
caitlin's party
a general 'this is what I want to remember about the kids 20 years from now' post
bus accident
mom's birthday
parkers birthday
dyeing easter eggs
easter
load xmas concerts
Blue Screen
parker in dress
YaYa's lost tooth
plus all the posts about the house renovations
Sigh. My goal is to polish off as many of these as I possibly can, as I'm itching to do some writing - some real, non-blog writing.
* * *
Here's part of a deleted profile of mine on AOL:
Hobbies & Interests
Books (see one of my web pages), Baseball (and yeah, I feel it shoud be capitalized), NKOTB, movies, and history.
Occupation
Personal Quote
(1) Make sure you're right, then go ahead.- D. Crockett (2) Be proud of what you have done, then go and do better - Admiral Horatio Nelson? (3) EGBAR (4) Find your own creed, and follow it
* * *
Another set of quotes:
Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. - Dorothy Sarnoff
If the past isn't past, what is?
A hero is led by destiny, everyone else is dragged along by it.
Adventure's just another word for trouble
History is not written by the hand of intent. It's the deeds alone that matter.
There is nothing that cannot be forgiven but the failure to confess
You suffer for what you fail to confess, even when you fail to confess it to yourself
These [poetry] are the fragments which you may one day shore against your ruins
* * *
Most of the quotes were taken from THE UNCANNY by Andrew Klavan (sp?). It's an excellent horror/ghost novel . . he really is a wonderful writer with a gift for making words dance at his beck and call . at leas in this book. I'll have to pick up another of his works to see if he was a one-hit wonder in the talent department.
* * * *
Anyone in the Milwaukee area interested in buying an Entertainment or Gold C books, or Mr. Z's pizza, shoot me an email.
Early this week I stumbled across the fact that Alice In Chains was going to perform at the Rave here in Milwaukee. I quickly emailed my friend Tre who got us two tickets for the show.
AIC, for the uninformed, is a Seattle area band very closely associated with the Grunge movement of the '90's. In fact they predate that scene and are far more 'metal' in flavor and influence than their flannel contemporaries, but their Seattle origins and popularity during the early '90's forever sealed their place in Grunge lore.
I refer to AIC as one of the Holy Trinity of Grunge, along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
[The morning of the show I woke up with a horrible headache, one that lingered all day and made me vomit a few times. Essentially, it was like spending the day hungover without the fun of drinking the night before. So to make sure I was good to go for the concert I took off of work early, grabbed a nap, and geared up for the show.]
I have long since stopped owning any clothing that could remotely be deemed 'cool', if I ever did, and regret to say I have not a single flannel shirt to my name. The best I could manage was a burgandy polo, cargo shorts, sandals, and . . GASP! for the first time in a few years, a diamond stud in my ear. Shockingly punk, don't ya think?
My girls got a kick out of seeing Daddy with an earring.
It was an 8 o'clock general admission show but a sign in the lobby of the 3,500 seat venue advertised two opening acts and a AIC start time of 9:30. With wisdom born of age, we left the Rave in search of a diner to pass the time.
The next hour and a half were spent reminiscing about college, which of course coincided with the heyday of Grunge.
Of significance was the fact that Tre's 15th high school reuninon is coming up. We went to private high school together, but after junior year I didn't have the finances to continue and left for public school. No regrets - it stands as one of the 5 pivotal changes that influenced who I am - but it makes me a tad bitter:
Why? Because I'm not invited to a reunion where I would know 90% of the attendees and would have the chance to show I didn't wind up a 33 year old booger eating virgin, and to top it off the high school I did graduate from doesn't actively host reunions.
Swell.
Anyhow, I've noted that I've grown more and more nostalgic for '92-'94, to the point where the era has assumed Happy Days/Wonder Years stature for me.
It's ridiculous really. I was fat (er, well I am now too, but it was a different, less confident fat), a virgin without a girlfriend, living at home, working for $4.20 an hour and driving a Renault Alliance that not only couldn't go freeway speeds but wasn't even officially in my name.
What's to celebrate?
But in my head it was the, can ya see the air quotes people, 'perfect era' and I'd like the chance to go back and relive it, if just for a week.
Let's see how long that virginity thing would last with the current moi on the prowl, baby.
Back to reality.
We got back and the hall was full - I mean FULL. Tre jokingly referenced Great White and I thought 'no kidding' - there was no getting out of there in a hurry. Oddly enough we never entered the actual room, standing just outside the open doors to the stage area. From there we were maybe 100, 150 feet from the stage and had a clear sight of every performer but the drummer.
Of course I could have entered the hall 90 minutes earlier and spent the evening pressed among 3500 other people and gotten . .oh, . . . 25 feet closer . . as I said, the wisdom born of age.
So the concert itself: fully acoustic, one of only 4 such concerts in the US, and filmed for an upcoming DVD (yea!). The frontman of the band Layne Staley had passed away of a heroin OD several years ago and this was my introduction to his replacement William Duvall.
I've gotta say - the guy's good, and at times it's like hearing Layne himself sing the songs.
The first twenty minutes of the show I enjoyed but was embarrassed. I knew only one song, as they were relying heavily on their EP material. (I'd always had a philisophical and economic objection to paying CD prices for a disc with only 4 or 5 songs). If the song from the EP didn't get radio play, I was only vaguely familiar with it.
Here I am thinking I know 90% of their material up and down, and I barely recognize the first few songs.
Man, what a bummer.
I'll tell you what tho', even unplugged AIC managed to sound vaguely menacing.
Then it was a straight hour of songs I knew inside/out, starting with 'Angry Chair', then 'No Excuses', 'Down in a Hole', etc. To my pleasant surprise the concert turned into a bit ofa sing-along, with the crowd not only singing with the song but taking lyrics and emphasizing them on their own.
On 'Rooster', which was part of the encore - 'You know we ain't gonna Die!' . . on 'No Excuses' : "It's OK, had a bad day" on "Got me Wrong" 'I haven't felt like this in so long' on 'Would?' [which, btw, was the only song that lost some oomph acoustic; ironic, as it's one of their more sedate songs] it was 'If . . I . . Would . . Could . . You?" with each word followed by a devil-horn head bang towards the stage.
Here's a clip of "No Excuses" that emphasizes the audience participation.
It was great, and make no mistake about it: these guys have been playing for 20 years because they are great musicians, first and foremost. Even acoustic the songs were powerful. I'll try to post some cell-phone pics/video from Tre once he emails it over, but here's a You Tube vid of "Don't Follow" to give ya a taste of the show.
There was no body-surfing to report until the encore, and no mosh-pit. Not entirely unexpected, as half the people there were past thirty and arthritic. Lots of nice looking women, lots of pregnant women (at least 4 I counted, Tre said 6 or more) , and no aholes of note.
We followed the concert with an old-times sake midnight drive in the boonies before heading home to our wives.
A GREAT night, and I can finally say that I saw 1/3rd of the trinity. I can't wait for the DVD.
* * * *
Note: one site is touting this (see below) as a set list for the concert. Uh, no. I can tell you that if anything it is incomplete, as Would was certainly performed. Tre - if you read this, scan and look for additional errors, would ya?
ALICE IN CHAINS's setlist for last night's concert was as follows:
01. Don't Follow 02. Heaven Beside You 03. Brother 04. I Can't Remember 05. Nutshell 06. Killer is Me 07. Love Hate Love 08. Sludge Factory 09. Angry Chair 10. No Excuses 11. Down in a Hole 12. Got Me Wrong
Encore:
13. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (ELTON JOHN cover) 14. Squeeze Box (THE WHO cover) 15. Rooster
For the last few weeks I've been really into chess, ever since reading Stalin's Ghost, which features a chessmaster as a minor character.
(Lest I never get a chance to mention it, I've also recently read and enjoyed Lincoln Child's Deep Storm. I really like the name Lincoln, btw, for a boy)
Anyhow, I try to play a game or two a day online at Yahoo. On that site I boast a powerful 9-78 record with 13 abandoned games and a current losing streak of 11.
[I've also been blessed by finding a 10 games in 1 set at Goodwill for a mere $3, though I've only played a human (my Dad) face to face once with it.]
As you can imagine I suck at chess, although in fairness I'd only played a few dozen games in my life before this recent splurge. There just seems to be a mental gap between desire and execution and it is not condusive to victory.
Of those nine 'wins' on Yahoo, all but two were via TKO - the other guy quit for unknown reasons (certainly not because I was near victory). However, this week I notched my first two genuine wins EVER, sucessfully checkmating two oponents online.
Then, last night I had the most enjoyable match of my life. I didn't win - it came out a draw - but I was in control the whole time. I even drove the first player away from the table when the going got rough.
The second opponent took his place and I hounded him to no end, eliciting howls of protest and cries of "Why are you doing this??" on the message board. Basically, I kept him in check until the match was declared a draw.
Here's the complete blow by blow of the match. Experienced hands will no doubt point out a dozen moves where I could have sealed the deal, but OFW - I had a good time, and I'm proud.
I played black; the '+' denotes a move that placed the king in check.
One of the confusing aspects of having a site like this for years is that posts run together in my memory. Sure everything's documented, but whoopedeedo. After all, did I really post about how I couldn't tolerate another bad year from the Brewers after years of turmoil and a single glorious season of .500 ball? How can I tell, short of sorting through years of posts?
Why does it matter? Becasue the bleepin' Brewers are in the process of breaking my heart right now! 14 games above .500 and 7.5 games up in the standings, only to fall to 1 game under .500 and 2.5 games back in a little more than a month. They're in THIRD place for pete's sake, or at least were for a day. C'mon!
I know, I know - there's still time, and plenty of opportunity.
It isn't just about this year. After this taste of glory how can I ever have faith in future seasons? Do I have to be like my Dad and check my emotions by saying 'If they're still ahead halfway through September I'll be confident'?
