Smells Like Nirvana

On Friday, July 28th, Tre and I went to see a Nirvana tribute band, Smells Like Nirvana, play at The Back Room theater the Collectivo Coffee on Prospect Ave. 

The "opening act" for the group was the group themselves, performing original songs under the band name Dead Original. 

I really enjoyed that set. I thought their songs had a great grunge vibe with just enough of a  modern influence to be relevant. It was good enough for me to buy their CD during the intermission. 

I was less impressed by the Nirvana set. The music was fine, but it was hopelessly interrupted by tech issues. The guitar kept falling out tune. The bassist's wireless transmitter failed, then something happened to the amp, and the bass. . . kudos to the band for improvising and filling the awkward delays, but man, what a mess. 

I think it would have been better too had they stuck to a firm set list instead of fulfilling audience requests. And "Rape Me," really? 

It's got a good hook, but even back in '93 I felt it was offensive song and a woefully ignorant lyric of Kurt's. To hear a crowd that included more than one group of young teens sing out "Rape Me" in 2023 . . . nah man.  Pass. 

But overall, it worked well. It's probably as close as I'll ever get to hearing Nirvana live, and I enjoyed it very much. 

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens, best known as his character Pee Wee Herman, has died at age 70. I wasn't a fan of the Pee Wee character, and best remember him for his unfortunate arrest in an X rated theater. I don't hold that against,him, even as stupid as it was, and respect the fact that he didn't just disappear into the shadows after that embarrassment. 

RIP

St. John's Festival

Today was the first day summer felt like summer. With my new job this is the first time I have been able to enjoy anything "summer". Three generation tilt a whirl pic, lol. Still need to knock out a trip to the beach... Lisa

Sinead O'Connor

 

Sinead O'Connor, the Irish singer who seemed to court controversy as much as fame, has died at age 56 of yet to be disclosed causes. 

By her own admission, drugs and mental illness ruled over much of her life, and that puts some of her actions in a different life. But at the height of her career, I doubt it was either that caused her to court drama - tearing up a picture of the Pope on SNL (and John Paul II no less!), getting into a beef with Frank Sinatra, etc. 

Regardless:  the power and sorrow in her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" rights a lot of wrongs, it is a version that will still be played in the decades to come. 

RIP

1000x THIS

Time after time I see people being permanently shoved into this corner because of their past, ESPECIALLY if that person is newly religious; nothing irritates the secular world more than a religious person, of any denomination, speaking out against wrongs they've previously done themselves. 

But like the meme says, that's called growth. It's called forgiving yourself. It's called adulting. 

There is little point to being alive if you prohibited from acknowledging your mistakes or trying to prevent others from falling into the same trap. 

Barbie

I didn't like the movie and yeah, I'm scared to admit it and incur the wrath of every woman I know. 

I thought the first half hour was pretty good, as I was wowed by the wonderful set design and visuals. 

And then, strictly as a movie, I thought it was pretty standard fare, which is okay. There are worse crimes. But the story itself - toys running away and coming to life, the disillusioned adult once more made aware of the magic of childhood - well, it's been done. Obviously. 

I thought the social message was ghastly too. Oh, on the surface it was about empowerment, but, like, it wasn't? You have a ruling class, residing in big mansions and living the good life, who choose to segregate and disenfranchise a people based on their physical characteristics. Even in the end,  when gosh golly we get our happy ending, the Barbie's consciously and callously deny the Ken's equal representation under the law and in the courts. That's . . . awfully 1970's South Africa, no? 

I guess what bothered me the most was that there wasn't a whole lot of joy in the film. Barbie has been a tremendously positive role model for my girls, and taught them that there was a whole world out there waiting to be conquered. In the movie, Barbie just doesn't embody or believe in that premise. That failure to support the very girls that have supported the franchise for half a century - I find that unforgiveable. 

Should we worry?

I saw this in New Berlin this past Friday. 

A grasshopper in white battle armor?? Should we prepare for invasion?

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett, the last of the great mid-20th century crooners, died today at 96. 

Bennett's signature song may have been I Left My Heart in San Francisco,  but that was but a miniscule part of a legacy that includes 70 - SEVENTY - albums and 19 competitive Grammy Awards. 

Late in life, he drew in  a new generation of fans as he mentored Amy Winehouse, befriended and worked with Lady Gaga, and became the oldest performer to have a number one record on the Billboard 200 at the age of 88. 

What a life. 

Thanks for letting us tag along Mr. Bennett. 

RIP

Public School Has Failed My Children

What kind of monster cuts a watermelon like this?????? 

My kids. That's who. 

Just mind-blowing. 

Comic Strip Jesus - not the real JC - needs to Go

For one thing Comic Strip Jesus implies that those qualities (workmanship, honesty, work ethic) are exclusive to Christians, so of the two folks in the strip it isn't the business owner that's the a*hole. 

For another, I've never understood the point of these comics. I get that the stated intent would be to course correct the behavior of some Christians, but that never seems to be the intent of the people who post these. Instead, there seems to be a distinct subset of Christians who fetishhize the "failure" of other Christians to reach the glorious heights of Godly behavior, and a whole bunch of them enjoy pompous comic strips. 

Last I heard, Christians were humans who do human things for human reasons, and to paint those who stumble as "less than" - when the whole point of the religion is an acknowledgement of failure and forgiveness - is far worse and harmful than just about any venial sin I can imagine.

Joe McIntyre at the Turner Hall Ballroom

Saturday night Lisa and I went downtown to the Turner Ballroom, right across from the Fiserv Forum, to see Joe McIntyre. This was the 3rd time I've seen him perform solo, and Lisa - I don't know if she can even count the times, given the cruise, the convention, etc. 

There was of course merchandise, and my lady bought - and looked great - in a t-shirt from the stand. 

This might be one of my favorite pictures of us, ever: 

This picture is from well before the show started. The main floor was sold out (400 seats if I heard the guard correctly), but the balcony, where we bought tickets, only sold 20 or 30 seats. I think that had to be by design, because what the heck otherwise? Yet why turn down revenue; tickets were being offered for $100 on the secondary market, so it isn't like the demand wasn't there. 

(even though Harley's 120th birthday party was in town) 

That pic too was well before the show but even so, we were front and center to the stage, had a table to ourselves, and best of all (hey, I'm almost 50!) there was a restroom only 25 feet away. It was like we lucked into a private suite LOL!

Now Joe, of course, is a member of New Kids on the Block, and idgaf if you like the group or not, as I do, but the point is moot at a Joe solo show. He performs a couple of NKOTB hits, some of his solo stuff, and covers.  He leans traditionally to the standards of the Rat Pack era, and included a few, but this time around it was largely covers of rock artists. 

He performed accompanied only by backing tracks and a single guitarist/pianist who also co-wrote a song Joe performed. 

I will not come up for excuses for his bright red sequin suit. 

 Turner Hall was built in 1882 and wears its age on its sleeve as a badge of honor. This includes netting to prevent any stray chunks of ceiling to crash into the crowd - something that Joe mentioned between songs, along with a few other friendly jabs to the appearance of the venue.  I don't believe it was said with anything other than affection; Joe is a sarcastic and blunt performer. Case in point: two women insisted on standing in front of the stage, in front of all 400 seats. He sarcastically called them out: "I appreciate you coming and standing there, but you know, you can see the same thing sitting in your seat"

It was a fun show, full of the talent and natural theatricality of Joe. Here's a setlist from a PRIOR show on the tour (none was available for this one yet.)

Like I said. A great show, a great time, a great night with a great woman!

Yadeem's On the Go

Early this afternoon Lisa and I ventured all the way out to 88th and Brown Deer Rd, where a R&B festival was taking place, just because we'd heard that Yadeem's had set up a food truck there. 

It's owned and operated by an old high school classmate of Lisa's, Nnamdi Duncan, and we've been wanting to try it for awhile now, both because we love to try new restaurants and because we're happy to support alumni. 

I had a "reverse engineered" stuffed salmon bowl over rice. 

Lisa tried their eggrolls, available in 3 varieties. She chose chicken  & ranch, and gyro. I graciously offered to try her dish, and my lawd - that gyro one! 

I didn't dig the pineapple lemonade but Lisa loved it. 

Now, for desert I oddly agreed to buy 4 crab rangoon from a booth run by a Mom and her middle school daughters; at 4 for $3 it was hard to pass up. But I also wandered back to Nnamdi's truck and bought some of his banana pudding, based off his Grandma Inez's recipe. 

OMG. That banana pudding - and I am NOT a fan of the dish in general - may have been one of the best desserts I've had in my life. I. Am. Not. Kidding. 

It rivaled the creme brule I've had on cruises!

Yadeem's is normally based at 6003 W Fond Du Lac but the food truck is available for both catering and special events. 

It's definitely worth the drive. Check them out!

My Toxic Trait

My toxic trait is I watch 1 video and think I can do whatever it is... but honestly I usually can

 Just saying 💅

- Lisa

My Spam Slicer

I love Spam. I don't care if you mock my taste, for the fact of the matter is: I am right, and you (assuming you dislike Spam) are wrong. 

Anyway, for Christmas Junie bought me this slicer to alleviate one of the *only* negatives of Spam, the difficulty of achieving consistent, perfect slices. 

With this, Achievement Unlocked. 

Consider this a gift-giving success!

Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera, the Czech novelist driven into exile in France in the '70's after being declared an enemy of the state, has died in Paris at age 94.

Kundera was eventually granted French citizenship and considered himself a French writer, but both his life and his work are intrinsically tied to his Communist homeland.  Here in the West he is perhaps best known for his novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being," which was later made into a movie. 

My knowledge of him, however, comes from my collegiate focus on Central Europe. In at least one of my courses he was highlighted as an important voice of the Prague Spring, a short-lived era of relaxed authoritarianism and heightened freedom - all of which was snuffed out by the Soviet invasion of 1968. 

My memory is unclear, but I might have read his work "The Joke" at that time. 

RIP

JJ and Dave's Wedding Reception

This afternoon Team Slap was happy to attend the wedding reception of JJ and Dave, held at Maggiano's at Mayfair Mall. As you can see from the tabletop menu, it was a heck of a meal (not to mention an open bar for soda/wine/beer). 

Frankly, there were soooo many good appetizers in such abundant quantities that I was well past full by the time the main course was served - not that that stopped me!

Note that Lisa and I didn't look too shabby! 

Neither LuLu nor Smiley could attend because of work obligations (although Lu did JJ's hair early in the afternoon). But Lisa's Mom was there

As was Junie and YaYa

and YaYa's long time beau, Alex

An elderly couple (friends of the bride's Mother) were seated along at a nearby table and Lisa invited them to join us, and they did!

This "butter cake" - whatever that means - was to die for. My word!!

Here's wishing the newlywed couple decades of love and happiness!

On Combined No-Hitters

I know there's been 20 combined no hitters in MLB history, one of which belongs to the Brew Crew, with the latest of them being thrown by the Tigers today. 

Huzzah. I'm happy for them.

But . . .

Why the heck does that even count? 

For one guy to go out there and thrown a complete game, getting 27 outs without surrendering a hit, that's impressive. 

It takes skill, control, luck, and perhaps most importantly of all, stamina. Folks don't pitch complete games in the modern game, they just don't. So come the 8th inning, when their  arm is aching and they're running on fumes, and the opposing batters can sense blood in the water, it's just plain grit and skill that enables them to power though. 

Where exactly does that last bit come into play in a combined no-hitter? 

Oh, you're tiring out in the 6th. Boo hoo. Let's yank you out for a fresh arm. Oy, your replacement isn't very good against lefties and the 8th is full of them? No matter, new guy on the mound. 

To me, celebrating a combined no-hitter is like bragging about getting a perfect score on a test, when you subbed in another guy to do the algebra bit, and then had the math wiz step in to solve the big calculus problem at the end. 

Some things just shouldn't be a group effort. Period. 

License Plates

This post isn't really for public consumption. I just thought it would be neat to track how fast it'll take me to see a license plate from all 50 states (and DC I suppose). Just the first appearance, not subsequent ones. I hope to update this over time. Anyhow, feel free to ignore.

Alabama (9-2-23)

Alaska  (7-18-24)

Arizona (7-16-23)

Arkansas (7-20-23)

California (7-14-23)

Colorado  (7-17-23)

Conneticut  (6-24-24)

Delaware (12-26-23)

District of Columbia (9-16-23)

Florida (7-14-23)

Georgia (7-16-23)

Idaho (2-17-24)

Illinois (7-6-23)

Indiana (7-13-23)

Iowa (7-13-23)

Kansas (7-15-23)

Kentucky (7-8-23)

Louisiana (7-16-23)

Maine (7-16-23)

Maryland (7-16-23)

Massachusetts (7-20-23)

Michigan (7-8-23)

Minnesota (7-11-23)

Mississippi (7-16-23)

Missouri   (7-24-23)

Montana (7-13-23)

Nebraska (7-21-23) *semi-truck

Nevada (7-13-24)

New Jersey (8-8-23)

New Mexico (9-18-23)

New York (7-16-23)

North Carolina (7-13-23)

North Dakota (7-21-23)

Ohio (7-20-23)

Oklahoma (7-13-23)

Ontario (8-2-23) I know, not a state, but still. . . 

Oregon (7-6-23)

Pennsylvania (7-15-23)

Puerto Rico (7-19-23)

South Carolina (7-16-23)

South Dakota (7-16-23) * sorta. I helped a SD driver with directions but because of traffic didn't specifically see the plate UPDATE: full sighting of one on 7-18-23

Tennessee (7-13-23)

Texas (7-16-23)

Utah (7-6-23)

Virginia (7-22-23)

Washington (7-16-23)

Wisconsin (daily, duh)

Wyoming (8-19-23)

***

Still to find, as of 9/19/23   6-25-24  7/18/24

Alabama

Alaska

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Idaho

Massachusetts

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

Vermont

West Virginia

Wyoming 

Shazam: Fury of the Gods

 

This movie doesn’t work, and there’s a bunch of reasons for that.  A complete lack of any real character development along the way, the idea that a thousands-year old goddess is cool being coupled with a high school boy (eww) , a formulaic superhero plot, and so on. but let’s focus on two things:

 

One, and I’ll try not to spoil things here, but if Hollywood learned anything from the Star Wars sequels, I had hoped it was that death means your dead; if you can die and just come back it robs a character's actions of any weight and significance.

 

AND

 

It was fun watching Zachary Levi play a 14-year-old Billy Batson in the first film, and I bought into his childhood wonder. But this isn’t a comic book. Time passes in the real-world, and because of that Levi is now playing a near 18-year-old on the brink of adulthood, not to mention an adult who has spent four years as a superhero. Putting the same immaturity and naivety in Billy’s words and actions paints Billy as an idiot this time around.

 

I loved the first Shazam, and I’m sad that this flub will probably end the series. But if this was the direction it was going, that’s probably a good thing.