Big Al

Kickball league? Now THAT sounds like a blast!!!

Thanks for the good words and wishes, guys. This is the main reason I posted that, because I knew I could share something like that amongst friends. Glad it brightened a few people’s days! Yeah, I remember driving home last night and telling Nathan that even if he didn’t get another hit for the rest of the season, even if his team didn’t win another game for the rest of the season, last night would still have made this season a great one! Cheers, and thanks again, my friends!

Not to be a curmudgeon or anything, but I named "Green Onions" as my favorite track because it's really the only track of theirs I dig. Nothing else I've heard from them really does anything for me. Just my two cents. Changed offered at the customer service window, providing you kept your receipt!

At my son Nathan's baseball game tonight, his team was facing the toughest team in the league. The other team had their ace on the mound, who probably hurls around 60 mph (these are 3rd & 4th graders, BTW). Nathan's hitting confidence has taken a beating in this young season, as he told me he felt like the pitches were coming faster than he's used to. So, he was about to bat and I went up to him in the dugout, and the conversation went something like this: Me: Now remember what I told ya, just go up there swinging. Nothin' to be afraid of. Jr: But this kid throws FAST! Me: I know, but he also throws strikes. So you don't really have to worry about him hitting you. Just go up swinging. Jr: But I'm still kinda nervous. Me: I know, and that's okay. Just remember: you're as good a player as he is, so you got nothing to fear. So just go up and start swingin'. Jr: Swing at everything? Me: Yup. This kid's throwing mostly strikes, so you've got a good chance of connecting. You can do it. So then I went and sat back down, then ran back over him one more time: Me: Good luck, son; and remember, ain't nothing wrong with striking out swinging. At least that way, you fought all the way. So he gets up there and the first pitch, the ball was in the catcher's mitt before Nathan even started swinging. YIKES! Second pitch, another swing, another miss, but he's getting closer. So I yelled, "Just like the 60 mph cage [batting cage, that is]." It was like a light went on in his head. Next pitch, foul tip. He's still alive. Only now, he's grinning from ear to ear. It's like, "Hey, I touched it this time! I can get to this guy!" Next pitch, I mean you could see the fire in Nathan's eyes. AND HE HIT IT!!!! Grounder to second and he beat out the throw!!!! His teammates were goin' bananas, cheering & hollering for him! The confidence level skyrocketed, not only in Nathan, but in his teammates who also came up swinging! The other pitcher was noticeably rattled, but he settled down and was able to get the rest of our guys out (Nathan managed to steal 2nd and 3rd, but was unable to score). So, despite the fact we didn't get any runs, at the end of the at-bat, our kids were jumpin' up&down all sorts of excited!!!! Our guys ended up losing the game, but only by one run. This is significant because, as I said, this is the best team in the league. They're used to winning by ten-plus runs. Our guys gave' em a run for their money. So after the game, the coach was awarding game balls, and Nathan got one of them for his confidence and his big hit. We were walking to the car, and I was telling him how proud I was of him, not so much for getting the hit and winning the game ball, but for just going up there and TRYING. He said, "Well, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't come over and talked to me and gave me the confidence to go up swinging." I coulda cried. I am not worthy, I'm tellin' ya right now. So as I was tucking him in bed, I said "Y'know, I would've been proud of you even if you'd struck out. Y'know that, doncha?" He smiled and said, "Yeah." I said, "You know why?" He said, "Because I went up swinging!" Swingin' all the way, my friends! Thanks for letting me share.

Thanks bluesbro!

FWIW, another 50% off sale. Code: N5OD6 I realize it’s kinda redundant now, what with yourmusic & all. However, if anyone has a code for a 60% purchase, I’d appreciate it. I’m less than one point (or one cheap disc) away from getting the Sonic Youth “Dirty” deluxe discs, and I’d rather get a disc at 60% off than 50% off. Muchas gracias in advance!

Man, it's amazing how many north-Texans we got around here, and how few of 'em I've actually met!

76. I guess me & Berigan will die together! B-)

With any luck at a Righteous Buddha gig, my man!

Dude looks sorta like Art Pepper. Or maybe DeNiro! Miller is actually IN the movie. He plays a priest... Still waiting for the punchline! B-) (mentioned only because I went looking for his name on celebatheist.com and didn't find it. Once again, the joke's on me.)

Dude looks sorta like Art Pepper. Or maybe DeNiro!

Jim Sangrey Joe Milazzo Joe Christmas Jim Alfredson Joe Gloss Randy Marsh (and y'all haven't lived until you've gotten a big bear hug from Randy!) Uncle Skid Upright Bill Chuck Nessa rostasi (as of last Wednesday!) jazzbo (Lon) (and Mrs. jazzbo ) jazzkrow And sheldon, I'm jealous: you've met Rachel! Is she hot?

Green Onions!

OW! OW! OW!!!! Indeed!!!!

Q: What’s the difference between a Hummer and a Jeep? A: You can’t get a Jeep in a Hummer!

Waaaaaaaaaait a second..... you mean there were actually VIRGINS at Yale and Columbia? Are ya sure they weren't interviewing employees of the record store there? And anyhow, couldn't they find virgins at someplace like, say..... Bob Jones University?!?!?!?

Hey CalFan, what's your favorite era of Cal's? Fantasy, Verve, or Concord? Here's hoping you'll stick around. As you can see, you've got a lotta Cal fans here!

Well.... okay!

My best friend and his wife went to see it, and he pretty much echoed what you guys have said. Hadn’t really planned on seeing it, what with the aversion to cruelty/gore/endless violence; he said it was graphic, to be sure, but the way it was done made it seem much more stylized, I guess. Plus, the idea of a 60-year-old guy (Bruce Willis’s character) making out with a 19-year-old girl (Jessica Alba’s character) is just...... well, it creeps me out! Having said that, I saw one of Miller’s books at Borders on Saturday and started flipping through it. I was hooked, what can I say? You guys are concurring with my buddy who also said the movie is like having the book come to life, and the book (at a glance, anyway) was definitely stark. So now I wanna see this picture. Might wait ‘til it comes out on DVD (no one else in my family would want to see this). Or heck, I’ll just call up my buddy; I’m sure he’d love to see it again!

While I like having the whole Woodstock gig in the Deluxe package, a part of me wonders why they could not have got it right the first time around: the whole album, as well as the whole Woodstock gig, fits nicely on one CD. I could do without the studio jams (they go nowhere for me), and the rough demo of the first album shows why Bob Livingston had to go. Talk about no "there" there! I, however, am happy to be in the minority in the above opinions! B-)

THAT was the kind of picture I was trying to capture! Great shot of the man in action! Is there a website or a schedule for these White Rock Rhythm shows? If it's a regular gig (and especially if it's outdoors), I'd love to catch some of these shows!

I hope!!!!!

Have ya seen the same treatment given to their album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain? If so, whattya think? I'd like to get that Luxe & Reduxe, the sound clips at Amazon RAWK!!! Another good one that I recently got is Sonic Youth's Dirty. The instrumental jams that make up the bulk of side two are mesmerizing without being boring or pretentious. Very worthwhile!

That sounded like a late-60's protest song, until the end. And even then, it still sounds like some kind of protest song!

Picked up P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and the Mating Season" audio book. Listening to this book, as opposed to reading it, has been revelatory. I tried reading a P.G. book, and I'll be honest: the heavily-British vernacular was having trouble filtering itself thru the Texan-twang of the voice in my head that reads the words to me. But hearing an actual BRIT read this stuff is nothing short of heavenly! Been LMAO!!! Hope there's more where this came from!