I like music.
In fact, I like to think myself as somewhat of a scholar of music. I started piano lessons in 3rd grade, started saxophone in 5th grade, drums in 6th grade and played in jazz, concert, marching and pep band. I was even in choir, for goodness sakes!
I like a lot of different types of music, my favorites being jazz, punk, metal and rock. I have known a lot of people who've known - and taught - me a lot about music. I've had a lot of different discussions with many people about music.
Of all types of music, and all bands I've seen, I've made the realization, that one expresses my soul more than any other: The Jayhawks.
Yes, I like harder rock, generally. I love metal and punk and irreverent, political rantings. The Jayhawks aren't any of this. They don't scream or spout rhetoric. But, their music is beautiful. And, I found them all on my own. One year, while vacationing in Minnesota, I saw an album "Tomorrow the Green Grass" and, on a whim, bought it. I saw that it was a Minnesota band and figured I'd pick it up while there. It's been the best decision I've made. Nobody told me about the Jayhawks, nobody recommended them. I didn't even hear of them from a show or video or radio show.
"Tomorrow the Green Grass" is still my favorite album of theirs, but everything they do is great. I also like their cousin-bands, Golden Smog and Wilco (Wilco's new album is shear fucking genius), but, to me, it'll never get better than The Jayhawks.
I remember one party at the lake lot when we listened to this album all night long - litterally...the CD was in my car and played over and over again all night as we slept. How can you not like this kind of music?
The Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass. If you don't have it...you suck.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Summer continues...
After a few days of colder weather, summer is back and it's in the high 70s or low 80s.
On the patio, beer on the table next to the laptop. Dog is lying in the sun, enjoying the rays and the houseplants are asking me not to put them inside just yet.
To find a more "summery" summer than this of 07, I think I'd have to go back to the lakelot, parties, beer, cigs and all-night music through car speakers.
While the winter isn't nearly as harsh in CO as in IL, I dread it. I'd much rather have another month or two in the sun.
On the patio, beer on the table next to the laptop. Dog is lying in the sun, enjoying the rays and the houseplants are asking me not to put them inside just yet.
To find a more "summery" summer than this of 07, I think I'd have to go back to the lakelot, parties, beer, cigs and all-night music through car speakers.
While the winter isn't nearly as harsh in CO as in IL, I dread it. I'd much rather have another month or two in the sun.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Fantasy Sports again
Today is supposed to be the official end of summer. Since Summer is my favorite season, this saddens me a little. Still, I'm on the patio, my plants are doing well, my dog is sitting in the shade, I'm drinking a beer and listening to the latest Wilco album on my outdoor speakers. Tomorrow is Tuesday and the begining of the week, meaning Wednesday will be here before we know it and it's all downhill from there.
Speaking of the end of things, I am officially out of the running in one of my Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. The "playoffs" have started and I finished 8th out of 12. It is a head-to-head league and while I never really got trounced in a weekly matchup, I usually lost somthing like 5-4, which isn't enough to make the playoffs. In my other league I've got a good lock on 2nd place out of 12 teams. My offensive numbers are astounding. Of the 5 offensive categories, I have 12 points (max) in 4 of them and a 9 in RBI. It's only pitching that's keeping me from the title. My wins and K's are ok, but everything else is sucky. I'm 13.5 points ahead of the team in position 3, but only 6 back from the leader. There isn't much time left, but I still have a chance.
Also, on Thursday the NFL season starts and I have 3 Fantasy Football teams to watch over. The old CBL is back and Trish and I have what I feel is a pretty strong team. We also have a brother league (Colorado Wine League) going that I am now running. It's been somewhat of a challenge to get this set up, but it's turned out OK so far. I'm also running a Yahoo! free league mainly to keep me knowledgable about players and scoring that isn't in my other two leagues. It pays to know who's hot and who isn't. This year is the first fantasy sports experience for several owners.
This got me thinking about how long I've been doing this kind of thing. I think I ran my first fantasy baseball team back in 1991, meaning this is the 16th year of doing this stuff. My friends here in Colorado used to make fun of me when we'd go to a baseball game and I'd say "hey that guy used to play for the Twins" or "Craig Biggio started off as a catcher" or something like that. Speaking of Biggio, I've seen some great players start (and end) their careers since I've been "playing". I've done fantasy hockey several years too, but the last 5 years I've been focused on Fantasy Football. It's amazing how much the game has changed. We used to have to hand-compile our stats from Baseball Weekly or the USA Today. Now a website takes care of everything for you, including research, lineups, trades, waivers, etc. It's a huge business too. Crazy.
So, here's to the end of one Fantasy season and the begining of another. Let's hope the other "fantasy" season of the Cardinals winning the central (easier than wildcard) comes true too :)
Speaking of the end of things, I am officially out of the running in one of my Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. The "playoffs" have started and I finished 8th out of 12. It is a head-to-head league and while I never really got trounced in a weekly matchup, I usually lost somthing like 5-4, which isn't enough to make the playoffs. In my other league I've got a good lock on 2nd place out of 12 teams. My offensive numbers are astounding. Of the 5 offensive categories, I have 12 points (max) in 4 of them and a 9 in RBI. It's only pitching that's keeping me from the title. My wins and K's are ok, but everything else is sucky. I'm 13.5 points ahead of the team in position 3, but only 6 back from the leader. There isn't much time left, but I still have a chance.
Also, on Thursday the NFL season starts and I have 3 Fantasy Football teams to watch over. The old CBL is back and Trish and I have what I feel is a pretty strong team. We also have a brother league (Colorado Wine League) going that I am now running. It's been somewhat of a challenge to get this set up, but it's turned out OK so far. I'm also running a Yahoo! free league mainly to keep me knowledgable about players and scoring that isn't in my other two leagues. It pays to know who's hot and who isn't. This year is the first fantasy sports experience for several owners.
This got me thinking about how long I've been doing this kind of thing. I think I ran my first fantasy baseball team back in 1991, meaning this is the 16th year of doing this stuff. My friends here in Colorado used to make fun of me when we'd go to a baseball game and I'd say "hey that guy used to play for the Twins" or "Craig Biggio started off as a catcher" or something like that. Speaking of Biggio, I've seen some great players start (and end) their careers since I've been "playing". I've done fantasy hockey several years too, but the last 5 years I've been focused on Fantasy Football. It's amazing how much the game has changed. We used to have to hand-compile our stats from Baseball Weekly or the USA Today. Now a website takes care of everything for you, including research, lineups, trades, waivers, etc. It's a huge business too. Crazy.
So, here's to the end of one Fantasy season and the begining of another. Let's hope the other "fantasy" season of the Cardinals winning the central (easier than wildcard) comes true too :)
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