Cool Juke Box

A friend of mine sent this to me. Its kinda cool. It's amazing how many songs I have fogotten from the early 60's. I'm thinking it's mostly because I wanted to. The same can be said for a lot of these years...

Whoever did this did a nice job.

Van Halen Post #1

Two photos of David Lee Roth....

RIAA has done it again

Check out this story...Lawyers, guns and the RIAA

I got the music in me

I have been thinking about this idea for some time but it wasn't until Layla, one of my favorite reads, did a post on song lyrics that I kicked it in gear. Thanks Barb.

Music is a major part of my being and I am proud of that. One of the rewards has been music that has touched me or made me think. The first lyrics I am going to bring in here contains the line that I always write on wedding cards and really sums up what any kind of love should be about. I'm not going to identify the name of the song in this post, the artist or the line I mentioned . I'll leave that for you experts out there. No googling!! Either you know it or you don't. If you must google, don't make a guess until we have an honest answer.

I love this...and I have many more

Boy of mine
As your fortune comes to carry you down the line
And you watch as the changes unfold
And you sort among the stories you've been told
If some pieces of the picture are hard to find
And the answers to your questions are hard to hold

Take good care of your mother
When you're making up your mind
Should one thing or another take you from behind
Though the world may make you hard and wild
And determine how your life is styled
When you've come to feel that you're the only child
Take good care of your brother

Let the disappointments pass
Let the laughter fill your glass
Let your illusions last until they shatter
Whatever you might hope to find
Among the thoughts that crowd your mind
There won't be many that ever really matter

But take good care of your mother
And remember to be kind
When the pain of another will serve you to remind
That there are those who feel themselves exiled
On whom the fortune never smiled
And upon whose life the heartache has been piled
They're just looking for another
Lonely child

And when you've found another soul
Who sees into your own
Take good care of each other

WHAT????

The last concert we attended was an event I was really looking forward to. I had never seen the Allman Brothers and now I finally had tickets to see them at the Rosemont Theater. Ooooooo...should be good in a smaller theater style venue. The current band features a couple of great guitar players in Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks so this promised to be especially tasty.

Well, I have now seen the Allman Brothers but I'm not sure I still have ever heard them play. The sound was horrid. We were 5 rows away so maybe we were too close. I walked all around the venue. Nope. The sound sucked throughout. Not even my special concert ear protection helped at all. I could see the guys playing but could only catch faint pieces of the audio. A loud muddy mess. We tried to gut it out but sitting in the mind numbing din became too much. We walked out. We were not alone. We saw many diappointed patrons heading to the doors early.

I have been fortunate to see many concerts. Prior to this I had never left one early (although I would have left Liza Minelli had it not been a business function). I should have left the only Stevie Wonder concert I ever went to for the same reason I left this one. We could not even make out a single one of Stevie's songs.

Oh well...great musicians, lousy technicians...who knew?

What concert or show surprised you by being awful? Which was much better than you thought?

To My Fellow Ticketless Fans...What the Fo

I'm still pissed off about what happened with the Crossroads Guitar Festival Fan Club presale. I have never had a problem getting my Eric Clapton fan club tickets before and, in fact, have had great success in getting tickets to see EC. I have never gotten my tickets and sold them to a broker. Apparently the "secret" code for fan club members hit the internet in advance of the sale. Hence, all tickets were gone immediately. Gee, I wonder if any brokers got them? The more appropriate question is, I wonder how many fans got them? All the fan club members I know had the same story. Basically locked out...immediately. I don't think this is what Eric Clapton had in mind for his fans. Maybe he has nothing to do with it but I'd like to think he appreciates those who appreciate him...

Tickets for the festival are likely to cost me a fortune. Having been fortunate enough to attend the original Crossroads festival, I was really hoping to share the experience of this with some of the other music fanatics in my life. $$$$$$$$$$$$$ Ouch! Man I hate that concerts have gotten out of reach for most people...

General admission tickets are going for around $300...I don't think I am young enough to do the general admission thing in a venue this large. I might get crushed and if it's hot enough on the field I might beg someone to crush me to save me from slow roasting in the inevitable sea of drunken fools.

If you want to sit in a seat it will cost you form $500 to $1000 per. WTF! Let's see, if I need 6...thats a minimum of $3,000...maybe I should wait until the DVD comes out. I could buy 6 of them, a new HD TV and a new HD DVD player for the cost of the tickets. Ridiculous...just frickin' ridiculous.

Does anyone know how to work a date book?

Where do I begin today? I have lots to write about but I will start with the concert I went to Tuesday (4/3) night in Moline Illinois.

Moline is part of the Quad Cities and is located about 2 and half hours from where I live. Eric Clapton was booked to play the Quad Cities! Rather than get back on the road after the show, we had made a hotel reservation and were planning on spending the night in lovely Davenport Iowa.

For some reason we had put the concert on the calendar for Wednesday (04/4) night. This is where the fun begins! About 3:30 P.M. on Tuesday I decide to go up to EC Access, Clapton's fanclub site to see if anyone had thoughts on the fan club Crossroads festival presale debacle that left most members ticketless, including me. I happened to see a message posted regarding "going to Moline". I clicked on it and the writer was talking about how he was "about to leave for the concert in Moline tonight". I thought, "Wow, they must have added a show" but thought I should look at my tickets. I looked and they said "Tuesday April 3 at 7:30 P.M.". OMG!!! I walked around the corner to my wife's office and said "the Clapton concert is tonight!" She literally shouted "WHAT?" and then "Can we make it?" I said "yes, I think we can but we have no time to spare." She was on her way home to pack a few things within milliseconds. Rather than get back on the road after the show, we had made a hotel reservation and were planning on spending the night in lovely Davenport Iowa, thus there was minor packing to do. I'm not sure I have seen her move at that pace ever! I printed the tickets and was right behind her. We were on the road to Moline at 4:15.

While on the road, we left a voice mail for our "dog sitter" figuring if she was unable to help we might have to call in backup sitter, my son J. Fortunately, she called us back fairly quickly and said there was no problem. It was at this point that I think my blood pressure was beginning to get under control.

We made it to the Quad cities by 6:30 P.M.. Alright it is possible that I exceeded the 65 mph speed limit from time to time but I can't be sure of that (your honor). We checked into the hotel, wolfed down a very mediocre dinner and made it to the show about 10 minutes late. We missed a couple of Robert Cray's opening numbers.

The concert...Robert Cray was very good. The size of this gentleman makes his Stratocaster look like a ukulele. Big man, great style.

I was really looking forward to seeing this leg of the Clapton tour since I had seen one of the earlier stops on the US leg of this tour last September. I thought the band was not quite "smokin" the first time around. They were good...they just weren't killer.

Well, no Derek Trucks this time around. He's apparently off doing an Allman Bros. reunion, so the apples to apples comparison went out the window. I was really disappointed that I wasn't able to watch this kid play again.

Overall, the band was better. EC and Doyle Bramhall had some outstanding guitar duet moments and Doyle had a couple of great solos this time around. Hell, the band is made up of a bunch of all stars...Steve Jordan on drums and Willie Weeks on bass. Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon on keyboards.

EC is EC. He's a virtuoso at any age. At age 62, he's still amazing. He makes it look effortless and that's genius. He pisses me off. He obviously hogged up all the guitar talent because I can't seem to get much. Awesome EC, just awesome.

"Got to Get Better in a Little While" was rockin'. "Cocaine" was the worst rendition of that song that I have ever heard. They were going through the motions. Robert Cray joined the band for a go at "Crossroads" and it was killer.

Summary...nice venue, nice crowd, excellent show, EC is a gift.

Dreamland Concert Series

This summer is shaping up with some good concerts coming to town. It started with the news that Pearl Jam is going to headline Lollapalooza. Nice....hope it happens and I hope it's not a logistical nightmare...could be though...

Roger Waters is bringing his Dark Side of the Moon show back through town. OK...that should be fun. Got tickets for this one already but there is a conflict brewing. Hmmm...
He's playing the United Center.

The Police are playing Wrigley Field this summer. Maybe Sting can pitch or hit or do anything like a baseball player? God knows the Cubs can always use some help. Got tickets for this one too.

Then, the best news, Eric Clapton is organizing another Crossroads Guitar Festival and its gonna be in Chicago at Toyota Park on July 28th. I attended the first one in Dallas and it was guitar heaven. I will do everything in my power to witness this again. I've never been to Toyota Park but it's outdoors and it can't be worse than the Cotton Bowl. What a day of fun this will be...

Ok...now it's your turn to put together a music festival...include any band or performer. You can only include 7 bands and you must consider the order in which they play.

1. Lynyrd Skynryd with Ronnie VZ...this will get the crowd going!
2. Allman Brothers Band..more great "Southern" rock n blues
3. Eric Clapton...Duane Allman joins in for some Derek tunes!
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan...I'll need a smoke after the first four here...
5. Jimi Hendrix...SRV would have loved "opening" for Jimi
6. Led Zeppelin...are you kidding me? This band could rock...
7. Ladies and gentleman...The Beatles!

What a nice fantasy...I think I'll make this into an Ipod playlist somehow...

Creating my first original meme

Music, music, music...

1. What was the first record or cd that you owned?
She Love's You by the Beatles. I remember the 45 with a black Swan label. (A 45 is not a pistol)

2. What was the worst concert you ever saw?
Stevie Wonder. The production was so poor I did not hear one song I could recognize. I don't think I was 15 rows from the stage.

3. What cd or album in your collection are you embarrassed to say is there?
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards. I can't believe I liked this in college. Can you say stoned? They had to be...lol

4. What was the last song that gave you goose bumps?
The Luckiest - Ben Folds. The guy writes some great stories.

5. If you could sit in with one musician or band, who would that be?
This could be a huge list for me. Living - Eric Clapton Gone - SRV. My guitar lust comes out.

6. What's the best place you've ever seen a concert?
The finest acoustics were at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. I saw Paul Simon when he was on the Graceland tour. It was a fabulous show. The auditorium theater in Chicago is also a great venue.

7. The worst?
What used to be the Tweeter Center...now the Some bank name music theater. The place must have been planned and designed by Pablo Picasso. Nothing is in the right place, acoustics suck, traffic is hell. I will only go back there if Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon are on the bill.

8. Did your Dad have a love for music? How about your Mom?
My dad liked opera. Of my music he only said, "turn that shit off". Sorry dad but I do understand. If I could have I would have said the same thing about opera. My Mom liked pop music so she was a bit more accommodating about getting us a hi-fi and buying records.

9. DRM stands for __________________ .
Dimwits ruining music

10. What singer's pipes blow you away?
Linda Ronstadt has some powerful pipes. Aaron Neville has alien pipes. Neil Young has no pipes (but I love his work).

I look forward to your answers...give it a go...

Wond'ring Aloud

And now we come to J....This is going to be a shared category because I can't pick just one. All of the J's I mention have a place in my life.

Billy Joel...a large body of work...a lot of it very good. New York State of Mind is killer...Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, You May Be Right, James to mention some others. The first time I saw Billy he was the opening act for the Beach Boys. The crowd was rude and paid no attention. It was difficult to hear but he was excellent. I remember he made some snide comment about not being "Elton John" which became funny to me when he toured with Elton 20 or so years after making the comment. Thanks for the music Billy.

Next up, Sir Elton John. I've seen him twice. The first time in the 80's. It was a show that I did not expect to like and I was dead wrong. Excellent production in a big venue was what I came away with. It was a great show. The second time was his show in Vegas. The music was excellent despite his voice being a little ragged. The staging was way out there. At times a bit uncomfortable...He's doing Bitch is Back and the whole time there is a huge video screen behind the stage and Pamela Anderson is doing a pole dance. 15 seconds of that was too much but an entire song...not for me. There was a huge inflatable woman's breast, numerous phallic fruit concoctions...bizarro. He still gets a nod for many years of good work.

James Gang...this is a direct result of my love for the work of Joe Walsh. He's a delightful crazy and one hell of a player. I've seen him numerous times and he never fails to make me smile. That is a good thing. Funk 49 still has legs. The guy is hilarious and talented. I am an avid Joe fan.

Jethro Tull...this goes back to my freshman year of college where I swear Aqualung was playing everywhere I went. I know it played non-stop in my dorm room...which was affectionately known as the Club 402. My roomate had an 8 track player that he rigged up that sounded quite good for the time and the thing played endlessly. My first year of college was a great year in my life and that album is the theme song. It never fails to grab me and take me back. I only saw them once...at the Chicago Theater...and they were terrific. Our seats were actually where they had set up the sound boards so we were moved to the orchestra pit. Talk about good seats! I was ready to catch Ian Anderson if he lost his balance.

I can't think of any more J's. Who did I forget?

Riding with the Kings

Oops I seem to have left out a couple of very important K artists...no I'm not talking about King Crimson or Kid Rock. I am talking about Riley B. King. Blues Boy King. BB King. His influences on Blues and Rock and Roll are notable. John (I am becoming a great guitar player) Mayer mentions BB as one of his early influences. I'm thinking BB King has grandchildren older than John.

I have been fortunate to see BB a number of times including as part of the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas. The best part of the BB segment is that Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, John Mayer and Jimmy Vaughan all came out and did a jam and a half. BB refused to leave! He was having the time of his life...near 80 years old and still cooking. It was also during that jam that I got to see John Mayer's skills for the first time. Blew me away...

Thanks to BB for all the enjoyment and congratulations on your receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December.

Another blues guitarist that left his mark on a lot of players is Albert King. If you want to sample Albert, try his session with Stevie Ray. Nice live blues work.

Pretty Special K

I'm finally ready to reveal my "K" musical selection. These are some of the K's that passed through my mind...

Kiss - never owned a single track and proud of it! They do get some props for "Rock and Roll All Night" but that's it.

Kansas - interesting band that did some good music but no...

Lenny Kravitz - Lenny is good and I own quite a bit of his music but no...

Kraftwerk - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NO

Kinks - I would have to give them the nod for position 1a. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame kind of says it all. You Really Got Me, Lola, Well Respected Man, Sunny Afternoon to name a few.

But the K goes to (I've been watching too many award shows) Carole Klein better knows as Carole King. Carole is also a Rock Hall inductee and multiple Grammy winner. The list of songs that she has written or co-written is spectacular...Let's see to name but a few...

Will you Love Me Tomorrow?
The Locomotion
Up on the Roof
One Fine Day
Pleasant Valley Sunday
You've Got a Friend
(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman
The entire Tapestry album...So Far Away, Where You Lead, It's Too Late, I Feel the Earth Move and more. This record tops the 15,000,000 mark and was on the charts for at least 6 years.

She's an awesome woman. If you haven't listened to the Living Room Tour, you are missing something. Go buy it and try it on. If you are any kind of Carole King fan, I guarantee a big smile. One of the most satisfying listens I've had in a long time.

Go! Now!

Free (as a) Bird!!!

I kind of took an extended break from my rock and roll postings. There are lots of reasons why but none of them are really good excuses so I won't even bother to offer them up. I have every intention of finishing the project so I'm here to crank it up again.

I am going to start with a backtrack on the letter L. I stick by my choice of Led Zeppelin but there are some L artists that deserve mention.

I will start with Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think this band would have continued to grow had it not been for the tragedy that struck in 1977. This link provides a pretty good synopsis of their history.

Last but definitely not least on this backtrack...John Winston Lennon. An artist in every sense of the word...a delightful crazy man...one of the cornerstones of the Beatles. He had his trials and tribulations; his affair with drugs; his injecting Yoko into the Beatles and ultimately his rejection of all things Beatles but his status in Rock and Roll will never fade. I just wish that he was not senselessly taken from us so that we could have continued to see his work evolve. Thank you John. I can't help but believe that you would have come to appreciate what the Beatles were and embrace your role in the phenomenon.

Favorite John song...many...the first one that came to mind was "Strawberry Fields Forever".

Not bad John...

We are fortunate to own prints of some of John's drawings. The one pictured below is part of a montage that we have and is one of my favorites.

T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor I met a girl so fair

But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her.

That is one of a few references to J.R.R. Tolkiens work found in some of Robert Plant's lyrics. One of their songs is considered an even more obvious reference than this. I know what it is but I'm gonna let you try to figure it out.

Today is indeed Led Zeppelin Day here at Just Wondering

Arguably the greatest Rock and Roll band ever. It is still one of my favorite concert memories. I saw them in Milwaukee on July 10th 1973. I went with my best friend from high school (Neal) and my best friend from college (Spider). I'm pretty sure this concert spawned the word awesome because it was. The arena was thick with sweet smoke and great rock and roll. Believe it or not here is the playlist from the show:

Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 10, 1973

1. Rock And Roll
2. Celebration Day
3. Bring It On Home (intro) / Black Dog
4. Over The Hills And Far Away
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Since I've Been Loving You
7. No Quarter
8. The Song Remains the Same
9. The Rain Song
10. Dazed And Confused (inc. San Francisco)
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. Moby Dick
13. Heartbreaker
14. Whole Lotta Love (inc. The Crunge - Boogie Chillun - I'm Going Down)
15. Communication Breakdown

Here are some photos from the 73 tour.


Man they were good and thanks to the magic of recordings they are still good. I think I'll go listen to a little Len Zemple right now.

Junk

Back home again in Chicago. Air travel is wonderful for all the ground you can cover in a day but actually going through the process is a pain in the ass. Getting loaded into a pressurized steel tube and hurdling through the sky is not comfortable. I'm glad we're back and I'm glad we're done with the travel part.

I need to add a couple of honorable mentions to my O and P selections. As manogirl noted, Oasis is worth a shout. Roy Orbison is also an O that has a real place in Rock history. I loved his late work with the Traveling Wilburys. It's also impossible to ignore Tom Petty (another Wilbury). The list of great music created and performed by Tom is considerable.

Now for M. It's Sir Paul McCartney. I have been fortunate to see him in concert a bunch of times and at times it was magical. His body of solo work obviously stands on its own. Band on the Run is a classic album. McCartney, his first solo, is one of my favorites. Thank you Sir Paul for all the music.

Lots of possible M's out there so I will mention some of them. Van Morrison...just plain cool Melencamp...Indiana rocker...lots of good 3 chord specials Moody Blues...some great work in the late 60's early 70's...OK who did I forget?

Come as you are

Man, am I glad I live in the wonderful United States of America. Is this country perfect? Far from it. Our problems are real and some are critical but they pale in comparison to the problems other citizens of the world are facing. The good old USA is simply one of the best places to live in our world. Now if we could just get some leadership that was able to learn from and draw on the power of the millions of good Americans.

I was inspired to write this after reading a story titled "Iran Hard Line Regime Cracks Down on Blogs". I think web logging is an exercise of freedom. It's obvious that the Iranian government doesn't have any room for that freedom stuff. My heart goes out to the millions of good Iranians that find themselves under the thumb of yet another oppressive government. I hope the Iranian people can find their way out of it. Here are samples of some Iranian blog postings.


Much like O ban selections, there are not a lot for choices for the N band. It has to be Nirvana. They made a big impact on the music scene in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, the tortured soul that was the driving force of Nirvana left the planet too soon. I never get tired of Smells Like Teen Spirit or the song that is in the title bar.

Some People Gotta Have It

We're down in Florida for a few days and getting a little golf and relaxation in. We had a quiet but very delicious Thanksgiving. We brined the turkey and the flavor was killer good and the turkey nice and moist. I have been sampling leftover turkey ever since. I'm having a good time with J & M...wish more of the kids were here with us.

We are on our way out to dinner soon so I wanted to get something out in cyberspace in case it gets late.

My musical letter of the day is boring today. In reality, there is no life changing "O" band for me. The O'Jays deserve mention for the songs For the Love of Money and Backstabbers. The Coors folks have overplayed the crap out of Love Train. The only other O band I can think of is the Ohio Players. Fire was a period piece but not one of the great songs of all time.

If I ever put together my dream band I think I will come up with an O name so we can occupy this space. Anybody know where I can buy a whole lot more musical talent?

Remember when you were young

Another stolen idea...I needed something to get my brain in gear...I fear it's no gonna work.

1. Yourself: insurance, computer, music, golf geek
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: my wife
3. Your hair: gone
4. Your mother: whoa!!!!
5. Your father: always with me
6. Your favorite item: iPod
7. Your dream last night: forgettable...had to be I forgot what it was
8. Your favorite drink: water
9. Your dream car: I have it
10. The room you are in: kitchen in Florida
11. Your ex: is a nice person
12. Your fear: fear itself
13. What you want to be in 10 years: smiling
14. Who you hung out with last night: M & J
15. What you're not: frugal
16. Muffins: I'll take two. Blueberry and Cinnamon sound good
17: One of your wish list items: good things for everyone?
18: Time: 7:58 P.M.
19. The last thing you did: ripped off this meme from K
20. What you are wearing: shorts and a tee shirt
21. Your favorite weather: warm
22. Your favorite book: Prince of Tides
23. The last thing you ate: A great dinner of Greek style skirt steaks and a bunch of great side dishes
24. Your life: a great ride
25. Your mood: kind of tired and overfed...leading to a minor food coma
26. Your best friend (s): is / are wonderful
27. What are you thinking about right now: This goddamn meme
28. Your car: a rocket
29. What are you doing at the moment: finishing this so I can watch a movie
30. Your summer: short but sweet
31. Your relationship status: healthy
32. What is on your tv: drivel
33. What is the weather like: perfect
34. When is the last time you laughed: on the way to the store this afternoon...on Black Friday.

Today is P band day and I must go with Pink Floyd. The impact of Dark Side of the Moon is well chronicled. Other tunes I can't resist are Wish You Were Here, Shine on Your Crazy Diamond, The Wall, and Comfortably Numb. Note to S: It was impossible to not consider Pearl Jam but Pink Floyd has been with me for 30+ years.

One other thing I saw at Fresh Market was Christmas Stollen. If you buy it, is it no longer stollen? I couldn't resist that cheesy observation. It's an obvious indicator of my brainlessness right now.

Still crazy after all these years

I am taking a page out of K's book by taking this meme from her site. She is K the daughter in my list of blogs.


1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?

Can I trade in my current second home for one in either Scottsdale, AZ or Palm Springs, CA?

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?

Fleece sweats in the winter and a variety of t shirts. I like my Tommy B cargo shorts in the summer.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?

The new Who CD, Endless Wire

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?

Between 6 and 7

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?

It would have to be the coffeemaker.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I dabble with my guitars but I would love to be able to play the piano.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?

Is black a color?

8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?

Yes? Well, no motorcycles for me. I love my sports car/SUV.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?

Why? Do you know something? I don't think it matters what I believe. What will happen will happen and it is totally beyond my control. Those that think they know are making shit up.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?

Goodnight Moon...I read it a lot when my kids were small.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?

Summer.

12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?

No tattoo and there will be no tattoo. Not into pain and ink under my skin.

13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I would be invincible. Then I could go take care of the villains of the world.

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?

Priorities, but that's about it.

15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?

My dad

16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?

Carpeting and the floor

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY?

Every day

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?

Burger...not a contest for me.

19. FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY READ YOUR BLOG, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

My daughters

20. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?

K the daughter

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?

Bird of Paradise. Very cool looking.

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?

Rack of Lamb at home with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Pasta of any Italian variety is in 2nd though 50th place.

23. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.

I don't have any PJ's

24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?

I love a couple of eggs some bacon, hash browns and some fresh toast. I eat it once in a blue moon.

25. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?

I love my job.

26. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?

I have it.

27. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE?

ASAP...probably in the next 3 to 5 years but who knows...I love my job.

28. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?

At work back in about 1980. If you would have told me we would end up together I would have had you checked into rehab.

29. SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE.

Take a cruise to Alaska or go to China



The title of this journalistic masterpiece is a clue on my S selection. Paul Simon gets the nod by a nose over the Boss. And this is my list...Springsteen is a legend and I equate him with concert legends. See a Springsteen show back in the day and you were hooked. Obviously a big part of that legend is the music that powered the concerts.

I chose Paul Simon because of his longevity and the variety of things that he has accomplished musically. I saw the Paul at the Chicago Opera House on the Graceland tour way back when. It was a fabulous show...one I will never forget. The blending of World music with his own was daring and ended up being very successful. In addition to Graceland I love the Still Crazy... album.

Happy Sunday night all!

B S U R

Warning..forced post ahead! I am fighting a food coma...

Went out to dinner with M, Jen, E, S & A. Outstanding food at a fine local restaurant named Niche. Killer good tonight. I think everyone enjoyed their choice of entree and it was fun. I do feel like I ate a bowling ball. I obviously ate too much.

T is for Taylor; as in James Taylor. JT has written and performed some great music over the span of his lengthy career. I think I've seen him perform 5 or 6 times. Most recently I saw him the last month here in Chicago. The show was just him accompanied by a piano player. At times I felt we were in his living room because he spent a great deal of time showing slides and talking about what he was showing us. He talked about where some of his music came from; the events, the places, the people involved. JT, in addition to his musical abilities, is a pretty funny dude. It made for a great evening.