Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sat night/Sun morning musings

1) First, where did the word musings come from anyway?

2) Always a great thing to watch John Ortberg preach live, which I was able to do tonight at Willow Creek. And I got to hear the Monopoly/It all goes back in the box analogy again! Brilliant.
3) I am honestly amazed how God sometimes gives me just the right words to say in very certain situations. And other times, well, I should just keep quiet.

4) I laid waste to a 2/3 pound burger at Urban Grille this afternoon. So I need to eat three of those to knock out their 2 pound burger challenge. I definitely think I can do that.

5) The Rangers are 0-4 on NBC this year. Tomorrow is Game #5 against Philadelphia. I will have to DVR that game while I am at Panera with CT. Anything less than two points is unacceptable in a contest as important as this one.

6) Speaking of Panera, I have been requested to share stories of my days working there back in 1997. Well, how many stories can you share from a place you worked at 15 hours a week for 4 weeks? And if my bosses had their way, it would have been 5 hours a week.

7) Sometimes I almost think I wrote the song "Fire and Smoke." Some of the lyrics are so autobiographical.

8) A few years ago, it felt like almost everyone around me was about to get married. Now so many people are pregnant or just had a kid. Even the ones in Arizona... Not to get too far into this, it doesn't matter now, but some of this really is mind-blowing. But I guess some people get different gifts than others.

9) Though it's not usually my thing, I like to see a twisted movie on Friday the 13th. Last night, I chose Lost Highway. A little too twisted for me. I'm not a fan of movies where the story is so shifting that it gets difficult to keep up with the story. I would recommend it only for the fact that it marks the final film appearances of Richard Pryor, Jack Nance, and Robert Blake. But out of 5 stars, this gets maybe 2.

10) I wish Hogan was still here.

Song pick: "Another Place, Another Time" Don Williams

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

"The Grand Tour" Aaron Neville

1. Put your iPod (or any MP3 player) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? "Face Down In The Blues" Marshall Tucker Band
2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? "Little Saint Nick" Beach Boys
3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? "Waitin' For The Blues" ZZ Top (Amazingly accurate)
4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? "You Got That Right" Lynyrd Skynyrd
5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? "Hard To Know" Mindy Smith
6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? "So Much Like My Dad" George Strait
7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? "Got Me Under Pressure" ZZ Top
8)WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? "These Dreams" Jim Croce
9) WHAT IS 2+2? "Flesh and Blood" Johnny Cash
10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? "I'm Just Talkin' about Tonight" Toby Keith
11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Peace of Mind" Mindy Smith
12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? "Those Words We Said" Trisha Yearwood
13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? "It Came Out Of The Sky" Creedence Clearwater Revival
14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Masterblaster" Stevie Wonder
15) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? "Say You, Say Me" Lionel Richie (Maybe in 1988)
16) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? "He Ain't Worth Missing" Toby Keith (Ouch...)
17) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? "Why Would I Say Goodbye" Brooks & Dunn
18) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? "Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye" George Strait
19) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? "Back Home Again" John Denver
20) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? "Outlaw Man" The Eagles
21) HOW WILL YOU DIE? "Turn Out the Lights and Love Me Tonight" Don Williams
22) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? "Photographs and Memories" Jim Croce
23) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? "Ain't No Right Way" Toby Keith
24) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? "Learn to Be Still" The Eagles
25) WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? "Bop" Dan Seals
26) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? "Wall of Denial" Stevie Ray Vaughan
27) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? "Tragedy" Bee Gees
28) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? "Rocky Mountain Music" Eddie Rabbitt
29) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? "Ol 55" The Eagles
30) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS NOTE AS? "The Grand Tour" Aaron Neville

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

One word

Where is your cell phone..............................Charger
Hair..................................................................Good
Your father.....................................................Alone
Your favorite thing........................................Laughter
Your dream last night...................................Forgot
Your favorite drink.......................................Tea
Your dream/goal...........................................Contentment
The room you are in.....................................Basement
Your fear........................................................Rejection
Where do you want to be in 6 years...........Alive
Muffins............................................................English
One of your wish list items...........................Purpose
Where you grew up.......................................Edison
The last thing you did...................................Type
What are you wearing...................................Sweats
Your TV...........................................................Sony
Your pets.........................................................Void
Your computer................................................Solid
Your life............................................................Question
Your mood........................................................Anxious
Missing someone..............................................Hogan
Your car............................................................Black
Favorite store...................................................Random
Your summer....................................................Short
Your favorite color............................................Blue
When is the last time you laughed..................Benigno
Last time you cried...........................................Marley
Three people who email me.............................Julie, Matt, Ted
Three of my favorite foods...............................Pizza, steak, pastrami
Three places I would rather be right now......Arizona, Virginia,
Three people I think will respond....................Not a clue

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Caged Collision, other stuff

Right now, I should be prepping for the big game later, but after last night, I don't want to get out of this chair. I think I want another nap. But I think I'll do what has become basically a bi-monthly deal. So let's get to the latest.

ROH Caged Collision
1) As always, a huge amount of fun at ROH. What I liked was that top to bottom, this was one of the most consistently good shows I can remember. No 5-star matches, but nothing was disappointing.

2) I think Claudio is getting a little irritated at "Heeeeeeeeeey!" Just a hunch.

3) The brand new chant for Grizzly Redwood may be one of the funniest ever. And considering the incident in the corner that brought it on, well, it's amazing I even got any sleep last night.

4) For a world title match, Nigel vs. El Generico should have been promoted much better than it actually was.

5) That 10-man cage match was excellent. Roderick Strong is a beast. His post-match meal of broccoli and beer I find just a little odd, but, to each his own. And great job by the ring crew getting the cage set up in under 18 minutes.

The Party
1) Ace Steel is a very cool dude. We talked for 10 minutes about everything from "The Wrestler" to travel to his long run in the business.

2) Super agent Larry Sweeney finally shows up to a Chicago party. About time! And this was after he finally got the tar kicked out of him in the cage.

3) I swapped e-mail addresses with Kenny King. I hope he gives me some good tips about what to do in Vegas. No Q, we were not talking Karaoke. But that day is coming, you can count on it.

4) Jimmy Jacobs singing that song to Lacey. Nothing like it. We're swaying our cell phones back and forth and totally eating it up. And when Aries walked in during the middle of it, God, I wish I could have taken a photo of his face. The classic "What in God's name did I walk into here?"

5) Nice of ring announcer Bobby Cruise to come and finally talk to me. Of course, he waited till after the NFL season was over to talk smack about Chad Pennington. Where was Mr. New England himself when Chad was completing a season where he finished second in the MVP voting? Bobby, you have got to man up.

Other stuff
1) The Mets need to sign a starter and a right handed bat. They must get either Oliver Perez or Ben Sheets. On offense, I can live with them not getting Manny. But there is no way they are winning a division, let alone a pennant with Fernando Tatis, Luis Castillo, Brian Schneider, and a concussed Ryan Church in the starting lineup. I don't want to hear about shiny new stadiums, and luxury taxes, and all this. This team needs more. And not more left-handed hitting reserve outfielders. We have that market covered. Angel Pagan (Switch-hitter granted), Jeremy Reed, Marlon Anderson, Rob Mackowiak, Cory Sullivan, and even Daniel Murphy.

2) The Aaron Heilman sausage at Hot Doug's was re-named after one day. I guess there already is a backlash in Chicago about him.

3) Walter is the funniest dummy in the world.
Walter, how long have you been married?
46 years.
What was the happiest moment of your life?
47 years ago.

4) The Rangers score less than the Bermuda national soccer team. Right after their 1-0 loss in Boston ends, I turn on the NHL network. What game are they showing. April 1993, Mario Lemieux scores five goals, Penguins beat the Rangers 8-4 in the Garden! Oh the pain!

5) It amazes me the Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles closes at 6 p.m. on Sunday nights. In a broader sense, there are so few places to go late at night out here besides bars and to me, that gets old quickly unless you do that with a group of friends.

Song pick: "I've Done Enough Dying Today" Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers