More pictures!

I got Neko Case tickets!

Yahoo, my musical prayers have been answered!

I have been hoping Neko Case would come back to the east coast, pretty much ever since her set at the Green River Festival ended in July. (More coherent thoughts about this show are available at Bucky's blog)

It was a tremendous concert and the festival was a lot of fun, but I really wanted to see a show that was just her and in a venue where I would be able to focus on the performance more.

So here it is: Feb 2 at the Calvin Theatre with Eric Bachmann opening (from Archers of Loaf, not "Turner Overdrive").

How cool is this?
There is an exhibit of the map postcards my dad donated to the Harvard map library.
December 5–January 18.

Vince rocks

How perfect is Vince Guaraldi?
I can think of no other recording that feel more like Christmas to me than his A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I'm dying to get the sheet music so I can learn how to play it on our piano. I might have to take some lessons first or something. Not sure how that works.

Another fun sports weekend

Another great weekend in sports!
OK, it was heartbreaking to see the Revs go Buffalo in the MLS cup, and to see the Celtics comeback fall short.
But, Mike Lowell is staying in Boston and the Pats are still undefeated!









It was fun listening to people try to pump up the Buffalo team as someone who could beat the Pats:
"they've won for in a row!"
"a night game at Buffalo-tough for a team without a running game!" etc.
You mean the team that beat Miami by 3 the previous week?

I would sooner bet on the weather than sports, but the Patriots are really screwing up the betting lines. If the Pats had been favored by 45 points Sunday night and you bet on them you would have won. The people in Las Vegas must be totally stumped. If you throw out the Indy game, they are beating their opponents by an average of 28 points. Seriously, what do they do with this week's game? At home against a mediocre Eagles team with an injured quarterback?
Favor the Pats by 28 in hopes someone outside the 215 area code will put some money on Philly?

I could get used to this.

2007 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION RED SOX!

Having my Red Sox memories begin with 1975, I just never thought I would get to be a fan of a team I expect to win. I'm trying to resist the temptation to spend lots of money on championship gear.

And about the time I get tired of reading all of the post-World Series wrap up articles, it will be time to watch the undefeated New England Patriots take on the Colts.

Things also look bright for the other two major teams in Mass:
The Celtics are relevant for the first time since 1986 (the last time I expected a team I rooted for to win) now that they added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and are off to a 7 and 0 start (that's 23-0 for the Sox Pats and Celtics since Oct. 18 for those of you keeping score at home), and the Revolution are in the MLS cup for the third straight year.

A beautiful day.

OK, more pictures! Our friends Erika and David were in town from NC, so a bunch of us got together. I was thinking that this is one kind of heaven: a lovely fall day with some of my favorite people in the world, watching our children play in a beautiful New England setting.

I can't think of a better way to spend time.

Whiner rock

Mr. Jones by Counting Crows came on the radio on my drive into work. I nearly tore a rotator cuff reaching for the radio.
They are the epitome of whiner rock when that unfortunate style was at its peak in the early 90s. This style is mainly defined by the yearning, pleading, whining vocals. For a while in the early 90s it seemed like all of the bands on "alternative" stations had this sound. Made me nostalgic for band like Green Day, who weren't good, but were at least aping bands I like; The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Damned, etc. Some other bands in this style include Blind Melon and Soul Asylum. Many of these bands continue to hang around on the AAA format stations.

Really, I'd rather listen to Billy Squire. Fortunately, I was able to find some Aerosmith
on the classic rock station to get the taste out of my mouth.

In fact, The only things I can think of I would want to listen to less are:
Karl Rove giving a lecture on ethics.
Joe Castiglione saying "with the score tied, Eric Gange's coming in from the bullpen."

WEFunk—the funky Canadians

My coworker Cathleen hipped me to the WEFUNK site.
Professor Groove and DJ Static (from Montreal) play old-school funk like Sly, Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang, etc. and a lot of funky hip-hop.

If it were me I'd play a lot more older stuff and less hip-hop, but if I'm so frigging smart why don't I have my own online show? Maybe I will some day, too. But until then WEFUNK is one great site.

more pics

Battlepanda says I don't have enough schnauzer pictures.
Poor schnauzers, even on the blog they lose out to the bunnies...












This one was done by my friend ccorax, a watercolor-ish rendition of a shot Battlepanda took of all three schnauzers from their only meeting.

bunny pix!

Baseball fever

I finished my two-week vacation in fine style; playing baseball with Bill Lee's Green Mountain Boys as part of the Vintage Base Ball Federation's World Series in Westfield on Sunday.
I got in the line up a few innings into the game playing in left field. I got two at bats; first one I struck out looking-ouch, second one I smoked a line drive to right but directly at the fielder. Still, it felt good to make solid contact. The "crack" sound a wood bat makes when it hits a baseball is wonderful. It lights up the happy centers in my brain. I managed not to embarrass myself in the field, mostly because no balls were hit to me in the air.
It occurred to me later that I was playing baseball in front of people who paid to see it, which was cool.

Now I'm dying to find more opportunities to play baseball. One of my teammates Sunday plays in a league in southern Vermont, I'm hoping to join next year.

Time for more baby pictures!

Well, past time really. Anyway, here they are.

We live in Paradise. Or as close to it as you can hope to get.

Wow, what a beautiful time of year. Last night I was so enchanted by the sound of the light rain that I turned off the Sox-Yankees game to listen (an especially good choice given how the game turned out).
I was listening to the lovely sound and thinking how the water was helping our farmer friends make all the yummy, locally grown food we are just beginning to enjoy.
This morning I was driving through the Franklin County hills, looking at the big, puffy white clouds of fog, just amazed at where I get to live.

Bob Dylan

I finally got around to watching the Dylan doc I recorded from PBS (American Masters: Bob Dylan: No Direction Home) It turned out that I had recorded the second half. If I had known there were two parts I would have recorded both. Anyway, I was blown away by the story.

I was talking to my friend Jon about it recently and he said for him the new stuff doesn't measure up. It's not that it's bad, it just isn't as good. I was washing dishes at the coop the other day and looking through the heaps of CDs for something to listen to while I was closing; I came across Modern Times and Bringing It All Back Home. He was right: it was no contest.

More baby pictures

Here's another picture from our visit with Uncle Henry.
Eleanor is showing off her front teeth, which have the same gap her aunt and grandmother had.

Trip photos

We took a trip to Missouri to visit family and friends. Eleanor figured she wouldn't be in Kansas City again soon, so she helped herself to a lamb rib from her mom's plate.
Atticus was enjoying his visit with his 99 year-old uncle Henry almost as much as Henry was.

It's spring, when a young man's fancy turns to...

Well, how would I know? I'm not young anymore, although I hope to be again soon.
Also, it's been raining, snowing and cold all April.

Anyhow, my fancy turns to baseball. Though disappointed that Daisuke Matsuzaka's Fenway Park debut didn't go as I would have wanted, it's a magical time of year. Hearing baseball on the radio (soon to be my only option as my DirecTV is about to be shut off) while doing yard work is some kind of heaven.
Plus I'm all excited about actually playing baseball instead of just watching it. The Rowe Center is having "Baseball & the World: A Weekend with Bill Lee" Father's Day weekend.

I went last year and it was a blast. Only a few slots left.

2 schnauzer pies

I'm blogging and I don't know why

I'm not sure why I'm starting this blog. I think the major reason is I thought liquid schnauzer would be a good name if I ever had a blog, and I wanted to get it before anyone else did.
Anyhow, here is a picture of a liquid schnauzer. I'll post a better example sometime.