Wednesday Quote

"Write what you like; there is no other rule. "
O Henry (1862-1910)

A Crushing Blow

this one is hard to swallow

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091019&content_id=7495070&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Back in Time?

For some reason, I feel like I have going back in time when it comes to music.
Other than Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash (although they both have new stuff but have both been around awhile) I have been hitting the 80's music.
On my mp3 last week I went back and listened to 80's hard rock band Ratt. I even listened to some Ozzy Osbourne. Maybe because Kelly is on Dancing With The Stars. ???.
I also landed on Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
In my car I have Sirius Satellite radio. I have been listening to 1st Wave - the 80'2 alternative channel. All sorts of "blasts from the past" have been on the radio.
Tears for Fears
Wang Chung
The Cure
REM
Blondie
Big Country
Psychedelic Furs
Peter Murphy

One song stuck out. IT wasn't even one of my favorites back in the day, but I really like it now.
The song is Pure by Lightning Seeds.

check it out. It is pretty good.

What is the World is coming to.....

You decide.... I don't have any opinions, yet.


Louisiana Justice of the Peace denies marriage license to interracial couple

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff


The Boy in the balloon....not in the balloon

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_boy_in_balloon

no Wednesday Quote...but Yes...King Cobra

I am sitting at home (waiting on the A/C guy to tell me what the deal is with our unit) working. Yes, I am working. I am not playing on the computer.
I had a great Wednesday quote from O Henry, but it is on my desk at the office.
SO I will give you the King Cobra blog instead.

King Cobra

I am talking about the SNAKE. Not the Malt liquor or the band. The snake.
The other day I was trying to wrap up my research for Wade’s Top 100 Songs of all time and I came to the band King Cobra. I remember sometime in the 80’s that this Hard Rock band had one song I liked. I had the tune stuck in my head but couldn’t remember the song title.
In my research I searched King Cobra. Obvious to more and me then – so now – I knew I would have to dig. Searching for King Cobra: you get tons of sites for the snake.
I don’t care for snakes. Although my favorite place to go to at the zoo is the snake house. A place that I fondly remember from my youth was the Snake Farm. And I don’t mind seeing a king snake in my back yard (although at first the site of one startles me – I mean, I see snake then once I determine it is ok, it doesn’t bother me).
When I typed in King Cobra, my eye immediately went to the You Tube sites for the snake.
They had some wild stuff on there.
Here is my favorite.





here is another cool one

Crazy finish to a High School Football game

You have to check this out. read the story and watch the video.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1001233

Music Monday...Lucinda and Rosanne

Normally, I go into great detail when writing about music.
Not because of lack of respect or love of the music, bit for time; today I won't go into great detail on 2 singers, but will let you look and hopefully listen for your self.

Two of the most influential women in music - in my opinion - today are Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash.
Most of you have heard of Cash and may or may not have heard of Williams.

Rosanne Cash, to me, has always been in the shadows of her father's name. This is both a pro and a con. She can stand on her own music when it comes to this.
I was exited when my wife told me about a Rosanne Cash record called The List. Cash basically honors her dad and the artist whose songs she covers on this record. Johnny Cash would sing these songs (and many more) to her. This record is great. We listened to it on Saturday and I had to down load it and order it. IT is that good.
Check out these links on this record and on Rosanne Cash herself.

http://www.rosannecash.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosanne_Cash

http://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1623474/nashville-skyline-rosanne-cash-talks-about-the-list.jhtml

Lucinda Williams is an incredible singer. She is one of the last "folk-rock-country rebels".
Her music has been covered by other artists (that is always a positive testament) and she continues to produce high quality tunes. She was born in Lake Charles, LA and has many songs about towns in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Many singers and bands credit Lucinda as being one of their influences.
Check out these links to read and hear more of Lucinda Williams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucinda_Williams

http://www.lucindawilliams.com/
On this site, you can hear clips from all of her music. Go to "Records" and it will take you from there.

Eat Mor Chikin...?????

You would think:

As many times as those Cows wrote "Eat Mor Chikin"..................you would think they would have learned how to spell it by now..................

What Am I...

reading: Walking From East To West - Ravi Zacharias

Listening to: Lucinda Williams. Various songs...I am downloading to the MP3...also Rosanne Cash - The List - this is an awesome record!

Nervous about....Dodgers up 2 games to zip...we win and we move on in the MLB playoffs...LSU - Florida.....tonight!!!!!!!!

man I am so stressed now, I can't go anymore


HAPPY SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check out the Rosanne Cash record.......very good.......you will like it......

Haven't they heard of Jean Lafitte?

Those Somali pirates will never learn.
Haven't they heard of Jean Lafitte, Edward Teach (Blackbeard) or Henry Morgan?
check out the story on this link....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091007/wl_africa_afp/somaliapiracyshippingfrance_20091007151820

HAAAAARRRRRRRRRR

or they can click this link and see if they have what it takes to be a Pirate

http://books.google.com/books?id=vh_-ronCGOcC&pg=PA34&dq=pirate+book#v=onepage&q=pirate%20book&f=false

I have a fairly serious problem...

…but I am getting much better. I have had this problem for quite some time. I tried over and over again to overcome it. I make great strides and then I receive some of the “stuff” that contributes to this problem and I just can not say NO.
Then I get stronger and my will power rises and I am able to look the other way and pass up the temptation.

Hello, my name is Wade and I am a CHARITY GIFT RECEIVAHOLIC.

We all get the mailings. They are a request for a donation for cancer research, MS, the homeless, feed the children, etc etc etc (the list is too long to put on this blog). For quite some time, I would send all of them money.
They hooked me.
I couldn’t pass up the address labels or the grocery list pads, or the “to do” pads, or the cool stickers (this is another list that can go on and on). So I felt like if I accept their gifts, I need to send them some money.

Now we are getting at least one per day. In the recent past we have received nickels, cross pendants, a rosary, an eagle (you can hook to a chain), all of the stickers and pads mentioned above, and much more.

I even received a dollar once. I received a fleece blanket with a “C” on it. That was cool (or warm). But my favorite so far is from the Arbor Day foundation. I sent them 10 dollars and I received some cool stickers and address labels. I also received the promise of getting 10 tress native to South Louisiana, a calendar, a bunch of seeds and a book (they hooked me on the book). If I actually receive these tress, expect a tree for Christmas!

Now, if you know me, you also know I do care about charities and such. All of the mailings we get are really important causes and I am not mocking them with this blog. But I do have a problem.
But I am getting better. Lately I have been throwing the mailings away with out opening them.

I hope and pray that these charities get the money they need to keep going. Like I said, I care about all of them and think they all do a good deed to society. But if I continue to give to all of them, you might receive a mailing from me one day.

Again, they are all worthwhile causes.

I guess I can do some justice by giving you some links to a few to check out for your self.

http://www.neworleansmission.org/

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/main/default.aspx

http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f2bfab46cb118010VgnVCM1000000e2015acRCRD

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dotorg_homepage&s_src=google_adwords&s_subsrc=gaw_feedchildrengen--3131761692--feed%20the%20children

The other day I received a cool grocery list pad. I couldn’t pass it up!

the Major League Baseball Playoffs are here

Since (whoever reads this) you had to endure my Dodger rants throughout this baseball season, I feel obligated to share my post season picks with you.

I won't go into great detail.

I picked an all LA World Series (Dodgers vs. Angels) when the season began so I will stick with that.

National League
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Dodgers wins series in 5 games (5 game series)
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
Phillies in 5

NLCS
Dodgers vs. Phillies
Dodgers in 6 (7 game series)

American League
Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox
Angels in 5
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
Yankees in 4.

ALCS
Angels vs. Yankees
Angels in 7

World Series
Dodgers vs. Angels
Dodgers in 7

Dodgers.....Your World Series Champ.

Wednesday Quote...times 2

A lady visited our church this past Sunday and I apologize for not getting her name. She was recently battling bells palsy but she was on of the most positive people I have come across.
She said "Circumstances don't affect God's peace."


and

"Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another." John Muir

The Ant War ... update

On Tuesday the ants were hit hard again. Shock and awe could only describe what they must have felt.
Many casualties. Their numbers are dwindling.
Today they were hit hard again.
It appears they are retreating, but......with these pests, the battles always rage....the War never ends!

The Ant War

The Ant War
Chances are we have all had dealings with ants. Those crazy creatures we "love".
About a week ago, we had a few in one of our cabinets. This is not entirely uncommon when it is rainy for a few days straight for people to have some ants in their house.
Well these ants were relentless. We battled them and fought them. We sprayed and beat them.
We thought the war was over in just three battles.
The Battle of The Cracker Box was a ferocious affair. After a long fight, we beat the any army back.
The Battle of the Sugar Jar was almost over before it started. They tried to infiltrate but we stopped them.
The Battle at Door’s Edge was an assault by us. We won. It was tough but we won.
This past Sunday they were back.
I couldn’t believe it. They infiltrated 2 boxes of cereal. The cereal was closed tightly. Do these ants know how much cereal costs?
We fought them back a bit and held them off.
Then we brought out the Big guns.
The bomb.
In the Battle of Attic, the bomb hit the ant troops hard. It seriously crippled their offense.
I let one of the bombs go in the attic because we thought the ants might be in the wall some sort of way.
They never left a trail like ants normally do.
We came home from work yesterday and YES…dead ants everywhere. I bet we swept up 5 pounds of ants (this is an exaggeration of course).
We won yet another battle.
Did we rest on our laurels?
No.!
Today we let off another attic bomb. I can’t wait to get home to see what we find.
I will report on battle number 5 – The Battle of Attic part 2 - later.

Wade's Top 100 ...update

Wade’s Top 100 (songs and LPs of all time) update:
The research (the long research) is moving along. I am about 80% done on the research end.
If you ever decide to take this on and honestly give all songs you have ever heard an equal and fair shot, DO NOT DO THIS. This is a long and tedious task. If I wouldn’t be so far into it, I would abandon the project.
But I will truck along.
Like I said, the research is approximately 80% done. If someone comes out with a new record while researching, I do check that record out. I would hate to pass up a hidden gem.
The top 100 songs might end up being the Top (more than 100) songs. I already have well over a thousand songs making the second tier. We shall see.
The entire process is approximately 78.3% research, 24.5% compiling, and 11.7% recording (I know this doesn’t add up – but neither do I).
So, hopefully before the end of 2009, You will be able to delve into my music world and check out Wade’s Top 100.

Until then…
Some listening suggestions (new and old):

These are some albums you may like.
Lucinda Williams - West
This is her 8th studio album, release in 2007. This is probably my favorite overall Lucinda Williams record. But, all of her records are so good; you wouldn’t go wrong with any one of them.

Paramore – Brand New Eyes
This is their new album – just released. Every song is pretty good. This is a good listen. The lead singer is from Meridian, MS – I think.

Stellastarr – Civilized
This is their latest record. It was released this past summer. It is their 3rd full-length record. This is a pretty good Alternative/Indie rock band.

Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American
This is the band’s 4th record. It was released in July 2001. Shortly after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the band changed the title to Jimmy Eat World. This is an awesome record.

The Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray
This 1992 record is one of my favorites of all time (it is probably a sure thing to make Wade’s top 100.

Matthew Sweet – 100% Fun
This 1995 record…same as the Lemonheads record. Both are tremendous works.

Well, if you listen to any of these, let me know what you think.

Hallelujah!

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091003&content_id=7310128&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

October goals....the Eider duck

GOAL
My goal in October is to Blog everyday. Here I am 2 for 2. I don’t want to just throw senseless jabber on the Blog, so if I see myself getting to that point, I won’t post.
My set up was for Monday to be all about Music.
Wednesday would be the Quote day.
Saturday would be the AM I day (I copied this from other blogs).
Then I would fill in between. With a full time job, it is difficult to Blog everyday, but I will try. And I will try to keep up with the program.
So today is Friday October 2. Already.
I have this Nature desk calendar and (if you could not tell) I get some of the quotes I post from it. They are quite interesting and moving.
Next Wednesday, I have an awesome quote for you. Yes, it is from the calendar.
Back on Sep 22, the calendar showed the Eider duck eating an urchin. My first reaction was…OUCH!
Then the next day it sowed the same duck swallowing the urchin. Again…OUCH x 2!
These pictures were taken around Canada’s Belcher Islands. Fitting.
For your enjoyment, I linked some interesting items to read on the Eider duck and the Belcher Islands.

http://www.audubon.org/bird/boa/F39_G5k.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eider

http://www.mitiq.com/belcher-islands.htm

THE AGONY..THE TORTURE..THE TORMENT..THE ANGUISH..THE SUFFERING..THE DISTRESS..THE PERSECUTION

The Agony, the Torture, the Torment, the Anguish, the suffering, the distress, the persecution…

What a title. No, it is describing my recent bout with Shingles (on my head and eye). The title is not describing my medieval battle I had in a dream once. It isn’t even describing the economy today (although it probably could).
Today’s Blog title is only describing one thing.
MY ________ ON THE CURRENT PLAY OF THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS.
COEM ONGUYS!!!!!!!!!
In the Dodgers last 9 games, they played 3 of the worst teams in baseball. They took 2 out of 3 from the lowly Nationals. Then they split the first 2 games (of a four game series) with the poor Pirates of Pittsburgh. Stressing…yes. Taxing…yes. BUT not too big of a deal. I figured "ok we have 4 games left (2 with Pittsburgh and 2 with the Padres). We win one and we win the West."
Well, they lost all 4 and with each lost the words of the title to this Blog grew in my head.
WHY?
If you watched the Dodgers (and didn’t know they did clinch at least a Wild Card berth…and did – and still does – barely – have the best record in the National League) during this 9 game stretch you would think they were the worst team in baseball. They did have a come from behind win in Washington DC, but they also squandered at least 2 late leads. Errors also cost them 2 of these games. Sometime I think the "D’ stands for Doom and the "LA" stands for Laugh At Wade.
Usually when a team I root for loses, I feel a little better when I read quotes from players or coaches on what may have gone wrong. I am trying in this case, but nothing I read is making me feel better.
So here we are.
As of last night’s action (for lack of a better word) the Rockies are nipping at our heels. They are 2.5 behind us. That is stressing.
The Rockies have a game tonight against the Brewers, then the Dodgers and Rockies play a 3 game series. After that the regular season is over.
If the Rockies win tonight, they can actually win the Division with a sweep of the Dodgers. Many experts say it won’t happen. I am not so sure. The Rockies play good – hard baseball – year round. The Dodgers, I feel, were looking ahead to a celebration that hasn’t happened. They should have wrapped up the Division a week ago but didn’t. So here we are, with less than a handful of games left, my heart rate is rising and my stomach is churning. All because of a sports team way out in California.
After every season – whether it is the Dodgers or LSU, I say I won’t watch sports again. Of course I know I am lying to myself.
When I grow up I really would like to stop stressing over sports (the LSU – Miss. St. game last Saturday probably cost me a few days).
So, I will not go to Dodgers.com or espn.com until Sunday night. Then I will not have to stress between now and then.
… On second thought, I will probably monitor the Rockies game tonight to see if they lose.
Stress!