Under appreiciated song of the day

Hello,

This is M's "Pop Muzik":



One of the greatest funk, r&b, soul (I don't know how to exactly classify it) songs ever. This is the Commodores "Brick House":



By the way is the Super Bowl over yet? I'm feeling 0% excitement about it coming. I'm tired of seeing the Aaron Rodgers/ Green Bay Packers championship belt celebration. Did anyone watch yesterday's Pro Bowl, I didn't think so.

themusicaddict

Under appreciated songs continued, The best days of my life

Hello,

I rode my exercise bike today and it was a battle. Once I was done I'm glad I had forced myself to do it. I really need to lose weight. But I'm also glad because my iPod has several hundred great songs on it and I'm always reminded of how many great songs there are out in the world. In the midst of writing the best days of my life, I'm going to include some under appreciated songs. The following is a great, great song. This song is also an example of why I download every song I possibly can. If I hadn't downloaded this song, I highly doubt I would have heard it. That would have been sad as this song is a Top 500 song. It's one of the catchiest, most dance worthy song ever recorded.



The following list contains the best 7 days of my life, I'm sure I'm missing a few days that my memory will eventually dredge up. At that point I then can update my list.

The best days #1-#4 are easily the days my kids were born. For their privacys sake, I'm not writing the days, but all 4 of those were good days. Days I'll never forget. Birth #1 was memorable because it was the first one. It was also the day that I changed my first diaper. After I left the hospital I drove back home and got some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream to celebrate.

The next child's birth was memorable in how normal everything was. He's grown up the same way, for the most part he's a very non-dramatic child.

Child #3 was memorable for driving to the hospital on a snowy, winter's day. I still remember Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" playing on the car radio. I actually had my daughter listen to that song this morning. An amazing song for my amazing daughter. I love this song so much already, but for even more because of all the good memories tied up with it. Also Nelly Furtado is one of my favorite singers. Like Alicia Keys, she doesn't get enough press.



Child #4 had a very dramatic birth in a bathtub. He's been a headstrong, dramatic child since then.

I love all 4 of my children very much and am glad when I can see them.

Day #5 was my wedding day. It was a hot June day, we were married in the Salt Lake City Temple. Although that marriage fell apart, that day was still amazing. We were surrounded by friends and family most of the day as we started our lives together. We went on to have 4 amazing children. The greatness of this day has dimmed a bit with the divorce, but overall am amazing day.

Day #6 was about March 3rd, 2010. That was the day I got fired from Verizon Wireless. I know you are wondering how was that wonderful? Well for one thing it ended one of the worst jobs I've ever had. Now there's nothing wrong with working at Verizon Wireless. They are a fairly good company to work for. However the job was horrible for me. Being on the phone 7.5 hours a day is no way to maintain mental sanity. Then VZW have all these ridiculous goals to squeeze every last cent they possibly could out of their customers. It just wasn't the right job for me.

Also me getting fired from that job was the final straw in my marriage. At the time it was painful, but looking back I'm grateful for that marriage ending. It was the right thing for both my ex-wife and I. As happens with many marriages, the marriage drug on from inertia for far too long.

That day started a turning point in my life. It got me out of a crappy job and I found a much better job just a month later. It also ended a terrible marriage and prompted me towards becoming a better person. I found a great counselor who helped me through many of my problems.

Then Day 7 was a great day, simply because of one of the greatest games I've ever seen. That was January 1st, 2008 when Boise State beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The game was full of great plays, trick plays, great trick plays. BSU started out dominating, then Oklahoma started to dominate and it looked like they were going to win the game. Then BSU came back to win, on such oft used plays like the hook and ladder and the statute of liberty play. That game had everything in a game that you could possibly want, if you were a BSU fan or at least cheering for them.

Those are the 7 best days of my life and a couple of under appreciated should be classic songs.
Thanks for reading,

themusicaddict

BYU-SDSU, Alicia Keys, Time for a change for the Jazz

Hello,

As I heard someone say about last night's BYU-SDSU game, it's a great day to be a BYU fan. Yes it was and I was pleased to hear that BYU is #1 in the RPI. That stat essentially is a strength of schedule stat. Seriously though, I've watched Jimmer Fredette play in quite a few games now and he still surprises me with some of the shots he makes. Although if you are going to try and stop him, I think SDSU has the right idea. Throw a box in one on him and make everybody else beat you. That strategy worked relatively well and Fredette still scored 43 points!

Am I going to start saying BYU is the #1 team in the nation or am I going to start saying they deserve a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Quite simply, no and no. In fact, I don't want BYU to have a #1 seed, I don't want that big of a target on their back. If they continue to play this way, I'd like to see them get a #2 or #3 seed. BYU doesn't have a great history in the NCAA Tournament. What my fear is that they make it in as a #2 or #3 seed and then lose their first or second round game. I would love to see them make the Sweet Sixteen, anything beyond that is gravy. I'm not even going to consider BYU winning the National Championship, that's too far out of the realm of probability.

I don't think SDSU is over rated at all, they have a great team and a great coach. Their swarming defense is going to give a lot of teams fits for the rest of the season. I was very impressed by Kawhi Leonard. He scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. That includes grabbing 9 rebounds on the offensive end, he just wouldn't be denied. SDSU has never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Think about that for a minute. I'm sure SDSU is going to win at least their first 2 or 3 NCAA games this season. They have a coach that has one national championship already, Fisher coached at Michigan when they won the national championship.

I also loved Steve Fisher's decision to pull Brian Carlwell. He was just not playing good enough defense. Fisher pulled him out and Carlwell sat out the rest of the game. I love old school coaches.

One old school coach that might be too old school is Jerry Sloan. The Jazz lost their 6th straight game last night and looked terrible. I never had the sense that they could actually win that game. Yes, they still have a half decent record. I don't know enough about basketball to know if Jerry Sloan is the problem. However I do know when a change has to be made. Now is that time, especially since the trading deadline is only 3 weeks away. We'll see a gut check on Friday when they welcome Minnesota. That will be a good barometer where they are at at this point in the season.

For about the last 20 years the Jazz have been more good than bad, but that's where they stay. Other than the two years they went to the NBA Finals, they've been stuck in mediocrity. The Jazz made some good changes in the off season, letting Boozer go was a great decision. Yes, I know he's having a great season in Chicago. However letting him go was still the best decision for the Jazz. Cutting out a cancer is never bad. He's about due to miss some more significant time due to injury. The Jazz need to realize that the same ol', same ol' is only going to end up with the same ol'. The current Jazz remind me of Albert Einstein's saying. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". The Jazz have been stuck in the insanity zone for too many years.

Today's under appreciated songs of the day are by Alicia Keys. I don't want my blog to get stuck in too many 80's songs or songs by only one color of artist. I also absolutely love Alicia Keys, she's an amazing musician. There are so many songs to choose of hers. My favorite song of hers is probably "Samsonite Man". The following may not be my favorite song of hers, but it's one of her many great songs.

This is the gorgeous Alicia Keys "Girlfriend". Listen to how amazing her voice is.



This is Alicia Keys "No One":



"Fallin":



"Karma":



Last and least, "American Idol" has shown it's first three episodes so far. I still have not watched a minute of it yet. I thought I might be watching it, but I may not watch any of it.

themusicaddict

Update: Jimmy Marsh song from "Blue Bloods" (Updated 10/3/2014)

Hello,

Update: this has finally been confirmed. Thanks to "kitty lover" on Yahoo answers, we now know the name of this song. It is Jimmy Marsh's "Goin' Out Tonight". The CD is titled "Redemption", it was released on March 1st, 2012. The digital CD is available at amazon.com for $8.99. My thanks to "kitty lover".

It has been about 7 weeks since Jimmy Marsh's "We're Going Out Tonight" appeared on "Blue Bloods". My blog is still blowing up with people trying to find the answer to that question. If you go to google.com and type in: "release date of jimmy marsh "we're going out tonight", the top 4 results are all from my blog.

Since there is still a bit of a demand for an answer to this question, I've decided to do some research and give you an update. The update is there is no update. There's no release date that I can find for the song or any word about whether it's going to be on an upcoming CD. There's no new clips on youtube.com that weren't already on there before this song made its national debut. Also I only find one Jimmy Marsh item for sale on amazon.com. The actual CD isn't even in the amazon.com store. That suggests scarcity for this CD. The title of his only CD is "Feel My Passion". No, "We're Going Out Tonight" isn't on that CD. You can buy the MP3 CD for $8.99.

Under appreciated song of the day. This is Nu Shooz "I Can't Wait". This is just one of the many one hit wonders from the 80's. They only had one hit, but this truly is an amazing song. I love this video, it's characteristic of 80's videos. It just makes no sense, there's no theme and why oh why are there wrench's in this video? This is just a great, great song though.



As I'm writing this blog, just about 5 hours until BYU goes to war with SDSU in Provo. The game tips off about 10:00 EST. I haven't been this excited for a regular season BYU basketball game since? Get back to me on that answer, I'm not sure there's an answer. Do you realize the combined records in tonight's game of both teams is 39-1? I hope this isn't one of those games where one team comes out and blows out the other. Obviously I want BYU to win, but a thrilling close game would also be great.

The schedule isn't getting any easier for BYU after this game either, on Saturday they go on the road to play New Mexico in the Pit. In case you didn't know, The Pit is one of the most intimidating places to play in the nation. Realistically if BYU can split this two game series I'd be ecstatic. For them to win both that would be a dream, obviously if they lose both that's the worst case scenario.

Also Jimmer Fredette will be appearing on Pardon The Interruption today. Fredette is the best pro prospect from BYU probably since Danny Ainge.

Go Cougs!

themusicaddict

BYU-SDSU, "Glee" Misstep

Hello,

While some people are getting ready for the Super Bowl, I'm getting ready for another game. Tomorrow night is the #4 San Diego State vs. #9 BYU game in Provo, Utah. The game tips off at 10:00 EST. This should be a great battle, two very good teams battling. Go Cougs!

I'm usually a big fan of the songs that have been reworked and performed on "Glee". They usually do a good job. However one song they completely messed up on was Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself". The "Glee" version is just awful. This is it:



This is Billy Idol's much better version:



To prove once again that there's nothing new in the world, amazon.com is now selling select tracks for only .69c each. Gee where did they get that idea from, that's right from Apple. Nearly 100% of any idea is just a remade or changed from a previous idea, an idea that usually has been around for hundreds of years.

We'll see how this goes, starting today I'm going to have an under appreciated song of the day. Today's song is Echo and the Bunnymen's "Bring On The Dancing Horses". A truly great 80's song. This song is also featured on possibly the second best 80's soundtrack, "Pretty In Pink". ("Purple Rain" is easily the best soundtrack of the 80's)

Here's the song:




Here are the lyrics:

Jimmy Brown
Made of stone
Charlie Clown
No way home
Bring on the dancing horses
Headless and all alone

Shiver and say the words
Of every lie you've heard

First I'm gonna make it
Then I'm gonna break it
Till it falls apart
Hating all the faking
And shaking while I'm breaking

Your brittle heart

Billy stands
All alone
Sinking sand
Skin and bone
Bring on the dancing horses
Wherever they may roam

Shiver and say the words
Of every lie you've heard

First I'm gonna make it
Then I'm gonna break it
Till it falls apart
Hating all the faking
And shaking while I'm breaking
Your brittle heart

Brittle heart
Brittle heart
Brittle heart
And my little heart
Goes

Jimmy Brown
Made of stone
Charlie Clown
No way home

Bring on the headless horses
Wherever they may roam
Shiver and say the words
Of every lie you've heard

First I'm gonna make it
Then I'm gonna break it
Till it falls apart
Hating all the faking
And shaking while you're breaking
My brittle heart
Brittle heart
Brittle heart
And our little heart
Goes

Bring on the new messiah
Wherever he may roam
Bring on the new messiah
Wherever he may roam
Bring on the new messiah
Wherever he may roam
Bring on the new messiah
Wherever he may roam

themusicaddict

The AFC and NFC Championship Games

Hello,

So did you watch the NFC and AFC Championship games yesterday? What did you think? I watched the last half of the Chicago-Green Bay game and the first half of the Pittsburgh-New York game. The part of the Chicago-Green Bay game I watched was dreadfully boring until the last few minutes. The AFC Championship game was a tale of two halves. The first half was dominated by Pittsburgh as they bolted out to a 24-0 lead. However the Jets were the better team in the second half, as they scored 19 points. However that was not enough. I realized that the difference maker in both games was a defensive score.

Super Bowl 45 will feature Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay. I don't really anticipate an exciting game and I'm not even sure I'm going to watch it. I would like to say one thing about both teams though. Both franchises are class organizations. They do have the occasional off field incident, but those are few and far between. Their players don't talk a lot before the game. Their fans are great and passionate and they don't seem to cross the line. Also they don't have an egomaniac owner named Jerry Jones.

Green Bay is owned by fans of the team, how cool is that? I also love the Lambeau Leap. It seems many other teams are copying that, but it originated in Green Bay. I also loved how classy the Packers players were after last night's game. They were shaking hands and congratulating the Bears after that hard fought battle.

I don't even know who owns the Steelers, I think it still might be the Rooney family. Actually the Rooneys own about 30% of the team, they also have controlling interest. There are several other investors that own the final 70%. One can tell if a team has a good owner, if you never heard of them they have a good owner. (Examples: Al Davis, Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban, Donald Sterling, the dreadful McCourts etc.) What else can you say about them other than they are probably the most consistently quality team in the NFL. They are going to their 8th Super Bowl in two weeks and are 6-1 in their first 7 Super Bowls. Being 6-1 in Super Bowls, that's just amazing. The only team they lost to in the Super Bowl was my Cowboys. That was back when the Cowboys were relevant. Pittsburgh won Super Bowls in 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 2006 and 2009.

There's been a lot of talk about the Rooney rule lately. From wikipedia.org regarding the Rooney rule: "The Rooney Rule, established in 2003, requires National Football League teams to interview African American candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league's diversity committee, and indirectly the Rooney family in general, due to the Steelers' long history of giving African Americans opportunities to serve in team leadership roles. It is often cited as an example of affirmative action." (Thanks to wikipedia.org.)

Two class organizations. I don't know who is going to win the Super Bowl, but in my opinion both teams are already winners.

themusicaddict

Lea Michelle's "Taking Chances" Is So Amazing

Hello,

I don't know if there's such a thing as a perfect song for a singer. But if there is, this is that song for Lea Michelle. I've listened to this song like 10 straight times in my car. (Thanks to my special friend for introducing me to "Glee" and the extremely talented Lea Michelle.) Just sit back and enjoy this song. This is "Taking Chances".



"Taking Chances" is originally sung by Celine Dion, she's one of the best singers there is. Another singer that I absolutely love is Rihanna. She sings "Take A Bow" with such grace and power. However Lea Michelle's version of that song is equally amazing.



One more quick video, this is a song by the gorgeous Carrie Underwood about the loss of love. This is for those people who says she's just a pretty face. No she's not, listen to that amazing voice. This is "What Can I Say" featuring Sons of Slyvia:



themusicaddict

A Challenge To LDS Artists

Hello,

I'm a proud, full-fledged member of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are also called Mormons or LDS. I will use Mormons or LDS interchangeably throughout this essay. Many times in the LDS Church we hear from our leaders about the dangers of the outside world. This usually refers to inappropriate music, movies and TV. As members we are often discouraged from seeking such worldly entertainment. However many LDS people have a hard time staying away. Why is that? Well, obviously because it's entertaining. For instance, my favorite band of all-time is Led Zeppelin. They are so good and have so many great songs. However most of their songs are about sex. Another artist that I like is Lady Gaga. She also has so many great songs, her songs are so much fun. Her music is the kind of music that people like to dance to. However her lyrics are hyper sexual.

A few definitions first as Mormons have a lot of jargon. I want to clarify what I mean by artists. Those people who are the creative force behind movies, books, music, plays, art work, sculpting and anything else that qualifies as art. The outside world is essentially anyone outside the boundaries of the LDS Church. The outside world can also refer to art that may tear down the beliefs of a faithful LDS member.

I started thinking about this yesterday as MTV has made a TV series titled "Skins", which sounds like just a nasty, nasty show. MTV is pushing boundaries in an attempt to make a buck. That is shameful which is why LDS people are urged to stay away from so-called worldly entertainment. Now many people would say that we are prudish. Well if you are LDS and actually are living your religion, I suggest that would be a fair statement. We also are urged by our leaders to error on the side of caution in choosing what entertainment to bring into our home. I realize that Mormons aren't the only people who have these kind of values. I appreciate and am grateful to all others that share similar values.

I remember growing up, barely!, and remember all the tantalizing things the world puts in front of kids. Intense sexuality, the seeming lure of beer commercials, parties, violence and whatever else. Many of these things end up leaving one feeling empty after experiencing, but they are so tantalizing. Kids in their early teens are curious anyway. In my challenge to LDS artists, please give us high quality entertainment that we can share with our kids to explore these themes in a safe environment. I keep on prefacing entertainment with high quality, I do that because there's a lot of Mormon produced entertainment. Unfortunately a large portion of it is pure dreck.

What are the options for a Mormon to do in regards of non-LDS entertainment? 1) Completely avoid it. 2) Let it selectively into the home. However with TV and the internet almost omnipresent, controlling what entertainment comes into a house is nearly impossible. Here's the point of this blog, Mormon people need to create high quality and wholesome entertainment. It has to be as good or better as non-LDS created entertainment. So far it's pretty lackluster quality produced by LDS artists. What I'd like to see is what I will call the Stephenie Meyer model.

Meyer, author of the hugely successful "Twilight" novels, is a very devout Mormon that has created these well loved novels. This isn't entertainment just created for LDS people but for anybody. However how many other LDS writers can you name, which exactly is my point. There's Orson Scott Card, who wrote the hugely popular "Ender's Game". Other than that I would suggest that a non-LDS person couldn't name any other LDS authors.

In music, the most famous LDS singers are probably the Osmonds. Again that's my point. Marie Osmond just released a new CD, does anyone know that outside of Utah? Maybe a few other Mormons know that, but that's it. Other famous LDS musicians include the brutally bland David Archuleta, the converted Gladys Knight and possibly members of The Killers and The Used. Do you see what little there is to work with? Do you now understand why LDS people now go outside Mormon culture for entertainment. Hmm let's see who would I rather listen to Archuleta or Lady Gaga? As my kids would say "Duh"!

Let's not even talk about LDS TV and movies. They've been few and far between and not real high quality. About the only quality LDS film maker has been Richard Dutcher. He made the great "God's Army", exploring an LDS mission. It captures many of the trials and temptations encountered by LDS missionaries. He also tried to expand beyond his LDS roots, by making a more traditional film in "Brigham City". He was stretching artistically. He captures these stories with warmth and humor. He has since left the church. He has his reasons, but I'm still incredibly sad about this.

What I would like to see is him or another high quality LDS based film maker make a film based on Richard L. Bushman's "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling". This book is written by an active Mormon, but thoroughly provides insight into all parts of Joseph Smith's life. He led an amazing life and I think his life could be an amazing movie. The beginnings of the LDS Church would also be a great story. This would give all people a chance to understand the roots of the LDS Church. It's a pretty harrowing story. One has to have lived a life of a Mormon to fully understand LDS doctrines and some of the reasons we view things the way we do.

Here's my challenge to all LDS artists: Make the same high quality entertainment that's available all over the world. In other words follow the Stephenie Meyer model. Whether you agree the "Twilight" series is good or bad, no one can deny the impact it has made on popular culture. For instance, it has made the strange looking Robert Pattinson a well known actor. Without knowing it, many non-LDS people are experiencing LDS values. That's why Bella and Edward don't have sex until marriage.

Where are the Stephenie Meyer's for music, movies, plays etc. Please if you are LDS and have any artistic ability, please start working on things that can edify everyone. Especially our children. I realize this is the parent's job, but high quality and moral entertainment will help us in this regard. As Dutcher has, unfortunately at the loss of his faith, more LDS artists need to stretch their wings. Let's turn the tide that shows like "Skins" has caused.

themusicaddict

Lil Wayne, "AI"

Hello,

Rolling Stone has struck out again on a cover for their new issue. Their next cover is Lil Wayne talking about his release from prison. Will someone please explain to me why anyone cares. He's a rapper of limited abilities that hasn't made any interesting music. Rolling Stone stop giving ink to this waste of time artist.

"American Idol" season 10 started last night. I chose to chat with some of my online friends rather than watching it. Even if I hadn't been chatting, there were many other things that I would rather be doing. I use to be a humonguous fan of this show and couldn't wait for it to start. However it jumped the shark a few seasons ago, now Fox is just bound and determined to run it into the ground. 26 million people watched it last night, that's about 9% of the nation. Also the ratings improved as the show continued.

It started to generally positive reviews. Unfortunately I will no longer be reading the reviews of Michael Slezak at ew.com, he's moved on to other opportunities. He was hilarious, Annie Barrett has taken over for him. She's okay but she's no Slezak.

Here's a great 80's song that describes how I'm feeling as I continue to heal from divorce. I can't believe it will be 8 months on Monday. I hope there is someone out there that will help me feel like this song does. This is Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings".

Here's the video:



Here's the lyrics:

Baby, don't understand
Why we can't just hold on to each other's hands?
This time might be the last if fear unless
I make it all too clear I need you so, ohh

Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Take these broken wings

Baby, I think tonight
We can take what was wrong and make it right
Baby, it's all I know that you're half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole, I need you so.

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/mr.-mister-lyrics/broken-wings-lyrics.html]
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Yeah, yeah

Let us in
Let us in

Baby, it's all I know that you're half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in

Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly, learn to live and love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up for us and let us in
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ooh

themusicaddict

The First Flush of Love, "Glee", "American Idol"

Hello,

Love has many stages, from the first giddy excitement of a budding relationship to the painful misery of falling out of love. As I'm now 43, I've experienced all stages of that process. I'm not currently dating anyone but I'm looking forward to the giddy feeling of love. I'm hoping falling out of love doesn't occur this time, for me or that special lady. The bad thing about divorce is how expensive it is for everybody. But the good thing about divorce is the opportunity to rediscover oneself. It's almost like a rebirth and I know a lot more about what I want in a woman next time. I think the worst thing after divorce is to immediately get right back into a relationship. At least for several months, you should do some soul searching. Most if not all people would also benefit from some counseling. My counselor has given me a tremendous amount of help.

Right now I'm just tentatively putting my toe back in the dating pool. Driving to work this morning I heard a song that puts me in the frame of mind of that beginning giddy feeling of love.

This is the "Glee" version of "Taking Chances", sung by Lea Michelle.



These are the amazing lyrics (thanks to elyrics.net):

Don't know much about your life.
Don't know much about your world, but
Don't want to be alone tonight,
On this planet they call earth.

You don't know about my past, and
I don't have a future figured out.
And maybe this is going too fast.
And maybe it's not meant to last,

But what do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

I just want to start again,
And maybe you could show me how to try,
And maybe you could take me in,
Somewhere underneath your skin?

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?

Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

And I had my heart beating down,
But I always come back for more, yeah.
There's nothing like love to pull you up,
When you're laying down on the floor there.
So talk to me, talk to me,
Like lovers do.
Yeah walk with me, walk with me,
Like lovers do,
Like lovers do.

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

Don't know much about your life
And I don't know much about your world

Don't know much about your life.
Don't know much about your world, but
Don't want to be alone tonight,
On this planet they call earth.

You don't know about my past, and
I don't have a future figured out.
And maybe this is going too fast.
And maybe it's not meant to last,

But what do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

I just want to start again,
And maybe you could show me how to try,
And maybe you could take me in,
Somewhere underneath your skin?

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?

Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

And I had my heart beating down,
But I always come back for more, yeah.
There's nothing like love to pull you up,
When you're laying down on the floor there.
So talk to me, talk to me,
Like lovers do.
Yeah walk with me, walk with me,
Like lovers do,
Like lovers do.

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

Don't know much about your life
And I don't know much about your world

[- From :http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/glee-cast-lyrics/taking-chances-lyrics.html -]

Lea Michelle has a great voice and is pretty hot too. I love, love this song.



Many of the songs "Glee" uses are already amazing songs, like the above two songs for instance.
However "Glee" many times takes a song and adds something very cool to it. For instance, I love their version of Queen's "Somebody To Love".



Rihanna sings "Take A Bow" with so much power and is amazing, but Lea Michelle does this song just as well if not better.



Once the initial rush has passed and both people in the relationship are both knowing they are together, things get a little more serious. This is for this next stage. I believe this song is sung by Amber Riley, she also has an amazing voice.



One final song, this is from "Les Miserables". This song is a heart breakingly beautiful song and Lea again sings it with great power. The song is titled "On My Own":



Last and least, Season 10 of "American Idol" begins tonight. To paraphrase the Smiths, "Please, Please, Please let this be the last season." This show has so got to end. I plan on watching this show, but only for the car wreck show angle. If I hadn't saw something on ew.com yesterday, I would have completely forgotten about it starting tonight. I will probably watch some of the episodes, but at this point there's no way I'm making a full season commitment to it.

Also I think "Glee" is the new "American Idol" without the annoying judges, Randy Jackson's annoying irrelevance and heavy handed producers.

themusicaddict

"Beautiful/Dangerous"

Hello,

The following is one of the best collaborations of the last few years. Be careful, this isn't an all ages video. You should probably be at least 21 and have valid identification before watching this very hot video. You can find the following song on Slash's very creatively named CD "Slash". This is Fergie and Slash on "Beautiful/Dangerous":



I've never found Fergie that attractive, although she's very hot in this video. Although she has an amazing voice. She sounds so good on this song. Her voice live is also amazing, the girl has got some serious pipes. She also sang on some of this generation's best songs, with Black Eyed Peas and of course her solo work. I know she's busy with Black Eyed Peas, but I'm not sure why she has put such a creative solo career on the back burner. To me whether she's attractive is beside the point.

It's so hard for me to pick my favorite song from "The Dutchess", there are just so many good songs. This is just one of the many amazing songs:



Also news comes today that Steve Jobs is needing to take another health related leave of absence from Apple. I'm very nervous about this for him, his family and Apple. Obviously his family would hate to lose him. But me as an Apple fan would hate to lose him also. I wonder how much the timing of the announcement of the iPhone going to Verizon has to do with this announcement. I obviously have no idea about his state of health as Jobs has been far from forthcoming about that. I'm wondering if the Apple/Verizon announcement is the final piece of his legacy. Is this announcement really telling us that Jobs is dying? Again this is my own speculation and I have no idea. Good luck to Steve and his family. All of you are in my prayers.

I think of all the companies now, Apple is the one that is most dependent on it's CEO. Jobs is a modern day genius, not only in computers but also in assembling the best and the brightest around him. Apple also always has several products in the pipeline. If the worst were to happen things would be smooth for the next couple of years. That should give the next CEO time to learn on the job a bit. Although he won't be given a whole bunch of time to learn the job.

themusicaddict

Battle of the "Karate Kids", Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Hello,

I was able to watch the incredibly sweet new "Karate Kid" today. What a great movie! This was actually the second time I've watched it. This is one of the rare movies that I actually liked the second time more than the first time. The story is great, the action is great, the actors are great. Jackie Chan is amazing in this movie. I think Jaden Smith is a bit too cute, but overall he does a good job. I loved, loved the very chaste sort of love story. Kids that are 12 probably shouldn't be kissing. But this is Hollywood, you can only hope for so much. I enjoyed the ending as well, the tension builds up and the music swells- what a great ending!

One of my Top 50 all-time favorite movies is the original "Karate Kid" starring Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue. Above is an incredibly gorgeous picture of Ms. Shue. She's one of the all-time great 80's babes. (Yes, Kelly Preston so are you.) Sorry there will be no pictures forthcoming of Ralph Macchio.

The ending is very good in the new "Karate Kid", but the ending in the first "Karate Kid" was perfect. All the motion and story pushing towards that amazing ending. Everything you would want in a movie ending. If the ending sucks, usually the movie follows suit. It's actually been enough years since I've seen this movie, that I can see it again with nearly fresh eyes.

I was at LDS Social Services to see if we can get my youngest kid the help he needs. He's having some issues after his parents were divorced. Anyone they were playing the Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD. I was surprised how good this is. It's very lovely choral music. I'm very Mormon and so very grateful to be a member of my church. Having said that, I never thought I would recommend a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD. However I'm recommending this one whole heartedly. They sing some traditional Mormon songs. They also do covers of Josh Groban and Billy Joel. Yes, that Billy Joel. My favorite song on the CD (so far) is "Fight The Good Fight With All Thy Might". Another highlight is "The Morning Trumpet".

I promise you this isn't proselytizing, this is me doing what I love to do, recommending good music. The only bad thing about this CD is that if you want to listen to it, you have to buy it. It's not on napster.com and at this point you can't even listen to 30 second samples at amazon.com. Although amazon.com does have it for sale. If you like choral music, men's voices, relaxing music this is a CD you must check out!

themusicaddict

The Law of Diminishing Returns, I'm now officially a Gleek

Hello,

Last night I was talking to a good friend about the economic concept of The Law Of Diminishing Returns. She brought to my attention a very interesting article. Thanks for showing me this article.

Here's the link: http://handylifeadvice.com/life-and-the-law-of-diminishing-returns/

Here's the article:

Posted by Keith Keaton February 23, 2008

"The Law of Diminishing Returns is an old economic theory that is still useful in today’s society. This law states that achievement in any area of life adds to happiness only up to a certain point. Beyond that point, more and more gains in any one particular area adds less and less to happiness. In plain English, the theory is saying that you CAN have too much of a good thing. The more you experience of the good thing, your overall happiness will decline.

This principle can be applied to practically any situation in real life. Let me give you a few examples. If you love ice cream, then this law will explain that on your fifth serving of Dryer’s Rocky Road, you eventually will no longer be happy with it. In fact you may become sick of that flavor and despise it.

Another example of this law in effect is in regards to relationships. The thrills, excitement and butterflies that you get from your partner decreases the more that you are in contact with them. There have been studies done which show that romantic love only lasts at most 18 months. No wonder couples complain of falling out of love.

Love is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Most people never see the thorns that lie in the blooming of love. The world has seen many relationships where love blossoms and where love goes sour. In the beginning of the relationship, the feeling is amazing. If you were to poll people, most would say that being in love is the best feeling they have ever felt.

However, months later, the Law of Diminishing Returns will cause the love to fade away. This is the time when couples start to see faults in one another. This is the same person in the beginning who they were in love with and that they would spend the rest of each other’s life with. Instead of saying “I have a reason to live now”, they are saying “I have a reason to die now.”

This law also applies to the heroin addict who has to take larger and larger doses just to experience the same high that he got for the very first time. In this case, the more drug the addict took, the less pleasure he got from it. This eventually will lead the addict to taking so much drug that he will eventually overdose from it.

In each of these examples, happiness is affected mostly at the beginning. After a certain level has been achieved (I have satisfied my ice cream craving or I found the love of my life), additional gains (eating more ice cream or spending more time with your love) makes less and less difference to happiness. Happiness is achieved when the basic needs are met rather than when the maximal needs met.

So how can you keep the Law of Diminishing Returns from ruining your happy existence? Unfortunately in life, the saying that “nothing lasts forever” is true. The only exception perhaps is that of a diamond. Yeah, for some reason those seem to last forever.

First, you need to keep in mind that almost anything that can bring you pleasure or happiness is subject to the “Law of Diminishing Returns.” That’s just the way life works. Get in the habit to train yourself in recognizing when the Law is in effect.

For example, let’s say you already finished your second cup of coffee. You are now feeling hyper, restless and agitated. Learn to recognize those signs so that you will not go for the third cup of coffee.

Second, once you become skilled at recognizing the signs of the “Law”, you need to learn to pull back no matter how hard it is for you to do. If you are in a budding relationship, it is important to take it slow as falling too fast will ensure that the “Law of Diminishing Returns” will happen.

In the previous example of the cups of coffee, even if you love drinking coffee and have a hard time giving it up, you need to pull back from drinking more as the benefits will start to diminish. Remember to stop doing things when they give you less and less value in return.

Finally, realize that there are other needs in your life that need to be met. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You eventually will become bored with it. Know when to stop and participate in other activities that will give you value in return.

For example, you can’t surf the internet all day and expect not to become bored to death with it. The value of happiness of your time on the internet has gone down. This is time where you bow out and participate in other events that will give you value.

Another example is when you have spent 24/7 in close contact with your special love. Eventually the “law” occurs and the happiness of being close diminishes. This is the perfect opportunity for the both of you to have a girls night out to go shopping or a guys night out having a drink and watching a game.

Indeed, you can have too much of a good thing. Hopefully you will be able to recognize the signs and that you do have the power to change it."

I thought this was a very good article, well thought out. I love what it says about love. I thought it was interesting that "there have been studies done which show that romantic love only lasts at most 18 months. No wonder couples complain of falling out of love." I highly suggest anyone in a long standing relationship or in a budding relationship read this article. Then you have to have the strength to follow through. Keith Keaton summarizes this article with, "indeed, you can have too much of a good thing".

Maybe something that isn't susceptible to the law of diminishing returns is "Glee". I've wanted to watch it for the last little while. I just have never found the time and desire at the same time to do so. Last night I was able to see a couple of episodes from the first season. They were very enjoyable. Some quick observations: 1) Lea Michelle is gorgeous and has an amazing voice. She was simply amazing singing "Don't Rain On My Parade" from "Funny Girl". 2) Amber Riley also has an amazing voice. She sings "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going..." almost as well as Jennifer Hudson. That from me is high praise as I love Jennifer Hudson. 3) Matthew Morrison is also very solid as straight arrow Will Schuester. I love his burgeoning relationship with Emma Pillsbury. At least the point of the show that I've seen. Will and Emma don't forget the law of diminishing returns. 4) Jane Lynch is hilarious. I can tell she just loves portraying Sue Sylvester. She nails that role perfectly, I see why she receives so much love for it. 5) I love the songs that the characters sing. From Broadway classics, to 80's rock to more recent music. The "Glee" creators have chosen solid songs. The songs are both good and fit into the storyline.

I love how they mix and match these two classic songs together. This is one of the many examples of the great songs on "Glee":



Look forward to much more enthusiastic reviews of "Glee" on this blog.

themusicaddict

The BCS amazes...

Hello,

... with it's stupidity.

In the 11/15/10 SI I referred to yesterday, there are several points that points out to why the BCS has to go away. Of several points I could pick many. Here are two that show the lameness of the BCS.

1) BCS executive director Bill Hancock says "We believe the bowl system wouldn't survive a playoff". (Thanks to SI.) That's stupid, who cares if the bowl system survives? If it can't sustain itself, what does that tell you about it's viability? Also if it's so crucial to save the bowls, just implement them into the playoff system. For instance, the Orange Bowl National Semi-Final Game. Not only does college football do well with a playoff system, it soars. NCAA: there's a reason why March Madness is one of the biggest sporting events each year. The same could be said for college football, the current system waters down what would be just as great as March Madness.

2) In that same issue of SI: "The NCAA crowns 88 champions in 23 sports. The only champion it does not crown is Division 1-A football". Isn't that interesting. What does it say about the NCAA that it lets the self-serving BCS block a playoff system? And the NCAA is the organization that polices the schools for inappropriate recruiting and myriad other offenses. Of course, the NCAA is the same organization that said Cam Newton was allowed to play in the National Championship Game. Sure his Dad offered him up for money, but Cam didn't know about it. wink, wink. That college football is still is so magnificent is amazing.

This is what I'd like to see happen to the BCS, and dedicate the following song to the BCS:



Right now they are the crushers, of ethics, common sense and fairness.

I'm sorry for writing about the BCS so much, but that something so blatantly greedy and nasty goes on in a system of higher learning irritates me.

themusicaddict

Why Not Both?

Hello,

There are rumors floating around that Christopher Nolan is considering the lovely Anne Hathaway and the lovely Keira Knightley to be cast in Batman 3. Here's my question, why not both?


Two of our current most lovely actresses. I would also suggest Natalie Portman, although she's pregnant. There's also the gorgeous Emily Blunt about to rock Matt Damon's world in "The Adjustment Bureau".

Speaking of lovely, how about those Cougars? BYU's basketball team blew out alleged rival Utah 104-79. Jimmer Fredette put on another scoring show, he scored 47 points. He hit 6 of 9 three pointers, including the half ending near half-court shot. The #10 Cougars were the #1 spots story on ESPN Sports Center this morning. Fredette's shot was #1 on plays of the day. This continues to be a truly once-in-a-generation basketball season for BYU. Coug fans enjoy while you can. Who knows when we'll have another season like this?

In the November 15th, 2010 issue, there's an article in there about the so called disaster known as the BCS. The article is written by Austin Murphy and Dan Wetzel. Murphy is SI's excellent long term college football writer. I can't find the right link, go to a local library and read it. It's great and it shows all about the greed and stupidity about the BCS. The BCS claims they are all about protecting the bowls. This article proves just how little they care about the game, and how their true aim is to make money.

Here are a couple of links, the first is a response by Murphy to many of the whiners about his article. The BCS remains an enemy to common sense and equity.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/austin_murphy/11/12/bcs/index.html

Here's another reaction to this excellent article.

http://www.rockchalktalk.com/2010/11/11/1807701/sports-illustrated-talks-bcs-playoff-and-why-we-continue-to-spin-our

After reading Murphy's excellent article and the two above links, anybody arguing for the BCS is one of two things. 1) they are extremely stupid 2) they are actually a member of the BCS

Dear BCS:

When your feifdom of delusion is overthrown, won't it be much better to acknowledge the greatness of the playoff system. The BCS reminds me of the Iraqi minister talking about how Iraq was going to overthrow America. That was when America was in Iraq and about to overthrow Saddam Hussein. How long can you defend an untenable position?

With love, themusicaddict

One final thing, I was driving to work this morning. I was listening to one of those Time-Life 80's CDs. I realized how everything goes better with 80's music, this song especially was rocking my commute this morning:



The above is a great song, but it also has traces of camp and the synth driven music of the 80's.

Another great 80's song to enjoy:



themusicaddict

Review of Dennis Lehane's "A Drink Before The War"

Hello,

I started reading this book on January 5th, 2011. It's the first of Dennis Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro novels.

I'm a big, big fan of Dennis Lehane's novels. Since this is one of his Kenzie/Gennaro novels I was expecting a bit more. The main story was almost beside the point and frankly sort of boring. I had to read the first book of the series though to try and better understand Kenzie/ Gennaro better. It's why origin stories are always so popular. Kenzie and Gennaro kill a gang leader without needing to and I didn't care. It was that sort of book.

The central mystery to me was why did Angie Gennaro, put up with her wife beater of a husband. Finally near the end of the book she no longer does. She tased him twice and then beat the crap out of him, that was her way of telling him she wanted a divorce.

A pretty unremarkable story overall. Thankfully Lehane became a much better author after this book. Not only are the Gennaro/Kenzie novels pretty good, he also wrote "Mystic River". That was one of the best books I've read. "Shutter Island" is also very good.

I read K/G #5 first, "Gone Baby Gone" and then I read K/G #6 "Moonlight Mile" and then read "A Drink Before The War". I'm going to read books #2-#4 in order.

themusicaddict

Welcome to 1/11/11!, The Not-Karma Bowl

Hello,

Welcome to 1/11/11!

Last night it was disappointing to me that the tarnished Auburn Tigers won the National Championship. At least it was a good game. Now if we could get a playoff and have several good games. Who out there wouldn't love to see at least a plus one of TCU-Auburn. That would also be a great battle. There would only be one undefeated team and without a doubt there would be a clear national champion.

In spite of the BCS' stupidity, three of the five BCS games were competitive. The worst BCS game was the Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma beat UConn 48-20. Going into the bowl game, UConn had lost 4 games. Obviously they had no right being in a BCS Bowl game. None at all and they only got in because of the terrible system currently set up. In the other mismatch Stanford was clearly better to Va. Tech and won easily 40-12.

Also just a follow up to yesterday, it was announced this morning that Verizon is finally getting the iPhone. Fortune magazine predicted that once that happened that Apple would sell 8-9 million iPhones this year. When can you get one of your own? February 10th. Verizon is fixing it's mistake from 5 years ago, when it refused to partner with Apple. It will be interesting to see what happens to AT&T now that it no longer is the exclusive seller of the iPhone.

themusicaddict

Tonight Is the National Championship Game, Great Songs

Hello,

Like a broken clock is right twice a day, the BCS managed to get something right. Tonight's game between Auburn and Oregon should be a classic battle. I think the team whose defense plays best will win the game? I wouldn't be surprised for both teams to be in the mid-30s in points. I'm looking forward to this game. I'm not predicting a winner, but I'll be cheering for Oregon. I think that someday if Auburn wins, they'll be stripped of the title. Due to that why let them win in the first place?

Now on to college basketball, where there is no BCS and they actually have a playoff! What a good idea, maybe college football should try that sometime. Or does that make too much sense? This year as long as you are selected as one of the best 68 teams in the nation, you get invited to the Big Dance, aka the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness and aka the three best sports weeks of the year.

Anyway as the MWC crumbles and reassembles, some of the teams leaving are going out with a bang. Of course some of the teams are going out with a clunk- I'm looking at your basketball program Utah. The Jim Boylen Era is finally about to come to an end. Whatever happened to that great program? While Utah will be lucky to finish over .500, BYU is having a once-in-a-generation season.

Currently BYU is ranked #10 in the nation and is 16-1. They had an impressive victory over UNLV last week. Don't worry I'm not going to trash talk about BYU, I think they have a good team. They might even have a team that can make it to the Sweet 16- wouldn't it be nice to make it to the second weekend? However do I think they have a chance to win the national title? Um, no. Not even close. I'm going to sit back and enjoy the season though.

SDSU is having a phenomenal season. They are 17-0 and #6 in the nation. Steve Fisher has done an amazing job in San Diego. Sarcasm alert: It's too bad he has to live in such a hard to enjoy city. Two dates to circle on your calender, SDSU will play at BYU on January 26th. The rematch will be in San Diego on February 26th. I think SDSU is the cream of MWC basketball. However BYU and UNLV both should have good seasons and easily qualify for the Big Dance. Colorado State and New Mexico, always dangerous in the Pit, looks like they will have a big say about who wins this conference. I think the MWC could place 5 teams in the NCAA's. That would be a spectacular follow up to going 4-1 in bowl games.

This song is R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush". I love this songs thundering intro:



This is Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry". I heard this song the other day. Besides thinking to myself what a great song, I wondered why someone hasn't remade it? This is also a very cool video.



themusicaddict

The Articles of Faith, What do Mormons believe?

Hello,

As many of you know I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormons or LDS. Usually I don't write about my religious beliefs, this isn't that kind of blog. However sometimes I do get get questions what do I or what do we as Mormons believe in? Someone asked the founder of our church, Joseph Smith, the same thing. This is a list he compiled.

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

If you have any other questions about this, please feel free to contact me.

themusicaddict

iPhone finally coming to Verizon

Hello,

Although it's not official yet, although it will be on Tuesday, but the iPhone is finally going to Verizon. Apple first approached Verizon in 2005 about carrying the iPhone on it's network. Verizon Wireless stupidly said "no". According to the November 15th, 2010 Fortune magazine, Verizon "felt that Apple and CEO Steve Jobs wanted too much control over how and where the devices would be sold- and too big a cut of the monthly service fees".

I thought that was very short sighted of Verizon, apparently they didn't understand the high quality of Apple products. They didn't understand how they would have benefited from that collaboration. They didn't realize how loyal Apple fans (they are fans not customers) are. Apple fans followed the iPhone to AT&T, even though there were many complaints about AT&T's poor network.

I'm glad Verizon finally realized their stupidity and the iPhone is coming to their network. It's a marriage that should have started 5 years, the best phone on the best network. While I think this is a good idea, I still am not going to get an iPhone or any other phone. I just want to say how much I love my iPod though. I also hope some day I can afford a Apple laptop computer.

Songs I highly recommend to add to your collection: Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" Unfortunately this is a typical sexist video:



Anberlin's "Pray Tell":



I don't drink but I understand the sentiment of this song all too well. Merle Haggard's "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink".



Reel Big Fish's "Sell Out": I love the horns on this song.



Sarah Borges "The Day We Met":



The amazing Nelly Furtado's, "One Trick Pony":



So sue me if you think this song is lame, but I love this song! Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now".



Tori Amos has had some great music and some crappy music, she's really a hit or miss artist. However this is one of her amazing songs, "Silent All These Years".



The above and this song are both off of her debut CD "Little Earthquakes" This is Tori Amos' "Crucify":



Another song from that same CD, this song is "China". As you can hear this is an achingly beautiful song.



The final song from "Little Earthquakes" that I'll have here. This is Tori Amos's "Winter":



Depeche Mode's "Strangelove":



One of the most beautiful songs of all-time, as well as heartbreaking. This is The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".



One final one, this musician will finally be releasing new music. This is James Blunt's "So Long Jimmy":



themusicaddict

Jason Garrett- New Dallas Cowboys Head Coach

Hello,

To absolutely no one's surprise, Jason Garrett was named to be the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Does this surprise anyone and if it does, why? Jones, complying with the so-called Rooney Rule, interviewed two minority candidates. Does those two candidates really have a shot at the head coach position. NO! Although both had solid interviews.

Jones has given Jason Garrett final approval on all assistant coaches and players. However that isn't in the contract. Does anyone really believe the meddling, egomaniac Jones won't step in at some point? I do wish he will stay out of the way. He needs to disappear from the public eye for awhile. He might be one of the few people that desire the limelight as much as Brett Favre.

The Dallas Cowboys felt a bit rushed, Jones says he had a few requests to interview Garrett for other teams head coaching positions. While that may be true, did Dallas really need to rush? I would say no, if Garrett went somewhere else that would have been fine. Although I believe that ultimately Jones made the right choice.

My other question: why did Jones sign Garrett to such a long contract? Garrett had one more year on his current contract, but Jones signed him to 3 years beyond that. Why? It's the usual policy to sign a proven head coach to a long term contract, that's something the head coach usually demands. However Garrett isn't proven at all, sure he looks good compared to Wade Phillips. I say Jones should have given Garrett two years and then reevaluate at that time.

I'm just afraid we are going to have the same contract situation that was with Wade Phillips. Phillips was the head coach when Dallas won its first playoff game in 11 years. Although the Cowboys got destroyed the week after, Jones signed Phillips to a 2 year extension. The stupidity of that contract was quickly shown when the Cowboys started off this season 1-7. I just wish Jones would have signed Garrett to a shorter contract.

themusicaddict

Garrett is the 8th head coach, hopefully he will be the first good head coach in several years. The last good head coach Dallas had was Jimmy Johnson, responsible for 3 Super Bowl victories. Yes, I know that officially Barry Switzer was the the head on one of those Super Bowls, but it was Johnson's player. Switzer was smart enough to stay out of the way.

Final Review of "The Devils Punchbowl"

Hello,

The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


On 12/30/2010 I started reading this book. This is the third book in the Penn Cage series. I finished reading Book 1, "The Quiet Game" last night. "The Quiet Game" was mediocre, buried in too many coincidences and way too many subplots. Book 2 was an amazing book, "Turning Angel" was a gripping read, I just couldn't read it fast enough. Now on to Book 3 and I'm not holding out much hope for "The Devil's Punchbowl". I was worried when I read what the book was about. Cage's fiction works best when his he's writing directly about family and long time friends and cases that directly involve them.

This book's story involves a long-time friend, Tim Jessup, but so far the central mystery is beyond that. Jessup appears to be a peripheral part of the story. I hope this book gets better or I may not finish it. My running question for this book, is will I finish it? Right now I'd say doubtful. I think Cage may have peaked with "Turning Angel".

January 3rd, 2011: I've read to page 209. I don't know what it is about this book, but it's absolutely sucking me in. To this point there have been some good and bad things about it. Thankfully unlike "The Quiet Game", the subplots have been winnowed down considerably.

There aren't several women after his body. He's broken up with a lady named Libby, who was an in between books romance. He may be hooking up with Caitlyn Masters again. He seems to be moving on, as much as he can, from the death of his deceased wife. That would be a good thing for this book. So there will be established boundaries between him and his kids babysitter, he instructs her to refer to him as Mr. Cage. He came awfully close to being sexually inappropriate with a teenager in "Turning Angel".

However there are more roll your eyes moments. People call up Penn and tell him they need him wherever they are right now. This has already happened 3 or 4 times in the first 200 pages of this book. Of course he just can't talk on the phone, because the bad guys may be monitoring all phones. When Penn Cages battles with people, they are extremely powerful. Also the bad guys have the ability to block cell phone reception, it wouldn't surprise me that this technology is available. It just doesn't work for me in terms of this book. I think this is a lazy shortcut by the author. (Which reminds me what is Greg Iles favorite Christmas song? "Iles Be Home For Christmas" of course:)

I also say a silent prayer and give thanks that I've lived such a life that I don't deal with people this bad. Of course as this is a Penn Cage book, the bad guys are really bad. They are evil with a capital E. But on the flip side there are people that help him coming out of the blue. Cage is an author you have to give up logic and his writing style or read someone else.

Although this novel is sucking me in, it's still nowhere in the class of "Turning Angel". My running question is will I finish this book? At this point I definitely will and probably fairly quickly. The book is a literary sugar rush, will I feel satisfied once I finish reading the book? Am I eating a literary bag of circus peanuts or a steak? At the 2/5ths mark I'm feeling satisfied with some reservations.

January 4th, 2011, Page 280. This continues to be a very gripping, edge-of-your seat novel. But as he has done previously there's a couple of more instances where Cage needs to drop what he's doing and go someplace else immediately. It's not because Cage is the mayor of Natchez, it's because of Iles writing style. Cage does much of the heavy lifting in this series. The constant rush to be somewhere else RIGHT NOW! doesn't work very well and is very annoying. It's a literary crutch that Iles leans on way too much. This has happened about 6 times at this point.

I'm tearing through this book, obviously it's not horrible, but Iles could desperately use an editor. There are things to be praised in Iles books, there's some humor. For instance, I like how he and Caitlyn are pretending they are a couple again to provide cover for Cage. I also like the updates we get of characters from previous books like Mia Burke and Drew Elliot.

Let's set up the situation. On one hand we have Julian Sands and Seamus Quinn, Sands security man. They both work for a very bad man by the name of Edward Po. These men are behind prostitution, dog fighting, human trafficking and child solicitation in Cage's hometown.

Massed against these very bad men are the forces of better led by the immortal Penn Cage. (I say immortal tongue in cheek, because he's one of those people that can't seem to be killed.) We have returning characters Tom Cage, Penn's father. His on again/off again girlfriend Caitlyn Masters and armed friend Daniel Kelly. They might not be 100% perfect, but at least they are trying. That's why they are the forces of better, but not necessarily pure. In one of the most heated moments of the book, they are discussing whether they should take out Julian Sands. Out of the blue Cage receives a call from someone, William Hull, that says he's an attorney for Homeland Security. He tells Cage and associates to back off. Just like that they are all off the case. I'm sorry with how persistent Cage is, that's just not believable.

I also don't like how Cage has his mother and daughter come back to town, just on the word of someone who may not be who he says he is. Penn didn't ask for proof or anything. Is this a misdirection ploy by Iles? Is Cage and associates not really backing down? This whole backing down just doesn't add up. It seems obvious to me that in the remaining pages this case will be resolved. I'm just afraid with his daughter coming back, we are going to have some long, drawn out hostage situations. Obviously I have no idea what's going to happen and I hope I'm wrong.

My running question, will I finish this book? At this point, hell yes! I hope when I finish it doesn't leave me feeling deflated like a Dan Brown novel does.

January 4th, 2011 I've read to page 407. Although there's this seemingly unlikely (and to me unbelievable) truce, I'd forgotten that another character is acting independently. His name is Walt Garrity, using the cover name as J.B. Gilchrist. He doesn't know about the truce so he continues to work the case. He's trying to bring down the bad people led by Julian Sands. Unfortunately for him, Garrity has met the high class prostitute Ming. (Isn't high class prostitute an oxymoron?) I don't think that is coincidental, I'm sure Sands knows all about Garrity's true motives. Ming is part of the Sands plan to bring down Garrity. That's because Iles bad guys seem to know almost everything and have unbelievable power. It's one of Iles story ideas that drive me crazy, no one is as powerful as Iles' villians.

Cage also essentially asks Caitlyn to marry him and they can leave Natchez and go live where she wants. She basically tells him, "I'll think about it". She may or may not agree to meet him for lunch the next day. Also Cage has decided to step down from being mayor, which I think is a good idea. I think Iles realized that Cage being the mayor was a non-starter. Cage served Iles purpose in the story for being mayor. To me, Cage being the mayor is probably the least interesting thing about this book.

Cage and associates may have backed down, or at least pretending like they are. However of course the bad guys, Sands and associates, aren't backing down. They kidnap Caitlyn and show their true purpose. Of course, Cage stupidly has brought back his daughter Annie and his Mom to Natchez. Iles writes very well and its intense fiction, but it's dumb things like the above that drive me crazy. Cage is so smart, but he makes stupid errors like bringing his family back.

Page 467: Caitlyn has been kidnapped and is held prisoner with Linda Church in a kennel like room. Sands et. al is using her as a way to control Cage. However Caitlyn is her own woman and she isn't waiting until someone comes and rescues her. I like this by Iles, that's very consistent with Caitlyn's tenacious personality. She starts working on a plan to get her and Church out of there. (Cliche alert: no one left behind.)

However they have several obstacles before they can get free, including the very vicious and trained Bully Khata dogs surrounding them outside where they are being held. Cage also has another run in with the crooked D.A. Shad Johnson. He knows that Johnson is on Sands payroll, Cage is trying to use that information to get something that Johnson has. Then it's time for Kelly and Cage to go out and search for Caitlyn. But again Caitlyn is not waiting for someone to rescue her.

I finished the book on January 5th, 2011, it has 577 pages. Now do I think that Iles writing style has some weaknesses? Yes, I certainly do. However I will say he knows how to pull you into a story and not let go. I like to read a bit of a book, then let it sink in. However at about 8:00 last night I couldn't stand it anymore. I went and read the final 110 pages in one swoop.

Caitlyn manages to escape, but only after Church commits suicide. Church was too injured and broken to attempt an escape. That's good because Caitlyn had to use Church's body as a decoy to escape. That was one of a few horrific decisions that had to be made in the final 100+ pages. Caitlyn is just able to escape her captivity, however she's not completely out of danger.

Cage and Kelly and others go up in a helicopter with heat seeking equipment in order to find Caitlyn, but they can't find her. It was good that Caitlyn had the wherewithal to escape on her own. Caitlyn walks back to the outskirts of town, where she's able to call someone who comes and rescues her. It's a friend from the paper, who delivers her to Cage's home. I'm glad Caitlyn got free, she's one of my favorite characters in the series. It's also good to see that Cage and associates aren't perfect. Frankly they are so successful at so many things that it strains credibility just a bit.

Walt Garrity, as JB Gilchrist, is trying to be undercover, but instead he gets caught. The girl that's his "lady" was suppose to kill him, however she didnt. She told Gilchrist her name was Ming, but it really is Jiao. She's Sands girlfriend, she doesn't understand all the bad things that he's doing. Garrity goes and tells Cage how he had got busted and he headed back home in his RV.

Cage then uses his leverage over the DA, Shad Johnson, and gets his help. Hopefully Johnson won't be back in book 4, he's a very lame character. I know there are suppose to be bad people in the books so that the good guys can have something to play off. However when one of the bad guys is so one dimensional, I think Iles can safely get rid of him.

Caitlyn meets Jaio at a coffee place. She convinces Jaio to help Cage etc. she's going to get some mini tape recorders into places on the boat so that they can continue to build their case against Sands and Po.

The ending Sands has bombs destroy links holding the Magnolia Queen to the shore, the boat that is meant to be stationary starts going down the river. Then there's the extended finale where Sands and Quinn finally receive some justice. Then awhile later Kelly calls them and they go to meet him. He secretly has Seamus Quinn as a hostage. He wants to let Caitlyn exorcise her demons caused by what Quinn did to Linda Church. She seems to be able to do that, but how she gets there is horrific. Also what kind of physic scar,if any, will that leave later in the series? I don't know if Iles will explore that, but I'd like to see him do that.

Five days later Master's and Cage chat on a boat of a friends and they dump Church's ashes in the Mississippi. They also reconcile, agree to get married and have more kids. Caitlyn's biological clock seems to be ticking rapidly. They also are going to stay in Natchez a couple of more years and then reassess where they are at that point. Disappointingly it looks like Cage isn't going to step down early, but will remain mayor. That's too bad, because I don't think it's working. He's someone that works outside of the system better.

Then Penn's father, Tom, has a heart attack and Caitlyn and Penn rush to his office. Tom thinks he's dying and he wants to tell Cage something very important before he dies. That's the set up for Book 4 in the Penn Cage series. That book "Unwritten Laws" won't be out until August, 2011.

Overall I thought this was a good, but not amazing book. There were some things that were predictable, but there were things that caught me by surprise. If you can guess what's going to happen, I think that's the worst thing you can say about any work of fiction. Overall these are pretty good books, but they aren't quite up to Dennis Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro novels. I will definitely read book 4 when it finally comes out.

Thankfully where Dan Brown's book leaves you feeling empty when finished, like you ate a whole box of Twinkies. When I'm done with Iles books, I feel like I just ate the literary equivalent of a steak. Overall I would give this book a semi solid B. His best book of this series still is the amazing "Turning Angel" by a long ways.

View all my reviews

themusicaddict

Great songs by the Fratellis and The Gaslight Anthem, "Live To Dance"

Hello,

"Creepin' Up The Backstairs"- The Fratellis:



This band has received a lot of hype, of which I don't think they are deserving of. That being said this is a great song:



Also here's an all-time classic, definitely a Top 500 song, "The Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks. Here's the video:



The only way to experience this song is live, here's the live version. On the following video, music plays for first 4:45 and then it's silence. Not sure why they left the video like that.



Warning: Paula Abdul returns to television tonight. She will be on the all new dance show, "Live To Dance". You know exactly like "American Idol", except they dance instead of sing? I'm wondering how long will this show last? I can't see it lasting more than 6 or 7 episodes. I'm sure Paula Abdul is a very nice person, but someone I want to watch on TV? No thanks!

Two of my favorite shows are starting to experience a downturn. I watched "Hawaii Five-O" last night, that episode was a bit of snoozer. At about the halfway point of the show last night, I thought it was over. That's how slow moving it felt. The stories are too similar. It's like the Penn Cage books, there's a lot of conspiracies going on. The heroes run into really bad guys who can never seem to be able to shoot the good guys. The good guys are at the center of these conspiracies. And it's only them that can bring down these vast conspiracies. They also seem to be the only ones that know about the conspiracies or at least the only ones that have the courage to bring them down.

The other show that's downing me a bit is "No Ordinary Family". This show started out really strong, I really liked all the characters. I still like all the quirky characters, however the stories are too similar. That quickly gets very boring week after week. Also these are some very smart characters, yet they keep on making stupid mistakes. Then they spend the rest of the episode fixing that mistake. "No Ordinary Family" resumes tonight and I'm not certain if I'm going to watch it.

themusicaddict

Dallas, NY Giants and Brett Favre

Hello,

Jerry Jones continues to play this charade that Jason Garrett won't be the next head coach of the the Dallas Cowboys. Come on Jerry, we all know he will get that job. He may not be the best candidate, but he's the candidate best for his ego. That is Jones primary concern so it's obvious Garrett is going to get the job. There's the Rooney Rule in which he has to interview one minority candidate. He'll interview at least one minority candidate to meet the rule, but they don't have a shot. That is unless Tony Dungy becomes interested in coaching again. As Bill Simmons says if you want someone to build you a new stadium Jerry Jones is your man, if you want someone to build your football team go somewhere else.

The New York Giants finished the season 10-6, but out of the playoffs. The Giants co-owners, John Mara and Steve Tisch, gave all other fans of NFC East teams a belated Christmas present. They've decided to keep Tom Coughlin as the head coach. Thank you. Just one more favor I'll ask for, can you please keep the extremely over rated Eli Manning as your quarterback? Merry Christmas to you to John and Steve.

For what seems like about the 20th time, Brett Favre announced his retirement yesterday. He says he has "no regrets". I would just like to say Brett, you are probably the only one. I have regrets because I'm so tired of your repeated comebacks, it became an annual joke. The Vikings have reqrets that they paid you about $14,000,000 for 6 wins. They sacrificed building for the future to go for the Super Bowl. That's great if it works out, but obviously it didn't. Tavaris Jackson has regrets, instead of showing what he can do, he was banished to the sideline for most of the season. When he finally did get to play, he got injured and missed the rest of the season. When the book is written about the last season of Favre's career, I have a title. The title is "The Lost Season of the Minnesota Vikings". See Brett the whole world doesn't revolve around you.

Now the Vikings have to find another quarterback or rebuild Jackson's confidence if they want to be relavent next year. Also how did the Jets and Packers do without Brett Favre as their quarterback, both are in the playoffs. Brett not only is it time to retire, it's time to leave the public eye for a few years. How can we miss you if you won't go away?

However the other teams in the NFC North had no regrets about the Brett Favre retirement tour. That's especially after the abysmal season you had, it was Favre's lowest quarterback rating of his career.

themusicaddict

"Murderer's row" collapse and TCU reigns

Hello,

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the very enjoyable game of TCU defeating Wisconsin. Another one of those mid-major teams beats a BCS team? Again? The MWC finished 4-1 in this season's bowl games. Again this points out the stupidity of the BCS in which teams it says are the best teams. Clearly a spot in one of the big 6 conferences doesn't guarantee how good the conference or the teams in it are. Look at the Big East, they are probably one of the worst college football conferences. At least in the regular season, however they've been decent in the bowl games. Right now they are 3-2 with only mediocre 7-5 Pittsburgh to play 6-6 Kentucky.

As I write about below the Big 10 has been a disaster in bowl games, getting destroyed on New Year's Day. Even the SEC, supposedly the toughest conference in college football, is only 3-3 in the middling SEC.

Thank you BCS for the brilliant match up of the Oklahoma-UConn game. Oklahoma won easily and put a 4 touchdown beatdown on UConn. The BCS once again proves it's worthlessness.

OSU President, G. Gordon Lee, earlier in the season made some disparaging comments about TCU and BSU. At the same time he was praising his conference, The Big Ten, calling it a "murderer's row".

The "murderer's row" started out 2-0 in bowl games, with both Iowa and Illinois winning their games. However yesterday, the Big Ten conference had 5 games. Guess how many they won? That's right, they won a grand total of 0 of those games. Some of the games weren't even close. Wisconsin didn't embarrass themselves and were evenly matched with TCU. Both Northwestern and Penn State lost by relatively respectable scores, but lost. However Mississippi State put a whooping on Michigan 52-14. I think that's the final nail in the coffin for RichRod. Then Alabama destroyed #9 Michigan State. Also Nebraska, who's joining the Big Ten next year got into the act. They lost to Washington 19-7. That wouldn't be such a big deal but Nebraska had destroyed Washington earlier in the season 56-21. It looks like you'll fit right in the Big 10 Nebraska.

Thankfully the Big 10 is in only one more bowl game, in what should be a good game Arkansas will play Ohio Stateon January 4th, 2011. That's G Gordon Lee's school, the Buckeyes.

themusicaddict

The BCS strikes again! Let's hope college football survives this disaster

Hello,

Happy New Year's. I don't know about you but New Year's Day doesn't excite me in the least. I agree with the line from the U2 song, "Nothing changes on New Year's Day". Ain't that the truth. I was in bed a bit after 11:00 last night, the only reason I stayed up that long was because I was reading a mediocre book and I just can't give up on it at this point. (For those of you wondering it's Greg Iles "The Devil's Punchbowl". From what I've read so far I can't reccommend it.

For me two good things about New Year's Day, the first is I get it off from work. Reason 2: College football all day. There are two games that I'm most interested in. The first is the TCU-Wisconsin game, this should be a hard fought battle. I'm predicting TCU will win this game, but not by much. Although it would be funny to see TCU blow out Wisconsin in a rout. Wisconsin has run up the score on a lot of helpless teams this season, it's time for them to receive some payback. I hope a lot of the nation watches this game to see how good TCU is.

The second game I'm interested in is the UConn-Oklahoma game. The last I heard Oklahoma was a 17.5 point favorite, that's how little respect 8-4 UConn is receiving. Of course, when you are only 8-4 and won a very mediocre conference, how much respect do you deserve. I have nothing against UConn, other than they shouldn't be in a BCS conference game. I hope Oklahoma just destroys them. Oklahoma is 0-5 in their last 5 BCS games, so who knows?

themusicaddict