Melancholy Songs, Dodgers 2012 Excitement, Dwight Howard: Overrated (Updated May 16th, 2013)

Hello,

For some reason I had a melancholy song kick yesterday, here are a few that grabbed my attention.

I love Madonna. Although the second half of her career has been far less stellar than the amazing first half, she's still releases good songs. This is one of them, "The Power of Goodbye":



This is one of the sweetest songs of all-time. And I realized Elvis is woefully under represented on my blog. "Can't Help Falling In Love With You":



"The End of The World"- Skeeter Davis:



Yesterday I spent close to 45 minutes trying to find the definitive version of "You Belong To Me", but wasn't able to find it. Jo Stafford and Patti Page sing the two most popular versions of the song. A lot of other great people sing it too like Vonda Shepherd, Dean Martin, Patsy Cline. Avoid Bob Dylan's horrendous version if you possibly can. But when I hear a definitive version of this song in my head, none of the recorded versions match that.

There are some things that will make the definitive version of this song. For one, the song needs to be sung by a woman. I'd also give it a bit faster tempo and and it has to be sung with a lot of wistfulness. It's almost like the singer is expecting her lover to come back, but she isn't 100% sure he will. I don't know how to say it in musical terms, but the song needs to be sung with a throaty voice. I would love to hear Adele interpret this song. I hear some versions of this song with a country twang, that definitely doesn't help the song. The country twang actually is a distraction.

I can't say I'm a fan of Carla Bruni's version, but her version is intriguing:



The great Patsy Cline's version:



I thought for a minute this might be that definitive version I was looking for. This is an unknown woman singing this song. Her name is Stephanie Leigh, she sings probably the closest version of that definitive version I hear in my head. I like when she briefly increases the tempo at the :27 second mark. Her voice is sort of close to that definitive voice I hear singing this song. Stephanie is also attractive and I like her personality. (Stephanie, stay away from "Body of Proof".)



And this is a different song with the same title. I love that both Carly Simon and the Doobie Brothers sing this "You Belong To Me". However no one will ever top all the different kinds of musicians that sing "The Locomotion", what a wildly divergent selection of people sing that.



The Platters "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes":



I've been reading a lot about the new Dodgers ownership. The more I hear, the more excited I am. My only concern is how will paying $2 billion dollars to Frank McCourt to buy the Dodgers affect the new owners cash-flow. Besides buying the team, they also have to add players, renovate Dodgers Stadium and build up their farm system? It seems what was once a proud farm system has been left in shambles following the disastrous McCourt ownership. Other than those things all is good for this Dodgers fan. An established winner, Magic Johnson, is the face of the Dodgers, one of the most loved sports figures in LA history. It looks like the Dodgers have plenty of money behind them and a baseball executive, Stan Kasten, responsible for a lot of the Braves recent success.

From Magic Johnson to a member of the Orlando Magic. One player I hope the Dodgers don't get is the overrated Dwight Howard. I do realize he doesn't play baseball, but I'm not sure how much he's playing basketball right now. After all that whining about where he wanted to play, he agreed to play for the Magic next season. Following his pathetic performance last night I wonder how excited the Magic are about him now. Howard is one of those players that thinks the world revolves around him. Not only does it not revolve around him, I wouldn't even want him on my team.

I tried to find the same highlights that ESPN showed this morning of the Knicks-Magic game last night. But I couldn't find them on youtube. The highlights show a very disinterested Howard sort of playing. And it's not like he was playing in Dubuque, he was playing in New York. How can he not get fired up to play in New York? Oh yeah, it's because he doesn't care.

I realize many times that stats don't tell the whole story, but I think last nights stats for Howard are right on. He only played 28 minutes, because the Magic got blown out so thoroughly. And it wasn't like he cared anyway. He hit 4 of 7 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line. The below 50% foul shooter was on a hot streak last night! Although the lack of free throw shots he took last night  indicates how inept of a performance he had. Not that the rest of the Magic were really trying hard or playing with any sort of urgency either. The Knicks, not exactly an offensive juggernaut, ran off 21 consecutive points in the third quarter. Why did Orlando even bother to show up. I'm glad I didn't spend my hard earned money to see that lack of effort.

Other stat tidbits, Howard grabbed 5 more rebounds than a dead person, he ended with more turnovers: 6. He scored all of 12 points. The stat that best indicates Howard's lack of desire was the Magic were outscored by 31 points while he was on the floor. 31!! This is suppose to be one of the best players in the NBA on one of the best teams in the Leastern Conference. (I suggest you read the article by Carles' article about Howard over at Grantland.com. Carles compares Howard to one of the Kardashians and how they are famous for being famous. Well said Carles.)

Of course the Knicks did have a big advantage, they were playing without Amare Stoudemire. That will give the Knicks a brief boost.

A couple TV notes. "Body of Proof" isn't a must watch show for me, however I do end up watching all the episodes On Demand eventually. Last night I watched "Going Viral" Part 1. The episode deals with  a plague/illness that's sweeping through Philadelphia and has killed several people. Again this show is decent, but last night's episode was excellent. I was sad that I couldn't go back to On Demand and watch the "Going Viral" Part 2. I love all the characters. For instance, Megan Hunt and Kate Murphy (played by the gorgeous Jeri Ryan, who broke all those Borg hearts so many years ago.)  I like John Carrol Lynch playing the gruff Bud Morris. But honestly all the characters and the actors that play them are great. As a guest star Luke Perry, to my extreme surprise, was a great addition last night.

However I was disappointed by one thing about  "Body of Proof" last night. They killed off the hottie that's played by Nathalie Kelly. That's so wrong, TV shows should never kill off a hottie. There wasn't any lead up to Dani Alvarez's death either. One second Alvarez, was at a club waiting for her man. The next second she was rushing out to the street and getting hit by a vehicle. However it was the weird disease/plague she acquired that killed her. I'm hoping the reason her character was killed off is because she is moving on to a better situation. (Update May 16th, 2013: I haven't seen the lovely Miss Kelly in anything since her "Body of Proof" run. Not only that but "Body of Proof" has also been killed off.)

May 16th, 2013: I see you people looking at this blog, so I added a couple of videos for you and improved the writing a bit.

I couldn't find a picture that does Nathalie Kelly justice. She's a woman that looks better in movement than standing still. Rest In Peace Dani Alvarez, long live Nathalie Kelly.

I hope she does better for herself than this movie I've never heard of.

Finally with not being able to watch "Body of Proof" "Going Viral" Part 2 yet I looked for something else to watch. I could have watched part, or all, of the season finale of "Alcatraz", but I just wasn't up to it. It hasn't earned a second season and I expect it to be cancelled any day now. I really wanted to watch the latest episode of "Smash", but it isn't On Demand yet. (Come on Comcast! :)  

Instead I watched the final episode of "Mad Men" Season 4 "Tomorrowland". Don and Megan, his secretary, go to California with Don's three kids. While he's working, she's basically in charge of his kids. One of the places she takes them to is Disneyland. Tomorrowland is one of the attractions that Bobby Draper wants to see. I loved that we didn't see Tomorrowland in this episode. It was even more interesting now that I know what happens in the first two episodes of Season 5. 

I really like the character of Megan in "Tomorrowland", but not quite as much in the first two episodes of "Mad Men's" Season 5. It seemed that Don was on the verge of telling Megan who he really was. It seems she knows all about his Dick Whitman past at the start of Season 5. When his kids saw the Dick + Anna on the wall of Anna's old house, he even told the kids a bit about his Dick Whitman past. I also forgot how much Betty Draper was throwing bedroom eyes at Don in "Tomorrowland". (Although we don't see January Jones in the first two episodes of Season 5, her absence was felt.) If "Mad Men" is ever searching for a new title, I suggest "The Many Wives of Don Draper". 

Anyway "Tomorrowland" was overall a great episode, setting up for Season 5. It tied together so many loose plot ends so well. Matthew Weiner is a genius when it comes to pacing, smart storytelling and visual flair. (Can you tell I love this show?) Hey Matthew could you possibly work with Veena Sud, the alleged show runner (maybe show killer would be better) of "The Killing"? She's terrible at all the things you are so great at. Her plots have too many loose ends and she drags out the most boring story lines to ridiculous lengths. (For instance Bennet Ahmed, who will be the new mayor of Seattle etc.) Of course one of the most boring story lines is who killed Rosie Larsen in the first place. Does anyone care at this point? I'm sure whoever is will be a killer that makes no sense. Also Matthew please tell her to stop all the rain in her show!

themusicaddict

Dodgers New Ownership (Probably), Dallas Cowboys, Van Hagar's "OU812"Crunch

Hello,

Great news came yesterday for all Dodgers fans, Frank McCourt is finally on his way out as the Dodgers owner. Although it seems McCourt will be still holding on to a small part of the business. He'll own half share of the Dodgers Stadium parking lots. (I'd think that McCourt would most want to sell the parking lots. Due to the McCourt's strained financial situation last year, he chose to cut money from the security budget. On opening day a San Francisco Giants fan was beaten so badly that he was in a coma for a few months.)

If McCourt still owns a minor share, that's okay, just as long as his drama and financial limitations don't plague the Dodgers anymore. Although I'm not a Lakers fan, Magic Johnson has always been a winner. He did win 5 NBA Championships with the Lakers, and he was a vital piece to those teams. For me the enduring image of Magic during his NBA run is him with an incredulous look on his face, his arms splayed palms forward as he stares down a ref. He's not the first or last player to think he never committed a foul. Johnson also has shown himself to be a charismatic presence and has had much business success. Reading back what I just wrote, he's the anti-McCourt.

The Dodgers are also bringing in long time baseball executive Stan Kasten. The real money behind the deal is Mark Walter. He's CEO of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners. The Dodgers were sold for the mind boggling number of 2.15 billion dollars. Some economists are saying the deal "makes no sense". This deal is almost assuredly going to happen, but this is just the first step to the ownership transition process. Another big step is the deal has to receive approval from the Federal Bankruptcy Court.

Now with some real money finally behind the Dodgers, I expect them to surround Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp with other great players. Kemp and Kershaw will be the Dodgers foundation as this team starts to build itself back to relevancy. The fact that Don Mattingly led last year's injury plagued team to a record above .500 is amazing. That should give him room to grow this team. The Dodgers haven't won the World Series since 1988 and it's about time they win another one or two. (Thanks to espn.com.)

I can wear my Dodgers hat with a sense of pride again. Even if they don't win immediately it seems they are at least finally on the right path.

From a team moving in the right direction to a team going the wrong way, I know when Dallas will lose their 2012 undefeated season. The Cowboys open the upcoming season against the defending Super Bowl winning Giants on September 5th. (I still can't believe that Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin have won two Super Bowls.) Not only is the game in New York, the Cowboys have forgotten how to beat the Giants and Tony Romo is still their quarterback. Also the Cowboys choke when they are in front of a nationwide audience. At the end of September 5th the Cowboys will be 0-1. Jerry Jones will be still be surprised that the team he's running into the ground will have lost.

One more NFL note. I love the NFL, they eventually make their way to the right decision. However it usually takes them a few steps. The owners voted for the same overtime rules to be used in the regular season as in the postseason. I'm not sure why they didn't start out that way. The NFL owners are now halfway to making the right decision about overtime. The NFL's overtime rules still remain ludicrous.

The officials flip a coin and whoever wins the flip gets to pick if they get the ball first or second. Well duh, of course the coin flip winner will always choose to take the ball first. Especially under the old rules when if you score you win the game. The other team didn't even get a chance to equal or tie the game. (Perhaps one of the dumbest rules ever, putting too much on luck to decide a game.) Now the rule has been changed to if you only score a field goal, the other team gets a chance to equal or tie the score. That is unless the first team scores a touchdown and then it's game over. This was seen in the Broncos overtime win against Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year.

Eventually the NFL will get to the point where both teams will get a chance in overtime for possession no matter what the team getting the ball first does.

Currently I'm rocking out to Van Halen's "OU812" as my driving music. They have 4 great songs in a row. This is the 4 songs in a row, listened to with a lot of volume of course.

"When It's Love":



"Finish What Ya Started":



"Black and Blue":



"Sucker In A 3 Piece":



themusicaddict

"Mad Men": "A Little Kiss": The Great Return

Hello,

After being away for 17 months, "Mad Men" returned with a vengeance last night. We had the two part Season 5 debut, "A Little Kiss", last night. I was reminded why I love this show so much. I can't give an honest evaluation of an episode of "Mad Men" for a few hours after the show ends. That's because as I think about it, all the subtle connections come to my mind.

For instance, the connection that ties the start of the first of the episode to the end of the second episode. At the start of "A Little Kiss" we see civil rights protestors. They are underneath the offices of Young and Rubicon, a competitor to SCDP. The employees of "Young And Rubicon" are getting agitated by the loud chanting. They decide to take action and throw bags of water at the protestors.

SCDP publishes a mock ad tweaking Y&R stating that SCDP is an equal opportunity employer. At the end of the second episode we see the SCDP waiting room filled up with several black people looking for an opportunity. Roger Sterling has one of his classic Sterlingisms: "Is it just me, or is that lobby full of Negroes." Of course it was Lane, the most adult of the senior partners that took care of the problem. He excused all the gentlemen saying SCDP was only hiring secretaries. (Yep it's definitely the 60s.) He then actually took resumes, but does he have any intention of hiring anyone? Will we see a black secretary in the next episode of "Mad Men"? Previously one of the most visible black characters I can think of is the elevator operator in the early seasons of the show. Also there was Betty Draper's poor put up on maid, Carla. She had a mini "The Help" like defiance of her domestic mistress. I wonder if Betty let Carla use the bathroom at the Draper's residence.

I love how the whole civil rights story line permeated, but never dominated, the first two episodes of this season. Showing the Civil Rights movement made me realize how lilly white this show is. Will that story line be explained or changed this season?

I also enjoyed when Don dropped his kids off at the Francis', Sally asked him if he was coming in. Don replied with the hilarious "Give my love to Morticia and Lurch". The Francis' house sitting back a ways from the street does appear spooky and forlorn. Speaking of the gorgeous January Jones I'm sad to hear that she won't be on Season 5 very much due to her real life pregnancy.

Other excellent scenes: Even though, or is it especially since Pete Campbell is a wienie and acts like a spoiled brat, he does still has his moments. I love how he responded when he found out that Roger was trying to poach his clients. He spitefully had his secretary write a fake appointment for Pete to meet with Coca Cola at 6:00am in Staten Island. Later in the same episode, we see Roger dressing for the day in the early morning. I'm sure Roger hasn't been up that early in the morning on purpose for a long time. Moments like that is what makes this show so great. Actually Roger and Pete remind me quite a bit of each other. They are both very spoiled, neither one seems to be thrilled with their wives or their lives, both had too much given to them. Roger has a sense-of-humor, but sometimes one can forget with his humongous sense of entitlement. One thing in favor of Pete is that he has a much higher work ethic.

What was up with Megan's sex kittenish dance. I'm sort of surprised that Don and Megan actually got married. It seemed an impetuous decision by both. My guess would be  that the relationship would end before marriage. I also wonder should Don ever get married? He seems not the type that is happy in a marriage or with one woman? I have to admit when I first heard someone say that Mr. and Mrs. Draper wasn't in the office yet, I was expecting Don and Betty to show up. When Don and Megan showed up together, I was reminded that Betty is now Mrs. Francis. It's interesting Megan knows about his Dick Whitman past though. Betty has no clue and they were married a long time. Did Don tell her before or after they were married? What about her or him made him want to tell Megan? Does he regret telling Megan? If he doesn't will he eventually regret telling Megan? Will their marriage survive this season?

I think this song would have been much more effective at the end of the first episode where the lovely Megan was looking out over Manhattan.



What should I watch tonight? Since I watched the two hour premiere of "Mad Men" last night, I didn't have time to watch last night's "The Good Wife". Tonight there's also new episodes of "Castle", "Smash" and the two hour finale of "Alcatraz". I'll probably be putting off "Alcatraz" until another night. Two hours of a mediocre show can be too much on one night, that's why I'm a little uncertain if I'm going to watch all of the two hour premiere of "The Killing" Sunday. Actually I wonder how many episodes of that show I'll be watching before I completely give up on it. Yes you can say I have very mixed feelings about "The Killing".

One thing I won't be watching is any of the Final Four games, what an absolutely boring assortment of teams. I have no rooting interest in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville or Ohio State. I don't care enough about any of those teams to even hate them. I'm glad Duke was eliminated in the first round, but if they would have made the Final Four at least I would have had something to cheer against. This is the third straight major sports championship I could care less about. First, the World Series which featured the awful St. Louis-Texas matchup. I had no interest in that. Then there was that absolutely boring matchup in the Super Bowl of the Giants-Patriots rematch that very few people wanted to see.

To me the last interesting major sports championship was the NBA Finals. The Heat-Mavericks series was very compelling. The so called Dream Team against the team that had never won the NBA title. Probably the games most talented player vs. perhaps the best shooter in NBA history. Who would win the NBA Championship first: Lebron or Dirk? Now that was a compelling sports story and TV event.

In the NCAA Tourney my last team I was interested in, North Carolina, was knocked out when Kansas went on their game closing 12-0 run. North Carolina didn't have an answer and say goodbye to the Tar Heels. It was obvious North Carolina really missed Kendall Marshall especially at the end of the game.

Trailers are suppose to make one excited for a show, however these trailers make me realize how stupid "The Killing" had become by the end of Season 1.



Things I dread about season 2 of "The Killing". I hate the whole potential conspiracy angle. It's like they are admitting they can't make this show interesting with just a small story. So they need to have this conspiracy to make the story exciting. If Rosie was part of something bigger, wouldn't they have found more clues? Or is that what Holder is hiding? I hate that Holder is part of the conspiracy, maybe. But hell who knows with this show? Also in this preview we are reminded that Belko was intent on assassinating Darren Richmond. It's because he thinks Richmond killed Rosie, which he probably didn't. Too bad Belko is so incompetent that he'll probably miss. I'm dreading to see how that whole thing will go down. I also predict the first two hours will raise more questions than provide answers. It's too bad Veena Sud et al weren't better at providing resolution, rather than leading us on yet another wild goose chase. least it seems there will be less rain in Season 2. That was just another stupid thing about the first thing of the season.

I love the minions. It's time for them to have their own movie. If you are wondering this is their twisted version of The Beach Boys "Barbara Ann".



Yet another great Black Stone Cherry song "Rollin On"



In honor of Madonna releasing her new CD, "MDNA", tomorrow and because she'll never be able to go back to the greatness of her 80's music "Like A Prayer":



Of Madonna's "MDNA" I listened to the 30 second snippets of this CD on amazon.com. In my limited listening, nothing really ground breaking. Also a bunch of euro funk songs that reminds me of her last few CDs. It seems she can no longer just make a pop album.

But that's not as bad as what Lionel Richie has done to most of his and The Commodores great 70's and 80's songs. He has countryfied them. He has taken some of the greatest songs of all-time and made them sound country. Nothing wrong with country music, but there's a lot with these great songs being countryfied. Here's a couple of Lionel Richie songs to get that bad memory out of my head.

This is a sample of how bad these songs sound when put too country music, "Say You, Say Me" particularly takes a hit. In this video watch the bad things Jason Aldean does to that amazing song. That should be illegal.



Now this is how "Say You, Say Me" originally sounded:



A couple other classic songs that I wish Lionel would have never messed with, "Sail On":



"Easy":

A couple more great songs, one that I have featured on my blog a lot and a song I don't recall ever having on my blog. First of all Bon Jovi's "On The Edge Of A Broken Heart":

This may be the wimpiest named band ever, well except for Coldplay and Ambrosia, this is The Poodles. They couldn't have been The Killer Poodles? In spite of their wussy name, this song kicks butt. It's called "Flesh and Blood":



themusicaddict

"Mad Men", "The Killing" and TV Shows You Can Skip

Hello,

Tonight after 17 very long months, "Mad Men" finally returns. The last we left SCDP the year was 1965. From things I've read it seems Season 5 has jumped a bit in time. It seems more than just a few months jump. There are many unresolved questions. Did Don Draper ever marry his secretary? If he married her, will he be able to remain faithful to her? What's the status on Henry and Betty Francis? Although it's early in their marriage, there were starting to be cracks in it's foundation. Am I the only that wouldn't be surprised with a reconciliation between Don and Betty? What's the status of SCDP, they were having problems remaining financially afloat at the end of Season 4. Is Roger Sterling going to actually start working, instead of living off his Daddy's money? Finally is Pete Campbell still as annoying as he always been? Actually I know the answer to that, yes!

I'm so glad one of the most gorgeous women is finally back on TV in January Jones. I also look forward to the very lovely Christina Hendricks back on my TV screen on Sunday nights. I also wonder is Sal returning? I would love to see him back, he's probably my favorite character in the "Mad Men" universe.

Next week the second season of "The Killing" premieres. I'll be watching this show only to mock it for it's stupidity. On the other hand this show does seem to still have some potential, I would like it to see it recapture it's potential. The first half of Season 2 of "The Walking Dead" had a very slow start, but was able to regain it's mojo in the last few episodes of Season 2. Of course a lot of that shift was probably due to the show runner change that occurred mid season. On "The Killing" for some reason even after that atrocious Season 1 finale, AMC still kept Veena Sud as "The Killing" show runner. Sud comes off as a very clueless person. She seems to be unaware why the Season 1 finale was so thoroughly loathed. Even though no one knew if there was going to be a Season 2 until extremely late in Season 1, she was still going to have that same ending. What the hell? She also is very defensive in her interviews.

In spite of Sud remaining "The Killing's" show runner, I still hope it returns to the quality of the first few episodes of Season 1. Unfortunately this show has so many weaknesses, I doubt the likelihood of that. It's so languidly paced and the producers and writers seem to have an inability to have us like any of the characters. If I don't care about the characters, I have a hard time caring about what happens to them. Who killed Rosie Larsen? Who cares? It seems the killer of Rosie Larsen isn't going to be revealed until the end of Season 2. This case has already been stretched too thin. All those episodes devoted to Bennet Ahmed as Rosie's possible killer was a lesson in boredom. (It reminds me of the mind numbing lameness of looking for Sophia in "The Walking Dead". Are these lame story ideas related to rumored AMC budget cuts to keep "Mad Men" around?)

Then who is going to be the next mayor of Seattle, again who cares? That has been an extremely boring storyline. Darren Richmond comes off as a typical slimy politician, he also has a couple of slimy aides. No one ever accused this show of breaking any new ground. Since each hour is a day in the life of this show, we will have to endure the mayoral election of Seattle story line until the end of Season 2. Yawn.

Then for the ending of season 1, how will Veena Sud redeem herself from that stink bomb of an ending. If someone assassinates Darren Richmond, who cares? Detective Linden is finally off to California to be with her semi fiancé. I was surprised she even got on the plane to go and it's no shock to me that she's come back to Seattle in Season 2. Then what's up with Detective Holder? Who is he really working for and what is his agenda?

The whole Larsen family is lame. Michelle Forbes, who plays Mitch Larsen, is a terrible actress. She must have went to the same school for bad acting as Sarah Wayne Cailles. Mitch Larsen is one of the worst characters ever to grace broadcast TV. The fact she leaves her two kids behind to go on a personal journey is reprehensible. Then Stanley Larsen isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer either. He's too easily manipulated by his wife and I think he's the killer of Rosie. Stanley seems like he could be a really cool character, but maybe not in the hands of this creative team.

I hate this time of year as it seems the networks are keeping most of their new episodes from showing until the upcoming sweeps. All of my favorite shows are hit of miss from week to week. I was bored last night and went to Comcast On Demand to watch some shows. I'm afraid Comcast On Demand let me down. I gave a chance to two shows that I've heard good things about. The first was "Break Out Kings". Besides the gorgeous Megan Fox look alike actress, this show has very little going for it. The hour show  was so boring, that I had to force myself to watch the whole thing. Then the other show I watched was "Happy Endings". I was very disappointed by this show that Entertainment Weekly had said good things about. For a supposed "Friends" like comedy, I don't recall laughing even once. As with "Break Out Kings" I was very glad when it finally ended.

Another show you can skip is "Bent". It has a few more laughs than "Happy Endings" but not enough. I love Amanda Peet and she's good in this show. However the whole show just left me feeling meh.

Great songs:

Another great song from "The Hunger Games" Soundtrack. This is the third great song I've featured from "The Hunger Games" soundtrack. This is the Decemberists "One Engine":



Another great song by the amazing Sinead O' Connor:



themusicaddict

"Hunger Games" review, Peyton The Manning, Tim Teblows

Hello,

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog. I typically don't write about my religious beliefs on this blog. First, that is very personal to me. Two, someone coming to a blog titled themusicaddict probably doesn't want to read about religion. I spent about 10-15 hours working on "My Pioneer Story". The reason I did that is I'll be participating in what's called a Pioneer Trek. For a few days in July, members of my church will be going to Martin's Cove in Wyoming. As realistically as possible we'll be recreating what these very tough ancestors went through. To give us more of a true feeling for this, we were asked to put together a profile of a pioneer ancestor. Either one of the about 45,000 pioneers that emigrated to Utah before the intercontinental train. Or a pioneer in another way. Since I have these pioneer ancestors that survived "Martin's Cove", Elizabeth and Sarah Ann seemed a natural fit.

I saw the much hyped "The Hunger Games" movie yesterday. This was actually a movie that I wanted to see. I loved the actual book and the preview for the movie are amazing. I thought the movie was good, but not great. Although the movie does have a lot going for it, it couldn't live up to the books. I absolutely loved Suzanne Collins' book. "The Hunger Games" is one of the best books I've read in the last several years. The way she wrote that book and how she fits all the pieces together is astounding. Thinking about the movie I've thought about all the things that it leaves out. I realize there's a lot of things that have to be left out or it would be a 10 hour movie. Most of the things left out weren't critical. However I'm surprised no mention was made of District 13 was made, especially since it plays such a crucial part later in the series. If you've just seen the movie, you probably don't even know there is a District 13.

Positives: Jennifer Lawrence is amazing as Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is as great a heroine as Lisbeth Salander. That was just one of the many great acting jobs in this movie. Donald Sutherland as President Snow, Stanley Tucci as Ceasar Flickerman, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy are all great performances. I'm surprised by how good of an actor Kravitz is and Sutherland seems to greatly enjoy playing the slimy Snow.

I loved the early scenes and the eerie music that gave the viewer a sense of foreboding about the rest of the movie. In fact, I thought the score was great. It adds a lot of that dystopian feel to a very dystopian movie. I love the special effects, especially Katniss as the girl on fire.

Negatives: Josh Hutcherson is a lame and weak Peeta Mellark. I liked Hutcherson in "Mysterious Island 2", he just doesn't feel right in the much heavier "Hunger Games". I also wasn't very impressed by Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. In fact, Gale in the movie comes off sort of blank. I don't blame that on Hemsworth, I don't think he was given much to work with. His character needs to be fleshed out in the last two parts of the trilogy.

When the book gets to the actual hunger games, it takes off. That's where the book becomes a classic. But in the movie, the excitement level doesn't jump when the hunger games actually starts. It continues on that same good, but not great, pace. The intensity and the fear of 23 teenagers about to die isn't amped up enough.

Overall I give "The Hunger Games" a B grade. Honestly I left the theatre thinking what could have been. I told my kids I'd take them to see it next weekend, perhaps I'll watch it again. Maybe it will be cooler on IMAX.

If you were wondering what the song was that played over the closing credits, it's Arcade Fire's "Abraham's Daughter":



The Tim Tebow drama continues. I don't know about you, but I'm so tired of this. Tebow is such a drama magnet, that even a simple trade involving him gets complicated. The trade from Denver to New York had 3 procedural glitches which delayed it. But as of 4:00 EST today, Tebow is officially a member of the Jets. One of his new teammates, Antonio Cromartie, complained about Tebow joining the Jets. Cromartie originally said, "We don't need Tebow. We sell out every home game let him go to Jacksonville Tampa or Miami. Our wildcat offense can b ran by (Jeremy) Kerley or Joe McKnight we straight,"

Cromartie was talked to by Jets management and now he has changed his tune. Now Cromartie says, "He's a guy that brings a different atmosphere to the locker room and the huddle," Cromartie told the New York Daily News on Friday. "We were missing that last year -- a guy that can take control and do the things that we need to. (General manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan) feel like he can come in and bring us that spark on offense when he's in certain packages."

It's too bad Cromartie can't say what he really feels. The Jets, already a highly dysfunctional team, now add all the drama and dysfunction that comes with Tebow. Rex Ryan has a hellacious job in front of him, good luck Rex. I hope this whole mess doesn't cost you your job as you seem like a good guy. However I'd be surprised to see the Jets finish above .500 this season. (Don't worry Antonio we don't believe your latest comments, we know you very wisely are just towing the company line. It's the same thing as last week when Troy Aikmen said that Tony Romo will win a Super Bowl some day. Cowboys fans know that just isn't going to happen.)

If I was a NFL owner there's no way I would want Tebow on my team. Numbers in parenthesis are the last and current ranks in ESPN's NFL rankings. Thank you Dallas (13 to 14), Tampa Bay (29 to 24) and San Francisco (3 to 4) for not adding the overhyped Tebow to your team. All three teams already have better and more traditional quarterbacks. Also the Cowboys don't need any more drama than what Jerry Jones provides for them already. Tampa Bay also had made a lot of great moves in free agency. They also have cap room left to add other impact free agents. I expect quarterback Josh Freeman to have a chip on his shoulder to show that last season was a glitch.

Speaking of the Broncos, the signing of Peyton Manning has already paid many dividends. With one of the best NFL quarterbacks ever now on the Broncos, good players are flocking to Denver in droves. (It seems some players didn't want to play in Denver if a non-traditional quarterback like Tebow possibly could be the starter. Why would you want to be a receiver on a NFL team where the quarterback has a weak arm and runs as much as Tebow does?) Tight ends Joel Dreesen and former Colt Jacob Tamme joined the Broncos on Friday. The Broncos had previously added wide receiver Andre Caldwell and cornerback Tracy Porter. The Broncos jumped from 14 to 8 in the latest ESPN NFL Power Ratings. With Tebow gone and the Manning in town, what an exciting time to be a Broncos fan. I still don't regret not being a Broncos fan.

One of my favorite sports stories of this past week is unintentionally funny. That would be Duke's Austin Rivers likely going to leave Duke and announce to enter the NBA draft. Good thinking Austin as you really raised your profile during Duke's scintillating run in this season's NCAA Tournament.

Speaking of the NCAA Tournament North Carolina's offense looked horrific last night. If Kendall Marshall isn't able to go, I don't see how North Carolina will beat Kansas. I'm also surprised with how many great players the Tar Heels have, they don't have a better backup point guard than a freshman. I was also surprised that game was the first overtime game of this tournament.

Great songs:

Lana Del Rey gets a lot of grief for her stiff live performances. However the girl can sing and she also has a lot of great songs. Most people know "Video Games", but she also has the excellent "Gramma":



Yet another Sinead O'Connor song that I love, "Troy":



I love Eddie Vedder's voice. One of my favorite and best Pearl Jam songs, "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town":



One of my many other favorite Pearl Jam songs, "Crazy Mary":



This has been my favorite song over the last several weeks and I'm not sure why, Colbie Caillat's "Oxygen":



Although this blog is only read by a few people on a regular basis, I continue to use it to encourage Vendetta Red to attempt a comeback (or as Norma Desmond says "a return"). I highly encourage all of you to check out their CD "Sisters of The Red Death". This is one of the better songs from that CD:



This is Vendetta Red's most famous song, "Shatterday":



I love Pink, this is "Last To Know":



One of the all-time great and most fun songs ever. I've never seen this version of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock":



Damn that's a good song.

themusicaddict

My Pioneer Story: Elizabeth Simpson Haigh Bradshaw and Sarah Ann Haigh Miller (Updated June 5th, 2013)

Hello,

I see people looking at this blog occasionally. Although I spent about 15 hours compiling and writing this blog, I realized it was still rough. With you fine folks looking at this blog, I decided to spend some time to clean it up. Sarah was so tough and I'm so happy to be descended from her, I just wish I was as tough as her. I pushed handcarts as well in Martin's Cove well in July, 2012. That absolutely wore me out. After the three day trek I was able to drive home. I didn't have to walk 700 miles to downtown Salt Lake like Sarah and family did.

Note: None of this is original writing by me, rather I compiled several different sources of material in hopes of creating a consistent chronology. While I'm sure there are errors, I worked very hard to limit those. I apologize for all errors and take full responsibility for them. I've compiled what you are about to read from mainly four different sources. 1) "Ancestors: Stories of Bendt and Sarah Jane Nielsen and their progenitors." 2) "Rescue of the 1856 Handcart Companies" written by Rebecca Bartholomew and Leonard J. Arrington (available at the Davis County library) 3) A PDF file titled "A Brief History of Martins Cove" 4) "Our Pioneer Heritage"- Kate B. Carter (also available at Davis County library) and other scattered sources.

Again most of this I've directly copied from the above mentioned sources. My main work has been the collating of all the information into hopefully a cohesive whole. I've done a lot of paraphrasing from mainly the first two listed sources. Direct quotes are in quotation marks. The chronology is as accurate as possible though some of the dates may be a bit off. Titles in quotation marks at the end of paragraphs is where I found that information.

(June 12th, 2013: I had someone today comment on this blog. Her name is Carol and it seems we are related. Hi Cousin! Anyway she had a couple of corrections that I would like to post here. As I mention above, all I've done is collate information from many diverse sources. I thank Carol for this additional information:

"Sarah Ann married Franklin STANDLEY, not STANLEY. Then she married Friedrich Ludwig Mueller, but he was later called Lewis Fredrick MILLER and that's how his posterity now knows him. Their son Fredrick Franklin Miller married Catherine Ann James, and their second child, Carrie Miller....")

My pioneer story starts in England on February 10th, 1808, which is when Elizabeth Simpson was born. The Simpsons were clock makers by trade and according to family legend were the inventors of the Grandfather clock. (I wasn't able to confirm this from an independent source. An ancestor inventing the Grandfather clock again may only be family legend.) The Simpsons were very rich, which didn't mean Elizabeth had an easy life. At the age of 9 she was orphaned and was raised by an aunt. At age 26, in1834, she married William Haigh. William and Elizabeth had two children, Samuel and Sarah Ann. William died in about 1840, shortly afterwards Elizabeth converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's more commonly known as the Mormon Church.

Awhile later the missionaries presented the Gospel to Elizabeth. She was baptized in March, 1840 by Elder William Haslam. In 1844 Sarah Ann's mom, Elizabeth, met and married Paul Richard Bradshaw. Ten years after Elizabeth married her first husband, who had died in the meantime, she married her second husband, Richard Bradshaw. They either had 3 or 4 children, this is unclear in the information I have. They either had three children- Robert, Isabella Jane and Richard. Or they may have had four children with a child possibly dying as an infant. Paul Richard Bradshaw died of pneumonia on October 16th, 1849, just 5 years into their marriage. He died three months before the third child was born. (I realize there's contradictory information in this paragraph, two sources with different information.)

Elizabeth and William's only daughter, Sarah Ann Haigh, was born in Bolton, Lancanshire, England on March 14th, 1837. (Sarah is my great, great grandmother.) Three months after Sarah was born, William died. Sarah also had an older brother, Samuel, he was about two years older. Sarah had both her father and stepfather die while she was very young. In 1845, at the age of 8, Sarah was baptized into the Mormon church.

Moving to Zion (Utah) had long been a family dream for the Bradshaw family. The Bradshaw family consisted of widow Elizabeth and her 5 children. The children ranged in ages from 21 to 10. The ability to realize their dream of leaving for Zion came in the summer of 1856, sixteen years after Elizabeth joined the church. As the Bradshaws were about to board a ship leaving England, Elizabeth was faced with a choice. Her two wealthy uncles, staying in England, boarded the boat. They tried to convince Elizabeth to stay in England and they would gladly educate and care for Elizabeth's children. Elizabeth showed her testimony when she told them, "I am going to Zion. The Gospel is true and Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God". ("Ancestors") Having full confidence in her Heavenly Father, the Bradshaws stayed firm in their decision to continue on to America. In her Patriarchial Blessing, Elizabeth was promised that her 5 living children would make it safely to Zion.

In May, 1856 they left Liverpool on the ship The Horizon bound for America. No word on whether it was hard for the Bradshaws to find a ship. But for some emigrants it was hard procuring ships to even get to America ("Rescue"). The largest company of pioneers didn't even sail until the end of May. The following paragraph gives an idea of what crossing the ocean was like.

"Even the swiftest of the sailing vessels required nearly a month to cross the Atlantic. The long journey in cramped quarters gave the emigrants a taste of hardship and difficulty even before the arduous trek across the plains. Most of the emigrants traveled in the steerage where the men were housed in one large compartment and the women in another. The berths were described as being 'about six feet by four feet six, and made of rough boards to hold two persons each.' There were 'two tiers in height, nailed up along the sides of the vessel' The monotony of the long voyage was relieved with dancing 'to the music of a violin and a tambourine.'" ("Ancestors" via Church News, may 31, 1958.)

This group of emigrants, including Elizabeth and her five children, landed in Boston, Massachusetts in June, 1856. From there they went by train and arrived in Iowa City, June 26th, 1856. There was no seasoned lumber left for the construction of additional handcarts, so handcarts were built out of green wood. However the handcarts dried out in the heat of the sun, later causing many handcarts to fall apart. ("Ancestors").

The Bradshaw family was only in Iowa City for roughly two days before they were on the move again. When the first company of immigrants arrived in Iowa, little was ready for them. The Martin Handcart Co. had a heavier share of infants, widows with large families, the sick and aged. ("Rescue") On June 28th, 1856  the Martin Handcart Company left for Zion (Utah). Most of the Martin Handcart Company had a longer wait in Iowa City than the Bradshaw family. Included in the Martin Handcart Company was Elizabeth, 21 year old Samuel, 19 year old Sarah and 3 smaller children. At this point the pioneers had 2 choices. They could leave for Utah late or "winter in a territory (Nebraska) hostile to Mormons, where jobs were scarce and survival depended on homesteading skills they had not learned in factories." ("Rescue")

Ideally people traveling to Salt Lake should be to Independence Rock in Martin's Cove by July 4th. In fact that's why it's called Independence Rock. In spite of that The Martin Handcart company chose to press on and began their 1300 mile journey, it consisted of 576 people, 146 hand carts, 7 wagons, 30 oxen and 850 head of cattle. (This was a tragic Handcart company as about 25% of them died before reaching SLC.)  They had a long wait as they arrived in Florence, Nebraska. The Martin Company left Florence, Nebraska on August 27th, 1856. (Previously Florence had been known as Winter Quarters.)

Travel by handcart was risky even in the best circumstances. LDS Church historian B.H. Roberts later described the whole idea as "possible but not feasible". Carts broke down, cattle stampeded, provisions ran out and the most violent winter to hit the region in many years descended before they were out of the Black Hils. Also many pioneers had disposed of bedding to lighten cart loads and to make room for food. ("Rescue", Page 3)

The Martin Handcart Company received a small blessing at the start of their trek. The first 200 miles of the journey were delightful and the country was beautiful. The grass and game were plentiful. Also everyone was happy they were on their way to Zion. One of the first signs of the struggle to come was crossing the North Branch of The Platte River. To get to Zion, everyone must cross. But many were too old and weak, while others were too young and small to do so. Sarah Ann, one to never back down from a challenge, carried 16 people across the river herself. The five foot tall powerhouse made 32 trips across the swiftly moving water. Even after her and other's sacrifices 13 to 18 people died the next day.

September came and with it cold nights, stormy nights and fierce winds. They had to search for water and wood nightly for fire and the camp. By October winter had set in. Streams they waded in were now filled with ice. The ice froze long skirts and formed icicles which jingled as they walked. While crossing such a river Elizabeth was swept downstream. Sarah Ann grabbed her Mom and held on, thus saving her life.

Also in October it snowed 3 days and 3 nights. The provisions were gone, clothing was worn and thin and bodies were weakened from exposure and lack of food. 576 people left with the Martin Handcart Company, 150 had been left by the wayside in hastily made graves. Some people were buried in snow drifts because the ground was so cold. Sometimes as many as 15 people died in one night.

"Now they sought refuge in hollows and in willow thickets where they waited the fate that seemed inevitable." Sarah Ann said she thought it was over in her mind. She thought: "Could this be the end? Would the Lord lead us over that long hard road, just to let the whole company perish in the storm and cold?" ("Ancestors")

Clearly these were desperate times, it was in this desperate condition that Willard Richards coming from missionary service in England, found them. After seeing their condition he hurried to Salt Lake to report their circumstances to President Brigham Young.

In the October 5th, 1856 General Conference President Brigham Young spoke. He said "On the 5th day of October, 1856, many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with hand carts, and probably are now 700 miles from this place (Salt Lake City), and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them."

President Young, through messengers, urged all the companies that were on the trail to pack up and move forward. The Willie company were slightly ahead of them. The Martin Handcart Company was still on the trail. There were also two other companies on the trail, the Hodgett Wagon Company and Hunt Wagon Company. They were all headed to Salt Lake. Somehow these worn down survivors of Martins' and the other companies were able to go up to 30 miles a day. (Sometimes I whine to myself that I have to drive 20 miles to get to work.)

Coming from Salt Lake, a rescue company voted George D. Grant and Robert T. Burton their leaders. This party of 27 started east on October 8th. Burton who had been on many hard journeys in his life said this was "the hardest trip of his life". "They found the roads hard and dry, this enabled them to travel hard, not stopping until late evening to camp and pasture the animals. If they, 'strong men with good outfits' found the nights severe, what, they wondered, must be the plight of old men, toddlers, and women trying to pull handcarts?" ("Rescue") Grant's party reached Fort Bridger on October 12th.

19 October the Martin Handcart Company crossed the North Platte River, perhaps at Bessemer Bend. "On 21 October, after leaving William Kimball and six teams to assist the Willie company, George Grants' rescue squad numbered eight wagons and about twice that many teamsters and horsemen. The party proceeded east along the Sweetwater, still traveling blindly with no knowledge about the location or condition of the remaining handcart and oxen companies." The Martin Handcart company was about 3 weeks behind the Willie Company. Grant had expected Martin's Company to be at least to Devil's Gate. ("Rescue")

Martin's Handcart Company had only got to Greasewood Creek. Very roughly they were still 60 miles east of Devil's Gate. Grant's men came to their rescue and helped them get to Devil's Gate. November 3rd, unknown to the pioneers they only had 3.5 more weeks and they would be in SLC, a council was held to discuss whether to winter at Devil's Gate. However with many people needing medical care, it was decided to move on as soon as the weather broke. Unfortunately 12 to 18 inches of snow fell and temperatures dropped to as low as 11 below 0. There was a stockade that was able to provide them some relief as they were able to spend time there. After several nights there, they were told to cross the river. It wasn't more than two feet deep at Devils Gate, but it was 90 to 120 feet across. They were discouraged after earlier crossing the North Platte River. Once they crossed they stayed at Martin's Cove, also called a ravine, for "five hungry days". ("Rescue")

As the rescue party hastened to aid the disparing survivors, their plight became more and more serious. Many of the company had died, those who remained were too weak and sick to press forward. One of a rescue company, there seems to be more than one, was Franklin Stanley. He later married Sarah Ann.

On November 9th the Martin's Handcart Company left Martin's Cove. On November 11th they camped where Bitter Cottonwood Creek met the Sweetwater. The Willie Handcart Company got into SLC on November 9th, 1856, three weeks before Martin's Company. In mid-November relief teams were on the way to the Martin Company. By November 28th the first of Martin's Company were crossing Big Mountain and facing 4 feet of fresh snow. Someone said of the Martin and Willie Handcart companies: it "was the worst disaster in the history of Western Migration".

The Martin's Handcart Company arrived in Salt Lake on Sunday, November 30th about noon. "The faithful saints were assembled in the Tabernacle, with President Young presiding. Having been apprised of the imminent arrival of the belated emigrants, he spoke to the congregation. Among the things he said: "When those persons arrive, I do not want to see them put into houses by themselves: I want to have them distributed in the city among the families that have good and comfortable houses, and I wish all the sisters now before me, and all who know how and can, to nurse and wait upon the newcomers and prudently administer medicine and food to them." ("Ancestors")

104 wagons carrying Martin's Company rolled past the old Tabernacle and halted before the tithing offices where the former Hotel Utah now stands. "Even after the relief wagons descended into the Salt Lake Valley with their pitiable loads, the suffering was not over. Indeed, for many, it was continued through life." ("Ancestors")

The Bradshaws "were sent to Bountiful and their first meal was eaten at the home of Bishop Stoker". ("Rescue") On April 5th, 1857 Sarah Ann and Franklin Stanley were married for time and eternity by President Brigham Young in his office. Just about two years later Sarah Ann Stanley was born on October 31st, 1858. (Connecting generations: 145 years later my son Dylan was born on the exact same day.) Although the Bradshaws had arrived in SLC, that didn't mean the hardships had ended. Franklin Stanley died on February 7th, 1859. Leaving their new born daughter fatherless at 3 months, the same age that Sarah Ann was left fatherless. ("Ancestors")

As her Patriarchial Blessing promised, all 5 living children of Elizabeth lived until reaching Salt Lake. They lived in Bountiful for 6 years before moving to Hyrum. Elizabeth Simpson Haigh Bradshaw died on October 24th, 1872 at the age of 64. She's buried in a cemetery in Hyrum.

Awhile later Sarah Ann had a dream in which she was walking down the street and on the opposite side of the fence she met her husband Franklin Stanley. She told him how difficult life was for her and expressed her desire to come home to him. Franklin said, "You can't come yet, your mission isn't completed. Things will work out better for you than you think. He told her how many months it had been since his death and said "Things have been better for you than you thought they'd be and they'll be better still". In the same dream another man, Louis Miller, a man came walking down her side of the fence and took her arm and they walked away together. ("Ancestors")

Shortly thereafter she met Miller. Many people said of him, "Oh, he's a summer Mormon, he'll leave when the snow begins to fly and things get rough". Times were much different then. Sarah married Louis, who she called Miller, 8 months after Franklin died. They were married in October of 1859. They "spent over for 50 wonderful years together". ("Ancestors")

"Sarah Ann had been sealed to Franklin Stanley, but had never received her own endowments.  After she and Miller were married, they moved to Hyrum to live. But they desired to be sealed together. On the two day journey to Salt Lake, during the night Miller felt that Franklin was standing between them. This feeling was so strongly impressed on his mind that the next day at the Endowment House he acted in behalf of Franklin Stanley. In proxy Miller stood in for Stanley and Sarah Ann was sealed to her first husband. "In spite of this twist of circumstances, Sarah Ann and Louis enjoyed a long and happy marriage. To them were born Louis five sons, Louis, Fredrick Albert Samuel, and James: and one daughter Elizabeth Ann who died young". ("Ancestors")

Louis Miller, who proved he was no summer Mormon, died on December 5th, 1909. The very tough Sarah Ann Haige Miller died at the age of 73 in Hyrum on November 13th, 1910.

One thing I share with my great, great grandmother Sarah is that we are both pleasantly plump. Even when they were on the trail and their rations were cut, people started losing weight. She never did even though she was starving too. I'm so very grateful to my ancestors for all their sacrifices so that I can have the life I have now. They've passed down the blessings of the Gospel and to live in the greatest state in the nation.

themusicaddict

Sigh Tim Tebow again?, Good Luck Jets, "Hunger Games"

Hello,

Yesterday, after several hours of delay, Tim Tebow was traded to the Jets. All the nonsense that goes with Tim Tebow has already started. First of all let me say the Jets gave up way too much for Tebow. (I also realized when Peyton Manning was saying nice things about Tebow, at his press conference, that he probably knew that Tebow was on his way out.) Denver was able to add by subtracting Tebow.

The Tebow crap has already started and it's going to happen all season. New York Jets do you have any idea what you have committed yourself to, all for a second string quarterback? Coach Ryan, the owner and GM be prepared to be questioned on just about everything unless Mark Sanchez has an amazing season and leads the Jets to a Super Bowl. By the way Jets fans, both of those things happening is highly unlikely.

The Jets GM, Mike Tannenbaum, says that the starting position is Mark Sanchez's. Tebow says he's just coming in to "compete". Well what happens if the Jets start out 0-3? What will Rex Ryan do even if Sanchez is still healthy? If Ryan feels pressure, or gets desperate, and gives Tebow the start what's going to happen then? How about if the Jets win that game, but Tebow only has a mediocre game, what does Ryan do then? Honestly when Tebow was leading the great Bronco's comebacks, he didn't have amazing statistics.

If the above scenario happens he'll cause even more distractions than he already has. I predict in the above scenario that he would lead the Jets absolutely nowhere. The Broncos had a fortuitous set of breaks to even make the playoffs last year. And please don't give me the Tebow lead the Broncos back to all those fourth quarter wins after being down in the game. First of all a lot of that was due to Broncos quarterbacks being so inept the Broncos hadn't scored a lot of points. Also Denver had a great defense last season. Don't even start me on the stupidity of the Broncos hosting the Steelers in the playoffs, even though Pittsburgh had won 4 more games during the regular season. Also please don't start me on the ridiculous NFL playoff overtime rules. Why a team that plays in a horrendous division and backed into the playoffs gets home field advantage over a much better team makes no sense. Also Pittsburgh played in a much better division.

And to all those blind, misguided Tebow lovers, let me just remind you of the stats from his last game. In that game, against a real quarterback Tom Brady, the Broncos were destroyed 45-10. Tebow was 9 for 26, which means almost two-thirds of his passes were incompletions. He threw for only 136 yards with a qb rating of 52.7. He also had 5 carries for 13 yards. He was below mediocre on all his stats. He accomplished this against the NFL's 31st rated defense. That means the Patriots were the second to last worst defensive team in the NFL. Yeah I would give up a 4th round pick and throw in $2.5 million for Tebow. Not! Denver signing Peyton Manning and dumping Tebow while getting something back was a great move by John Elway. Denver really came out well in this deal.

Tannenbaum has said that Tebow will be the back up quarterback. Drew Stanton, who had just signed to be the Jets backup quarterback last week, now says he wants to be released. Look at all the drama Tebow has already caused and he only has been a Jet for one day.

Also will someone please slap the idiot who came up with Timsanity.

Other sports news: The Sweet Sixteen kicks off tonight. I have to admit I don't have a lot of excitement about tonight's match ups. None of tonight's games have anything interesting for me. Tomorrow night's games looks to be much more interesting as I'll be cheering for the Tar Heels. It would also be awesome if Kentucky and Kansas could lose as well.

The Knicks have won 5 games in a row. This whole story reminds me a lot of the Tebow fiasco. Making something that's mediocre seem to be so great. Even though the Knicks have won 5 games in a row, they still only have a 23-24 record. That puts them solidly in the Eastern Conference's 8th seed, which means they would get trampled by the 1st seeded Bulls if the playoffs were to start today.

Early reviews are in for "The Hunger Games" movie, so far they've all been good. If I can find an open seat I'm going to see this movie tomorrow. I've read that the makers of the movie haven't messed very much with Suzanne Collins excellent story, thank goodness. Collins wrote that first book with so much skill and thought. She was able to tie so many different story lines in the book in a logical way.

Before I get to some great songs, just a brief thought. This morning I spent a few minutes changing out the CDs in my car stereo. The CD's I had in there had became a bit stale. So I exchanged them with ZZ Top's Greatest Hits and old school Van Hagar. While listening to ZZ Top's Greatest Hits I really wanted to listen to "Stages", one of my top two or three favorite songs of theirs. It's not even on their Greatest Hits. However "Stages" will be on my blog today.



Thanks to my brother's recommendation I heard about a great band, Foxy Shazam. Thanks to Spotify I was able to listen to all their music free. That includes their excellent cover of "Heaven On Their Minds" from the "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack.



No this isn't Paramore, but it does sound a lot like them. The female lead singer is even red headed like Paramore's Hayley Williams. This is actually a band named Damone, according to wikipedial.org Damone hasn't been active since 2008.  The song is called "Out Here All Night":



Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", sung by the best Journey singer, Mr. Steve Perry.



The great Waylon Jennings and "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?":



Elefant's "Uh Oh Hello":



Bush's "Machinehead":



themusicaddict

Sports, Foxy Shazam, A Honest Opinion of Since Monroe

Hello,

Both the Utah Jazz and the New York Knicks have won 4 games in a row, I'm not sure which winning streak surprises me more. I love this young and talented upcoming Jazz team. They have a chance to have a lot of success over the next few years.

With NFL free agency just opening there have been many recent moves made. As usual some moves seem to be great and some moves caused me to scratch my head. Rumors this morning were that Tim Tebow might be on his way to the New York Jets. One of the reasons cited for the Jets to make this trade is because of the alleged divisiveness in the Jets locker room. I'll have to admit that logic made me laugh. Bringing Tim Tebow, one of the most polarizing players in the NFL, to the Jets to help a divisive locker room? Really?

Later the Jets did pull the trigger on that trade, trading a 4th round pick to the Broncos for Tebow. The Jets are now set for mediocre quarterbacks on their roster. Welcome to dysfunction junction Tim. When Mark Sanchez struggles, which he probably will, the fans will start calling for Tebow. It will be a media circus again, only this time in the biggest market in the USA. Sadly the Tebow hysteria will continue until he falls flat on his face. Again I love ESPN, but leading off Sports Center with Tim Tebow. That's saying Tebow is the biggest sports story of the day. How is a second string quarterback such a big story? The amount of time that's spent on a over rated back up quarterback is mind boggling. (Update: now comes word that a snag has been hit in the Tim Tebow to Jets trade.)

Matt Flynn signed a three year deal with the Seahawks. I see this as the Seahawks admitting they made a mistake when they signed Tavaris Jackson last season? I have no idea why that would be a surprise to them, I could have told them that last season.  Seattle is saying that the two players will compete for the starting quarterback job. I predict that Flynn will win the starting qb position, but it won't matter. The Seahawks will remain a mediocre team either way.

The Dallas Cowboys signed Brandon Carr, Kyle Orton and other nice pieces in the first few days of free agency. I don't think Orton is a better quarterback than Tony Romo, but I hope he pushes Romo to be a better quarterback. Also Troy Aikman said yesterday that Tony Romo is a better quarterback than him and predicts Romo "will win a Super Bowl before he's done playing." Aikman is drinking the Jerry Jones Kool Aid. How will Romo go from leading the Cowboys to the playoffs infrequently to winning a Super Bowl? Um, he won't. For those keeping score at home, Aikman has won 3 times as many Super Bowls as Romo has won playoff games.

Will Dallas' free agency moves matter? No, it won't because because the Cowboys haven't solved either one of their two biggest issues. Jerry Jones is still making personnel decisions and Tony Romo is still the starting quarterback. It will be another wasted season in Dallas.

The 49ers flirted with Peyton Manning before he decided to take his talents to Denver. I'm not a Broncos fan, but I'm a fan of that signing. (I do pay some attention to the Broncos. That's because I failed as a father and my oldest boy likes the Broncos.) As if people didn't know already, we found out how much John Elway liked Tim Tebow. Just one day after Manning's introductory press conference, Tebow is elsewhere. Does the signing of Manning have some risks, definitely. His health is a big issue, he hasn't played for over a year, he's 36 years old and the Broncos are tying up a lot of cap room to sign him. However Manning is also one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He's a great quarterback playing for a young and upcoming team. A team that has a great defense. This signing will either go down as one of the best or worst free agency signings ever.

But if nothing else they got rid of the Tim Tebow headache.

In the Men's NCAA Tournament, "my" team got eliminated. That team being Murray State, the Racers just didn't have enough to hang in their final game. Isaiah Cannan is a fun player to watch, but his shooting percentage in the two Tournament games was abysmal. The team I'll be cheering to win it all is the Tar Heels. In North Carolina's last game, Kendall Marshall fractured his wrist. It's unlikely that he'll play Friday against Ohio. The Tar Heels should still be able to get past 13th seeded Ohio. However they'll be vulnerable in their battle to make it into the Final Four.

I receive e-mails from time to time for companies form music pr companies. The press release they issue tells me how great a band is. I received one such e-mail yesterday, the band's name is Since Monroe. From the press release I thought this band would be good as "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor" Arctic Monkeys era. Unfortunately they aren't even close to that. They also aren't the worst band ever. But from the four songs I've heard my initial reaction is that they won't be superstars. They don't have any music on Spotify and only one video on youtube.com. If you like this their debut CD comes out Tuesday. This song is titled "DJ", it has all of 15 views. I think their pr firm needs to work on other things besides e-mailing me. Also their official website, sincemonroe.com, is terrible.



The PR firm, Alt PR, provided me links to four of their songs and asked for my opinion of them. So I sent back my honest opinion of their music. Awhile later I received this extremely defensive response:

"Craig,

Since Monroe are a brand new band that are looking for support. I would rather you not support them at all than write the negativity you included as it doesn't help anyone out being so negative without real reasoning. They don't have music on Spotify because their debut EP is not out yet and they don't have anything on Youtube because, again, they are a brand new band.

We're gonna remove you from our list so as to avoid me and you from having to waste our time like this in the future.
Thanks"

I'll admit I've been wrong about bands before and I may be wrong in this case. If so that's fine with me. However AltPr asked me for an opinion and I gave them an honest opinion. In this corporate America world I know no one really wants a honest opinion unless it's the "right" opinion. I was only stating how I felt, it's just my opinion. I also want to point out there are a lot of brand new bands that have several videos on youtube.com. Lana Del Ray had several videos on youtube a few months before her debut CD was released. I'm not talking official videos either, I'm even including fan made videos. If the music is good, people will follow. I will always give my opinion, feel free to disagree. Feel free to send e-mail explaining why you disagree. Not every person likes the same bands and thank goodness for that. 

Now on to a much better band. Thanks to my bro for introducing me to Foxy Shazam. I don't know if I would have ever heard of this band unless they had broke veryy big. However they have several great songs. Again this is just my opinion, but I didn't need a PR firm to blow smoke up my butt about how good this band is. I heard about this band due to word of mouth. Here's a selection of their great songs:

"Welcome To The Church of Rock and Roll":



This might be my favorite of all their songs, "Holy Touch":



"Last Chance At Love":



And a great song from the past, a great song from Smashing Pumpkins.



Both the latest All American Rejects and "Hunger Games" CDs aren't available on Spotify. That's so disappointing. However thanks to iTunes I was able to hear enough of this song for me to realize this is a pretty cool song. This is another Taylor Swift song from "Hunger Games". "Eyes Open" is a very cool song:



Another cool song, this is Metrics "Gimme Sympathy". "Who'd you rather be,  the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?" they sing. (Actually I'd prefer Led Zeppelin, Smiths or Pink Floyd thanks.)



Speaking of the Smiths:



 themusicaddict

"The Walking Dead" Season 2 finale "Beside The Dying Fire"

Hello,

This episode started off with the camera zooming in on zombies eating a deer. Next we hear and see a helicopter. The zombies also see it and start following the helicopter. Groups of zombies, like rivers flowing to an ocean, start joining together. It seems many of these zombies migrate near Hershel's farm, but that doesn't seem to be their final destination. Glenn later suggested that the zombies seem to be like migrating. But what would be the purpose of them migrating? Warm weather probably. What kind of internal mechanism do they have that would cause them to migrate?

My thought is they are being lured to one location. But for what reason? I know in season 3 we meet the Governor and that he's in charge of the prison that we see at the end of the finale. Is the Governor luring the zombies? I believe in the graphic novels the zombies are made sport of. But I also wonder if this is an attempt by a group of survivors to kill off a large amount of zombies at once. A strategy that I've been pushing for for a long time now.

Rick and Carl are having a heart to heart talk when they noticed the zombies are all around them. They work their way through the zombies to the barn. The zombies chase and are intent on getting them. When was the last time the zombies ate? In a scene that makes no sense to me. Rick pours a bunch of gas on the floor and then lets the zombies in, using himself as bait. Then the smallest action hero Carl drops the lighter on the floor setting many in the zombie herd on fire. My question is why open the door and put themselves at jeopardy? I suggest starting the fire is a great idea, it will kill off several zombies.
(Potential band names: Zombie Herd.)

Rick and Carl escape by jumping on top of the RV that drove up to the barn by one of Hershel's random family members. The RV is then overrun by the zombies. Didn't they have a contingency plan to get him out of the RV? Or was that intentional by random family member of Hershel? If it was it certainly makes that lame character much more interesting. Patricia is killed by the zombies as she was holding on to another random Hershel family member Beth. The girl that ew.com calls Suicide Girl. Other than Hershel and Maggie, the rest of his family was completely boring. Hershel only became interesting in this final episode. (In an interview with ew.com "The Walking Dead" executive producer, Robert Kirkman said the deaths of Jimmy and Patricia were very "emotional". Um no they weren't at all. I was so disinterested in these characters that I didn't even know their names. I only know because of that interview with Kirkman.)

We also had to see more of the horrendous acting of Sarah Wayne Cailles. She plays Lori Grimes. She's as lame a character as a random Hershel family member, but she receives a lot more screen time. And her screen time is filled with terrible acting and way too many speeches. Instead of having the fight or flight instinct. She has the dither or whine instinct. Of course she had misplaced Carl again. Yawn. I'm not really caring about this boring family unit. I was rooting for the zombies to get Lori. Too much time was spent on the character of Lori Grimes overacting screaming for Carl. Yawn again. The Grimes family is lame.

Hershel is defiantly defending his property. He has a shotgun and several bullets as he takes out the zombies one by one. The same man that previously housed zombies in his barn, thinking they still had some humanity in them, is now massacring them. But one thing that bothered me about this scene is that Hershel never looked behind him. For whatever reason although these characters live in a world where one can die anytime, they seem to be pretty calm. Of course this also could have been seen as a scene where Hershel was going to kill as many zombies as he could before they got him. Like a captain going with his ship. Rick showed up in time to kill the zombie sneaking up on Hershel. I like this new action figure Hershel. Later he even made a joke. He's much more human and thus a lot more interesting. Lori needs to desperately undergo a similar kind of transformation. The whiny Lori Grimes has overextended her welcome and needs to woman up.

The characters looking like they were having fun mowing down the zombies. A real life first person shooter game. Although if the plan was to get in the vehicles all along, then why did they spend all all that time boarding up the windows? Why did Hershel tell his family to turn off the lights in the house? How did they have electricity anyway. There wasn't a whole lot that made sense on Hershel's farm.

Andrea was somehow left behind, over the last few episodes she's turned into a much more interesting character. She became a crack shot and has learned how to take care of herself, which ultimately was the difference in her living. It looked like she was going to be zombie food, out of nowhere Michonne showed up. That's awesome, I've heard a lot of good things about that character. Since I've only read the first two graphic novels, I don't know much about the character. Her back story has been published recently and I would love to read it. Too bad it's published in slimy Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine.

Glenn finally told Maggie that he loved her. I'm sorry if I'm living in the zombie apocalypse, I'm not going to stop in the middle of nowhere to tell someone that I love them. Especially if I love them, I was waiting for a zombie to come out of nowhere and attack their vehicle. But the convenient zombie rule worked in favor of Glenn and Maggie.

T Dawg was driving with Lori and random Hershel family member. T Dawg was all about heading to the coast, but Lori was having none of that. She threatened to get out unless T Dawg turned around and went back. He should have waited until she was about to jump out and then sped up. Unfortunately T Dawg fell for her bluff. T Dawg actually had multiple lines in this episode and has moved higher than a Hershel random family member in the pecking order.

Everyone, except for Andrea, met on the freeway. I loved how the camera lingered on the message to Sophia to stay where she was from back at the start of the season. That was a horribly boring story line. But now that we know what happened to her, that was a sweet moment.

The people that escaped are Hershel, Maggie, random Hershel family member (Beth), Daryl, Carol, Glenn, Maggie and T Dawg.

After an exciting start to the episode unfortunately the characters had time to stop and think. That gave time for more terrible acting by Sarah Wayne Cailles. A terrible actress who also happens to inhabit one of the lamest characters ever. Rick admitted to Lori that he had killed Shane. His description included a lot of bad acting by the actor playing Rick Grimes. Lori wasn't too excited when she found out that Rick had finally had enough and killed Shane. I'd thought that she was over Shane, but I guess not. She stalked off and held on to Carl as if it meant the end of the world. At least she knows where Carl is this time. When she walked away from Rick a bit and the way shehalf way bent over, did she mean to take on the mannerisms of a zombie? Again the most obnoxious character on TV.

Again Rick isn't my favorite character, but by now he has earned the leadership mantle. Why are people still questioning Rick's leadership? I'm glad he pointed out to them where the door is. If you don't like Rick by now, I would say it's time to move on. I was glad that Rick said this was now a dictatorship. I like Daryl and how he stuck up for Rick. The only true challengers to Rick's throne were Hershel and Shane. The first gave up leadership to Rick and obviously Shane has been killed. Daryl doesn't want the leadership mantle.

We finally found out what Jenner told Rick back at the CDC that everyone has the zombie bug. That certainly explains why there are so many zombies. I want to know why does anyone think Jenner's information is that big of a deal? How is this relevant to anybody? Other than when someone dies not by zombie, shoot them in the head. This plot point was so uninteresting that I'd completely forgotten about it.

In the parting shot of this episode the camera focuses on a lighted fortress of some kind. I don't know for sure but I think the characters are about to meet The Governor. We know that he'll be in Season 3 and that his role has been cast. Let's hope Season 3 is more like the second half, than first half, of Season 2.

Zombies are one of the coolest villains and this show still has potential. Thank goodness some of the way too many characters have been killed off. Now the trick is to keep about 10 significant cast members, with a few fringe characters to drive the action occasionally.

themusicaddict

NCAA Tourney Early Thoughts: Go Murray State, The Twin Black Holes of the Knicks

Hello,

I spent several hours watching NCAA basketball and as always there has been a lot of excitement. I'm not surprised BYU got worked by a superior, much more talented Marquette team. Actually I was excited they were able to cut Marquette's lead to 10 with only a couple of minutes left in the game. BYU seems to have a bright future with 3 freshman playing significant minutes. I quite enjoyed the more team first approach this season, than relying on one superstar player.

However besides North Carolina and BYU, I've picked my team of the NCAA Tourney. I'm cheering for the Murray State Racers. The Racers feature the player with the coolest name in the tournament, Isaiah Caanan. It's pronounced cannon. Murray State now has a 31-1 record, next they play the same Marquette team that vanquished BYU. That game will be tomorrow afternoon. I hope I'm able to watch it.

This morning I watched most of one of the ugliest games in NCAA Tourney history. That Cincinnati-Texas game was one for the books in ugliness. From the Longhorns anemic offensive performance in the first 12 to 15 minutes of the first half to their 35% shooting in the game. Thank goodness Cincinnati won so we don't have to see The Big Pasty anymore. That would be Texas' Clint Chapman. I hope he got a good degree because he won't be playing in the NBA next season.

Unfortunately what could have been the game of the Tournament was ruined by either dishonest and terrible officials. That was the UNC-Asheville-Syracuse game. There were at least 3 egregious calls that went against UNC-Asheville. Syracuse goal tended the ball that wasn't caught by the officials. A Syracuse inbounds pass went off a Syracuse player, yet Syracuse was given the ball back. Then the worst example of what the hell where the officials looking at was a lane violation called against UNC-Asheville. Not only was it not a lane violation, but why would you call such a ticky tack play so late in such a close game. The Syracuse player who missed the first free throw in a one-on-one attempt, calmly went to the line and then hit two free throws.

I don't think the officials are corrupt, but they did make three terrible calls. Either corrupt or incompetent it doesn't matter. Those three officials shouldn't ever work a NCAA Tournament game again.

But my favorite basketball related move of the week is the Knicks. I love how well Linsanity worked. Unfortunately that didn't involve Carmelo Anthony or A'mare Stoudemire enough. So even though the Knicks were successful during Linsanity, especially with Anthony out injured, Mike D'Antoni still felt pressure to resign. So what are the Knicks going to do now? They are going to run their offense through their two black Holes, Stoudemire and Anthony. I'm going to love to see how this experiment will work. I'm guessing about as well as Dr. Frankenstein's experiments turned out.

The Knicks are 19-24 overall and have only won 3 of their last 10 games. If the playoffs started today, the Knicks wouldn't be in them. They've completely fallen apart since Anthony came back from injury. Yet they are going to run their offense through him now? New Coach Mike Woodson uses a lot of isolation plays. These plays are also known as the other 4 guys stand around doing nothing. Yes I do realize the Knicks won their first game in the Mike Woodson era. The Knicks protected their home court against the Blazers in their 42 point victory. Knicks fans don't get too excited though. Following that game the Trailblazers fired their head coach.

It will be interesting to see how bad the Knicks will lose their two upcoming games against the Pacers.

Great songs:

I love this great version of "Mother" on Roger Waters "In The Flesh" CD.



"What Shall We Do" was a song that was suppose to originally be on "The Wall" but was omitted due to the length of the main form of music at the time, vinyl. "Empty Spaces" was put in it's place instead. It segues right into "Young Lust". It's too bad of the vinyl limitations it feels much more natural for "What Shall We Do" to segue into "Young Lust".

"What Shall We Do" (this video only has 292 page views):



"Young Lust":



I watched the end of the St. Bonaventure- Florida St. game. I was cheering for the underdog, the team with the wussiest name in the field, the Bonnies. Sadly even though St. Bonaventure has a 43-37 lead at one point, they weren't able to hold on. Florida State's athleticism took over and the Bonnie's shots stopped falling. It remained a tight contest down to the end, thanks to the lights out three point shooting of Demetrius Conger. He only hit two three pointers all game, but he hit them when the Bonnies needed them the most. FSU left with a hard fought, but well deserved, 66-63 victory. In this game there were no egregiously bad calls, especially that benefitted the favored team.

Then Georgetown was just too much for Belmont 74-59. North Carolina was able to knock out Vermont without too much trouble. A bit later the big upset that all fans of Cinderella was looking for happened. #15 Norfolk State, that would be the Spartans for the majority of those that don't know, knocked out #2 Missouri 86-84. That's one of the highest point totals of any #15 seed ever. Norfolk State will next play #7 seeded Florida, a matchup that will occur Sunday.

Now if only #15 Lehigh could knock off #2 Duke and all their pasties that would make my night.

themusicaddict