DaveTronik 2000

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Wednesday, December 24

Happy Christmas Eve! I'm a bit frazzled from holiday shopping, massive amounts of shoveling and grocery store hijinks, and I have plenty of wrapping and other stuff to do before tomorrow, but I'm ready to go.

We're going to my sister-in-law's place tonight, to my mother-in-law's tomorrow, to Maine Friday and Connecticut Saturday. A holiday whirlwind indeed. Assuming our Internet connection is still with us at the end of the weekend -- something's wrong with our wireless modem, I think -- I'll post a wrap-up here Sunday or Monday.

In the meantime, enjoy James Brown's "Soulful Christmas".

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Friday, December 19

The first big storm of the season is upon us as I write this. Schools let out early in Newton, and Beth's office closed at 1:00, so we're all hunkered down. Beth and Owen are playing checkers, Amelia's napping and I'm already thinking about which nips and beers I'll reward myself with after I shovel.

We're mostly prepared for Christmas, having decorated the tree on Sunday. I still have to wrap colored lights on the porch, and put candles in the windows upstairs and bake the fruitcake, but otherwise we're in good shape. Most of the shopping is done. Beth did a fair amount online, and I've done some in the brick-and-mortar world. We are scaling it back a bit with Beth's family, and with my family we give to the kids but just do charitable donations for the grown-ups. I'll admit that as much as Christmas shopping can be a pain sometimes, I miss the creative process, trying to pick out just the right book or CD or sweater or t-shirt or beer stein for people. Still, I don't mind having fewer things to wrap, and making charitable donations is a better use of our money anyway.

Shifting directions now: thanks to my cousin John's son, Matt, for this pop-culture tidbit. He sent this link of deleted scenes from the "Chair Model" episode of "The Office." Watch the whole clip if you want, as it's got some funny stuff, but the part that's of interest to me, and the reason Matt sent it along, is the mention of our mutual hometown, Simsbury, at the 7:08 mark.

Alright, that's it for now.

Friday, December 12

Beth and I went out with friends last night to see Aimee Mann's 3rd Annual Christmas Show at the Somerville Theatre, a really cool and well-preserved old concert and movie venue in Davis Square. Let me say up front that going into last night's affair, I knew little about Aimee Mann other than that she was in 'Til Tuesday (of "Voices Carry" fame) and had done the majority of the soundtrack for "Magnolia," a super-happy film by Paul Thomas Anderson.

The conventional wisdom on Mann is that her music is maudlin and depressing. So despite what our friends Jess and Doug told us about last year's Christmas show -- it's funny, it's cool, it's lots of fun -- I was a bit dubious. Thankfully, they were right.

Mann acknowledged up front that some people might be curious as to why an artist with her reputation would put on a Christmas show. Simply put, she loves the holiday and many of its songs. That's not to say, however, that her revue is totally sappy and festive, although she and her band did some great holiday classics, including "Sleigh Ride," a partial version of "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."), and "Heatmiser" from "The Year Without a Santa Claus."

Mixed in with the holiday classics and some original tunes were a short film take-off on "A Christmas Carol" featuring John C. Reilly, Michael Cera and John Krasinksi; a well-done version of "Old Fashioned Christmas" by Grant-Lee Phillips, a member of Mann's revue and former leader of Grant Lee Buffalo, about whom I only know this song; and some oddball songs by Nellie McKay, a singer, songwriter and former stand-up comedian about whom I know nothing more than what Wikipedia tells me, and who intrigues me (she sang two originals, "A Christmas Dirge" and "Take Me Away," a duet with a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer puppet -- watch part of the latter here).

Stand-up comic Todd Barry was the master of ceremonies. I don't remember any of his bits, but he was funny. Here's a (somewhat dated) clip of him in Australia. If for some reason you plan on watching this clip with your kids, and they're under 18, think twice, as there are some curses. Of course, that didn't stop some guy at last night's show from dropping off his kids, who appeared to be about 8 and 15, telling them, "I have to go" and promising them he'd be back "around 10:15; the show should be about two hours long." All of us agreed that while the revue wasn't particularly offensive to liberal adults, two kids under 18 really shouldn't have been there.

The four of us also concurred that special guest Juliana Hatfield needs to eat a few of these. The one I ate at this place before the show was mighty tasty.

So all in all it was a really good show, although as often happens when I see live music, I got bummed about the fact that I don't play my guitar enough. One of these days The Toastmen will rise again.

Wednesday, December 10

I know the above photo isn't perfect, because Owen's eyes are closed, but it was the best I had from Nonantum's Christmas lighting ceremony this past Sunday. I've also posted a picture here of the 25-foot-tall Mega Santa who hovers over the ceremony like a benevolent dictator.

The major event of the weekend for Owen and me was the New England Auto Show. We went to the show on Saturday with Owen's friend Walter and his dad, Ray. I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pics to put up. Ray took a bunch, but Walter and Owen were moving so quickly through the nine football fields' worth of cars that many of the shots show two blurry little figures darting between the grown-ups as they zip from car to car. We had a good time. My only complaint is that there were far fewer concept cars than they had at last year's show. I guess the fact that the Big 3 automakers are begging for public funds explains that in part.

This is certainly a bummer of a time in America, especially in the auto industry and in all of the industries that feed into it.

Retail is sure to take a hit this season as well, possibly even more so at Newton's Atrium Mall. I did my part today, buying a few things for the kids at the tony shopping mecca. As Amelia and I were leaving the mall's playroom, I overheard a woman on her cell phone talking to a friend, and exclaiming, "It fell on your roof?" I had no idea what she was talking about until a minute later when, after being told that the mall's elevators had been shut down, I commented to a fellow shopper that it seemed weird to shut them down. "I heard that the roof collapsed in the parking garage," she answered.

Sure enough.

Evidently nobody was hurt, but a bunch of cars got crushed. According to the news report linked to above, investigators are concerned about asbestos contamination. People who parked on the level where the ceiling collapsed were not allowed to go to their cars at the time we left. Thankfully we were on a level below that, and got right to our car. We drove by the collapse, which was pretty severe -- a 15 by 100 foot section, according to the news report.

I plan to avoid the mall until I hear that they've figured out what happened and assured people that it won't happen again. I'm sure I won't be alone.

That's it for now. This Saturday we're going to CT for my uncle George's memorial service. On Sunday we're gonna get our Christmas tree and put up lights.

Monday, December 1

This week's excuses: a hit-or-miss Internet connection (modem? wireless card? sunspots?), travel to Connecticut and, as always, my Facebook addiction. Now, on to the blog....

I'll work backwards. Owen is home sick today, and was mostly out of commission yesterday. He has a slight fever and a chest cold of some sort. He feels much better today, so I'm hopeful he'll go back to school tomorrow. The rest of us are fine...so far.

We had a really nice visit to CT for Thanksgiving. My parents hosted 27 people, including my sister; my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew; my sister-in-law's brother and his family; and many cousins and their families. Owen had a great time with cousin Grace and her cousins, Chancellor and Bailey, running around, doing gymnastics, playing games, etc. We got to meet our new nephew, Isaiah, for the first time. He's very cute (see new pictures here, including some of Owen doing tae kwon do, which I'll cover further down), and did very well being held by a lot of different people.

Unfortunately, two days before Thanksgiving, my uncle George died. He was 84, and had been ill, so his passing wasn't a surprise (my cousins consider it a blessing, as he had been suffering near the end, and had Alzheimer's for many years). My cousin Amy set up a slide show on her computer of all sorts of great photos of George and the family. We all watched while we ate dessert and the kids ran amok in the clubhouse in my parents' development. I hadn't seen George much over the last several years, but have fond memories of him. He was funny and fun to watch with his grandkids and the few times he met Owen. When I think of him, I think of him dressed like a typical Yankee at Thanksgiving and Christmas time: flannel shirts, khaki pants (often slight floodwaters) and some sort of boots, or a natty plaid sport coat. RIP Uncle George.

Last Tuesday we finally bought a new car. We traded in my CR-V for a Mazda 5. It seats 6, has an MP3 plug, leather seats and handles like a car, which it is (despite the fact that we've taken to calling it a "mini minivan"). Beth bought a portable DVD system for the car, which came in handy during the slow crawl to CT on Thanksgiving morning.

On Saturday, November 22, Owen passed his latest tae kwon do test. He really likes the class, and is making good progress. Beth and I were impressed by his skills, and are very proud of him and his newly earned green shirt.

I guess that's it for now.

Thursday, November 20

For quite some time now, I've been meaning to post something about a little ditty that's been around for many, many years that over the last several months has become one of my all-time favorite songs. I was making an iPod mix for our July 4th party, going through our entire iTunes list, and decided to add the Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl." That mix, which also features quick pop-punk nuggets such as Television Personalities' "Part-Time Punks" and Camper Van Beethoven's "Take the Skinheads Bowling," and 42 other songs, has become my favorite iPod playlist.

Known best perhaps for their college-radio hit "Bitchin' Camaro," (click here to listen and watch some guy's sort of amusing animated video) the Dead Milkmen put out their first record in 1983 and their last in 2003, although that album, Now We Are 20 comprises tracks from the band's 1993 self-released album, Now We Are 10, and some B-sides and unreleased tunes.

Full disclosure: The above info is from the band's web site. I don't own any Dead Milkmen albums, and don't consider myself much of a fan. I find the occasional song of theirs funny, and probably should be downloading some instead of writing this. I saw them play at The Channel in Boston a long time ago, although right now I can't recall who I went with or who else was on the bill.

Nonetheless, from the first time I heard "Punk Rock Girl" I really liked both the song and the video. I have to admit, though, that I incorrectly recalled there being more footage of the girl in question in the video. Still, a funny video.

So now I'm gonna break down the lyrics a bit, breaking the rule that if you have to explain a joke, then it's not funny.

The third verse:

I tapped her on the shoulder

And said do you have a beau?

Because of singer Joe Jack Talcum's Philly accent, every time I hear this, I think he's saying, "And said do you have a bell?"

So I'm surprised when the verse ends not with a word that rhymes with "bell" but instead this way:

She looked at me and smiled and said she did not know

I love that slacker answer.

Two verses later:

We went to the Philly Pizza Company

So we jumped up on the table and shouted anarchy

This is what made the Dead Milkmen such a good band, the ability to satirize the attitudes of suburban punks. I used to write plenty of anarchy symbols on my notebooks in college, never really thinking what it truly meant: lawlessness, nobody in control, the freedom to do whatever you want, for good or evil.

The second half of that verse is even more priceless:

And someone played a Beach Boys song on the jukebox

On such a winter's day

The first few times through I said to myself, "These guys are idiots. The Beach Boys don't sing that song." Then I realized who the idiot was. They obviously know that "California Dreamin'" is a Mamas and the Papas song, but care so little for it that they just lump it in with the Beach Boys, who by the time "Punk Rock Girl" was written, were a pretty bad excuse for a band.

The second-to-last verse features one of my all-time favorite rock 'n' roll couplets.

We went to a shopping mall

We said if you don't got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin

That last line gets me every time, because if there is such a thing as a mall record shop any more (does FYE still exist?), you'd get the same reaction today about Mojo Nixon.

Anyway, I've indulged myself. Hope I didn't ruin the song for anybody. If I made just one person, one child, anybody, love the song, then it was worth all the trouble. Keep on dreaming....

Monday, November 17

I promise this entry won't be nearly as long as the last one, although I did have a fairly active social calendar last week.

Last Wednesday, my neighbor Mark showed up on my doorstep at 4:30 asking whether I wanted to join him at that night's Celtics game. Two hours later we were heading into Boston, with virtually no traffic and two free tickets for the TD Banknorth Garden (yes, yes, an idiotic name) Premium Club. A guy from his health club dropped the tickets in his lap and refused to accept money for them. Mark and I joked about just what exactly this guy might want in return -- use your imagination and I'm sure you can re-create our conversation with ease.

The club was really great, with in-seat wait service, seats near center court and lots of leg room. The game was great, too, as the Celts came back from 16 down in the second quarter to win in with 0.5 seconds left on a Paul Pierce jumper. I'm accepting any and all offers of premium club tickets for any event, be it basketball, hockey, the circus, a Stones concert, or, hell, even Disney On Ice: Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey.

On Thursday, Owen, Beth and I watched "This Old House," as we have every week since last month's season debut. We've been anxiously awaiting the appearance of my cousin, Lynne, whose plumbing and heating company worked on the house in Weston. She finally showed up last week, with about five minutes of air time, talking with the show's plumbing and heating guy, Richard Trethewey. It was really cool to see her on the TeeVee. I hope to get her autograph at Thanksgiving.

Friday night was the 7th annual Black Friday gathering to memorialize the day that my former employer, Webnoize, went belly up. I met OJ, his wife, Amy, Jay, and Lee at the Miracle of Science in Cambridge. Unfortunately, Ric and Christian couldn't make it, as they have in past years. We had fun eating, drinking, catching up and rehashing the past, and called it quits fairly early. I got home a little before 10:00.

Saturday night Beth and I had a lot of fun at a dinner event run by the PTO at Owen's school. We had drinks and orz-duvers (wish I could remember what sit com to credit for that timeless joke; I guess it's been used for time immemorial for those who want to mock the French) at one house, then everybody split into small groups for dinner at other houses, reconvening afterwards at another house. We met some nice people and caught up with others who we've known for a while but haven't seen much.

This week is slated to be quieter. I'm going out Thursday night to watch my cousin's daughter, Hofstra University junior, and basketball star, Sam Brigham, play against Boston College. My sister is coming up for the game and staying overnight.

And conceivably Beth and I could buy a car this weekend. We've been talking about trading in my Honda CR-V and buying a 2009 Mazda 5 for a while, but haven't had the time on a weekend to do it. The time might finally be here.

Wednesday, November 12

While I have no desire to move to New York City, I would like to visit more often. There are endless forms of entertainment, from music to Broadway shows to museums to restaurants and bars, not to mention simple people-watching (keep reading for my obsession with one of the city's more colorful residents). Beth, Jim, Nikki and I arrived at the Hotel Chelsea shortly before 11:00 Friday night, and left around noon on Sunday, and while we didn't see a band or a show or visit any museums, we had a great time, despite Saturday's rain.

Any reservations we had about our reservation (did you see what I did there?) quickly vanished when we walked through the door to our suite to find two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two kitchenettes, a large parlor with flat-screen TV and iPod dock and a great view of the hotel's neon sign (see pictures here). After getting settled in, we strolled a few blocks and stopped at Mustang Sally's. While it was a perfectly fine place to quickly down two Murphy's stouts and unwind after a 4-hour-plus drive from Newton, the place didn't exactly scream "New York!" We got back to the hotel and went to bed shortly before 2:00.

Unfortunately, only Jim got a good night's sleep. Honking horns, blaring sirens, thumping music from the gay bar in the basement, and the thunder of trucks nailing potholes kept Beth, Nikki and me from sound slumber. Despite the lack of sleep, and the rain, on Saturday we rallied to head toward Rockefeller Center. My traveling partners perked up with coffee and off we went, past Madison Square Garden and through Times Square, which at 10:45 on a yukky Saturday morning was nonetheless bustling. We found Magnolia Bakery, which had come well recommended, and which smelled incredible, but we decided to hold out for lunch.

Jim and Nikki suggested the Brooklyn Diner, which they'd been to earlier this year. They made a great call. The fanciest diner I've ever eaten in, the Brooklyn had a cool mural of Ebbets Field (home of the long-defunct Brooklyn Dodgers) on the wall behind our table, and small plaques listing people of varying degrees of fame, ranging from Britney Spears to some writer for Comedy Central, who have evidently eaten at the place. The tuna sandwich and split pea soup were terrific.

From there we headed to Rockefeller Center. We watched people skating, but quickly ventured inside to the NBC Store, as the rain got heavier. We milled about inside the NBC building for a bit, while Jim tried to get in touch with our friend Nancy. Eventually she met us, and shortly after we cabbed it back to the hotel.

While Beth took a nap, I headed out looking for booze to stock our small in-room fridges. I returned with beer and some nips. Jim, Nikki, Nancy and I hung out in the suite's parlor, with each of us except Nancy having a drink or two. Around 5:30, Beth's cousin Chris and his wife, Corinne, who live about three blocks from the hotel, showed up. A bit later, Mark Maloof, a friend of Jim's and mine from college, knocked on the door.

We all hung out for a bit, having a few drinks and discussing where to eat. Long story short: Chris and Corinne made a few suggestions, but they had other plans; we walked with Mark toward the Meatpacking District, which my sister had recommended; we passed on a few places because of long waits; we met Mark's wife, Rachel; we lost Nancy, who had to grab a cab in order to catch a train back to the Nutmeg State; the rest of us walked quite a bit and ended up at a seafood place called Mare. The food was good, but after all that walking, we were pooped. So our night ended much earlier than we'd hoped, which was understandable after a poor night's sleep.

The next morning the four of us grabbed breakfast, walked around Chelsea a bit and then checked out. The weather was beautiful, which we lamented since we had to head back home. Still, the trip was great.

Now back to one of NYC's most colorful characters, which is saying a lot given, you know, that it's New York. In the lobby Friday night I noticed a person, whom I quickly dubbed "AndrogyLady," with a pork pie hat, loose-fitting man's pants, a jean jacket and well-worn black shoes that looked like something an off-duty clown might wear. I was instantly fascinated, asking Beth, Jim and Nikki whether they'd noticed this person. I said I thought it was a woman; Beth said she thought it was a man. Jim and Nikki hadn't noticed. We saw this person a few more times during our stay, and it quickly became apparent that it was a woman (she's in the background of one of my newly posted pictures), although she identifies her gender as "male."

I swore I was going to find out more about this woman when I got home. It didn't take long. A Google search for "hotel chelsea resident character" turned up information about one Storme DeLarverie, who at 88 has lived quite a life. Before I get to the details, I'll say that while I lamented on the drive home that we hadn't seen anybody famous, once I read about Storme I realized we'd indeed seen somebody of renown in the gay community and a person with an incredible story with which most well-known Big Apple denizens would find hard to compete.

I'm summarizing from this web site, but if you want to know more, you should really read it, and anything else you can find. So here are the pertinent details of Storme's life:

She'll be 88 next month, but dresses like Tom Waits, i.e., like a hobo or a carnie. During the '40s she sang jazz with a 3-piece band. During the '50s and '60s she was the only drag king in the Jewel Box Revue, appearing alongside two dozen drag queens as they performed across America. I can only imagine the scenes they must have caused with their mere presence in cities and towns across the land.

In 1969, she was integral to the Stonewall Riots that kickstarted the gay rights movement. From the web site: "It was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience -- it wasn't no damn riot," Storme said. "I saw this one boy being taken out by three cops, only one in uniform. Three to one! I told my pals, 'I know him! That's Williamson, my friend Sonia Jane's friend.' Williamson briefly broke loose but they grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him right down on the cement street. One of them did a drop kick on him. Another cop senselessly hit him from the back. Right after that, a cop said to me: 'Move faggot', thinking that I was a Gay guy. I said, 'I will not! And, don't you touch me.' With that, the cop shoved me and I instinctively punched him right in the face. He bled! He was then on the ground -- not me!"

I was stunned when I read that. Of course, I'm picturing an 87-year-old woman, not a butch 40-something drag king. She has continued her leadership in NYC's gay community, regularly leading the Pride Parade in her baby-blue 1969 Cadillac convertible. A resident of the Hotel Chelsea for three decades, Storme no doubt mixed and mingled with the rock and literature figures who have called the place home, from Bob Dylan to Arthur Miller to Sid and Nancy.

Anyway, that was our trip. This weekend I'm busy, too, with the annual Webnoize Black Friday gathering and a PTO dinner function on Saturday night.

Adios....

Friday, November 7

I woke up too early (it's 6:23 a.m. as I write this), and won't have much time later today to be online, so I'm gonna keep it short.

Beth and I are leaving around 5:30 today for a weekend in New York with our friends Jim and Nikki. We've all been looking forward to this trip for a few months. We don't have any great plans, other than possibly the Guggenheim Museum and a few nice meals out. We're supposed to get together with a few friends of Jim's and mine from college tomorrow night. Beth may get in touch with her cousin and his wife who live in the city, too.

We're staying at the infamous Hotel Chelsea, home to artists and musicians (Eugene O’Neil, Thomas Wolfe, Arthur C. Clarke, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, William Burroughs, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Patti Smith, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas all lived or stayed there) for several decades. From the hotel's web site:

Bob Dylan composed songs while staying at the Chelsea, and poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso chose it as a place for philosophical and intellectual exchange. It is also known as the place where the writer Dylan Thomas died of alcohol poisoning on in 1953, and where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols may have stabbed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death on October 12, 1978.

We've read conflicting reviews of the hotel online. People either love it or hate it. We'll be sure to take pictures and I'll provide a full NYC report next week.

Here are my capsule movie reviews, as promised last week:

"Christmas on Mars": as a 20-year fan of the Flaming Lips, and someone who has been awaiting their feature-film debut for many years, I was disappointed. The movie was too dark (literally and figuratively), kind of boring (I nodded off a bit) and nothing like what the band presents itself as in concert and on record, i.e., exciting, goofy and colorful.

"Bad Ronald": I had a great time watching this with my Webnoize friends and two of their wives. It was like living inside a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episode. Good times.

OK, that's it for now.

Saturday, November 1

The computer's been pretty steady, so I'm gonna go ahead and do an update.

Owen and Amelia had a great time trick-or-treating last night, he dressed as SpongeBob Squarepants and she as a Lil' Devil -- pictures are here. We had a small party at our house, with Beth's parents, their friend Barbara and her daughter, Tasha, and her fiance Bryan. I had fun doling out candy, eating too much, drinking Gritty McDuff's Halloween Ale and wagering on how many kids we'd see that night (71, as it turns out).

Yesterday was also our nephew Max's 2nd birthday. As I write this, Beth and Owen are at his party. Amelia and I will go after she wakes up from her nap. Beth procured costumes for us from a coworker. I'll be a magician and she's a rabbit in a hat.

Tonight I'm catching the second half of a B movie (or perhaps C or D) double-feature at my friend Ric's house. He's showing "Trapped!" (starring James Brolin and featuring Earl Holliman) first, which I'll miss. I don't want to miss "Bad Ronald," which seems just wonderfully awful based on the description here.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see the Flaming Lips' long-awaited feature film, "Christmas on Mars" with my buddy OJ. Full reports on both movies to follow....

We went to CT last weekend for my 25th high school reunion. Got down Friday night, and after the kids went to bed we met up with my sister and some friends at Simsbury's finest watering hole, The Maple Tree. When I was in high school, the Tree, as it was (and apparently still is) affectionately known, was a dive that frankly scared me a bit by its reputation. My physics teacher used to tell us that he frequented the place, which, considering his wacky outlook on life, didn't surprise me. Now the place is all spiffed up and shiny, with a nice deck and a function room (boy, this description makes me sound old).

Beth and I had a good time hanging out with my buddy Andy, my friend Liz, my sister and a few other people while a band bashed away in the background. After a while, Andy, Beth, Liz and I talked about the fact that the band wasn't playing many songs we recognized. Seemed as though they played a Rolling Stones song every fifth song, and unrecognizable bluesy-punk-new wave-pop stuff in between. They weren't bad, but it was just a weird set. I remembered that the sign out front said the band's name was Kahn, so I did a little research.

Turns out the band's name is actually Belfalus Khan, a name they copped from a map in "The Lord of the Rings." At least some of the guys are 1973 grads from Simsbury High School, and so, like my sister and me, were there for a reunion. To find out more and hear some of their tunes, go here.

I think my time may be running short for Amelia's nap. The reunion was fun overall. Good food, plenty of beer and talked to plenty of people I hadn't seen in years. Had a great time hanging out with Andy and Steve Hosley and other folks, especially after the hotel bar booted us for closing time and we hung out in the lobby lounge. I wish we could have spent more time with my close friends, but it's hard to do with people spread out and raising kids and all. OK, that's all for now.

Wednesday, October 29

The computer is still fritzy, so I'll update once it's fixed....

Wednesday, October 22

I'm still here....

The laptop that I use has been on the fritz lately, and I've been feeding my Facebook addiction, and doing other stuff that has kept me away from here. Let's see what's been going on.

This past weekend we hosted my cousin Joy and her family. Joy's daughter, Lindsay, competed in the Head of the Charles regatta on Sunday with her high school team. They didn't win, but Lindsay and her friend, Corinna, who also stayed with us, were happy with their finish. The cold and blustery conditions were less than optimal, but it was fun to see the event for the first time.

On Saturday, we went to our neighborhood's first annual Octoberfest. It was a beautiful day, if a bit cold, and we had fun hanging out with neighbors, eating sausages and ribs and drinking beer for a while. Once my cousin and her family arrived, they hung out at the party for a bit before we went back home to eat (!) pizza and watch the Red Sox.

Seems not much else has been going on. This weekend we're going to my parents' house. On Saturday night Beth and I will go to my 25th high school reunion, while my parents take care of the kids. My buddy Andy is flying in from Seattle, and my friend Steve is coming up from Virginia, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them and reverting back to our high school ways.

I'm planning on taking Owen to the Simsbury High School homecoming football game during the day on Saturday.

Details to come....

One more thing: Halloween.

I went to Target yesterday to buy Owen a costume. He said he didn't care what I bought; I ended up with the Human Torch. I got it home and we excitedly opened it, only to find that the main part of the costume was missing. I returned it today and then went to iParty and bought a SpongeBob costume that he'll probably like better.

But here's what I want to point out: at Target they had a child's "Hog Slayer" costume on display, which I found more than a little inappropriate. I'm not someone who gets up in arms about stuff like this; I don't mind if somebody dresses their kid as a Ninja or bloody skeleton or a zombie or stuff a little more frightening. That's what Halloween's all about. But a hog slayer? C'mon! Anyway, here's a pic of what is supposedly the adult version, although it looks like a child to me.

Friday, October 10

Once again, I've been remiss in my posting. This week's excuses: Owen had the day off from school yesterday (Yom Kippur), my parents were visiting from Monday through Wednesday, and I'm lazy.

Continuing last week's mini-focus on the Flaming Lips: Beth clued me in to this great New York Times article about Oklahoma City's finest musical import. The more I learn about band leader Wayne Coyne, the more I love this guy. He lives in a compound not far from the working-class (to put it nicely) neighborhood where he grew up in OKC, surrounded by drug dealing, prostitution and other nefarious activities. His main house is filled with quirky art, musical toys and other stuff he and his wife collect. He bought several properties around him, turned one into storage space for the band and its many concert tour props, and others into guest houses. He shot the newly released (and long awaited, at least by me) "Christmas on Mars" feature film in and around the compound, turning items such as hot tubs and gelato makers into outer space-worthy props. If you're interested at all in why I love the band and the man, read the article.

On the baseball front, my season is over, much to Beth's pleasure. We got swept in our doubleheader last Sunday, losing both games 2-1. Angel, as always, pitched incredibly -- in both games. We couldn't hit, made a few too many errors and had a few base-running gaffes. I had a good day at the bat, and had two chances to put runs on the board, but fell excruciatingly short.

In the first game, with men on first and second with two outs, I lined a single to right center. Our coach, not the most fleet of foot, was on second and was thrown out on a close play at home. He went in standing, but said if the on-deck batter had signaled him to slide, he probably would have been safe.

In the second game, I bunted for a hit, after having struck out on three straight pitches (all swinging, at least) the first time up. I went to second on a wild pitch and after the catcher threw the ball into center field, I got to third. There I stood with one out, confident that I'd score the tying run in the 6th inning (we play 8 innings). But the next batter, for some reason, bunted, and popped it to the pitcher. The next guy grounded out.

I had a lot of fun this year, even though I missed half the regular season. I look forward to getting in better shape for next year. Of course, I say that at the end of every season....

Thursday, October 2

I'm not sure why it's taken me 9 days to update. Chalk it up to laziness, the need to get household chores done while Amelia naps, and my new obsession: Facebook.

Sure, I'm behind the social networking curve, just as I was slow to take to laptops, iPods, cell phones and the talkies. Beth joined Facebook a few weeks ago and kept telling me I should join. So on Sunday, I did. It's much more interesting and useful than the Keene State alumni web site I belong to and use on occasion. And way more fun than the at-home dad web site I frequent.

Anyway, before I forget, I've added a few pictures here. Two of the pix are from my cousin Amy's wedding in Hartford last Saturday. Beth and I left the kids with her parents, and had a great time at the wedding, and afterwards hanging out with my sister, her boyfriend and some other wedding guests, including Amy and her husband, Mick.

What else? My team won our continued game last week, requiring just one inning to finish off our opponents. We were supposed to start the finals this past Sunday, but got rained out. We were supposed to play Tuesday, but the field was still in bad shape. Now we're scheduled for a doubleheader on Sunday. If needed, there would be one more game, most likely during the week. I was on the disabled list earlier in the season when we played the team we'll be facing in the finals, so I don't know what to expect. They finished first, but when we're on our game, we can beat anybody. Should be fun.

I became an uncle again last week with the birth of Isaiah Samuel Brigham to my brother and sister-in-law. The birth went well, my brother tells me, and everybody, including my nearly 5-year-old niece, Grace, is doing well with the new addition. I'm hoping to see them at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Congrats again to Steve, Tonya and Grace!

Speaking of cold-weather holidays, the Flaming Lips will host their annual March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons in Oklahoma City on October 25th. Interested? I sure as hell am, but unfortunately a trip to the Sooner State isn't in my future. Participants must buy a Death March-branded skeleton costume from the band's site; be at least 18 years old; carry a torch with real fire; and march for 2 hours. Here's a clip from last year's festivities.

While I love the Flaming Lips' music, it's the band's connection to fans and to their hometown that seals the deal for me. Leader Wayne Coyne has such a great outlook on life, and plans interesting events like the skeleton march and the Boombox Experiments of the mid- and late-'90s, just so he can have fun with as many people as possible, not necessarily just his fans. Maybe I'll have to book a weekend in OKC for next October.

Tuesday, September 23

I love autumn. I love the changing leaves, the crisp days and cool evenings, the smell of wood-burning stoves, going for hikes without breaking a sweat, making chili, drinking Octoberfest beers, celebrating Halloween, wearing sweatshirts, going for a run free of heat and humidity, pretending to care about the Patriots, joking about caring about the Bruins, and, of course, playoff baseball.

The Sox blew a chance last night to clinch at least a wild-card berth. They stranded too many runners, and Josh Beckett wasn't very sharp, hitting three batters. Still, if they win one more game, or the Yankees lose one more, the Sox are in the postseason. Then things get good.

Speaking of the playoffs, we won the first game of the second round on Sunday, 3-1, behind yet another stellar performance by pitching ace Angel Claudio. The second game was suspended after 11 innings due to darkness, the score tied at 2. If the Boston Amateur Baseball League employed instant replay, however, we might have left the field that day with a 2-game sweep, headed for the finals.

In the top of the 11th with two outs and a man on second, our #6 batter hit a slow grounder. The throw drew the first baseman off the bag, and by the time he made it back to the bag, our guy had clearly beaten him. The ump, however, didn't see it that way, and called him out. In the excitement, not everybody heard the call, and our guy who'd started out on second raced for home. The first baseman's throw home was late, so we thought we'd gone up by one. But then the first base ump made it clear he'd called the runner out, so the inning was over. Our coach and the runner went ballistic, as did some other guys on our team. But to no avail.

Things got a little ugly in the bottom of the 11th, although I missed exactly what happened. I was tracking down a foul ball that had gone into the woods behind the backstop when I heard a bunch of yelling coming from the field. I got to the backstop to see most of my team and all of the other team bunched around first base. Joe, our first baseman and the victim of the bad call, was threatening to beat some guy up. Guys on our team stepped in and our coach cooled Joe down pretty quickly. Evidently what had happened was that Joe caught an infielder's throw and tagged the runner a little low, if you know what I mean. The guy objected and people got hot. After things settled down, I went back to hunt for the ball. Within a minute I heard more action, but turns out it was just the two teams congratulating each other on playing two good games, the umps having called the game due to darkness.

We're supposed to finish the game tonight, and play a third game, if necessary, immediately after. But the other team said they can't get enough guys for tonight, and want to play Thursday. The league commish said since we're the home team, the decision is ours. If our opponents can't get a quorum for tonight, they forfeit. If so, we head to the finals, most likely starting on Sunday. If we play tonight and lose the suspended game AND the third game, then the season's over.

OK, enough baseball talk.

I watched the season premiere of "Heroes" last night and felt it was just so-so. Nothing all that exciting happened, I didn't care about the new characters or the fact that Mojinder now has powers. I didn't watch all two hours, deciding around 10:30 that I should just go to bed. I'll watch again, but I may not keep the show on my must-watch list.

Apropos of nothing: this video made me wonder: what ever happened to all those boogie vans from the '70s?

Like this one.

And this one.

And this one.

I guess I need to move to California or some other warm, dry climate to satisfy the custom-van jones that I picked up when I was 12 years old.

As you were....

Friday, September 19

I feel bad that I forgot to mention earlier this week that Amelia is now a full-time walker. Last Friday, she just started bopping around, making a major leap from the 5 or 6 steps she'd been taking up to that point. So to commemorate such a momentous occasion, I've added her picture to the front page. I'll keep that feature, changing the photo every once in a while.

It's exciting watching Amelia tootle around the house, down the sidewalk, at a restaurant, on the playground -- wherever she happens to be. And she's very excited, too, as you can tell from the above photo.

She's been talking for quite a while now, but her ability to pick up new words and understand them and point to things and name them simply astounds me. Here's a list of some of her words, although by no means is this a complete collection: mommy, daddy, Owen (she says "Oh oh"), moon, car, bus, cracker, cookie, bike (just yesterday she said "bikikle"), Kyle (she says "Ky"), grandpa ("papa"), slide, swing, strawberry ("stawerry"), hi, bye bye. You get the point.

As for Owen, he's adjusting fairly well to 1st grade. He's complained that it's too much work, and said he wishes he were back in kindergarten. But that's natural at this age. He's really great with academics, but he needs to work on his social skills. Like me, he has a hard time breaking the ice with people. Once he gets past that initial barrier, he's fine, but it can take him a while to get there.

The next round of the playoffs begin Sunday with a doubleheader. I'm excited to play, almost as excited as Beth is for my season to come to an end. She'll take the kids to our neighborhood block party that day, and then to her parents' house for a visit with her aunt and uncle.

Yesterday I took Amelia to Waltham's Prospect Hill Park. We drove to the top and caught this view. The hill is the second highest in the Boston area, after Great Blue Hill in Milton. A few minutes after we got to the scenic overlook, the air was ripped by the sound of a chainsaw. Or a dirt bike. Or a chainsaw-wielding dirt bike maniac. This insane buzzing went on for several minutes, seemingly getting closer to us. I couldn't see the source of the godawful racket through the trees, so could only guess just what the hell it was. I had a "Lost" moment, when I envisioned some otherworldly metallic beast flying through the trees straight for Amelia and me with knives whirling and teeth gnashing. I kept looking at the large outcropping above us and about 100 yards away, where the skeleton of a lookout tower stands, trying to figure out what the sound was. It stopped as quickly as it started, and I never figured it out. As we drove back down a little while later, my curiosity was further piqued when we passed a handful of vehicles, including a small box truck, surrounded by black boxes and equipment that looked at a quick glance like cameras on tripods. "Maybe somebody's shooting a movie," I thought. I'll never know what that sound was....

Monday, September 15

Friday was Beth's birthday (hard to believe she's finally turning 29), but she and Amelia were a bit under the weather, so instead of going out, we had her family here for takeout from a great Mexican place, Cafe Sol Azteca in Newton, followed by cake and ice cream. She made out pretty well with presents, and has already put her iTunes gift cards to good use, buying a Fratellis album that sounded pretty good in the small doses I checked out.

The rest of our weekend was pretty mellow. Owen had tae kwon do on Saturday; later in the day we went to Home Depot to pick out doorknobs for our bathroom project, as well as paint colors for our bedroom. Today we got the somewhat bad news that the guys will need extra time to paint our bedroom, because they need to shore up the ceiling and plaster it so it won't sag. We're in week 10 of this project, with close to two full weeks left. Enuff Z'nuff, I say.

The rain yesterday washed out two events: our neighborhood block party, which will instead be held next Sunday, and my playoff game. Our opponents also play in another division, which is also holding playoffs, so our schedule is all messed up. Instead of playing Tuesday or Wednesday night, we're slated for a doubleheader on Sunday. So that means I'll miss the entire block party, as well as a chance to visit with Beth's aunt and uncle who are coming for a visit. Last year the playoffs were held on weekends and weeknights, but for some reason guys don't want to play at night if they don't have to. Sure, some of them probably have trouble seeing well enough (so do I, depending on the quality of the lights), but playing games only on Sundays means the playoffs stretch out way too far. At this rate, the last game of the finals might not happen until the first weekend of October. That's too late.

Here are some random things:

The Flaming Lips are in the running to provide the Official State of Oklahoma Rock Song. Sponsored by the Oklahoma History Center, the contest pits the Lips against other homegrown acts such as All-American Rejects and The Call, as well as moss-covered acts like Three Dog Night, The Ventures and one Elvis Presley, who have tenuous ties to the Sooner State.

The Lips' "Do You Realize?" was nominated for the contest, along with nine other songs: J.J. Cale's "After Midnight" (snore); Elvis's rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel," which was written by Oklahoma schoolteacher Mae Boren Axton; Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain," written by Axton's more well-known son, Hoyt; The Ventures' "Walk, Don't Run," which stretches its Oklahoma ties the most -- from the web site: "Oklahoman Bob Bogle suggested the band cover the song. The Ventures also included Oklahoman Nokie Edwards and promoted Oklahoma guitar-maker Semie Mosely's Mosrite guitars."; Wanda Jackson's "Let's Have a Party," which is a great song and features piano by a native Sooner; Leon Russell's "Home Sweet Oklahoma," which has probably got a good shot; "Endless Oklahoma Sky" by John Moreland and the Black Gold Band," a serviceable roots-rock song; The Call's "Oklahoma," which reeks of the '80s; and All-American Rejects' "Move Along," which is lame. Listen to the songs and vote.

Fujiya & Miyagi: I discovered this British techno-rock band via DownloadMusic.com a few years ago, and I really dig their lazy grooves and sometimes silly lyrics. They've just released a new album, Lightbulbs, which rolls nicely along. (I started writing this three days ago and was probably going to say more about this, but I forget what. Just check out their MySpace page and listen.)

Monday, September 8

The Quincy Sons of Italy are going to the next round of the playoffs, thanks to another fantastic pitching performance yesterday by our ace, Angel, and some muscle by our cleanup hitter, Mike. Angel struck out 11, and Mike crushed a home run and that was the story. It was a one-game playoff against the last-place team in the league, and it would have been devastating if we'd lost, as we finished second in the regular season. The next round starts up next Sunday.

In other sports news, the Patriots won yesterday but may have lost the golden-armed Tom Brady for at least part of the season. I'm glad they won, but without Brady, they may have a tough slog the rest of the season. As for the Sox, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really amped for their series against the Rays that starts tonight. The season could turn on the next three games. It's gonna be fun....

On Saturday we got adventurous north of Boston. We went to Expo Design in Burlington to try and select the vanity and mirror for the kids' bathroom, but the place was so busy that we had to give up. We went to the Kids' Playground in Woburn for about an hour, which Owen and Amelia thoroughly enjoyed. Then we cruised back down to Newton for dinner at Johnny's Luncheonette.

We spent a lot of time over the weekend hanging out with our neighbors and their kids. We really have a great little community here on Wyoming Road, with scads of kids from Amelia's age up through 5th grade. Owen was happy to play with Kiernan, a 3rd grader who doesn't say much but who is showing Owen his scooter and bike moves. It won't be long before Owen gets more adventurous on his wheeled toys.

That's it for now. I know, I know, I need to link to something. Well, your wait is going to be well worth it. I'm sure many of you watched the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in China, and were quite taken by the opening and closing ceremonies, with the drummers and the flying robot-people and the scroll and the boxes and the martial arts and, well, you know what I'm talking about. But if you don't, check out this slideshow.

Impressive, no?

Seeing those ceremonies, I had a nagging feeling that I'd seen it all before, many years ago, here in the Good Ole US of A. After some deep thought, I realized that I had seen it, 10 years ago, and that it was way, way better. What am I talking about? See for yourself.

Thursday, September 4

Owen returned to school today, which is good for all of us. He got quite bored over the last few weeks, as camp had ended and few of his friends were around during the day. He loves school, which is good. And now Amelia and I can get into a better schedule (napping, play dates, Gymboree, etc.). Yesterday I took Owen in to school to meet his teacher, Ms. Mortara, and see his new classroom. She seems very nice; Owen knew her already, as she was an intern in the third grade class that supplied reading buddies for his kindergarten class last year.

Our bathroom project is nearing completion (he said with fingers crossed). The guys are working on hanging doors and putting up trim this week, and may start priming the walls. Next week they'll paint and install fixtures in the master bathroom, and probably paint our bedroom. By the end of next week, they tell us, the master will be done, and the family bathroom almost done. We still have to select a vanity for the family bath (not sure why we haven't done that yet) and have them build a linen closet. Once they finish, then Amelia and I can really relax and enjoy our time in the house.

What else? Not much. Owen starts tae kwon do again on Saturday. They didn't hold lessons over the summer, so we're all looking forward to getting back into it. And Amelia will have a blast playing on the Kids U super-dooper play structure.

Playoffs start this Sunday. We're playing the last-place team, which means we've got a pretty good shot at advancing to the second round (much to Beth's displeasure).

Here's a plug for my buddy Joe's blog, the aptly named Joe Blog. I love his photos, and the short but witty write-ups for each one.

Saturday, August 23

Owen finished camp on Friday the 15th, so I haven't had as much time to update here. Let's see what's been going on....

My team lost last Sunday and Monday, the first game 5-0 and the second one 9-7. In the first game, we mustered only a handful of hits. Our pitching ace was late to the game, so we had to tap an emergency starter. He did a good job, but gave up three or four runs in the first inning. Not that it mattered, since we couldn't get a guy past second base. In Monday's game, we made a bunch of errors (three for me, ugh) and struggled to come back after giving up a bunch of runs early, but fell short. We played on a turf field, which some guys liked but I hated. Ground balls skipped quickly and were tough to get a handle on. I also felt a bit disoriented with the fake dirt and always felt like I wasn't playing in the right position. I walked twice and scored a run, so my game wasn't a complete waste.

We play tomorrow, and then again Thursday night. We still have two games to make up after that, but I'm not sure if we'll get them both in before the playoffs start on September 7.

On Monday Owen had a play date with his old buddy Tamer. They had a good time as usual, playing with trains and building blocks. One post-camp day down.

On Tuesday the kids and I took a big outing to the shopping palace formerly known as the Natick Mall (now known as the Natick Collection). They have a playroom there, which kept Owen and Amelia entertained for a little while. We wandered around a bit before heading home. Two post-camp days taken care of.

On Wednesday I took the kids to The Discovery Museums in Acton, MA. When Owen was younger, I took him the children's museum section, but now that he's older he's ready for the science museum. He had a lot of fun looking in the fun-house mirror, making sand art, using magnets to distort TV pictures, etc. Amelia, as usual, was a trouper. Three days gone.

On Thursday Owen had a play date with his summer camp friend, Saahil. They played very well together, both inside and outside. Four days down.

Yesterday I traveled to Simsbury for my friend Bene's memorial golf tournament. I had a really great time. The weather was perfect, my team did pretty well and it was good to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. And the event raised about $13,000 for cancer research.

Today we've just been hanging around, which feels good.

Here are a couple of wildly diverging views of stay-at-home dads:

Yay! SAHDs!

Boo! SAHDs!

Monday, August 11

We won a double-header yesterday, beating the rain and improving our record to 9-3. Unlike my first game back last week, when I batted in the lead-off position, for yesterday's games I was near the bottom of the order. As we had 13 or 14 guys in the line-up, I only had four at-bats combined. I'm not complaining, though. I had a single, an RBI and scored a run. I didn't make any errors. In my book, that's a pretty good line for a double-header. We played two different teams, beating the last-place Eagles 4-2, and the 6th-place Braves 10-1.

On Saturday we trekked to Beverly for a Webnoize BBQ at Jay and Deb's house. The whole crew wasn't there, as OJ and Amy had to work, and Ric's and Lee's families had other obligations, so they came solo. Still, it was good to catch up with everybody, eat some grilled meat, drink some cold beer and watch Owen and Jay and Deb's girls, Hannah and Lily, hang out and have fun together.

Owen started feeling a bit sick just before we left, and went to bed early that night with a fever. He felt better yesterday, but still had a bit of a high temp. He was OK this morning so I sent him off to camp, fingers crossed.

Not much else new. The bathroom project continues on. As I type this, the guys are loading in flooring material that they'll put down before the tiles go in. I believe cement boards are going up on the walls starting Wednesday. Beth and I plan to go out tomorrow morning to finalize our tile selections, so the guys can start doing the walls and showers and tubs next week. I'll be really glad when this project is over. They're doing a great job, but we're in the fifth week of disruption, and I'm ready to get back into my own bed.

And lastly, some music. I'm really looking forward to the release of Fujiya & Miyagi's Lightbulbs next month. I discovered this band via Download.com's music service. They are the only band I discovered there whose album I bought. With most others, I downloaded a song or two, but that's it. Anyway, they're British, they're a bit goofy, but they lay down some smooth grooves. I really like "Knickerbocker" from the forthcoming disc. Check it out at their MySpace page. And anybody who likes it and wants to see them live can join me (and perhaps Beth) in October at the Paradise.

Sunday, August 3

I played baseball today for the first time in 14 weeks. Fourteen! I can't believe it's been that long. I would've returned a few weeks ago, but I was on the Cape, then we had a rain-out, and then I was in Maryland. Over the course of 14 weeks I only missed 8 games, due to holidays and rain-outs. I was really happy to get back on the diamond. I felt like I'd never been away. The game was delayed a bit because our opponents only had 7 players and were waiting for an eighth guy to show up so they could play. He never turned up, so we gave them an outfielder on a rotating basis (whoever made the last out the previous inning) and they went with two outfielders.

Our coach was out of town, so his substitute made a few changes, including putting me in the lead-off spot. I've only batted first a few times over the course of four years on the team, so I was a bit surprised, especially after being out for so long. I was actually glad to lead off, as I didn't have to sit around and wait and get anxious. I reached on an error, and ended up scoring. I doubled to right field the next time up, and scored. My other two times I walked and grounded into a force play. I only had to make one play in the field, which I handled just fine. So everything turned out just fine.

I stretched as much as I could before, during and after, but I suspect I'll still be sore tomorrow.

On the home front, our bathroom project is chugging along. The plumber should finish tomorrow, and after he gets his inspection, the contractor should start putting up insulation and walls. Beth and I have been a bit panicky, feeling that we're holding them up because we haven't ordered our tiles and vanities, but I think everything's going to be fine, and the guys will work around our delivery schedule if need be.

We're going out tonight for my mother-in-law's birthday, to The Skellig in Waltham, a family favorite.

Thursday, July 31

I've posted pictures from our long weekend in Maryland here.

Wednesday, July 30

We got back from Maryland late yesterday afternoon after four very long and busy days. Our trip down on Saturday went smoothly, and we arrived at my brother's house shortly after 1:00. We had lunch and then Beth, Owen, my sister, my niece, my sister-in-law and my cousin and his girlfriend (who were visiting for the day) all went to the nearby community pool. I stayed back to get Amelia to nap, and to watch the Sox (hey, somebody had to do it!). That evening, my brother manned the grill and turned out some great burgers, salmon and hot dogs. Oh yeah, beer and ice cream were part of the mix, too.

On Sunday, everybody except my sister-in-law, Tonya, who's seven months pregnant, made the trip to Baltimore. We went to the Maryland Science Center, a really great place for kids. Owen and his cousin Grace, who's 4 1/2, had a lot of fun there, and there was even an infant and toddler's place for Amelia to hang out. Made Boston's Museum of Science look a bit dated.

We had lunch at the science center, and later strolled along the Inner Harbor, which is really nice. As Beth said, "This place would be really great if we didn't have the kids with us. We could stop in and have a few drinks somewhere and stroll and relax." Nevertheless, it's a pleasant area, but I would recommend to any and all Baltimore city officials reading this that you have the Peruvian musicians turn the volume down just a bit.

On Monday we took the Metro into D.C., which thrilled Owen to no end. He had some (OK, too many) moments during our mini-vacation where he was a pain in the butt, but it was fun to see how excited he got for our train ride. He imitated the announcements, called out the names of the stops, tried to guess which side the doors would open at each stop, excitedly pointed out the escalators and elevators, etc. We went to Union Station, a beautiful, 100-year-old monument to rail travel and, more recently, commerce. After we got back, Owen and I went swimming for a while, which was fun.

Through all of this, Amelia was a real trouper. She's used to a schedule by which she gets at least one nap a day, sometime between 10:00 and noon. With all of our activities going on between late morning and late afternoon, she got all thrown off. She nodded off here and there in her stroller or in the car, but otherwise had to wait until 4 or 5 o'clock before she could lie down in the crib my brother set up at his house. And then we wouldn't get back to the hotel until 9:00 or so, which meant that none of us got to sleep until at least 10:00.

She had a bit of a meltdown during lunch on Monday, but that didn't last too long. All of the travel and lack of sleep, however, caught up with her Tuesday at the airport. She was extremely fussy as we were trying to lug all of our stuff from the rental car shuttle bus into the airport, as we tried to find the USAirways section of the terminal, and as we checked our bags. Beth and I took turns walking with her, trying to calm her down with her bottle and her binky. Nothing worked. Finally, she seemed to have settled down a bit by the time we got to our gate, so I went in search of snacks and drinks for the flight.

I returned to find that she had thrown up all over herself and her stroller. Beth said she would take her to the bathroom to clean her up, but then said there could be a line. Since men's rooms rarely necessitate a queue, I took her and cleaned her and her stroller up as best I could. Luckily, Beth had a spare set of clothes for Amelia. After I cleaned her up and changed her, I brought her back to Beth and Owen. Then I went back to the men's room to clean the stroller and myself a little better. We made the flight just fine, but the whole time we were flying I caught faint whiffs of puke on my hands, my bag, my shirt, etc. Loads of fun.

I'm gonna post this now, but it's getting late and I want to relax. I'll post some pictures later this week.

Tuesday, July 22

We had a great vacation, but it's good to be back home. I long, however, for the Cape's cooler temps and refreshing breezes, although truth be told, it was pretty hot and humid down there. We returned Saturday to a house that had been closed up and was really, really hot and stuffy. We moved the AC from our room into the dining room, in order to cool the downstairs. Since we've moved out of our room while our bathroom project is under way, we don't need the AC up there. We've moved into the attic, where there is air conditioning, so by the time we all went to bed Saturday night, things were somewhat comfortable.

So here's what we did on the Cape....see pictures here.

Swimming: Owen did a great job swimming on his own in water over his head, which is a huge step for him. The lessons he gets at summer camp have helped greatly in this regard. He's always loved the water, but now he can actually do things on his own, without water wings. He uses a giant foam noodle to do a lot of swimming, but that has given him confidence. It's really great.

Relaxing: We watched the All Star Game (well, not all 15 innings) and the Home Run Derby, drank our share of margaritas and beer (although not as much as in years past), ate seafood, cooked some super-tasty meals and caught up on People magazine. Oh, and I read part of a book.

Took a train ride: Owen loves trains and subways, so Beth's dad and I obliged him with a ride on the Cape Cod Central Railroad. The train leaves from Hyannis and works its way past cranberry bogs, an old prison, sand dunes, estuaries, the Cape Cod Canal and other sights. Owen enjoyed himself, but I think he would've liked a subway ride better. He likes to check out all the stops, and there weren't any on the Cape train. Still, the three of us had a good time. Owen is pretty heavily into cars again, so on the ride to and from Hyannis (we stayed in Bourne), the three of us spotted and talked about cars. A lot.

Playing: Beth, Amelia, Owen and I went to a fantastic Falmouth playground, although it was too hot to stay there very long. We got there a bit too early, so there weren't many kids around. Afterwards, we grabbed a mid-morning snack at a tea house, and then hit an arcade where Owen excelled on the video car racing games. During the week, we also played some board games (Sorry, Monopoly), but spent a whole lot of time playing with Owen and his cars.

It was fun to watch Owen and Amelia play with their cousin, Max, who's 20 months old. He likes cars and trains, too, so although he's quite a bit younger than Owen, they still had fun racing their vehicles around. Amelia picked up on the sounds they made, and tried her best to keep up and chime in.

Owen got to see his friend Anicca for a few days. Her grandmother is longtime friends of my in-laws, and she and Owen get along really well. Unfortunately, she and her parents and little brother have moved back to Germany, perhaps never to return. They've moved around so much over the years, including the past year in Newton, so it's tough to know where they'll land. For Owen's sake, I hope they come back this way before too long.

Cat-hunting road trip: On Tuesday, Beth got a call from the neighbor who was feeding our cat, indicating that he hadn't eaten anything the night before, and she was concerned that he had either gotten out of the house or was trapped behind the zipper walls that the construction crew installed in our second floor to contain the dust and mess. While our neighbor and the worker I spoke with on Wednesday both offered to look for the cat, I realized that I had to trek up there to find him. I figured he'd never come out of hiding for a stranger.

So I left the Cape around 11:30 Wednesday morning and arrived in Newton a little before 1:00. To make a long story short: I spent two hours searching, including outside, and in the construction dumpster next to our house (I didn't climb in, but I looked), before I found him in Amelia's closet. I had looked there earlier, but he must have been tucked in so far that I couldn't see him, and he didn't acknowledge me when I called for him. I tore apart our attic and basement in the process, which made our arrival home on Saturday that much more fun to deal with. Anyway, he's fine (although as I type this, I have no idea where he is, and fear that he's stuck upstairs again). By the time I got him out, fed him and told our neighbor the story, it was almost 3:30. I hit a ton of traffic on the way back down, making my whole trip a little more than 6 hours. A pain in the ass, but a necessary one. Poor kitty....

Barnstable County Fair: Owen and I love fairs, so I was glad that this one kicked off on Friday, our last full day on the Cape. I spent $40 on ride tickets, but it was worth it. I went on a few with Owen (including the Tilt-a-Whirl, which almost made me sick. Not sure why; normally I do fine on rides), but he did most by himself. Beth's sister, brother-in-law and Max were there, too, but Max is too little to go on any rides, so we soon parted ways. I think Owen had almost as much fun spotting cars in the parking lot as he did on the rides.

So that's it in a nutshell. Now we're back home and adjusting to life with a major construction project going on. As I mentioned, Beth and I have moved up to the attic. Amelia and Owen are still in their rooms, which is nice. We can access our room, where we're still storing our clothes, but we're trying to limit our trips through the dust-protection walls. The guys are ahead of schedule, which is nice. We just have to make sure we keep up our end of the bargain, purchasing tiles, electrical products and such on time.

And lastly, I was all set to return to the baseball diamond yesterday, but the game got rained out. Now I have two weeks to get ready for my first game since April 27, as we'll be out of town next weekend. We're visiting my brother and his family in Maryland, along with my parents and my sister.

Tuesday, July 8

This week is a busy one as we get ready to leave for the Cape on Saturday, and prepare for our bathroom project to commence while we're out of town. My self-diagnosed ADD kicked in Sunday night, as I started getting a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff I needed to get done this week. I made a list breaking down the various tasks I should do each day, which made it easier. The things range from simple (buy pet food, buy new sandals, visit post office to stop mail) to moderately ass-paining (clear out medicine cabinet and linen closet in bathroom, buy bike rack) to no fun at all (make room in basement for plumber access, pack for trip). Tomorrow morning Beth and I will visit a plumbing supply store to select appliances and shower valves.

Mixed in around these tasks: taking Amelia to the doctor today; visiting the vet to get the kit I need to get a urine sample from our cat; take Amelia to Gymboree; go with Beth to Owen's camp tomorrow evening for a family dinner event; finish clearing everything out of my closets because we're adding a master bathroom and my end of the room is getting hacked up next week while we're away. I'm not freaking out, and this list of stuff probably doesn't sound that intimidating, but I get a bit stressed before vacations anyway, so the prospect of having to get ready for a major construction project is cranking up my blood pressure a bit.

Plus the Red Sox are losing as I write this.

We had a good party on the 4th, with about 25 people in attendance. I grilled up a storm, the kids had a great time, Owen enjoyed the fireworks and we have enough beer left over to last the summer -- or at least a week on the Cape with Beth's family.

We took Owen and Amelia on a tour of the MBTA's green line on Saturday, which thrilled Owen to no end. To get some idea of how much Owen likes subway rides, read this.

Thursday, July 3

Amelia is napping as I type this, which is good, because I have some party planning to do. We're having about two dozen people over for the 4th, the biggest bash we've had in quite some time. I'm really looking forward to hosting, grilling, fixing drinks, rocking the Independence Day play list on my iPod, watching Owen and his friends frolic in the backyard and then checking out Newton's fireworks. Last year Beth and Amelia came home from the hospital on the 3rd, so we kept it mellow.

It's been another busy week here at Brigahan Central. Tuesday night I went out to see Frightened Rabbit, a Scottish band that my pal OJ hipped me to. They put on a really great show, full of passion, humor and mesmerizing songs. I'm glad I took up OJ on his invitation. Read his review of the show here.

Yesterday, after dropping Owen at camp, Amelia and I took our cat to the vet for a regular checkup. Cosmo seems to be doing fine at age 12 1/2, and Amelia was her usual pleasant self. After lunch, I took Amelia to preview a Gymboree class. She had a good time, so we signed up to start going regularly. She's so active that I think she'll really enjoy the activity and hanging out with other babies and toddlers.

Late yesterday afternoon I had another visit to the urologist. As I've mentioned here, I'm having a long post-vasectomy recovery, so I wanted to see what's going on. The doc wrote a 'scrip for some super-duper Motrin, and told me that I will recover, it's just taking longer than usual due to things I won't get into. I might have an ultrasound in a few weeks if things don't improve much. I was encouraged by the fact that he said I could try some light running and see how my body reacts. I'd be thrilled if I could start running and playing baseball while my recovery progresses. I've stayed away from activity like that for the past 7 weeks, and I'm getting aggravated. My fingers are crossed.

Finally, last night we went to our friends Nuala and Sam's for pizza. Owen got to run around with their kids, Madelyn, 7, and William, 4, and had a good time. We hadn't seen them in quite a while, so it was good to catch up.

Tonight I'll be watching the Red Sox and hoping they can figure out to win again....

Monday, June 30

Yesterday was Amelia's 1st birthday, and I swear she's making advances so quickly with movement and language that I just can't keep up with her. She's crawling and cruising along the furniture so quickly that I'm sure it won't be long before she's standing and walking on her own. She's already figured out how to climb steps, and even when there's a gate blocking her way, she still tries to get past it. She's likely to be a climber.

She also imitates incredibly well, whether it's a gesture or a word. She comes pretty close on many words, and is so cute with her hand clapping, dancing and other movements. And she's almost always in great spirits, as she was for her party yesterday.

My parents and sister came up for the day, and Beth's family was here, along with some family friends. Amelia had fun checking out her new toys and books, and eating cake. Owen had fun with his cousin Max, his friend Anicca, and her brother Manuca. The weather was a bit hot and humid (as it was for Owen's 1st birthday in May 2003), but everybody had a good time.

I've posted some party pictures here.

Owen had a great first week of camp. He did connect with the other boy who had talked about subway trains. Now the two seem to be best friends. Owen talks about him quite a bit, and made some drawings of subway stations to give to him today. We also included a note for the boy's parents with the drawings, in hopes of setting up a play date, which Owen desperately wants.

The camp seems really great for Owen. He gets to play some sports, which he normally doesn't like to do, but he seems to like them. Most importantly, he's learning to swim, or at least to put his head in the water and do some bobbing. When we've tried in the past to get him to dunk his head, he's refused. Somehow, when a teacher gets involved, he's more easily convinced. Beth and I are really happy about his progress in the pool.

On the cultural hijinks front, the Boston Globe had a short piece yesterday about an artist who created something called the Image Fulgurator. In a nutshell, the device "enables an image to be projected on an object exactly at the moment when someone else is photographing it," according to the dude's web site. In other words, I take a pretty picture of the Bunker Hill Monument, but when I look at my digital screen immediately afterward, there appears an image, or words or something on the image that didn't appear on the monument when I snapped my photo. Oh, just watch this to see how it works!

Tuesday, June 24

First, I want to mention that Beth took some pictures at the Celtics' rolling rally in celebration of their first NBA title in 22 years. You can find them here.

On the home front, Owen finished kindergarten on Thursday. His progress report indicates that he met or exceeded in all categories, from finger-painting and paste-eating to biochemistry and advanced physics. He started camp yesterday at the Fessenden school, which is a pleasant two minutes away. He said he had a "great" day, and saw some kids he knew from kindergarten and from the vacation camp he did at Kids U, his tae kwon do dojo. There was also a boy in his group who talked about subways, but Owen said he didn't engage with the kid. I encouraged him to try and make friends with this like-minded soul.

We visited my parents in Connecticut over the weekend. They took care of Owen and Amelia Saturday night while Beth and I went to a barbecue to celebrate my friend Stacy's wedding to a guy named Russ about whom I know next to nothing. The wedding was held earlier in the day, just for family. The reception was very nice, with good food and plenty of drinks and a few friends and old neighborhood folks I hadn't seen in a while. Stacy looked great and seemed very happy. She and her kids moved into Russ's house, which is very nice. The yard is huge and has an in-ground pool.

On Sunday two of my cousins and their families joined us for lunch at my parents' house. It was good to catch up with them, too. As soon as we got back home Sunday, Owen and I rushed right back out for his camp's open house. He got off on the right foot by finding a few friends, and making a new one.

Not much else going on. I started digging back into my (C)rock Stories last week and look forward to getting that project done.

I'm going to the Sox tomorrow night with my friend Jim. Beth will be staying here to help her sister, brother-in-law and our nephew get settled into our basement suite, where they'll be staying for a few days while they complete the sale of their current house and purchase of their new one.

Here's a Flaming Lips video, possibly one I've linked to before. Enjoy...

Wednesday, June 18

First, to all of the Celtics fans out there: you're welcome. Beth and I stayed up to watch the entire game last night, which is why they won. I tried to stay up late on Sunday night, but couldn't do it, and lo and behold, they lost. So there ya go.

I'm not much of a roundball fan, and I didn't pay attention to the C's until the playoffs, but it was pretty great to watch them blow out the Lakers.

Well, after spending more than four months chained to my laptop, and spilling more than 17,000 words across my virtual paper, I've finished the road-trip memoir. I never thought I would write so much, and while I'm ready to move on, and get back to my (C)rock Stories, I had a good time digging into my cross-country adventure. The final installment is chock-full of links (Prairie Dog Town, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Zanesville, Ohio's official site, etc.), some history lessons and a tribute to the vehicle that got us across and back in fine style. I know there aren't many of you who have read the entire memoir, but I urge even casual readers to check out the final article.

Tuesday, June 17

We had another busy weekend, albeit a birthday party-free one. On Saturday Owen and I took our long-awaited and much anticipated subway trip (I've posted three new pics here). We got on a train at Newton's Eliot station on the D branch of the Green line at precisely 10:55 a.m. and returned to that station almost exactly three hours later. We took the Green line into Park Street station, and Owen was excited by every stop along the way, especially once we went underground at Kenmore.

At Park Street we changed for the Red line. We took that just two stops, to South Station. Once there, we went up to check out the platforms where commuter and Amtrak trains arrive and depart. We also saw some buses in the terminal that rises above the train tracks. Then we ate lunch. The highlight of of our meal was when Owen noticed a young couple at another table kissing, and pronounced, "They're kissing -- ewwww!"

Done with our lunch, we went outside so Owen could check out the different entry points on Summer St. Owen loves subways, but not just the trains or the tunnels. He wants to know as much as possible about the layout of the stations, such as how many sets of stairs and escalators there are, the schematic of their set-up, where the elevators are, what the stations look like on the street, how many entrances there are. You get the idea. I was so happy just watching how excited he was for every aspect of our trip, observing things that most people (including me) don't pay attention to.

We went back into South Station and checked out the Silver Line buses that run under the city streets. Then we got on a Red line train and went one stop to Downtown Crossing. We walked downstairs to wait for an Orange line train. Owen was particularly taken by the doors on these trains. As you may be able to tell from this photo, the trains angle down a bit in the lower half, and the doors do the same.

We took the Orange line one stop to State. We walked up to take a look outside, as I wanted to show Owen how cool it is that the station is located in the basement of the Old State House. We went back in (I had charged up Owen's Charlie Card with $20 ahead of time, knowing we'd be paying to access certain stations more than once) and got on the Blue line and took that to Aquarium station.

Owen wanted to walk up to the street here, too, in order to see the entrance and the surrounding area. We weren't outside long before he decided he wanted to go back down. I had planned to go from Aquarium to Government Center, where we would transfer to the Green line and start heading back home. But Owen wanted to stretch the trip a bit, so we went back to State Street, and got on the Orange line. We went to Downtown Crossing again, and then took the Red line back to Park Street. From there we got on the Green line and made our way back to Newton.

I was exhausted after we got home. Luckily, I got to rest a bit while Amelia napped and Owen and Beth went down the street to his friend Max's house, where we'd been invited for dinner. Amelia and I caught up with them a little later. We had a really nice time with Max's parents, Doug and Jess. They made a great dinner, served tasty margaritas and gin and tonics and were fun to talk with. Owen had a lot of fun with Max and his younger sister, Rachel. Amelia was her usual happy-go-lucky self.

Sunday was a little mellower. After Beth and the kids gave me some Father's Day gifts (shorts, shirts), we went out to brunch. Then we hung out until 4:00, when Beth's family came over for a cookout. The ladies did some great grilling while the menfolk drank beer and talked about sports. The steaks were cooked to perfection and we all had fun watching Owen and his cousin Max (who's almost 20 months) play together, which they hadn't done much of before then.

I wrapped up the weekend by trying to watch the Celtics game, but I was falling asleep with about seven minutes to go in the game, and the Celts were losing, so I turned it off. I may try and stay up tonight to watch.

I'm still working on the final installment of the road-trip memoir. Look for it soon.

Friday, June 13

Updated....see last paragraph.

Beth, Amelia and I all dropped Owen at school this morning, as it was the final "K Drop-In" event of the year. Today the kids showed their families the hardcover books they've been working on. I am so proud of Owen and think his book is great. Titled "The Playdate," it tells the story of a play date with his friend Zoe. He also illustrated it, which I found especially cool to see because he's been getting into drawing more lately and he's really improved. Owen beat me to the punch on publishing his first book!

The kids all worked very hard during the year, writing and illustrating stories. In order to complete the book, they went through quite a process (from the notes provided to parents): reread old stories, pick 3 favorites, meet w/ teacher to pick 1 story to add details to, start writing and add more details, draw sketches for each page of the story (5-page minimum), read story to a teacher, title the story, dedicate the story to somebody, glue the final copy into the book, illustrate the story, complete the About the Author page, illustrate the cover.

After the authors proudly showed off their work, we all went to the auditorium for the final K Sing-a-long, in which all three kindergarten classes sing and mug for their parents. It was very cute.

While we all had a great morning, last night was a fantastic time to be a Boston sports fan (great segue, no?). Beth and I went to the Sox game, which they won 9-2. Mike Lowell hit a grand slam, and Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew each had 2-run shots. I didn't get there until the bottom of the second inning, but Beth was waiting for me, two beers in hand, so my nearly hour-long trip from Newton via the subway was worth it. We sat in the right-field roof boxes, which are great seats. Unfortunately, the angle of the sun for the first half of the game made it difficult to see balls hit in the air to left or center. I saw Lowell's home-run ball leave the bat, saw the left fielder stand and watch, but never actually saw the ball clear the Green Monster. By the 6th inning the sun went down enough so we could see everything clearly.

I wish I'd stayed up to watch the whole Celtics game. I turned it off a little before 11:00 when they were down by 20. Lo and behold they came back from 24 down and beat the Lakers by 6 points. Unbelievable. I guess I'll have to watch the whole game on Sunday.

In road-trip memoir news, the final installment is almost complete. I hope to post it in the next few days. I encourage you to read it, even if you haven't read any of the previous articles. It's chock-full of interesting links.

Hmmm, speaking of links (did you even notice that smooth transition?), I haven't posted any, have I? Well, here are a few....

I've been listening to Junior Kimbrough a lot lately. He was a really great blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music is very hypnotic and unlike most other blues stuff I've heard. Check out his posthumous MySpace page. I'd recommend listening to "Done Got Old." As much as I like that song, I like Heartless Bastards' cover better. Their version was on Sunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough. I just watched the band doing the song live here and got goose bumps. Erika Wennerstrom's voice is so powerful and soulful. I have mixed feelings about the band, though. I like some of their songs, but nothing as much as their Junior Kimbrough cover.

Speaking of goose bumps (another fantastic segue!), the only other singer in recent memory who's elicited that response from me is Susan Tedeschi. As some readers know, she and her band played our wedding in September 1997. I haven't paid much attention to her recent albums, but I really dig Just Won't Burn, which she released in 1998. Here she is doing "It Hurt So Bad," one of my favorites from that album. And yes, I got goose bumps watching this.

Amelia took a nice long nap this morning, so I did this.

Monday, June 9

Another fairly busy weekend has passed, and a hot one at that. The temps were up into the 90s both days, with high levels of humidity. We beat the heat as follows:

Saturday morning we went to Owen's final (air conditioned) tae kwon do class until the fall. His class took their test, which consisted of the teacher calling out positions for them to demonstrate, and the kids following her directions. The whole thing took all of about five minutes, at the end of their regular class. Afterwards, each of the kids received a new shirt, Owen moving from yellow to orange to signify his progress toward full Bruce Lee enlightenment.

Saturday afternoon I took Owen to yet another classmate's birthday party, this one at (the thankfully air-conditioned) Chuck E. Cheese in Burlington. He had a good time, although I was a bit bored and annoyed by all the cheesiness on display at the good-time emporium.

Yesterday, our friends Robin and Bill invited us to join them at the Milton Hoosic Club in Canton, where Robin has been a member since childhood. We went in the pool, ate lunch in the shade, went in the pool some more and generally had a great time keeping cool and seeing friends we hadn't seen in a while. Owen got to hang out with their boys, Ryan and Ben, so he was happy too.

In addition to helping us stay cool and eat free, Robin scored Red Sox tickets for us for this Thursday. She got some from work and she and Bill can't go, so we're gonna take them off her hands. I'm pretty excited, as I didn't make it to Fenway last year and I love going there.

We put our air conditioners in yesterday so that come night time we'd all be as comfortable as possible. We don't have one for Amelia's room, so we left our door and Owen's door open so the cool air would circulate. Seemed to work pretty well. Today's another hot one. The AC upstairs is keeping things cool, and downstairs we closed the windows and pulled the shades down and things are staying pretty comfortable.

On Saturday night Beth and I watched "Eagle vs. Shark," a goofy New Zealand comedy featuring Jemaine Clement from "Flight of the Conchords." The trailer tells you pretty much everything you need to know. I liked it, but wished it had been funnier. And it made me miss "Flight of the Conchords."

Owen's excited for today because Beth's mom is taking him on a short subway trip this afternoon, followed by ice cream. He's really into subways lately, and I hope to take him on a longer trip this Saturday to satisfy his many curiosities about the Green, Red, Blue and Orange lines of the Greater Boston transit system.

I've posted pictures here of Owen in tae kwon do, and Amelia in the pool.

Wednesday, June 4

I've posted the penultimate installment of my road-trip memoir here. I cover some random things we did and people we saw while in town. The last piece will cover our trip back East.

We had another busy weekend: Owen had tae kwon do Saturday, after which I took him to a classmate's birthday party at Kids' Playground in Woburn. Later in the day all four of us went to the first birthday party of the daughter of friends of ours who live in Needham. On Sunday, Beth took Owen to yet another party in Newton.

Beth left Monday morning for a two-day business trip in Newport. She returns today, and we'll all be glad to see her. Coincidentally, and thankfully, my parents have been in town since Monday. My dad is doing church committee work in Boston that he does a few times a year, and my mom has been hanging out with the kids and me. She's taken Owen to school the last two days, which they've both enjoyed. Amelia and I have driven my dad into Boston the last two mornings.

Owen is totally into subways these days. He looks at the MBTA web site regulary to see what the various stops on the Red, Green, Blue and Orange lines look like. He also goes to Google Maps to find subway and commuter train stops, and has a regular routine to find MBTA-related videos on YouTube. We've been promising for a few weeks to take him on a subway trip in Boston, and this Sunday we might finally be able to fulfill that promise.

I'm still on the DL as far as baseball goes. Went to the urologist yesterday and he said my vasectomy recovery is going along OK, but that I should take Advil to reduce the remaining swelling. If that doesn't work, he prescribed an antibiotic that will help reduce the inflammation. I hope to get back on the diamond June 15 or 22.

Friday, May 30

I've been trying to post this for three days, but have been too busy to get it done.

We had a very active and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Beth, Amelia and I gave Owen his birthday presents on his big day, Friday the 23rd. The big hit so far is the Casio keyboard, which features 100 tones, 30 music patterns and 10 songs. We've all had fun going through all of the sounds and songs. One of the pre-programmed songs is "Twinkle Twinkle," and after a few listens, Owen figured out how to play it himself. Pretty cool.

We also gave him a baseball glove, the old-school game Operation and a fire rescue set from the folks at Mighty World. He got some great books, games and clothes from other family members and friends.

On Saturday morning, as usual, Owen had tae kwon do. I took him and had a good time hanging out with Ray, the father of Owen's friend Walter. Ray is the only stay-at-home dad I've met around these parts, and it was good to run into him. Walter was making up the tae kwon do class he missed on Wednesday.

After tae kwon do we went home and had lunch with my parents and sister, who'd arrived to celebrate Owen's birthday. Later in the day, Beth's family arrived and we had our first cookout of the year, followed by cake and ice cream (see a picture here of some hungry partygoers, as well as a new one of Amelia in her Sox pajamas).

On Sunday Owen had a play date with his friend Daniel from school, while Beth did some yard work and Amelia and I hung out on the porch (Full disclosure: I had a vasectomy on May 16 from which I'm still recovering, so that's why I watched as Beth did yard work, and why I have missed a few baseball games and haven't been able to go running. I'm a bit bummed, but each day I feel a little better.) In the late afternoon we ventured to "Lower Wyoming," the part of our dead-end street that dips down toward the Charles River, for a BBQ with some friends. We met some new people and hung out with some others who we hadn't seen enough lately, and had a really good time.

On Monday we went to Walpole, MA, to meet our friends Jim and Nikki and their daughter, Sophia, for a picnic in Bird Park, a scenic area operated by the Trustees of Reservations. It was another beautiful day and again we had a great time, even though I kept thinking about the murder that took place there a decade ago.

In happier news, Amelia is very close to crawling. She gets around fairly well by scooting on her butt, and getting into a partial crawl position and dragging herself around. She also loves holding somebody's hands and walking around the house. Before too long, we'll have to break out the baby-proofing gear and throw up the gates on the stairways.

Also, we met this morning with the owner of the construction firm that's going to (finally!) renovate our bathroom and add a master bath. The project will likely get started during the week we go to the Cape in July and take until some time in September. We're excited to get going on this.

Wednesday, May 21

Owen's birthday is in two days, and he's getting very excited. Beth and I ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon last night. We should have done this sooner, as the shipping cost to get it here before his birthday is extremely high. Worth it, though. My sister and parents are coming up for the day on Saturday, and will join us, Beth's parents, her sister and brother-in-law and our nephew to celebrate Owen's 6th birthday.

This past Sunday, Owen had a big birthday bash with his friends at Kids U, the place where he does tae kwon do. He had a great time running around with his friends, demonstrating some of the gym equipment with the instructor, running around some more, and eating pizza and cake. I've posted four pictures from the party here.

Thursday, May 15

I've posted the 8th installment of my road-trip extravaganza here. I didn't intend to wait so long between sections, but life got in the way and I got lazy and then there was the alien invasion, and, well, there ya go.

Wednesday, May 14

Just a quick update....

Yesterday I joined a handful of moms to chaperone Owen's class to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. I brought Amelia along in her umbrella stroller, which I had to lug up and down three flights of stairs. The museum has an elevator, but it's not centrally located, so I found it easier to just tote the stroller, with Amelia in it. Owen and his classmates had a good time, although their interest in the displays was minimal. They had fun just running around, pushing buttons on exhibits when possible and watching video displays. Amelia was a trouper, as usual, and was exhausted after two hours at the museum, and fell asleep on the way home in the car.

We had a busy weekend. Owen had tae kwon do, as usual, on Saturday, and then a classmate's birthday party in the afternoon. I took him to the party, and enjoyed watching him and his friends splash around in the pool at Newton's Boston Sports Club. Owen's birthday party is this Sunday, so he'll get to hang around with his school buddies once more.

Saturday night we went to a cookout that our neighbors put together as a "last supper" of sorts for our next-door neighbors, who are moving at the end of this month. We had a lot of fun, catching up with neighbors, eating and drinking, sitting around the fire pit, watching the kids play (and then pretending to do so once they went inside to play). Amelia and Beth went back home a little after 9:00; Owen and I stuck it out until 10:00. In between those two times, there was a bit of an animal ruckus in the backyard next to the party. A few of the guys and I checked it out but didn't see what was making all the noise.

The next day, however, Beth, Owen and I figured out who the offending animal was. We spied an adult fox and a baby at the edge of our backyard, right near a small patch of woods. I'd seen the adult around the 'hood, as had a few other people. But nobody had seen the pup. Well, that was just the beginning of our "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" experience. That night, after Owen went to bed, Beth and I watched in amazement as two adults and at least four pups roamed around our shed, the woods and the backyard. The pups were rolling around and playing with each other, chasing one another around the shed. Beth did some research online and realized that foxes like to dig under things to make a den. I then figured out that the holes I'd covered up near the shed earlier in the day had been made by the foxes, not a raccoon or opossum, as I'd figured. Being the politically correct animal lovers that we are, we decided I should remove the cinder block and bricks from the holes I'd covered, in case the foxes were now inside. So I ventured out in my shoes and pajamas and removed the impediments. Just as I moved the cinder block, a dog in the yard behind ours started barking, which startled me. I danced quickly back up to the deck and inside.

I saw one pup the next night, but haven't seen them since. It's possible that my presence in the yard Sunday night, and my scent near their den, scared them away. If they return, my options include soaking rags in ammonium chloride and sticking them under the shed, spreading moth balls under there, or urinating near the den to mark it as belonging to me. I hope I don't have to choose any of those options, but if I did, I'd go with marking my territory first. That'll make me feel very manly.

Too bad we didn't have a fox gallery in our backyard instead.

Thursday, May 8

I'm not exactly sure why it's been 9 days since my last entry. Amelia's napping schedule is unpredictable and she rarely sleeps for more than 40 minutes at a time, so that's part of the reason. Been busy with errands during the day, and playing outside with the kids after Owen gets out of school, so that's another element. Anyway, here's what's been going on.

Owen is a full-fledged two-wheel bike rider. Go here to see a picture of him in action (along with a new pic of Amelia). Amazingly, he's gone from figuring it out over this past weekend, to purposely riding into objects (curbs, mostly) and doing tricks like riding with his feet off the pedals, and trying to go really fast. We're very proud of him. He had one wipe-out this week when he fell off and banged his face on the pavement. Luckily he just got a slight bloody nose and a bit of a scare. After a few minutes of tears and clean-up, he was right back on.

Beth took Owen to the Big Apple Circus last Saturday, along with his friend Oliver and his mom. They had a great time; Owen liked the guys who jumped on see-saws up onto each other's shoulders, with one guy holding a chair on top for the final jumper. Beth was impressed with many of the acts, too, such as the woman who simultaneously rotated as many as 50 hula hoops. We took Owen two years ago and had bad seats, and didn't end up staying for the whole show.

I'm actually bummed I missed out this year. But Amelia took a 2 1/2 hour nap, enabling me to watch "Gone Baby Gone," which Beth said she had no interest in watching with me, because it deals with a child who's been abducted.

As with other movies filmed in, and involving tales of people from Boston, such as "The Departed," I got distracted by the scenery and accents in "Gone Baby Gone." It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but it was just a'ight for me, as Randy Jackson says.

Beth and I have been watching a lot of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" on DVD when we're not watching the Sox, "American Idol," "Lost" or the Thursday night NBC comedies. "It's Always Sunny" is very funny and very un-PC.

Not too much else going on. My baseball game got postponed last Sunday, and we couldn't get a quorum for practice this Sunday, so it's gonna be a few weeks before I get on the diamond again.

Tuesday, April 29

Owen had a really good April vacation last week. Beth had Monday off, and took Friday so we all got to enjoy some extra time together. The weather was fantastic the whole week, and we spent a lot of time outside, hanging out with neighbors, going to playgrounds and helping Owen ride his bike without training wheels (see picture here). We went to the marathon last Monday, which was fun. Owen got to see his friend Tamer, who lives around the corner from where we were watching.

On Tuesday and Thursday, Owen did a three-hour camp at Kids U, where he does tae kwon do, and where he will have his birthday party next month. On Wednesday he had a play date with his friend Oliver, and on Friday he got together with his friend Max.

My sister and parents came up for the day on Saturday for a belated celebration of both my birthday and my sister's. We went to Not Your Average Joe's in Watertown for lunch, had dinner here followed by decadent chocolate cake and a gift exchange. My sister gave me a soups and stews cookbook, as well as "Diary of a Red Sox Season" by Sox lifer Johnny Pesky. I also got a Borders gift card from my parents, which I used yesterday to buy Owen a new "Magic Treehouse" book, and myself the new, self-titled Flight of the Conchords CD, as well as Cake's 2001 album, Comfort Eagle (check out this video for "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" from the album).

On Sunday, my team opened the 2008 season with a resounding 11-2 victory over the team that won it all last year. We hit well, fielded pretty well (except for my two errors -- aauugghh!!) and looked like contenders for this year's crown. I had a good day at the bat: a single, a double, a walk, a stolen base and three runs batted in. I'm excited as always for a summer of baseball.

Tuesday, April 22

I've been trying to post this entry for three or four days, but because the weekend was so warm, we were all outside much of the time. I'll update again in the next day or two, but here's what I was working on late last week....

More than two months after I started writing my road-trip memoir, I can't believe how involved the project has gotten. Initially, I intended to update it much more quickly, in shorter bursts, matching entries with specific dates from the trip. But I've ended up doing more with it than I thought I would, adding links to lots of people and places, referencing my journal and cassette tape as well as my dusty memory, and reliving a lot of the adventure as I go. Sometimes I feel like I'm living simultaneously in three planes: the present, the past and the future, where I go back to see many of the places I've been before but forgotten about. I realize how little I really experienced in any of the places we visited; I really want to go back to Athens, Memphis, New Orleans, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and will, some day, with my family in tow (willingly, I hope).

Part VII, covering Oklahoma, Texas and our arrival in New Mexico, is now available for your reading pleasure (if you're wavering, there's a nice music video waiting for you at the end as an enticement). I plan to write two or three more parts, discussing our time in Albuquerque and our drive back to the East Coast.

What else is going on? I'm excited for the warm weather this past week! Amelia and I have gone on some nice walks and runs, and we've spent a lot of time outside in the afternoons with Owen and his neighborhood friends. The weather even stayed nice for my scrimmage game Sunday, after the initial cloudy, cool forecast turned out wrong.

In a confusing harbinger of the warm weather, two Saturdays ago we had a turkey visit our backyard for a few minutes. I've posted a somewhat blurry shot on the picture page. There have also been several fox sightings in our neighborhood; the wilds are closing in!

The biggest news of late is that Owen lost his first tooth. It had been loose for about a month, and I could tell last Tuesday that it was about to come out. Sure enough, after we ate dinner that evening, Beth looked at Owen and said, "Your tooth came out!" He was excited, until we realized that he'd swallowed it with his food. He was very concerned, but Beth reassured him that swallowing it wouldn't hurt him, and that the tooth fairy would still reward him. He promptly called both sets of grandparents, and then walked down the street to tell his friend Emma his big news. Now he's got a second loose one. I've posted a picture here of his gap-toothed smile, along with a new shot of Amelia.

Monday, April 14

I've updated my travelogue with new information about our time in Memphis gleaned from a conversation with my buddy Pete. The Toastmen traveled to his house this past Saturday for a full-on jam, and I told Pete I was writing the road-trip memoir, and had just covered Memphis. Things were a little more interesting than I, in my drunken state, fully realized.

The jam session went well, as we covered one new tune and made good progress fine-tuning a few others, as well as making a gawd-awful racket on a couple more. It's always good to see those guys and bash so hard that my fingers bleed onto my strings (here's a pic from the Toastmen's glory days).

We had a pretty quiet day yesterday. I stayed up 'til 10:30 or so watching and listening to the Sox, but started falling asleep. I was glad to read this morning that they hung on against the Yankees. Speaking of baseball, my team has a scrimmage scheduled next Sunday, and then the Sunday after that the season begins. I've only been to one practice (I skipped yesterday's since I was gone most of the day Saturday), but I'll be ready to go once the ump calls "Play ball!" OK, the umps don't really do that, but I'll be ready anyway.

Tuesday, April 8

I've posted the sixth part of my long-and-winding road memoir. Today's installment covers our adventures in Memphis. I hope you read and enjoy.

We all had busy weekends. As usual, we all went to Owen's tae kwon do class on Saturday morning. Afterwards, we went to Bertucci's for lunch. When we got home Beth, Owen and Amelia gave me my presents, and then Beth then took Owen shopping for a few birthday presents for her father and a friend of Owen's.

On Sunday I had my first practice, which went well despite the cold, drizzly, windy conditions. I felt pretty good at the bat and in the field. I took a grounder off the side of my head, and am dealing with a bruised big toe, but otherwise I can't complain, especially since I didn't hit or throw a ball all winter.

While I was at practice, Beth took Owen and Amelia to a birthday party for Owen's school friend, Duncan. Owen had a good time at the Robin Hood-themed party, and Amelia hung out with another baby, which she enjoyed.

At 4:00 we met Beth's family at Not Your Average Joe's in Watertown to celebrate two birthdays: mine and my father-in-law's. We went back to our house for cake, presents and booze -- cognac for the men, Disaronno for the ladies.

Today I'm looking forward to watching the Sox' home opener, and hoping for better things than I witnessed in Toronto.

Saturday, April 5

Happy birthday to me. Today I'm 43. Tomorrow I go to my first baseball practice of the year, and by the end of the day I'll feel more like 63.

I haven't updated in a while, in part because we didn't have Internet, cable or phone access for two days this week. Turns out the coaxial cable had been disconnected from the side of our house. The technicians weren't sure what happened. I'm guessing either juvenile delinquents or El Chupacabra.

Last weekend we saw our friends Jeff and Laura, and their twins, Caitlyn and Andra, for the first time in, well, too long. It was really great to see them, and Owen had fun playing with the girls, who are 8 going on 9. We have a loose agreement to visit them in NH some time before the next lunar landing. I met Jeff in college, and Laura not long after Jeff graduated in 1985. Beth and I used to see them all the time when they lived in Medford and we lived in Brighton, and then Somerville. So many people to keep in touch with, unfortunately sometimes too much time passes in between visits.

What else? We watched four episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" this week while our cable was out. We'd caught just a few minutes of one of last season's episodes on FX last fall, and laughed a lot, so I figured we might as well rent the first two season and laugh some more. And we did.

It's great to have the Sox back. They didn't look so great last night, except for J.D. Drew's home run, but I really missed watching them over the winter. Like everybody, I have high hopes for Jacoby Ellsbury. He's got such great potential. I hope he doesn't end up like Rocco Baldelli from the Devil Rays, who has had physical ailments over the last two seasons, and now has some condition that makes him tire easily. He might not play again. I hope he does.

As I mentioned at the top, tomorrow is my first practice of the season. I'm looking forward to that, even though I'm out of shape and haven't thrown a ball or swung a bat since our last game in September.

And as I also mentioned, today is my birthday. Beth, Owen and Amelia gave me some running gear (I'm trying to get back into it), a pair of shorts and the new R.E.M. disc, which I've read good things about. I haven't paid attention to Michael Stipe & Co. lately but they deserve a chance to redeem themselves after some boring music over the last several years.

That's all, folks.

Friday, March 28

Just a quick update. The Sons and Daughters show on Monday night was fun. Their set was only about an hour long, but they ripped through a good mix of songs from the new album, This Gift, as well as stuff I knew from Love the Cup and The Repulsion Box. Opening band Frightened Rabbit was really good, and the reason that my buddy OJ was there (read his review here). I'll have to look into more of their stuff. The middle band, Bodies of Water, made me angry. I ranked them as the second worst band I've ever seen, behind the gleefully dissonant and purposefully annoying U.S. Maple. Bodies of Water didn't belong on the club's stage, or really, even a middle-school talent show stage. You be the judge.

On a more positive note, I've posted the fifth installment of my road memoir.

AND ONE MORE THING...I published this stuff and then decided my faithful readers would be upset if I didn't pass along one more bit of entertainment news. I dragged Amelia with me yesterday to L.L. Bean in Burlington to return some slippers and exchange a fleece vest. After doing so, we went to the Burlington Mall, the latest destination in my quest to buy slippers that a) aren't ugly and b) fit me. I struck out at Eddie Bauer and Sears and gave up the hunt, perhaps until next autumn. But I digress.

While at the mall I realized that something was afoot. Young men with headset microphones were stopping people from shopping, telling them there was a movie being shot and that the delay would be short. I took it all in: the yellow caution tape blocking off an area in front of a florist shop; the sign telling mall patrons to use another set of bathrooms; more people with headset mics stopping people about 30 feet away from where I stood. After only a minute or so, the production peons told people the shoot was over for the moment, and we could proceed. I noticed a sign for Columbia Pictures, so today I turned to my good friend the Internet to try and figure out what movie was on location at the mall.

It didn't take long. Thanks to a story in the Boston Herald and a blurb on some blog called The Frosting, I learned that the exciting piece of cinematic excellence being dedicated to film is the Adam Sandler-produced movie formerly known as "Mall Cop," starring Kevin James of "King of Queens" fame (someone else made a movie called "Mall Cop" a few years ago, so who knows what this one will be called). So if any of you venture out to see this masterpiece, look for me and Amelia hanging in the corner of a shot, standing next to the mall directory.

Monday, March 24

I've taken down the video file I posted last week. Evidently I was the only one who could view it. I converted it to a different file type, but now it's too large. Additionally, I received an email from my hosting company saying that I've nearly exceeded my file transfer capacity for the month, so I may have to wait until April 1st to post the McNuggets Rap video.

We had a nice weekend, starting off with our usual trek to Owen's tae kwon do class. We enjoy going because Amelia has a great time hanging out or going on the swing, and we chat with the parents of one of Owen's class buddies. In the afternoon, we headed down to CT to see my parents and celebrate my dad's birthday and Easter. I've posted a few pictures from our trip here, in addition to a few others of Owen and Amelia at home.

Owen had fun at my parents' house, going on a few Easter egg hunts, decorating eggs and eating cake and ice cream not once but twice. For my dad's birthday, Owen and Amelia gave him a double picture frame with new pics of the two of them inside. My cousins Amy and Lynne joined us for Easter dinner, which was nice. We hit traffic on the way home, which delayed us by 30 minutes. We didn't get home until 7:00, but the kids were OK upon arrival.

I'm going out tonight to see one of my current favorite bands, Sons and Daughters. I'll post a review of some sort later on this week. I'll also post the next installment of the road-trip memoir, with any luck.

Thursday, March 20

Spring has sprung, and it's time for a little DaveBrigham.com ("Where Dave Brigham Meets Dot Com") house cleaning. I've eliminated the "Links" page, folding that info into the "Old Blog" page. In place of the links, I've added a Video page, where I soon hope to post the first clip. I posted a clip last week, but evidently nobody could actually watch it. I will work on fixing that.

Speaking of video, I've decided to return the camcorder I bought two weeks ago, because it isn't compatible with the movie editing software on my laptop. I'm not sure what I'll buy instead, as I've done some research and now I'm more confused than ever. Nevertheless, I downloaded the few clips from the camera and hope to post a few more things soon either here or on YouTube.

Not much else to report. Last night my TV turned into a wayback machine, as I enjoyed bits and pieces of both the Burt Reynolds-Loni Anderson NASCAR romp "Stroker Ace" and a CMT documentary on Southern rock, featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels and the Allman Brothers, among others. Here's a YouTube clip showcasing Daniels' theme song for "Stroker Ace" (which sounds a LOT like his "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"). Others featured in the movie include Ned Beatty, Jim Nabors, Bubba Smith, John Byner, Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira), and a host of NASCAR drivers from the early '80s. Enjoy....

We'll be in CT for the Easter weekend. I hope to post the next part of my road trip memoir some time next week.

Friday, March 14

Owen was the Person of the Week in his class this week, and he really enjoyed all that honor entailed (each kid gets a turn during the course of the year). Last Sunday he and Beth made a collage of family photos and captions that came out really great. Owen was really into the project and wrote all the captions, and talked about it with his class on Monday.

On Thursday his classmates interviewed Owen about his favorite food (meatballs -- a surprise to me), favorite TV show ("SpongeBob" -- no surprise there), color (blue, black, brown and something else) and other stuff. Also yesterday he brought in a 2008 calendar my sister makes each year with pictures of the extended Brigham family and answered questions about that from his classmates.

Today Beth went in and read a book ("Dr. DeSoto") to the class. Owen's teacher was nice enough to send along pictures from the reading.

Tomorrow is the latest birthday party for one of Owen's classmates. It's at the YMCA in Brighton and is supposed to feature gymnastics, a Moon Bounce and pizza and ice cream. Should be fun. After that, we're going to my in-laws' for a boiled dinner in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Not sure whether there will be any green beer available.

On Sunday, Beth is going to a baby shower for her cousin, in Maine. I've scored a play date for Owen, which will be good for him, Amelia and me. By the way, earlier this week Owen discovered his first loose tooth. He's very excited.

And last but certainly not least, I've posted Part 4 of my never-ending remembrance of the road trip I took 20 years ago.

Thursday, March 13

Last Saturday we watched Owen complete his "test" at tae kwon do in order to receive his yellow shirt, signifying his advance to the next level. I've posted a few pictures here, along with one new shot of Amelia. Owen did a great job, as you'll see once I figure out how to either post the video I shot at this site, or slap it on YouTube. Beth and I are very proud of him, and very happy that he likes martial arts. This Saturday marks the first class of his second session.

As I mentioned, I shot video of Owen's demonstration, using our new digital camcorder. The camera is easy to use, for both video and still shots, but syncing it up with our iBook is proving a little more difficult. I love Macs, always have, because of their ease of use and because I like sticking it to Microsoft. But sometimes it doesn't pay to own one. In order to simply view the video I shot on my laptop, I had to download one free software app, and pay for another one ($20). And having done that, I can't get the video to work in the iMovie application that came with my computer. I might need to update iMovie; not sure. And to put the 6-minute clip on this site, I have to figure out either how to shrink the file size, or edit it down. One way or the other, I'll get some of that video online for people to watch.

Not much else going on. Progress on part 4 of my road trip memoir has slowed, but I will get it online soon.

Thursday, March 6

UPDATE, FRIDAY, MARCH 7: WHILE WORKING ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF MY ROAD PIECE, I RECALLED THAT I HAVE AN AUDIO TAPE FROM THE TRIP. THIS IS EITHER GONNA ADD FASCINATING NEW DETAILS, OR BORING DRIVEL. EITHER WAY, I'LL BE WRITING PLENTY MORE

I've posted the third part of my possibly never-ending 20-year retrospective of a trip I took across the country with three friends. Today I dwell on Athens, and all the alcohol to be had there.

Not much else new 'round these parts.

Sunday, March 2

Ah, with the arrival of March, we're one step closer to spring. I haven't been outside today, but the bright blue skies make me feel good, even though it's only about 42 degrees and windy. Soon enough, I'll be playing baseball, grilling on the deck, hanging out with neighbors, and trying to convince Owen to take the training wheels off his bike.

Due to the overwhelming clamor from bored people the world over, I've posted the second installment of my road trip review on the Blah Blah Blah page. You can just toss out that cup of coffee you're drinking; the stories there will wake you up and keep you up!

Thursday, February 28

Hard as it is to believe, Amelia will be eight months old tomorrow. She's doing very well, babbling like crazy, trying to get her hands on anything in reach, laughing a big belly laugh when Owen does his "sports jumping" for her. She still doesn't have any teeth, and isn't showing signs of crawling, but that's normal.

Before I move on, I just want to point you again to the first installment of my 20-year look-back to the road trip I took with three friends in 1988. Combining journal entries, information from two articles I wrote for a weekly paper, and two decades of hindsight, the piece illustrates the highs and lows of aimless wandering. Look for the second installment in the next few days.

Now for some music stuff. Two weeks after the fact, but not too late, I'm posting a link to Love Will Reign Supreme, a free Valentine's Day covers EP issued by one-time Bay State / current NYC-based electro-rockers Mobius Band. I have to say, these are some of my favorite tunes the band has done. Here's the track listing:

"Razor Love" -- Neil Young

"Digital Love" -- Daft Punk

And finally, while researching Philadelphia earlier this week for my road trip piece, I happened across this fine video of a guy in a wheelchair serenading women outside a restaurant. He's got a great voice, an artificial leg (which he takes off) and just wants some lovin' from a "nice girl" or two or three or more. Is that so wrong?

Tuesday, February 26

As promised (threatened?), I've posted the first piece on the Blah Blah Blah page looking back 20 years to February 26, 1988, the day I left on a road trip that took me and three friends from Connecticut, all the way down the Eastern Seaboard, across into New Orleans, up to Memphis, across Arkansas and Texas and into New Mexico, where we settled for a few months. The piece includes stuff from a journal I kept along the way, as well as info and quotes from two articles I wrote for the weekly newspaper at which I'd worked until just before the trip.

I'll post more stuff there over the next few weeks, covering the trip and our arrival in the Land of Enchantment.

Back in the Now Times...

Owen had fun during vacation camp at Kids U, where he does tae kwon do. He went for three hours each day, and did gymnastics, arts and crafts, cooking and general mayhem. He also had a few play dates, including one with his friend Oliver from school at a great sledding hill. He wrapped up his vacation in style, as we all met his school buddy Duncan and his family at Watch City Brewery in Waltham, where on Sundays they break out train sets, blocks and crayons for kids to use (along with a free kids' buffet) while the parents eat, drink and get merry.

I guess that's enough for now.

Thursday, February 21

Unbeknownst to me, my photo page has been fixed. I emailed Network Solutions about my problem last week, and didn't hear back from them. Now it's working. Not sure what the issue was. Anyway, there are three new pictures of Amelia there.

Be forewarned that beginning next week I'll be posting on the Blah Blah Blah page some reminiscences of the road trip I took 20 years ago.

Sunday, February 17

Upon awaking yesterday morning (too early, of course) I was feeling pretty good and planned to extol the healing powers of ribs. Specifically, Texas beef ribs. More specifically, Texas beef ribs paired with Fuller's Old Man Winter Ale served by my favorite BBQ joint, Redbones. I had a bit of a headache and my body was sore for some reason (read: I'm old), but my chest congestion seemed to have disappeared. I wasn't coughing. I was pretty happy. Then, I got out of bed and before too long I was coughing and spitting gunk into the sink and, well, things hadn't really changed at all.

But at least Beth and I had fun at Redbones Friday night with the Webnoize crew and most of their spouses. It's always great to hang out with OJ, Jay, Ric and Lee (for some odd reason, he doesn't have a blog; but this guy's got the same name and he's Scottish, which is cool). And it was doubly nice to have the ladies along to strap on their (smaller) feedbags and get their drink on. Too bad Jay's wife, Deb, couldn't make it.

Last night's agenda was much mellower. Once the kids were in bed, Beth and I watched "Little Children." We both read the book, which is by local guy Tom Perrotta, who also wrote "Election." I was a little disappointed in the movie. The voice-over narration was weird, and since it's by the guy who does "Frontline," it's doubly weird. I thought Kate Winslet was excellent as always. She was so good that it took me about a third of the way through the movie to remember that she's British. Patrick Wilson was pretty good, too. But I thought Jennifer Connelly wasn't all that great, and the movie didn't get into the depravity of Winslet's character's husband enough, but I realize you can only do some much with a movie. Jackie Earle Haley was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He was good, but I'm not sure he was that good.

I plan to add Perrotta's latest novel, "The Abstinence Teacher," to my Amazon wish list, even though I read magazines much more than books these days. That said, I bought John Sedgwick's "In My Blood" yesterday. Sedgwick, another Boston-area writer, is related to Edie Sedgwick, the one-time Warhol muse who died of a drug overdose in 1971. The Sedgwicks are a blue-blood family whose ancestors include well-known politicians and generals, as well as plenty of folks with mental illnesses. Sedgwick's book deals with his own depression, and his effort to trace such issues in his family tree. How could I resist a book dealing with genealogy and a tragic Brahmin clan?

Tuesday, February 12

I had posted three new pictures of Amelia, but once again, some new feature offered by my hosting company has all of a sudden turned my photo page into an abyss. I'll try to fix it.

Anyway, I wanna give a shout-out to Jim Terry, who answered the street light question Owen, Beth and I have been pondering for a while now. Terry runs yet another web site devoted to street lights, and he answered my email question, informing us that the numbers, as Beth had speculated, indicate wattage. For instance, a street light with a "5" on it has a 50-watt bulb (you multiply by 10). He also said that the color of the sticker on the street light indicates the type of bulb -- sodium, metal halide or mercury. Now you all know more about street lights than you ever thought you would. You're welcome.

Health update: still fighting the bronchitis, or whatever it is. Not happy.

Something that does make me happy is the latest album from Scottish quartet Sons and Daughters. Called This Gift, the album is influenced less by country and folk as their previous two albums, and doesn't rely as much on the boy-girl duets as those fine efforts. At times I hear echoes of the '60s in the album, while other moments make me think of the '80s. Can't quite put my finger on why, but I like the album. Here's the video for "Gilt Complex" off This Gift; here's the one for "Darling."

I took the opportunity last week to watch "Hard Core Logo," a mockumentary about a Canadian punk rock band that reunites and goes through the muck and the mire and personal strife while doing so. It's got its humorous moments, but is much more serious than its obvious influence, "This Is Spinal Tap." I thought it was going to be funny, because I mistakenly believed that the director was one of the guys from "Kids In the Hall." Turns out that Bruce McDonald is not one of those wacky Canadians -- I was mashing up Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald. Anyway, the movie is pretty good; I thought Hugh Dillon did a great job as lead singer/tragic figure Joe Dick. Turns out Dillon is in a band called The Headstones, which isn't very good. He's also acted in plenty of other movies and TV shows. For those interested in the "Reader's Digest" version of the film, check out this fan's video.

That's it for now. Beth and I are excited to go out this Friday night with the Webnoize boys and their better halves. We're going to Redbones in the Paris of the East, Somerville.

Thursday, February 7

It's been a while since I've blogged; let's see what's been going on.

We're still in our battle to get everybody in the house healthy. I've been hacking for a few weeks. I finally went to the doctor on Tuesday and he said I have bronchitis. I've now got a handful of drugs to take to help clear things up. Beth has another cold/sore throat/potential swollen gland thing going on, made worse by a stiff neck. She also went to the doctor on Tuesday, but he said he thinks she's just got stress built up in her shoulders. She told him she was having some difficulty swallowing, but he didn't seem overly concerned. She came home early from work yesterday and went in late today, but seems to be feeling better. Owen and Amelia are fine, knock on wood.

My parents were in town Monday through Wednesday. My dad was doing his usual Unitarian-Universalist committee work in Boston, while my mom enjoyed hanging out with the grandkids. My mom made a really great book for Owen. She wrote a story about Owen and some snowmen, and left blank pages for him to make maps, one of his favorite activities. The book is really cool, and a great idea.

In addition to his ongoing love of roads, highways and maps, Owen has a relatively newfound fascination with street lights. He loves to spot the differences between them, and has discovered that most have a number on them, directly next to the bulb. The numbers -- 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25 -- tend to be the same on each street, but vary widely between streets. We have no idea what they mean. I did a Google search yesterday to try and figure it out. I didn't, but I came across Street-Light Nuts, a site dedicated in part to "all of you who thought you were the only ones who ever thought of such things." I haven't heard back from the guy, and probably won't, since he hasn't updated his site in a few years it seems.

The Super Bowl was a colossal letdown, that's for sure. I'm not a live-and-die by the Patriots guy, the way I am with the Red Sox, but I was pretty shocked by how the game ended up. Well, not really, because the Giants outplayed the Pats the whole time, especially on defense. On the plus side, my sister-in-law Megan and her husband Todd put on their usual great party, complete with Southwestern-themed food. The Mexican lasagna was fantastic.

I'm pretty excited that "Lost" has returned. Last week's episode was great, and I eagerly await tonight's. I hope that the writer's strike is resolved soon, as has been rumored, so that the show won't have to end after just 8 episodes. I look forward to the return of my other favorite shows once the strike is over: "Heroes," "30 Rock," "The Office," "Scrubs" and whatever else it is I watch.

Wednesday, January 30

The Spice Girls are, um, "playing" in Boston tonight. As much as they were media icons for a short time back whenever the heck that was, I never really paid them much mind. The Brits have a tendency to blow unworthy acts up into the Greatest Thing Evah, only to discard them when they get old and boring. OK, to be fair, we do the same thing in the good ole US of A. But because the UK is a much smaller market, entertainers' trajectories tend to rise and fall much more quickly. Anyway, the Globe ran a picture of the Girls in its Sidekick section today, and I was struck by how awful, awful, awful Posh Spice looks, despite (or because of) her surgical enhancements and Barbie doll outfit. So much has been made of Posh, aka Victoria Beckham, because she's married to world-famous footie player David Beckham, has her own line of clothing and had some foolish reality show when she and "Becks" landed on our shores (can you tell I read People and Entertainment Weekly?).

As this picture, which is quite similar to the one from today's Sidekick, illustrates, all the Girls except Posh look like, well, normal women. Beckham looks like a cross between Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls and, I don't know, a Terminator. I think Melanie Brown should trade her "Scary Spice" moniker with Posh. Mrs. Beckham just looks so unhappy compared to the rest of them. Maybe she should rename herself "Pouty Spice." Of course, none of the Girls are using their former "spice" names any more. Too bad.

One last note on a topic that I never thought I'd cover: I like Ginger Spice much better as an Earth mama than in her former incarnation. Guess I'm getting old.

Anyway, all is well in our household. Owen, Beth and I are still trying to get rid of our coughs, but Amelia seems back to normal, which is great.

Monday, January 28

A healthier week has dawned on our household. Last week's vomitus has been replaced by hacking coughs. We actually got out of the house without fear of infecting the general population with plague-like germs. Of course, nobody's particularly happy about coughing all the time, and swallowing post-nasal drippings (lovely images, yes?), but it's progress. I've had a cold/sinus congestion/cough/pleurisy/consumption for about 3 1/2 weeks now and I'm aching for better health.

As I mentioned, we got out of the house this weekend free from the fear of contagion. We did our usual family outing to Owen's tae kwon do class Saturday morning. In the late afternoon we went to the 2nd birthday party for the grandson of a family friend. Yesterday we were pretty mellow, with Owen leading Beth and me through some school activities ("Now it's time for morning meeting; then we'll do writing workshop."). It was very cute. Around 3 o'clock we decamped to my in-laws' for an early dinner. Owen teamed up with Beth for a tae kwon do "play," in which he led her through a bunch of stretches and moves he's learned over the past 5 or 6 weeks. Again, very cute.

While our general health has improved, Amelia has actually spit up (quite a bit each time) at least once each of the past 8 days. I think her system is simply getting used to eating a full complement of cereal, peas and formula, after we more or less had to starve her for several days because she barfed everything that we put into her.

Enough graphic health talk. Beth and I finally watched most of a movie last night, the first time since before Amelia was born. We have maybe 20 minutes left of "The Queen." We almost made it, but Amelia woke up a little before 10 last night, and she needed to eat. I have mixed feelings about the movie. It's well done and an interesting story, but I couldn't get past thinking, "Oh, there's James Cromwell; he's Prince Philip. There's a guy who I'm supposed to believe is Tony Blair." I wasn't saying that about Helen Mirren, who is great as usual. I look forward to watching the end tonight and then shipping it back to Netflix, along with "Jumanji" and "American Hardcore," which we never watched. We need some new movie blood in the house.

A tip of my new scally cap to my pal OJ for letting me know that Gang of Four bass player Dave Allen blogs here. He writes about music, posts free and legal downloads (including Gang of Four works-in-progress) and posts news and photos from the studio as the band works on its latest album. I haven't dug too deeply into it yet, but I will.

Brigham out.

Thursday, January 24

Well, it's been a long and unhealthy week in the Brigahan household. Owen got the stomach bug early Tuesday morning. Amelia was still throwing up yesterday; today she's better. I'm being cautious with her, though, because on Wednesday I gave her some formula and it backfired on me, literally. She's ravenous today, but I'm feeding her in small doses. In addition to the kids, Beth was home yesterday feeling sick. She's got wicked sinus congestion and ended up barfing, too. As for me, I've still got remnants of my cold/sinus infection, so I'm coughing a lot. But I haven't gotten the plague that has affected the rest of the household. Fingers crossed....

We've done loads of soiled laundry this week. We unfortunately had to tell our cleaners to stay away yesterday, so the house is just filled with germs. I'll be glad when this all passes. Our sickness has also resulted in my sister changing her plans. She was supposed to stay with us this weekend while attending classes in Boston on how to become a yoga instructor. Now, she will be staying at a hotel.

Since I don't have much else to write about, or the desire to make anything up, I'm taking the easy way out. Here are the first 10 songs that come up on iTunes while I'm sitting here.

1. "Shading a Dream" -- Rambling Shadows. I've written a bit about this band, which rose from the long-ago burnt-out Crippled Pilgrims. Lots of nice guitar work in this song, but it feels a bit like an extended jam. Still, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

2. "The checks gotta get cashed" -- Chevy Heston. The late, great psychedelic Boston band with a dirty mind. I was never into them while they were around here, but I've purchased most of their stuff. They wrote short, funny, sexy (sometimes perverted) songs in a stream-of-consciousness style, or maybe cut-and-paste, all about trips to the dentist and demented school teachers. Some of the guys went on to NYC-based Kate Diamond (WARNING: THERE ARE SWEAR WORDS IN THESE SONGS), who haven't logged into their MySpace page in nearly two years, so I guess they've broken up, too.

3. "I'm Leaving Chicago" -- Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson. Your standard-issue blues jam about traveling a long distance for a woman. I have to be in the right mood to listen to the blues, but I do like a lot of it.

4. "Brick is Red" -- Pixies. Short, sweet, distorted, and with those great Black Francis/Kim Deal harmonies. Beth is such a huge Pixies fan that I've soured a bit on them because for a long time iTunes was jammed to the rafters with their music. But since we've added a lot more songs to our celestial jukebox, I'm willing to listen to them at least once in a while.

5. Earthquake Weather -- Beck. Another spacy, groovy fever-dream from my favorite Scientologist.

6. "Kim & Cookie (Interlude)" -- Outkast. Spoken-word thingie from a band that I wanted to like when Beth bought Stankonia, but it didn't turn out that way. This should be removed from iTunes.

7. "Eye of the Volcano" -- Stereolab. Spacy goodness with a disco flavor from this veteran UK-France combo. I was really into this band a few years ago, and now that Beth has downloaded their latest, I feel the need to rediscover them.

8. "Angelene" -- PJ Harvey. A mellow one from Is This Desire?. Haunting and beautiful, like much of Harvey's stuff. I like her rockin' songs better, but there's power in her vocals and the melancholy mood.

9. "Georgia On My Mind" -- Ray Charles. I think Ray Charles is great, but I don't listen to him a lot. A little old school for me.

10. "Red River Rock" -- Johnny & the Hurricanes. Taken off Classic Instrumentals, an album that I believe came off the Webnoize pile. Again, this isn't the kind of thing I thrive on -- instrumentals from the '50s -- but it's got a surf-y charm to it.

Well, I'm not that impressed with this list. But at least it's honest.

Monday, January 21

Today's a mellow day. Amelia's got the stomach bug, and so, when she's not napping or yakking, she's content to hang out on the couch next to me in a sluggy mood (Actually, as I was writing the next sentence, she fell asleep.). Beth took the day off because, since Owen doesn't have school today, she knew I would need help with the kids. I'm very grateful, especially since Owen had a play date this morning that stretched into lunch time.

We had a busy weekend. We all went to Owen's tae kwon do class Saturday morning, as Amelia likes watching the kids at Kids U run around. She also enjoys the swing. Late in the afternoon we went to our friends Robin and Bill's house in Concord. Owen played with their sons, Ryan and Ben, and Beth and I had a good time catching up with our friends and eating Indian food.

On Sunday we went to our friends Linda and Dave's for a baby-naming ceremony for their daughter, Maya, who was born about a month before Amelia. Their house was packed with friends and family; the ceremony was very nice and there was plenty of food. Owen also got his first exposure to "High School Musical," as did I. The movie was on the TV in the basement playroom. I was surprised that the girls in the playroom, who aged from 3 to 7, give or take a few months, seemed to know all the songs and the parts of the movie. I thought "High School Musical" was for teens, or at least 'tweens. Owen watches "SpongeBob SquarePants," which is ideally suited for 7 or 8 year olds, but I watch with him and there's nothing inappropriate. Not that "High School Musical" seemed inappropriate, but it certainly is a little advanced for the under-10 set.

On Sunday afternoon Beth took Owen to a birthday party for his friend Anicca while I watched the Patriots beat the Chargers. Amelia slept during most of the game, for which I thanked her.

Now, for a random link. I haven't done my favorite kind of search in a while, where I type the first word that pops into my head along with "conspiracy" into Google. Today's word was "fork." Here's what came up. This guy needs to take a chill pill.

Well, I just stepped away for a few minutes to read that cabbie's blog, and, well, I'm hooked.

Thursday, January 17

I've posted five new pictures of Amelia and Owen here.

Now, for some random thoughts....

...I love Debi Mazar. I'm not physically attracted to her; I just love the characters she plays on TV ("Entourage") and in movies ("Good Fellas"). In her younger days, she was often the street-smart best friend or sassy girlfriend. Now in her early 40s, on HBO's "Entourage" she's the foul-mouthed PR flack for Vinnie Chase. And it's her sailor-speak that really seals the deal for me; she's in my top-three Curse Word Idols, alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Danny Aiello. Anyway, about a month ago I discovered the cooking blog she and her husband operate. Called Under the Tuscan Gun, the site offers video clips of Mazar and her Italian husband cooking; recipes; and your basic bloggy information. I plan to try some of the recipes one of these days. If that doesn't float your boat, then maybe this bit of trash-talkin' from some movie called "Inside Monkey Zetterland"(!) is your bag.

...On Sunday we hosted a bunch of my family for brunch before heading to Northeastern University to watch my cousin John's daughter, Sam, play basketball. She's a sophomore for Hofstra University. Last year her team had a great season, but this year has been a struggle, after the team lost several key players to graduation. Still, they played a great game in beating Northeastern, which made the Brigham cheering section very happy. It was good to see my sister and various cousins (and my cousin Amy's fiance, Mick).

...Finally, a few words about my obsession with the Privileged Class. Ever since researching the Brigham side of my family, and realizing that my first ancestor arrived stateside in 1635 in Cambridge, Mass., I've become even more obsessed than I had been previously with the fading WASP culture -- its private schools (Miss Porter's, Groton), country clubs, vacation hot spots (Camden, Maine; Nantucket), old-money estates, eccentric fashions (Nantucket Reds; Espadrilles; pants with lobsters on them) and oddball names (Slim Hawks, CZ Guest, Smoki Bacon). Whenever I see an obituary article in the Globe that looks like it is about some well-to-to man or woman who grew up in Greenwich or Brookline, whose father was a doctor or lawyer or college president and who summered in Europe with his or her governess, I'm drawn in. I have put some books by Louis Auchincloss on my wish list at Amazon. I read Vanity Fair and marvel at the tales of extravagance , tragedy and frivolity of the royals of Europe. What can I say, I've got class envy.

But not really. I have no desire to move among these people (well, not for more than a long weekend anyway). They're like UFO's, snake handlers and Masons to me -- I'm fascinated because their cultures are so foreign to me. Just like Evangelical Christians or Hell's Angels.

Anyway, the closest I'll get to the WASP educational experience is sending Owen to summer camp at Newton's Fessenden School, whose notable alums include Howard Hughes, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Gen. George Patton. Maybe I'll have Owen steal one of those fancy blazers with the school crest on it.

Saturday, January 12

It's less than three months until my 43rd birthday, but I feel like I'm turning into a moony-eyed college girl. And a British one, at that.

In my last posting, I extolled the virtues of Bat for Lashes, a young British singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist of Pakistani descent whose official bio references her use of "ballet-school piano," and lists Joan of Arc as one of her inspirations. She's got similarities to Bjork, who I like some of the time, and Kate Bush, who I don't care for, and is hardly the type of music I usually listen to. But I plan to listen to more tracks than the one I highlighted below, "What's a Girl to Do."

Today, I am laying flowers at the feet of another U.K. songbird, Kate Nash. What is it about Nash that I like? Well, the British accent gets me right away. And she's cheeky -- "Watching me like you watched no one / Don't tell me that you didn't try and check out my bum / 'Cause I know that you did / 'Cause your friend told me that you liked it" -- from "Merry Happy". Also, she lists "Elliott from that film E.T. - drum skills" as one of her band members. And her influences include the Buzzcocks, Gang of Four, Johnny Cash, "The Young Ones," Lady Sov and "Jabberwocky," (not sure if she means the Lewis Carroll poem or the Terry Gilliam-directed movie based on the poem) among many, many other things, according to her MySpace flat. Musically upbeat, Nash fuses hip hop beats, R&B, diva dance music, and piano-led pop music. I hate to sound like a broken record, but this isn't the type of stuff I usually listen to (although I guess increasingly, it is). And if someone without the right mix of humor, talent and vibrancy did something similar, it might not work for me.

Nash is another in a growing line of female British artists I dig, alongside PJ Harvey, Lady Sovereign, Bat for Lashes, Bjork (yes, she's Icelandic, but she's lived in the UK so she's almost British) and Amy Winehouse (a little). I think if I gave Lily Allen a try I'd like her, too.

OK, that's enough for now. I've been trying to get this stuff posted for the past two days. Now I have to watch the Patriots.

Sunday, January 6

I've been living in a sick house. Beth left work early on Thursday feeling a bit nauseous. Long story short: she had a stomach bug that kept her laid out through most of Saturday. Amelia's got a cold with a nasty cough. She's doing OK, but it's been messing up her sleep the last few nights. And her sleep at night isn't great to begin with. Owen and I are fighting off cold symptoms. So far, nobody else has contracted the stomach bug. Fingers crossed....

As I mentioned last week, I went to my friend Ray's annual Holiday Jam on December 29. Ray's not just a good musician, he's also a producer. So he recorded all the stuff folks played over the course of six hours or so. Go here to check out the whole sordid mess, complete with studio chatter, like some blues album from the '50s. The songs on which I played on "Disc 1" start at "19th Nervous Breakdown" and go through to the end. On "Good Lovin'" (song #13) I just played some ratchety percussion thingie, which you can't hear. On the other songs, you won't hear my guitar very well either. I was mixed in with two or three other guitars; mine is the one with distortion that's low in the mix. On "Disc 2," I'm only on "Sympathy for the Devil." It may take a while for some of these songs to load. It may or may not be worth your time.

Here are some more music-related words. I recently went through SPIN's list of Top 40 albums of 2007 and checked some stuff out on the Series of Tubes. There are a few albums we already own, and some others I'll probably add to my collection (I've been really lame in buying new stuff lately). The song that most caught my ear is Bat for Lashes' "What's a Girl to Do." I'm not sure I'll love it as much without this video. I didn't dig any of the other tunes at Bat for Lashes' web site, and I don't have any clue as to what in blue blazes the band name means.

One more thing and then I'm going to bed because I haven't slept enough the last, oh, six months or so since Amelia was born, but especially poorly the last few nights. Did that sentence even make sense? Anyway, I wanted to mention a funny gift I got from my sister-in-law, Megan, for Christmas. It's a "Stepped Vinyl Record Bowl" from Eco-Artware. Made from old-fashioned rekkid albums, the bowls are perfect (or so I hope to find out soon) for chips. You can't choose what album you get; I got Bob Seger's The Distance. Reminds me of when I won a potluck LP calling into a radio station when I was around 12 years old and ended up getting Rod Stewart's Blondes Have More Fun. Anyway, Eco-Artware also sells record label coasters and vinyl record clocks, among other recycled doo-dads.

Tuesday, January 1

Happy New Year!

Before I run down our New Year's Eve, I want to mention that I've posted a few new pictures here, which I forgot to mention in my last post. There are two from Christmas morning, and one each of Owen and Amelia doing other things.

Now, to our last day of 2007. We had a good day, and did some things we don't usually do, which is always good as far as I'm concerned. I took Owen and his neighborhood friend Emma sledding in the afternoon. They had a blast going down the hill, over the makeshift jump and falling off the sled at the bottom. It was Owen's first sledding session of the season, and he had a lot of fun. He was supposed to go today with another friend, but the rainy weather put the kibosh on that.

After Owen and I got home and warmed up, we all went to Waltham's Watch City Brewery to have dinner with Beth's sister, Megan, and her husband, Todd, and our nephew, Max. It was nice and quiet there, and the Father Time Winter Ale was mucho tasty. Owen had fun playing with the train set the brewery has on hand, as well as the video golf game in the back of the restaurant. As New Year's outings go, it wasn't much, but it was nice to get out, hang with good people and do something mellow.

Upon arriving home, we ran into our neighbor, Mark, who invited us to pop down to their house for a little New Year's cheer. And we're glad we didn't say "no." They had lasers, fireworks, a vodka luge and wild animals -- it was out of control.

Well, actually it was very quiet, but nice. Owen played with Mark and Amy's son Evan for a little while, and later Mark showed him how to fly his other son's new remote control helicopter around the inside of the house. Beth and I each had a beer, and enjoyed catching up with Mark and Amy, and meeting a few of their friends. We didn't stay long, but were glad to have received, and accepted, the invitation.

After we put Owen to bed we just watched TV. From 10:00 to 11:00 we laughed along with Kathy Griffin on a repeat of one of her stand-up performances. I know that I'm one of the few straight men out there who really enjoys Kathy Griffin, and I'm OK with that. She dishes on celebrities, passing along funny stories about who she bumps into backstage at awards shows and clubs and other places. She doesn't hold back on people either, which is what makes it so funny. She rips on any and all famous people.

Still, I eschewed the last 10 minutes or so of Griffin's show in order to watch a bit of "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." Wonderfully cheesy, with James Franciscus as the poor man's Charlton Heston. I actually caught the exact same part I'd caught last time it was on whatever random cable channel it was on. I've seen most, or perhaps all, of the movie before, but would have loved to watched more. But I was getting tired. I left it on long enough for Beth to inform me that she was totally into all things related to "Planet of the Apes" when she was a kid, including the Treehouse and the Village. For my part, I was content to play "Planet of the Apes" with my friends, which meant running around the woods with sticks and pretending to be either a human or a gorilla. That is, when we weren't busy playing "Dukes of Hazzard," "Mod Squad" or "Star Wars." Ah, the '70s....

Saturday, December 29

We had a really great Christmas, which started Saturday the 22nd at my parents' house and continued through last night at my in-laws' house with Beth's aunt, uncle, cousins and their spouses. Owen was the most excited he's ever been on Christmas Eve, ringing the reindeer bells that my sister gave him last Christmas, to make sure Santa's reindeer hear it and know where our house is. He couldn't get to sleep until about 10:00 that night, which was good, because that meant he slept until close to 8:00 on Christmas day. He was so happy to look down the stairs and see all the presents under the tree, and soon had all of his, and Amelia's, open.

He got a few pads of paper and numerous types of pens, crayons and markers, as he is very into drawing these days, especially maps of highways. He also received a few DVDs (SpongeBob, Shrek), a lot of books (Captain Underpants, The Boy Who Ate Books), some clothes (which he summarily tossed aside), some cars, a bridge-and-road building set, a kid-sized guitar and plenty of other swag. Amelia was happy watching Owen rip off wrapping paper on her first Christmas.

Beth and I kept it light in our exchange. We plan to buy a digital video camera, perhaps this weekend.

Owen's been a bit bored this week without school. He hasn't seen many of his friends, but yesterday he and I went to the Museum of Science with his friend Oliver and his father. We had a good time, checking out almost every display in the place and watching "Into the Unknown: Exploring the Deepest Mysteries of the Universe" in the planetarium. The show runs about 40 minutes, and covers the Big Bang, the expansion of the universe, black holes, the possibility of life on other planets or moons and is interesting for adults, but not the most scintillating thing for 5-year-olds. Still, Owen was patient and waited through the entire show before the four of us braved the crowds for lunch in the museum.

Today we took the kids to Woburn's Kids' Playground, which Owen loves. After we got back from that I went to my friend Ray's house for his annual Holiday Jam. I got there a few hours in, joined for about two hours and then hit the road. It was my first time at the jam, and I didn't know anybody else besides Ray, but I had a good time following along as the assembled guitarists, bassists, drummer, keyboard player and keytarist (!!) jammed on grooves like Tom Petty's "American Girl," the Stones' "Dead Flowers" and Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine." It's always fun to play music with people, especially people who know a lot of songs, know how to play them well, and have fun doing it.

Another music note: as regular readers know, Owen and I share an affection for Chin Up Chin Up. One of our favorite things to do after dinner is to crank up the band on the iPod and dance around the kitchen. We've even gotten Beth into the act. Here are a few of the band's videos:

Live video of "This Harness Can't Ride Anything," title cut of their latest album.

Official video for "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers," title cut of their previous album.

Thursday, December 20

When I started writing this yesterday, I was in a bit of a panic over Christmas shopping. I got some done yesterday and today, so I'm unpanicking now. Still, there is plenty to get done over the next few days -- shopping, wrapping, traveling to CT, getting the house ready for our Christmas Eve gathering with Beth's family and some family friends, figuring out what people will eat and drink that night, etc. Still, I'm excited as I usually am at this time of year. Today I put the finishing touches on my Christmas playlist for the iPod. I really enjoy both traditional (Julie Andrews' "O Come All Ye Faithful") and non-traditional (James Brown's "Go Power at Christmas Time") holiday music. Even shopping with Amelia has gone well. She entertains all the middle-aged women with her smiles and gurgling and is very patient while I shop.

Owen's pretty excited for Christmas, although he never did put together a list for Santa. We've bought him some cool stuff that I think he'll really like. And lots of cute stuff for Amelia.

Owen's also excited about all the snow we've been getting. I'm sure he'll want to get out after dinner tonight to play in the new powder we're getting as I write this. We'll end up with around 6 inches, I'd say, on top of the foot-and-a-half or so we got last week. At least today's stuff is light.

Leading up to vacation week, Owen's school has been hosting events whereby parents (and other family members) can check out what kids are up to. On Tuesday, I went in for "Gymnastics Peek Week," in which I got to observe his physical education class. I have to say I was impressed with Owen, his classmates and the teacher, Mr. Tynes. A former professional athlete (he didn't say what sport, but I believe it was boxing) and Marine, Mr. Tynes has a great attitude about teaching: don't make it competitive or punitive; encourage healthy bodies and minds; teach about healthy eating and positive attitude. Owen was very good on all the equipment: vault, even bars, uneven bars, rings, rope swing, and balance beam. His favorite was the pommel horse. He climbed up using a small ramp, so his stomach lay on top of the horse, then, holding on to the bars on either side, pitched himself forward and did a forward roll down a wedge-shaped mat. It wasn't pretty, but it was fun to watch.

Yesterday, Beth got to stick around for a short while to learn more about Owen's science projects, including a bulb of some sort (tulip, perhaps?). She had a good time doing that.

Finally, with James Brown on my mind, here's somebody's video tribute to Mr. Please Please Please, who died on Christmas day last year.

I probably won't have much time to update in the next few days, so Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus or, you know, just have a good time!

Sunday, December 16

Oh, my aching back! Six more days until winter officially begins and I've already had my fill of shoveling. I shoveled Thursday after we received about 8 inches of powdery stuff, and I took the second shift after Beth today to tackle the 8 inches or so of heavier stuff with freezing rain pelting down all around. Maybe I need somebody to give me the Dean Martin treatment.

We had a busy weekend around all the shoveling. I took Owen to his first martial arts class Saturday morning at Kids U in Needham. He had a really great time, which makes Beth and me happy, as we weren't sure he would like it. Afterwards he demonstrated some of his new moves for us. It was very cute and quite entertaining. Speaking of moves, Owen's really into dancing to music on our iPod, which is docked in our kitchen. His favorite, well, only, music to listen to is Chin Up Chin Up, a band I turned him onto back in March. He picks one of their songs and then he and I make up silly dances with names such as "Helicopter Monkey" or "Twirling Arms". It's pretty funny.

Saturday after lunch, Beth took Owen to a friend's house for a Christmas cookie-baking playdate. He had a lot of fun, and brought home some really tasty treats. That night Beth and I went to a dinner party hosted by one of her office bigwigs at his palatial manse in Dover. While we were stuffing our faces and marveling at our surroundings (a three-car garage with a two-car carriage house under construction), Owen was (barely) helping Beth's parents make a gingerbread house.

To top off the Weekend of Sweets, today we all piled into my in-laws' house, along with my sister-in-law and, later, her husband and our nephew, to make -- you guessed it! -- Christmas cookies. Well, I didn't help; I hung out with the kids and watched football. We brought home quite a few, so my sweet tooth will be happy.

We got home around 6:30 and I shoveled a little more, trying to clear the sidewalks and driveway as much as possible before it freezes. Loads of fun....

I'll wrap up my weekend by watching the series finale of "Extras," as I mentioned last week.

Tuesday, December 11

I've got a few odds and ends for you today....

Planning a winter vacation, perhaps to Florida? Consider visiting Gibsonton, one-time off-season home to circus freaks and carnies. Thanks to my friends at Weird US, who have a show on the History Channel, have published numerous books covering oddball features around the country, and who email me on a regular basis all sorts of strange stories, I have delved into Gibsonton (known amongst the side-show crowd as "Gibtown"). Here's a video primer from the Weird US guys. It's 10 minutes long, but it's worth watching (or skipping) to the end for the knife-throwing and sword-swallowing demonstration.

There's a documentary about Gibtown that came out in 1999, too. Here's a review.

Four-fifths of the Toastmen (minus our singer, Pete) jammed this past Saturday at Ken's house in Keene. It felt good, as it always does, to make a racket with those guys. We were a little sloppier than usual, but also way louder, it seemed. We still haven't got a clue as to when we'll actually play our big reunion show.

Last night I watched the season two finale of Ricky Gervais's fantastic "Extras" on HBO. For some reason, I didn't realize I'd missed the show when it aired earlier this year. "Are you 'avin' a laugh? Is he 'avin' a laugh?" Well, yes, I am. Especially after watching this clip from the show. This Sunday HBO will debut the 80-minute series finale for the show. Yes, I know, it's strange to have a series finale for a show that only had two seasons, and so far removed from the last episode that ran. But that's the way Gervais rolls, just like he did with "The Office."

Monday, December 3

Well, Owen's magical day finally arrived on Saturday -- the New England Auto Show! He and I joined his friend Walter and his dad, Ray, at the mammoth Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston (or the Seaport District, as the marketers prefer). Ray had snagged free tickets from his mechanic, which was nice, and we got a spot on the street, saving us the $20 parking lot fee. The show was everything Owen had imagined. He got to go into just about any car he wanted (the concept and future cars were off limits), check out the trunks, the sliding doors, the steering wheels, the glove compartments -- anything he wanted. It was really cool seeing how thrilled he and Walter were. Ray and I were interested in the Maseratis, Lamborghinis and other rich-guy cars, but Owen and Walter are more practical and wanted to check out the Mini Cooper Clubman, Nissan Quest, Jeep Wrangler and Aveo 5 (Owen's professed favorite, for some reason), among many, many others.

I've posted five pictures from the show on the photo page.

Owen hasn't stopped talking about the auto show. He says he wants to go to another one. I told him he'll have to wait until next year, and he says that's OK.

My favorite vehicles were the ones you couldn't go into: the concept vehicles. I liked the Jeep Trailhawk, which was pretty plush and futuristic indeed. I especially dug the Ford Airstream, which looks like this inside. Made me think of the custom vans I was totally into when I was 12 or 13 years old. And being at the auto show reminded me of going to the Hartford Civic Center with my dad in the late '70s for a car show. I don't recall what my favorite cars were, but I remember that Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson was there signing autographs. But I was more interested in Schaefer Beer spokesmodel Marci Hopkins. I've searched the Web and the only reference to Ms. Hopkins comes from InThe80s.com, which writes of the commercial in which she was featured:

Circa early 80s. Two single guys are at what appears to be some type of social gathering at a bar. A third guy introduces the single guys to this beautiful woman: "This is Marci. Marci Hopkins." The camera pans to this beautiful woman who gives the single guys a sexy, shy look. She wears a shoulder-length hair perm (typical 80s hairdo). The jingle: "A - ha, sittin' pretty...all together in Schaefer City."

Anyway, moving on.

National Novel Writing Month ended at 11:59 p.m. last Friday. I finished with 26,527 words, barely half the 50,000 that the contest demanded of people. Still, although I petered out in the last week of the month, I'm happy with what I accomplished. I'm going to return to the (C)rock Stories, but will get back to the novel at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Uh, that's it for now.

Tuesday, November 27

I've written only about 3,000 words in the past week, which puts me far, far behind the pace for 50,000, which, as I've stated, I never figured I'd meet anyway. My goal is 30K by the end of the day Friday. Then I may switch back to the (C)rock Stories and get them into shape before getting back into the novel.

In other news...we had a nice Thanksgiving in Connecticut with my family. Owen got to hang out with his cousin Grace, and everybody got some quality time with Amelia. On Friday night we went to Hartford's Festival of Lights in Goodwin Park, which impressed Owen. My sister said there were 1 million lights; it was pretty cool.

My sister is going to visit us this Friday and Saturday, which will be nice. We're taking Owen to the New England Auto Show in Boston on Saturday. We'll be joined by Owen's friend Walter and his dad, Ray. Owen has been looking forward to this for months. He can't wait to get inside all those cars! He asked me yesterday, "Dad, can you wait until the car show?"

Walter's dad, Ray, plays in a few bands around Boston. I missed a chance to see one of them, Powderhouse, last Friday at Bill's Bar. Here's the band's MySpace page. Ray also operates FOC Records out of his house. The label's MySpace shack features tunes by Ray's other bands, The New Thirty and The Returnables, as well as other acts such as M.O.D.E.

Tuesday, November 20

Novel update:

Nearly 19,400 words, which in itself is pretty great, but in terms of the National Novel Writing Month framework, I'm about 13K short. The contest is two-thirds over, which means in order to stay on pace for 50,000 words by the end of the month, today I'd need roughly 33,400 words. I expect by the end of today I'll have close to 21,000. Oh well, I'm excited by the story as it's unfolding, taking me in directions I didn't expect. I won't tell you too much about it, but let's say for the second draft I'm gonna need to brush up on investment banking, going underground and living without money or ID, archeology, anthropology and the secret government installments of New Mexico. Oh yeah, and ham radio.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I've posted some new pix here.

We'll be in CT for Thanksgiving, visiting with my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law and niece, and perhaps some cousins and various and sundry friends. I hope to crank out a few thousand words while I'm down there.

Friday, November 16

Just a few quick things....

I'm slowly making progress on the novel-in-a-month. Yesterday was the halfway point, which means in order to fulfill the obligation I would have needed 25,000 words. I have roughly 16,200. Oh well. I'm having fun and feel good about what I've written and where I'm going with it.

I'm going out tonight with a few of my Webnoize buddies to celebrate the 6th anniversary of Black Friday, the day we all got laid off and the company for all intents and purposes ceased to exist, although I continued to work for another two weeks in hopes of things turning around. We're meeting at the Miracle of Science in Cambridge, like we always do for these commemorations. Should be fun.

Lastly, here's a really well-done video of a day in the life of an at-home dad. I can identify with every aspect of what this guy says and does (except running the vacuum).

Saturday, November 10

I'm making progress on the novel, even though I'm approximately three days behind the pace. In order to hit 50,000 words in 30 days, by the end of the day today you'd need to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 16,700 words. I've got 10,015 and hope to crank out more before midnight. Doesn't really matter -- the point is that in two weeks I've brainstormed an idea for a novel, sketched out some notes and borrowed some ideas from stories that haven't gone anywhere, and begun writing it. By the end of this month, I'll likely have at least 30,000 words, which will probably make it the longest thing I've ever written. And then I just have to maintain the commitment to finishing it. I've had some late nights in the past 10 days, working on the novel, and they've begun to catch up to me, but it's worth it because I'm feeling good writing the novel. I've tried other novels before and stopped at various points, mainly because I hadn't thought it out beforehand. So this time is different, and, I hope, will be more fruitful.

Elsewhere in my life, we had a nice family playdate with our friends Jim and Nikki and their daughter, Sophia, who turned 3 a few weeks ago. We hadn't seen them in a while, so it was nice to catch up.

As for Part Two of my punk rock reminiscence, it's on hold. Of course, nobody has mentioned anything about it, so I guess nobody's holding their breath waiting to read the second and final chapter. I'm waiting for a clammer.

Plug time: My friend Ric has been working like a dog writing and recording two batches of songs he plans to sell on the InterWeb in the near future. Check out his MySpace page and listen to the four songs ranging from "indie" to "melodramatic popular song" to "psychedelic," according to his profile. Anyway, the stuff is really good.

Thursday, November 8

Just stopping by for a few music notes (when I really should be working on my novel).

"There's a new star in Heaven." That's how the official web site for Hank Thompson announced the news that "The King of Western Swing" passed away on Tuesday at age 82. I discovered Thompson in college while shopping at a thrift store in Keene for a Halloween costume, which turned out to be a "Monty Python" woman. I bought a purse made of "undetermined fibers" and a cheap dress, which I accessorized with a wig. But that's not important (at least not right now). I found an LP by Hank Thompson, a guy I'd never heard of, that immediately struck my fancy. Perhaps my ironic fancy, as at that time I was pretending that I was too cool to like old-timey country music. But I couldn't resist an album with song titles like, "Six Pack to Go," "Drunkard's Blues" and five or six other drinking songs. I believe I bought the album while with fellow Toastman Jim Corrigan. He had purchased a bottle of gin for that night's festivities, but dropped the bag in the thrift store, making the place smell, well, like a gin mill. Set the right mood for buying the Thompson album, which I liked from the first time the needle hit the rekkid.

I cherished that album, but it disappeared while I was living with my friends Joe, Pete and Foose. Not sure if one of them heisted it, or if someone at one of our parties did, but it disappeared, along with my Blotto t-shirt. Water under the bridge....

Many years later, and many years ago, I bought the CD for Thompson's At the Golden Nugget, recorded in 1961 in Vegas. How could I resist Hank in his Nudie suit with his fists full of coins? It's a really cool album, with some great Texas swing, some weepy ballads and "Six Pack to Go" to wrap up the set, which was recorded while the roulette wheels were spinning in the background. On my one trip to Vegas last year, I went to the Golden Nugget, just to soak up Hank's atmosphere.

Anyway, I'm gonna buy his Drinkin' Songs CD, and perhaps a t-shirt, from his web site. For a few quick samples of the songs on that album, check here.

At the same time I was discovering Thompson, I was also totally into Black Flag. So when I read in SPIN this month that The Dirty Projectors had issued a cover of the seminal L.A. punk band's well-regarded Rise Above I had to check it out. I've listened to a few tracks at TDP's MySpace page and gotten a few chuckles. But I won't be buying the album. They've turned barn-burning rages against authority into alt-country/indie pap (I respect the effort, but it's not really my style of music). Listen to "Rise Above" and "No More" there, then get a feel for the original "Rise Above" on YouTube. I couldn't find a full-length clip of "No More," but trust me, it's a bit more energetic, shall we say.

Finally, thanks again to SPIN magazine, I learned that one-time Ass Ponys frontman Chuck Cleaver has a new act called Wussy. Despite the protestations of my wife, who thinks the Ass Ponys stink (stank, stunk), they've become one of my favorite bands over the past five or six years. They do nuthin'-fancy rock and country-flavored rock (mmm...countryish), and songs about UFO's, weird things your grandmother keeps in her house and other funny stuff. Cleaver's got a voice that takes some getting used to, but I really like what he does, and how he does it. That said, I haven't made up my mind on Wussy yet.

Here's the song "Airborne" from their debut album, Funeral Dress. I feel like I should support Cleaver and his bandmates simply because I have an existing love for his talents, and he could use my money. Their new album, Left for Dead has gotten good reviews in SPIN and Rolling Stone, among others. I'm gonna visit their MySpace page a few more times before making my purchasing decisions.

Saturday, November 3

Although I wrote here five days ago, I feel as though it's been two weeks. I've been spending most of my free time the last three days working on my novel for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) contest. Still, I'm behind the pace I should be at: roughly 2,100 words, when, in order to complete 50,000 by midnight November 30, I should have 4,800 by the end of today. But that's unlikely, as Beth and I are going out tonight. Owen's school PTO is hosting a dinner party and we're going. We're really looking forward to it.

I've posted some pictures here from Halloween. Owen was a Power Ranger; Amelia was a bunny. We hosted a small party as we have the past four years. Owen had a blast trick-or-treating with his friend Anicca and some kids from the 'hood.

Finally, the random thought and link for the day. Reebok has been running a commercial since the Sox won the World Series, promoting Boston as "the greatest sports city in the nation," and featuring Donnie Wahlberg, Mayor Menino, pictures of lots of local sports icons, including Bobby Orr. After seeing the ad a few times, Beth broke into, "The greatest hockey player in the world / baaaah none" (sung with a thick Boston accent)." We laughed, and then I called up Mente's "Bobby Orr" on iTunes. For those who don't know it, and I'm sure that's just about everybody, here it is for your listening pleasure.

Monday, October 29

The Sox have done it again! World Series champs for the second time in four years -- impressive! The playoffs and Series were nowhere near as exciting as they were in 2004, but I always enjoy watching the home team win games. Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Papelbon -- what a great batch of young players. Lowell was fantastic; hard to believe there's talk the Sox might not sign him for next year and beyond. I could go on with all sorts of Sox talk, but I won't.

I'm looking forward to getting to bed at a decent time tonight, and for the next 11 months or so.

Meanwhile, Part I of my "Punk Rock Reminiscence" is up at the "Blah Blah Blah" section. WARNING: THE ESSAY CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE, DISPARAGES AMERICAN ICONS AND FEATURES LINKS TO MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT AREN'T EVERYBODY'S CUP O' TEA. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU'RE EASILY SHOCKED BY CUSSING, BLASPHEMY AND ANARCHY, DON'T READ THIS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Part II of the essay should be up later this week. Then I'll be over my head in the National Novel Writing Month contest.

Sunday, October 28

Well, what can I say about the Sox? Things are going amazingly well. They'll win their second World Series in four years -- it's just a question of whether it happens tonight or tomorrow. It's exciting, although not quite as phenomenal as 2004. Still, I am too quick to get mad at the Sox, even with all the great stuff they've been doing in all facets of their game. When the score got to 6-5 last night, I said, "Well, I guess this is gonna be the game they lose. That's OK; they'll definitely still win it. I want them to clinch at home anyway." Some loyalty, eh? I just get so caught up.

Owen's at a Halloween party right now with some friends from school. He's a Power Ranger this year; pictures will surely follow here in the coming days. We're hosting a party Halloween night, as we have the past few years. Should be fun. Yesterday was my nephew Max's 1st birthday party, at which people were encouraged to wear costumes. I dressed as Thurston Howell III but I'm not sure if I'll do that again for our party.

I may not be posting here that much in November, as I've decided to take part in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's known. My friend Jay clued me in to this contest, in which people are encouraged to force themselves to just write -- details, logic and quality be damned. Of course, if a good book comes out of the process, that's nice too. The contest (which isn't really a contest) runs November 1-30 and requires you to write at least 50,000 words to say you officially finished. Obviously there is the opportunity for people to just plug in stuff they've already written, but no self-respecting writer would feel good about that. I've got a story outlined in my head and have been trying to flesh out some characters before Nov. 1.

I have a long history of starting novels and never completing them, so I have my doubts going in about whether I'll be able to finish. But maybe a short but well-defined parameter is what I need. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, October 24

I've gotten a little more sleep the last two nights, since the Sox won the ALCS. But tonight my late nights start all over again, with the World Series. I was impressed with the way the Sox just took control of the situation with the Indians, pitching and hitting well and taking advantage of mistakes and errors by their opponents. I'm excited for tonight's opener. I'm confident the Sox will prevail in the Series; I hope they do it in 6 or 7 games, so they can celebrate at Fenway.

My race on Sunday went well. I ran with my buddy Dave, and we stayed together the entire 3 miles. There were Irish step dancers outside Paddy's Pub before the race, and at various points along the route, which was cool. We didn't stick around for the post-race festivities, opting instead to go with our families to the Village Cafe, a favorite of Beth's and mine. Then all of us went to a Newton pseudo-farmstand to buy pumpkins.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more after tonight's game, or perhaps tomorrow's.

Oh yeah, something to link to. How about this Eels video?

Friday, October 19

Josh Beckett was great last night; Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez were pretty good; the rest of the team didn't do much. But it all worked out. There will be more baseball in Boston. The series hasn't turned out the way I thought it would earlier this week, when I predicted that Wakefield would win and Beckett would lose. I think Schilling will beat Carmona tomorrow night and then on Sunday it's Dice-K -- anything could happen. He'll be on a short leash, that's for sure.

Not much else going on. I'm running a 3-mile race on Sunday, which I'm looking forward to. The weather's supposed to be OK tomorrow, so we'll probably go pumpkin-hunting.

On Wednesday night I was up with Amelia for close to an hour and a half, from roughly 3:50 to 5:20. I wasn't happy about it, but figured I'd bring her downstairs and check my email and such while she worked on falling back asleep. I actually had fun cruising through friends' blogs and MySpace pages and other sites. Below are links to some of the videos I found during my cyber-travels.

Regular readers of DaveBrigham.com ("Where Dave Brigham Meets Dot Com") know I'm a big fan of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." I hadn't seen this clip before, though.

Back in the early- to mid-'80s I dug USA Network's "New Wave Theatre," hosted by Peter Ivers, who was evidently murdered in 1983, a killing that has never been solved. I never liked Ivers. He tried to hard to be weird, deep and confrontational (I watched a Fear video recently in which Ivers asks lead singer Lee Ving, "Is Fear a rich man's pleasure?", to which Ving answered, "Ask me something I can answer."). Anyway, I saw lots of cool performances on that show back in the day. The one I'm currently fascinated by is the song "Janitor" by Suburban Lawns. I bought that band's debut album a few years after it came out, probably because I'd heard of them via New Wave Theatre. It's weird, although it does feature "Flying Saucer Safari," the only song I ever created an alternate arrangement for. I like the lyrics -- it is about UFO's, after all -- but didn't like the music. So I came up with my usual basic chord progression and still pull that out once in a while to amuse myself. Anyway, here's the band doing "Janitor" (is it just me, or does the singer, Su Tissue, sound like she's saying "genitals" instead of "janitor"?).

And, finally, the Circle Jerks and Debbie (or Deborah, these days, I guess) Gibson. Again, thanks to a link off the New Wave Theatre page, I found a video of a live gig the Jerks did at CBGB's in the mid-'90s in which La Gibson sings backing vocals on the band's cover of the Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You." Apparently, Gibson was dating the producer of the Jerks' album on which that song appeared, and did some vocals for the disc. She was sporting enough to show up onstage with them in this MTV News piece.

More on the Circle Jerks, Fear and other punk bands from the '80s is coming soon in the "Blah Blah Blah" section.

Tuesday, October 16

I swear, I mean to write stuff here more frequently than once a week, but then...I don't. Anyway, here are a few quick hits:

Red Sox: I'm trying hard to feel good about them after the last two games. I think Wakefield's gonna have his good stuff tonight and the bats are gonna wake up against Byrd. I have a feeling Sabathia's gonna do much better Thursday night in his home park than he did at Fenway last week. I think it's gonna come down to Game 7, with Dice-K against Westbrook, and I haven't formulated a thought about that game yet.

Sunday's Road Race: We had a great time on Sunday at the Horace Mann Road Race. Owen ran his first race ever, a .3 mile dash. He isn't fast, but he finished strong. It was cool watching him and his friends run, with official numbers and all.

I ran the 5K and managed not to hurt myself, while finishing in just under 28 minutes. Not a great pace, but I haven't been running as much lately as I'd hoped. Today, though, I did a good 3-miler while pushing Amelia in her stroller. That was a nice workout. I'm slated to race again this Sunday in the Paddy's Road Race / Shillelagh Shuffle.

The school event was fun: Owen got to hang out with his school friends and we got to socialize with his friends' parents. And the weather was beautiful. You'll find pictures of Owen running, and him with a few of his friends, here.

Harvest Fair: We took Owen and Amelia to Newton's Harvest Fair on Saturday. Owen had a great time on the rides -- mini-rollercoaster, bouncy house, train ride, various car rides. There was no "harvest" element involved, but that's OK. We'll get our pumpkins and gourds this weekend somewhere. Maybe Honey-Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA.

Tuesday, October 9

Another week has gone by sans blogging. There hasn't been much to write about. The Sox had an awesome series against the Angels, and I got to watch just about the entire 27 innings. I went out last Friday with some of the guys on my baseball team for a "breakup dinner" and to watch the Sox win and the Yankees lose. I'm glad the Bronx Bombers lost again last night, and are out of the playoffs. I take pleasure in their pain -- schadenfreude as the Germans call it. The Sox will no doubt have a hard time with the Indians, but can certainly beat them. I look forward to that series, which starts Friday.

My first full week home with both kids went amazingly well. Owen started his longer days and handled them very well. Amelia sleeps more when it's just the two of us, which is good. Beth is back into the groove at work, but of course misses being with Amelia.

That's all for now. I'm working on an essay for the "Blah Blah Blah" page that I hope to post later this week. In the meantime, that page is inactive.

And now for some video: the Flaming Lips' "Turn It On," which is a great song. Is that Bananarama dancing around?

Tuesday, October 2

Day three of my second hitch as a full-time dad has begun, and things have gone smoothly so far. Amelia is fairly easy to be with; she loves her bottles and actually naps a little more than she did when Beth was on maternity leave. Yesterday was Owen's first day at his after-school program, Kid Connections. I had to pick him up at school at 12:30, and drive him to a different school for the program, and then pick him up at 2:30, which is a drag. But it still makes my life easier, not having to come up with stuff for him to do all afternoon, while simultaneously taking care of Amelia. Today Owen has a short day, but then tomorrow he goes to Kid Connections, and Thursday and Friday are his long days at kindergarten, until 3:00.

Yesterday I went on my first jog with Amelia in the stroller. She did fine; I got more of a workout than I was expecting. Over the last few weeks I've gone running a few times, between 3 and 3 1/2 miles each time. Yesterday I only went about 2 miles, as I tired quickly pushing a roughly 12-pound baby and stroller that weighs, I don't know, maybe 15-20 pounds. A good workout, definitely what I need.

On Saturday, my family celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was a nice party, with 40-45 people, including many of my cousins, my mom's brother, some friends my dad has known since high school and college, and some friends from their old neighborhood in Weatogue. My sister did most of the planning, securing a caterer and a cake maker, and working with my parents on a party plan. She did a great job, and gave a nice toast. My brother was the master of ceremonies, and did a great job, also offering a wonderful toast. I presented a summary of my parents' courtship, engagement and wedding, drawing on transcripts from a biography project my family did several years ago. I also gave a toast, but felt that I rambled a bit. Others in the room offered heartfelt tributes to my parents, as well. Overall, a really great family occasion celebrating a remarkable milestone.

I'm getting hyped up for the playoffs. I feel pretty good about the Sox heading into the Angels series. I'll have plenty to write about that as the week goes on.

Finally, dog rentals. Yes, I've been joking about this for years. "Need a buddy at the beach, but all your friends prefer to stay inside with their Wii systems? Rent a golden retriever?" "Have a desperate need to scoop some poop? A Rottweiler will more than serve your needs!" I should have realized that someone would actually have put my hypothetical business plan into action. FlexPetz debuted recently and, honestly, I gotta say that I don't like the idea. Doesn't seem fair to the dogs -- the potential for abuse seems high. Dogs like to have owners, not lessors.

Tuesday, September 25

Three more days until Beth returns to work, and I become a full-time Mr. Mom again. I haven't been thinking about it too much, other than trying to figure out how to get Amelia to nap more during the day. Starting next Monday, Owen will be spending more time at school, which will make my days easier, that's for sure.

I took Owen to his friend Walter's 5th birthday party on Sunday. Owen had a great time, and I talked a bit with Walter's dad, Ray, who's the only other stay-at-home dad I know. He and I have a vague pact to get together on occasion while Walter and Owen are at school. Ray's also got a daughter, who's 1, so I figured it would be good for us to hang out while our girls do whatever it is they're gonna do. I've joined AtHomeDad.org and hope to recruit one or two other dads.

Now, for something completely different:

On Sunday I was reading The Boston Globe movie section, and began a feature about Michael Douglas. I stopped when I read the description of his new movie, "King of California". Here's how the movie's web site describes it: "Abandoned by her mother, [Evan Rachel Wood] dropped out of school and has been supporting herself at McDonald's while her father Charlie (Michael Douglas) resides in a mental institution. When Charlie is released and sent back to their home, Miranda (Wood) finds the relatively peaceful existence she's built for herself completely disrupted. Charlie has become obsessed with the notion that the long-lost treasure of Spanish explorer Father Juan Florismarte Garces is buried somewhere near their suburban California housing unit. Armed with a metal detector and a stack of treasure-hunting books, Charlie soon finds reason to believe that the gold resides underneath the local Costco...." When I read that information in the Globe article, I laughed. And set out on a hunt of my own -- for a 20-year-old cassette tape.

My first thought while hunting for the cassette was, "The guy who wrote the screenplay for 'King of California' must have run into the same drunken nutjob that I did 20 years ago in Sanford, Maine, at the Dairy Queen." Let me explain.

In May 1987, during Senior Week, I trekked to Jim Corrigan's family's summer cabin in North Berwick, Maine, along with several friends from Keene State, a few of whom, like me, were about to graduate. I carried a tape recorder and filled both sides of a cassette with rants, raves, snippets of acoustic guitar jams and drunken revelry. But the best stuff on that tape came from a conversation my friends Pete, Ken and I had at the aforementioned Dairy Queen with a self-described "sick man."

Here's the relevant section:

Drunk Guy: How can I drink?

DG: Yeah.

The conversation goes on a bit more. He offers to get some gold for us, "to make it worth your while." He says he bought gold at Shaw's. Eventually, Pete and I started to head back to the car, where Ken was waiting. The dude followed us, rambling about stuff, and tried to get in the car, but one of us shut the door on him while Ken excoriated us for talking to the lunatic. Anyway, maybe the screenwriter, although he grew up in San Francisco, according to his bio, maybe he made a trip to Sanford, Maine way back when and got a story and after all these years he turned it into a movie. Or maybe there really is gold buried under grocery stories and megamarts across this great land of ours. Who am I to say there isn't?

Thursday, September 20

Today's a beautiful day, made more so by the fact that I don't have to watch the Red Sox lose again tonight. I'm in agony over the state of their play lately. Nobody is hitting, the bullpen is terrible and Terry Francona's making some dubious decisions about who pitches and for how long. But I'm not gonna dwell on that here.

Last night Owen's school PTO hosted a BBQ for all the families. Owen had fun running around (and barely eating) and Beth and I met some of his friends' parents. Everything went very well, everyone was very nice and it was a perfect night, weather-wise. Beth's dad looked after Amelia so we could let Owen have a fun time that was all about him and his new school.

Not too much else going on. I'm trying to get back into running, as I've been feeling especially flabby lately. I ran about 3.5 miles on Tuesday, and plan to go out again tomorrow morning while Beth takes Amelia to visit her co-workers. Beth's parents bought us a jogging stroller, which I plan to use as much as possible with the baby. As an incentive, I've signed up for a 3-mile road race in Newton October 21. I think Owen's school hosts a short race October 14th, as well, which I'll probably take on.

Big event of the upcoming weekend: another birthday party for Owen, at Kids U in Needham.

Finally, Beth goes back to work next Friday, the 28th. She planned on returning October 1, but her secretary told her that if she goes back in September, she gets credit for 2 1/2 vacation days earned that month. So that means eight more days until I'm on my own with Amelia and Owen (after he gets out of school). Let's hope it doesn't get to this point.

Tuesday, September 18

Once again, there is angst in Red Sox Nation. The Yankees took two out of three over the weekend, including a horrific 8-7 victory that featured a six-run comeback inning for the Bronx Bombers. The Sox lost to Toronto last night, while the Yanks were winning, so the lead is 3 1/2 games with 11 to go (not including the game that's being played as I write this). Can't the Sox ever make it easy on their fans? Sure, last year was easy -- because the Sox were out of the hunt early and there was nothing to worry about. And yes, their historic playoff run against the Yankees in 2004 wiped away decades of angst. But can't they just win the division without fear in the Nation of a collapse? Can't the Yankees be kept out of the playoffs once in a while? Is that too much to ask for?

Friday, September 14

My baseball season is over, and I feel fine. We lost, 5-2, last night in the rubber game of our first-round playoff series. Our offense was dead and our defense was weak at the wrong times. I had a single and walked twice, which I felt good about after going 0-2 in the first game, but I didn't feel so great stranded at third in the last inning after landing there with no outs. We lost the first game 3-0 and won the second game, 6-0. I missed the second game because I took Beth out to dinner for her 40th birthday. That was our first time out without kids since Amelia was born. We went to a great Italian restaurant, Fiorella's, and ate until we were ready to burst.

Our team will try to get together for a "breakup dinner" some time in the next few weeks. As I did last year, I'm pledging to get myself into better shape this fall and winter so I'm ready for next season. And because I'm sick of being a flabby blob. Of course, I never followed through on my promise last season.

Speaking of Beth's birthday, we're going out Sunday night to celebrate the big day with her family, wrapping up what's shaping up to be a busy end to the weekend. Our neighborhood block party runs that day from 1-5. This will be the third one held in the four years we've lived here. Lots of food, plenty of kids running around and an opportunity to catch up with neighbors who we don't see much -- a good time. I'll take Owen for the first hour or so, before escorting him to a birthday party for a friend at Waltham's Backyard Adventures from 2:30-4:30. And of course after dinner on Sunday we'll probably come back home for cake and presents. And then watch the Sox-Yankees. Then conk out.

In other news, Owen had a playdate on Wednesday with his friends Max and Duncan from kindergarten. He had a lot of fun, which is good, because Max lives right around the corner and it would be great if they could get together regularly. Owen loves kindergarten, and Beth and I love that his schedule includes art, gym and music classes, as well as time in the school's library.

Amelia continues to eat and grow and get cuter every day. She still struggles against sleep during the day and evening hours, but is doing very well at night. She's much more alert and happy to hang out, entertaining us with coos and smiles. Beth goes back to work October 1. I plan to form a small at-home dads group in the coming weeks, to keep both Amelia and me busy.

The fall TV season is upon us, and I'm really looking forward to "Heroes", which debuts September 24. I need to watch last season's last two episodes before then. I plan on cutting back on my prime-time viewing this year, to spend more time wrapping up the (C)rock book. I'm cutting "24" and "Prison Break" out of my life, which I should have done last year. Big sacrifice, I know, but I gotta do something.

Finally, I've been reading Thomas H. O'Connor's "The Boston Irish: A Political History" for the past week. I cracked it last Friday during my six hours of jury duty. I was dismissed, along with the rest of the cheering masses, but not until we'd all been there from 8 a.m. to almost 2:30 p.m. O'Connor does a great job presenting the history of the Irish in Boston, the bitter hatred that the Yankee Protestants held for the Celtic newcomers, and the mindset of the immigrants that led to their political rise in the Athens of America. I've expanded my knowledge about my Yankee forebears and their horrendous prejudices against the Irish, and found new respect for the immigrant experience. I've long wondered why the "Boston Irish" are the way they are, in terms of their resolve in the face of overwhelming odds, their fidelity to family and neighborhood and their fatalistic sense of humor. I've learned a lot about all of that in O'Connor's book. And I'm not even done yet.

I'll blog again after the Sox-Yankees series this weekend.

Thursday, September 6

We took Owen to the DeCordova Museum in leafy Lincoln today. The draw was the Trainscape: Installation Art for Model Railroads exhibit. Owen loves trains; he watched "The Polar Express" at least 10 times over the past two weeks. Yes, it's a Christmas movie. No, he didn't care. He has a big set of trains and tracks in the attic, and spends a fair amount of time playing with them. He's visited the Edaville Railroad to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. He marveled at the model railroad display at the Marshfield Fair last summer. He had a pretty good time at the National Heritage Museum in luxe Lexington last year when they presented the National Model Railroad Association's annual display (which hits the museum Dec. 15 this year). Of course, the NHM is run by the Masons, so it's conceivable that Owen participated unwittingly in an initiation rite for Future Leaders of the Free World and that he'll get caught up in a nefarious and nebulous web of intrigue and international money-changing. But hey, somebody's gotta do it. Plus, my grandfather was a Mason, so it can't be all bad, right?

Anyway, what I'm saying is Owen loves trains.

But a museum in liberals-and-horses country that features contemporary art isn't the ideal spot to take a kid who likes trains. At least not a five year old who wants to see toy trains running past depots, quaint little houses and old-timey, picture-perfect storefronts, churches and Victorian amusement parks. Sure, the DeCordova exhibit features "miniature worlds traversed and connected by a fully operational O-scale model railroad," according to the museum's web site. But the 14 artists who created works for the trainscape have taken on "history, poetry, philosophy, geography, abstraction, figuration, scale, architecture, and humor." Sandor Bodo's piece, for instance, "deals with the nature of spiritual enlightenment, expressed symbolically," according to the web site, while Ellen Wetmore and Jeff "Jeffu" Warmouth's "Land O' Lactation" "proceeds directly from the biological experience of new motherhood, and presents a world held hostage by the primal needs of infants."

I see.

We had fun doing other stuff in the museum and outside in the sculpture park, thank goodness. I think we'll have a better time on Saturday at the annual Porsche Fest at the Museum of Transportation in bourgeois Brookline.

Wednesday, September 5

Toot toot....hear my horn.

Last night I had my best game since, well, ever. I was 3 for 4, stole a base, scored a run and made several nice plays in the field, if I may say so. But hey, don't take my arrogant word for it, check out what my coach had to say.

More importantly, we won, 9-2. I'll miss tomorrow night's game, which is against the same team. If we win, I believe we lock up 4th place, and home-field advantage in the playoffs, which begin Sunday. If we lose, I'm not sure what happens, because the team we're playing is in 5th place, but has played two fewer games than us, and won't be making them up before Sunday as far as I know.

On the domestic front, we had our fridge delivered yesterday, and it doesn't fit. So we need to cut out a wall (really just a plywood wall that serves no purpose other than covering up the side of the fridge), squeeze the fridge in, and then have our handyman come in and install a thinner sheet of plywood. Beth was really bummed, because she measured, measured and measured again and was certain the fridge would fit. But our house is old, and the walls around the space must not be perfectly straight. Oh well....

Now for your moment of zen. Today I was driving home from the mall and, as I often do on that trip, passed a house in Newton that looks out of place. It's what I would call a Spanish-style stucco, similar to this. I always refer to it as "a little bit of New Mexico in Newton." And today while driving by, before I knew it, the Partridge Family's "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque" popped into my head. As long-time DaveBrigham.com ("Where Dave Brigham Meets Dot Com") readers are aware, I lived in Albuquerque for a few months back in 1988. As some may also know, my friend John made me a tape before my trip across the country, and included the aforementioned Partridge Family song. Prescient, eh?

Here's a video some guy made for the song. I crack up when the chorus kicks in, and random photos of people pointing at stuff appear. And I love that Calvin & Hobbes make a cameo. Until we meet again....

Sunday, September 2

I hope that last night's brilliant pitching performance by rookie Clay Buchholz energizes the Red Sox for the homestretch. Sure, he pitched against a mediocre team, but every guy who stepped up to the plate is a professional, and not one managed a hit. Not bad for a guy's second major-league start. More importantly, the Sox banged out 14 hits and scored 10 runs. They played great defense, too. With all the injuries, and the Yankees still looming in the rear-view mirror, this might be the kick in the pants the team needs. Here's hoping....

As for my team, we lost a tough game last Wednesday against the second-place team (we're in 4th). As usual, Angel pitched well (5 hits, 10 strikeouts), but our 6 errors did us in. Well, that and the fact that we only had 5 hits. Still, we were encouraged by our effort. If we can win our last two games and hold 4th place, we stand a good shot of getting through at least the first round of the playoffs. Each of the seven teams makes it to the postseason, with the first-place team getting a first-round bye, I believe. I'll play in this Tuesday's game, but will take Thursday's game off because Beth and I will be doing something for our 10th anniversary. We probably won't go anywhere, but we'll do something a little special. Playoffs are slated to begin September 9.

Not much else going on. We're laying pretty low for Labor Day weekend. Owen starts kindergarten this Friday, so we'll spend some time this week buying him some new clothes, getting all his paperwork in order and getting him ready. I know he's gonna be very happy to be in kindergarten, and he's excited that his teacher will be Ms. Guzzi. Owen's friend next door had Ms. Guzzi last year, and said she's the greatest.

I'm bummed that I'm going to miss Owen's first day of school. I have jury duty. If I'm lucky, I'll be told the night before that I don't have to appear, or learn first thing Friday morning that I'm dismissed, so I can at least be there for pickup at 12:30.

Finally, I emailed David Boswell, the creator of the fantastic Reid Fleming comic books, today, about illustrating my book. Figured it was worth a shot. Thanks to my buddy Jay Kumar for recommending an illustrator friend, in the likely case that Boswell ain't available.

Tuesday, August 28

First, I want to point you to new pictures here. They're from our 12-day vacation on the Cape that ended last Thursday. There are some pretty good shots.

Now, for a few quick hits (I just don't seem to have as much time as I'd like. Wonder why?):

Baseball -- My team was 1-2 in my absence. I returned this past Sunday to complete a game that had been suspended earlier in the season because of darkness. We lost 13-10, handing our opponent their first victory of the season. Bummer. We won the regular game, 8-4. We have three games left before the playoffs.

Vacation -- We had a good 12 days on the Cape. We had planned to come back home last Friday, because I had plans to travel to CT to catch up with friends after a golf tournament in memory of my friend Bene. But we ended up leaving the Cape Thursday because Owen was feeling a bit homesick. I brought him to CT with me, and he had a pretty good adventure, despite the boredom of hanging out mostly with adults. We didn't do a helluva lot on the Cape: a few trips to the beach; a few to Falmouth for shopping and playgrounds; a few times out to eat. It was good to visit with Beth's family the first week, and mine the second week. Still, it was a long time away from home for all of us, not just Owen.

Red Sox -- I'm watching them play the Yankees right now, and while I still can't stand the Bronx Bombers, I don't feel the usual sense of overwhelming doom . The Sox are 8 games up, and even if they somehow get swept this week, they'll be 5 games up with 28 to go (of course, Johnny Damon just hit a two-run homer to put the Yanks ahead 5-3 -- maybe a little bit of angst!). I'm confident the Sox will win the division, but they might not make it easy.

Amelia -- She's doing well. I can't believe she's two months old already. She smiles more every day, and can handle big outings like today's trip to the Children's Museum, and yesterday's jaunt to the Museum of Science. She goes for her two-month doctor's appointment tomorrow.

Miscellaneous -- Owen starts kindergarten in 10 days. Still don't know who his teacher is....I'm seriously considering getting in touch with David Boswell, the guy behind the fantastic Reid Fleming comic books, to see if he'd do an illustration for my (C)rock book....Here's a plug for Not a Princess, a clothing company "for girls with other plans" that was started by two friends from Keene State....I get a kick out of seeing commercials for Firedog, Circuit City's home-theater installation and computer services arm. Nineteen years ago I dubbed myself The Firedog before leaving on my trip across the country, having stolen the moniker from Ken Kesey's "Demon Box" collection of stories. I can't recall who Firedog was in the book, or why I decided to adopt the name, which I certainly didn't ever use. But I've always liked Kesey, and find myself wondering why Circuit City chose the name for its service.

Friday, August 17

I'm freebooting the Internet here at the Cape, but service is spotty so I'll keep it brief. We're having a great week -- nice weather, good times at the beach, yummy fried seafood and beer and margaritas. I played baseball Sunday. We won 3-0 in one of the more exciting games I've played with the Sons. My team won Tuesday night as well, in a romp, 13-4. The Morahan clan leaves tomorrow, and the Brigham Bunch rolls in. More later if the stolen Internet allows....

Friday, August 10

Last night's game was terrible. I was 0-4, made two errors and we lost, 10-7, to a team with only 8 players. I won't say any more. I play again Sunday. Then I take the next two games off because we'll be on the Cape. Actually, we'll be on the Cape tomorrow, but I want to play Sunday.

I'll be lugging the laptop to the Cape, and may update this site once or twice, depending on wireless access. It's quite possible, though, that I won't post anything here until after August 25. I hope you all can survive that long.

To get you through the lean times ahead, here's Spread the Good Word!, a blog featuring MP3s of a smorgasbord of old music, ranging from The Ramrods doing "Ghost Riders in the Sky" to June Carter and Carl Smith's "Time's a Wastin'," Johnny Powers doing "Mama Rock" to Odell Harris's "Train I Ride." If you're at all interested in this stuff, surf through the Holy Archives for more.

Monday, August 6

The humidity is setting back in, and I don't like it. We had some showers today, but the temps weren't too hot and it was relatively comfortable. Yesterday was a perfect summer day -- temps in the low 80s, dry air, plenty of sunshine, and an almost embarrassing Quincy Sons victory (more on this later). Now the humidity that's been lingering so much lately is heading back in. I don't like breaking a sweat just opening a jar or changing TV channels. I don't like running the AC all day and night. But whatta ya gonna do?

We had a nice visit with my parents over the weekend. They arrived for lunch on Saturday and we fought off the heat and humidity by hanging out in the air conditioned attic as much as possible. Late in the afternoon, my dad and I rescued Owen from impending cabin fever by taking him to one of his favorite toy stores, the Construction Site in Waltham. We browsed through train sets, puppets and all sorts of building toys, many of them with unpronounceable European names and most of them overpriced. But it's a cool store, and the newest toy they had was one of the better ones I've seen there in a while. With the Q-Ba Maze, you build mazes with plastic blocks and then drop marbles in from the top and watch as they roll down and through the structure. With enough cash ($19.99 for a box of 20 blocks and, presumably, a few marbles) you could make some pretty cool mazes. Owen was pretty into that. Afterwards, we three Brigham men walked up Moody Street -- past newfangled (and enjoyable) watering holes such as the Skellig and Watch City Brewery, past the Lifestyles Adult Boutique (one of a few holdouts of the grittier days of Moody Street that Beth has regaled me with), past a few dollar stores -- and into the K-2 Grocery. One of many small, ethnic food stores to spring up on Moody Street in recent years, the K-2 smelled funny (I couldn't identify the odor, but believe it was some sort of Indian or Pakistani food. I'm not being racist, I'm just pointing out that to an untrained and unexperienced nose, the place was a bit rank.), but had the drinks we needed, along with some pretzel sticks that Owen thoroughly enjoyed.

I've posted a picture of my mother with Amelia here, along with one other new pic of our sweet baby girl.

As for my game on Sunday, we won 5-4. We always have a hard time against the Hawks, and could easily have lost this game. We were ahead 5-4 in the top of the 8th. The Hawks' lead-off hitter got on, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice. The next batter tried a squeeze bunt, but missed. Our catcher fired down to third to try and nail the runner, who had gotten pretty far off the base. Our third baseman caught the ball, but bobbled it on the tag. The guy should have been called safe, and if there had been a second ump in the field, he would have been. But our league uses only one ump, who calls everything from behind the plate. His view was obscured by the runner lying on the ground, as well as by all the dust kicked up by the play. I could see the ball on the ground next to the bag, as could other players on the field, and at least some, if not all, of the players on the opposing team's bench. But the ump couldn't see that. All he say was our third baseman lift his glove up, the ball nestled in the pocket. He called the guy out, and despite a few minutes' arguing from the other team's coach and one or two other players, the ump maintained his call. The batter proceeded to strike out, and the game was over. None of us felt good about the game ending that way, and I heard one or two of our guys telling the other team as much, that a solo umpire can only do so much.

I'm going to toot my own horn a little bit. I had a two-out, two-run double in the second inning. That was my first extra-base hit of the season, in my 10th game. I've steadily brought my average up, from a low of around .170 to .296 (not counting an 0-3 from a suspended game). For the first time, my name showed up in the game wrap-up that my coach wrote.

Friday, August 3

Another first for Amelia tonight: her first visit to a restaurant. We went to Fiorella's in Newton for my mother-in-law's birthday. Amelia cried a little when we first got there, but Beth quickly got her to zonk out. She woke up just a few minutes before we were ready to leave. Couldn't have worked out any better. Fiorella's presents a bit of a conundrum for me. It's very close, and the food is really good. But whenever we do takeout, there seems to be a problem: a forgotten dish, the wrong order altogether, or, most recently, a completely forgotten order. Tonight was only the second time I've eaten in-house. Half the table's orders came about 5 minutes before the rest, including Owen's. My chicken cordon bleu was worth the wait, but the entrees shouldn't arrive so far apart from each other. And the first rule of restauranting should be, "The kid's meal always arrives first."

The past few days have been really hot and humid here. Today we joined the suburban pilgrimage to the Natick Mall; yesterday it was the Atrium Mall. We had planned to go to Beaver Brook Reservation in Belmont today, to frolic in the "spray pool" as Owen and I did last Sunday with his cousin Max and my sister-in-law and her husband. But it was just too damn hot and muggy today for Beth and Amelia. My parents arrive in town tomorrow for a short visit. Not sure what we're gonna do to keep cool.

A week from tomorrow we leave for the Cape for two weeks. I'm really looking forward to that trip. Beth's family will be with us for the first week, as we've done for the past 4 years. Word on the dirt roads of Pocasset is that a family friend's grandkids will be there to play with Owen. I'm really hoping that works out. My family will visit for part of the second week. Owen's cousin Grace, who's nearly 4, will be there for a few days, which is good.

Next baseball game is Sunday.

Tuesday, July 31

Just a few quick hits:

Amelia is doing well. I hope to post some new pictures soon.

This is Owen's first week without camp. Yesterday I took him to Kids' Playground in Woburn. He loves that place; it's filled with tubes and tunnels and ball pits and kids just climb around, run around and generally get all sweaty. We ate a nutritious lunch, too -- hot dogs, chips, chocolate chip cookies!

Today was a big day for Amelia and Beth: a rare trip out of the house. We all went to the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester. I took Owen last year, and we've been talking about it for the past week or so, so he was excited. The trip worked out amazingly well. I carried Amelia in the Baby Bjorn carrier and she slept most of the time. On the way home, Owen asked me if there were any other castles in Massachusetts. I don't know of any. If anyone does, let me know.

Finally, my team won 8-1 on Sunday. Our ace, Angel, pitched a great game, we played great defense and had timely hitting. I was 1 for 2 with yet another single. I have yet to hit an extra-base hit. But I did steal a base and score a run, although I would've made the blooper reel on ESPN with my tripping-flopping arrival at home plate.

Wednesday, July 25

It's been exactly a year since I posted the final (C)rock Story on this site. So it's time for an update on the book project. But first, the Amelia update: she went for her one-month appointment today and weighed in at 9 lbs., which means she's gained almost 2 lbs. in 3 weeks! She measured at 22 1/2", a two-inch gain. Needless to say, she's eating very well.

So, the in the past 12 months, I've accomplished nowhere near as much as I'd hoped on the (C)rock Book. I'm a procrastinator, so I'm not surprised at my slow progress. I know I'll finish the project, unlike other writing tasks I've taken on over the years (at least two novels, other short stories, comedy pieces, etc.). Once I finish the book (which, for those of you new to this site, or for those of you who somehow haven't kept up to date on all my entries, will consist of major revisions of a series of short stories I wrote between late 2001 and middle 2006), I plan to attack my latest attempt at a novel, which will use as its jumping-off point the final story in the (C)rock series. I printed out the novel-in-progress yesterday, just to remind myself what I've done on it so far. I like it, and will use it as motivation to finish the short story book.

So, here are some numbers for you:

7 -- number of stories that have been completed.

5 (or 6, possibly 7) -- number of stories yet to be edited.

I wrote 18 stories in all, but discounted four of them for the book, because they didn't fit the overall mood, three of them because they were completely true, and not all that interesting, and one because, well, it was the first one and was fun to write but fairly stupid and not really a short story. I'll likely fictionalize one or two of the true stories to be included in the book.

And now, some links:

I'm totally into HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." There are some clips here; my favorite is the "David Bowie Dream."

The first White Stripes song I ever heard (in 2000 or 2001), I learned yesterday, is actually a Captain Beefheart jam. "Party of Special Things to Do" is an intense jam; listen to the Stripes' version here (scroll down below the July 9 blog entry).

To hear Beefheart's original, watch this guy 's home video of his kids. Seriously.

Tuesday, July 17

Kudos to Springfield, VT, for winning the contest to host the premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" on July 21. The town of 9,300, where my grandmother once lived, beat out 13 other Springfields across the good ole US of A in a contest sponsored by USA Today, America's most colorful newspaper, and also the one most widely distributed in hotel hallways. See the winning video here. Frankly, I'm not that impressed with it, but I didn't watch any of the other submissions (available at the USA Today web site, I believe). I was amused to see the shopping plaza in Springfield where the Idlenot restaurant used to be when my grandmother lived there (and in nearby Perkinsville) up until the early '80s.

I loved going to Springfield when I was a kid. We ate a few times at the A&W Drive-In and the aforementioned Idlenot (sort of like Friendly's), and hung out at the house my grandmother shared in Perkinsville with one of her sisters and brother-in-law. The house, which in recent years was turned into a B&B, was a rambling old Victorian with a grand staircase (which we used only rarely, since it led down to Helen and Henry's part of the house). Thinking about it now, it seems there might have been some antiques. I recall a toilet paper cozy in the shape of a ballerina. And I remember the smell of my grandmother's apartment, a smell that wasn't bad, but was strong and which I've smelled in other old houses over the years but never identified. Old linoleum? Some type of old-school cleaning product? No idea.

My grandmother moved from Springfield to my parents' house in the early '80s. In 1989 I made a trip back to the town with Beth to celebrate the first anniversary of our first date. Really romantic, eh? Could've gone to Boston, or Cape Cod or, if Vermont was the place to be, perhaps Burlington. But I really wanted to go back to Springfield, and Beth was nice enough to agree. We stayed at a cheap motel on the road out of town, heading toward Perkinsville. I took Beth to a restaurant that, when I was a kid, had been a relatively cheap and casual place. We sat down, looked at the menu and realized the joint was now much more upscale and we were in over our heads. Not wanting to look completely stupid, we ordered a Heineken apiece, along with the cheese platter. Then we split, stopped for pizza and Ben & Jerry's and gobbled it all up back at the motel. Very romantic.

Anyway, that's more than I planned to write about Springfield. Things are going well here with all of us. Amelia gets cuter every day, and Owen seems pretty comfortable with our new family. We've had a few nice family walks, and hope to get out to the mall, perhaps, sometime this week. Big doings.

My baseball team won on Sunday, 15-7. I was 1 for 2 with a walk, stole a base and scored a run. A shout-out to my man Jim Corrigan (today's his birthday!) and his wife, Nikki, for showing up for a few innings with their lovely little girl, Sophia. We're slated to play this Thursday, weather permitting. I'll miss Sunday's game, however, because I'll be out of town most of the day Saturday, at a memorial service for my Aunt Jean. She was one of the sweetest, funniest, kindest women you could ever hope to meet.

Saturday, July 14

Just a quick update: Things are going well with our newly expanded family. Amelia eats a lot, doesn't sleep as much as we'd like her to and gets cuter every day. Owen is doing pretty well as a big brother; we're keeping him busy with playdates and other activities (tonight: the local carnival).

I've posted two new pictures of Amelia here.

I've also posted my review of Alan Lomax's The Land Where the Blues Began on the newly renamed Blah Blah Blah page.

Thursday, July 5

Well, in case you haven't heard, our baby girl arrived last Friday, June 29. Her name is Amelia Morahan Brigham; she weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. She's cute as a button and looks a little bit like her older brother. Here are the first few photos.

She's very strong, likes to eat and seems destined to be an acrobat. Throughout her pregnancy, Beth mentioned how much Amelia moved around. Turns out, at least some of that movement was because she was trying to undo a knot in her umbilical cord, which only became evident when she was delivered via an emergency Caesarean. Long story short: Beth went in on Friday (I was with her) for a non-stress test to monitor the baby's heart beat. The nurses and doctors were a bit concerned by occasional dips in what was otherwise a strong beat. Beth's doctor decided to admit her, thinking that perhaps they would induce Beth, as was done for Owen's birth.

After some more monitoring, her doctor determined that the heart rate wasn't recovering quickly enough, so she decided very quickly to do the C section. Beth was immediately given oxygen and rushed down the hallway to an operating room, while I was given scrubs to change into and told to wait until they were ready for me in the OR.

I can't resist this:

"I like your nurse's uniform, guy."

"That's because you weren't invited."

The above dialogue brought to you courtesy of the excellent movie "Rushmore."

Anyway, back to our story. They did the operation, and discovered that Amelia's umbilical cord was wrapped around her body 7 times -- her legs, her torso and her neck -- and had a knot in it. The doctors basically said that she was very lucky to have been born healthy with so much wrapping and knotting. We certainly are very fortunate.

The doctor said she must have created the knot early on, when she was small enough to flip around (hence the potential for a career as an acrobat). Our theory is that at some point, as she sat on or otherwise obstructed her cord, Amelia wasn't getting a lot of nourishment. So, to make up for that, she's been eating almost non-stop since she was born. Still, she's got a long way to go to match Owen's mark of 20 lbs. at 4 months.

So all is well, we're happy but tired and looking forward to a great summer. Owen's having some difficulty, but we hope that won't last too long.

Thursday, June 28

Quick baby update: Beth is slated for an ultrasound on Friday, and an inducement next Tuesday, July 3. Beth would be very happy if Baby Girl were born before that, especially now that the hot and humid weather has arrived. In the meantime, we're trying to keep cool and keep Owen entertained.

Quick baseball update: we lost a really tough game on Sunday, 11-10. We were up 10-5 at one point, but our ace, Angel, didn't have his best stuff, and the other team had some good hitters, so we gave up the lead and couldn't string together enough hits to score any more runs. A few errors on our side, as well as a few base-running gaffes, sealed our fate. On the plus side, I had a single, raising my average to a whopping .238.

I'm gonna try to add new photos soon, and get something up on this page. I've had difficulty with my host's publishing system, as far as getting photos to post on this page.

Where's Carl Everett when you need him? On Tuesday night Beth and I watched a few minutes of the National Geographic Channel's "Conspiracy Moon Landing." There were a few crackpots quoted about how NASA faked all the moon landings over the years, the main argument being that nobody on the moon could withstand the solar-flare bombardment, because there is no atmosphere to block the harmful radiation. Other arguments conspiracy theorists toss out there, according to Orwell Today include:

"Still images taken of the American flag on the moon showed it waving this way and that, but there is no wind on the moon."

"Gravity on the moon is one-sixth that of the Earth, which means that an astronaut who would weigh 140 kilograms in his space suit on the ground would weigh only about 30 kilos on the moon. And yet the depth of the astronauts' footprints in the sand on the moon suggest they weighed much more than that."

Anyway, as my loyal readers know, I love conspiracy theories of all sorts, partly because I dig the creative ideas people have, partly because I know that the government lies to the public and things are not always as they seem. Of course I believe that there have been moon landings, but the one thing that the National Geographic show trotted out as irrefutable evidence disproving conspiracy theories is more likely, I believe, to fuel even more theories. According to NASA, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left behind on the moon a "lunar laser ranging retroreflector array," which is a set of mirrors through which the space agency can "ping" the moon laser pulses and measure the distance between the Earth and moon. These measurements enable NASA to learn about the moon's orbit and test theories of gravity.

If scientists think that the laser stuff is gonna convince hardcore anti-lunar landing loonies to switch sides, they're sadly mistaken. I bet Carl Everett won't fall for it, anyway. The one-time member of the Red Sox (and many other big-league teams) has disputed moon landings, the existence of dinosaurs and the concept of being gay. For real.

Saturday, June 23

We're still awaiting the arrival of Baby Girl Brigham. Beth is due in two days; she went to the doctor this past Wednesday, but there was nothing going on. We're as prepared as we can be -- Beth's last day of work was yesterday, we've got a spare car-seat base for Beth's car, all the blankets, diapers, clothes and accessories we need, and we're continually talking to Owen about how things will change, but for the better.

Beth goes to the doctor again next Wednesday if nothing has happened before that. She's hoping for a June baby, not a July baby. Not much else is new around here.

I've got a game tomorrow, which I'll play in unless something drastic happens in the next 24 hours. Because I wear No. 7 and play shortstop, I think a lot about my favorite Sox player from my youth, old #7 Rick Burleson, aka The Rooster. I idolized that guy when I was playing Little League baseball, although I didn't play short back then (2nd and sometimes 3rd). My brother and I used to play tennis ball (baseball using a tennis ball) with our friends the Keegans, and I was so excited when my best friend Pat's older brother, Mike, told me I was "feisty" like The Rooster. I didn't know what that word meant, but I looked it up quickly.

Unfortunately, like the current Sox player who wears #7, J. D. Drew, I've had my struggles at the bat this year. My shoulders have been bothering me; I went for my latest physical therapy session (I've done P.T. for my groin and Achilles injuries in the past) yesterday. Seems, to nobody's surprise, that my left shoulder is weaker than my right, because I'm right-handed. So the therapist has me working to strengthen the muscles surrounding both shoulder blades. I hope that helps. One of these days, I'm gonna get myself in better shape.

Monday, June 18

Beth and I dropped Owen at a birthday party on Saturday and then did some shopping on Needham Street in Newton, home to Linens 'n' Things (a BBQ brush), Dunkin' Donuts (tasty bevs) and Newbury Comics (t-shirt and CDs for Beth's dad for Father's Day, and a few new discs for our collection). I picked up Era Vulgaris, the latest Queens of the Stone Age album, which for some reason wouldn't play in my car's CD player. The player usually gives me attitude about CD-Rs, but not with store-bought discs. I loaded the QOTSA disc into iTunes and will check it out later. I also bought Datarock Datarock, the latest album from, -- surprise surprise! -- Norwegian duo Datarock. I've listened to a few tracks of that, and it's pretty good, a little funky, a little electro, a little New Wavey.

But the thing that excited me most was Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug, an album that came out in 1988. When I lived in Dover, NH, my roommate Pete had the cassette and I listened to it quite a bit, but over the last 15 years or so I'd relegated Dino Jr. to the pile of bands that I once cared about but had moved beyond. I'm not sure why I did that. In the last few years I've bought or received the band's self-titled debut (as Dinosaur) and You're Living All Over Me, but haven't listened to them much. Anyway, with my purchase over this past weekend, I've kick-started Part Two of my Dinosaur Jr. Fandom. I cranked Bug today while tooling around town, and boy did it sound good. "Freak Scene" is fantastic, and I can hardly wait to drop Owen off at camp tomorrow so I can blast "Don't."

Oddly enough, I wanted to buy Dino Jr.'s latest, Beyond, but couldn't find it at Newbury Comics, which surprised me. I hung out at Redbones, the finest BBQ establishment in the Boston area, on Friday with the Webnoize gang. We had our usual pig-fest of slaw, beer, beans and, of course, ribs (except OJ and Amy, who, I believe, had hushpuppies). OJ and Ric both told me I should buy the latest Dino Jr. album, so I will whenever I can find it. Shouldn't be too hard.

On the baby front: no news.

Wednesday, June 13

Earlier tonight I was involved in an online discussion of the Northern Lights, also called aurora borealis. Having seen them only on TV, particularly during an episode of "Northern Exposure," I assumed they occurred only in Alaska or Canada. But two guys who grew up in New Hampshire had fascinating tales about the lights in the Granite State. My friend Mark said that while he missed an opportunity years ago, some buddies of his saw it and called it "the most amazing light show they had seen. [T]hey said one of the patterns looked for a moment like a gigantic gateway to Heaven....or Hell!"

Another guy, Doug, mentioned that it "was incredibly intense to the point where the three of us who were laying in the snow on the tee for the 1st hole began to wonder if it really was the Northern Lights, or something a lot less benign; it took some verbal rationalization to resist acting out a growing panic that was quietly growing. After it was over we all felt relieved, fortunate to have seen it, but exhausted. I remember thinking the strangest part about it was how it made no sound, where it looked like it should have been shaking the Earth at its core."

I want to see the Northern Lights almost as much as I want to see a UFO. I need to get out of the house more....Here's a cool YouTube clip of the lights.

On a more tangible front, my baseball team is enjoying its first winning streak of the season. We've won two in a row, and are now 3-3. On Sunday, we came back from a 5-2 deficit to win 7-5 (I was 0 for 3). Last night, we beat the last place team 12-2 ( I was 1 for 3 with a walk). I'm not sure why I'm in a slump. Part of it is mental, but I suspect part of it may be my newly diagnosed strained scapula. I went to an orthopedist today to find out what's up with my left shoulder, which has been bothering me for close to 5 weeks now. I'm slated to start physical therapy next week. I gotta get myself in better shape so I don't keep hurting myself and needing to undergo PT.

Finally, here's a link to the Flaming Lips' version of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." I love the original, but the Lips put a unique twist on this cover: using most of the lyrics from Butthole Surfers' "Moving to Florida," and adding some Bush-bashing lyrics of their own. I love this song.

Thursday, June 7

Like the Red Sox, the Quincy Sons of Italy baseball team is in a slump. We lost 17-6 on Sunday, and are now 1-3. I'm batting .182, although in reality, it's .143, but we have a suspended game from which the stats have yet to be posted. I have two hits, and five strike-outs. I'm not happy. The coach is strongly encouraging the team to arrive earlier than usual for Sunday's game, to take some much-needed batting practice.

Owen graduated from preschool last week (pix here from the ceremony, as well as his class performance and post-school picnic). His class sang several songs for assembled parents and grandparents, and then Owen and one classmate joined kids from other classes for a short graduation ceremony, complete with caps and diplomas. Afterwards, the whole school went to a local park for a picnic. It was a beautiful day, and it was fun to see Owen in his element with so many friends around. Unfortunately, in our excitement before school, we forgot to give him his daily dose of Claritin, so we needed to leave the picnic a bit early because Owen's allergies were acting up.

Owen started camp (at his school) on Monday; he'll go every day through the end of July. He's having a lot of fun there, as expected. He also had a lot of fun this week with my mother. My parents were in town, but my dad didn't get to spend as much time with Owen as he would have liked, because he had work to do for a church committee that was meeting in Boston Monday through Wednesday.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the latest sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. Like UFOs, Bigfoot and the Bermuda Triangle, Nessie is something that's fascinated me since I was a kid. In this clip from a Scottish news program, a reporter speaks with a guy who shot the most recent footage of the supposed creature. The footage isn't that compelling, but I love how the bit turns into an homage to the Loch Ness Monster, complete with appropriately wistful pipe music. And, of course, I love the Scottish accents. If it's not Scottish, it's crap.

Thursday, May 31

Owen graduates from the illustrious Auburndale Community Nursery School tomorrow. He's made many new friends, improved his artistic (well, a little) and social skills and learned a lot over the past year. I helped out during yesterday's special activities (relay races, etc.) and had fun watching Owen and his friends have such a blast. Today they're having an ice cream party, and tomorrow his class will put on a show before Owen and one other girl from his group join others to get diplomas and graduation caps (seriously). Afterwards, there's a big picnic at a local park. Beth and I will join her parents for the big day. I'm really looking forward to seeing Owen's journal, which is where the kids put artwork, pictures and other projects from throughout the year. We haven't seen any of it yet.

On Monday, he starts eight weeks of summer camp at the same place. Some of his friends will be there for part of the time, which is good. With our baby girl due in the very near future, Beth and I are glad that Owen will get to spend most of the summer at camp. Camp ends in late July; we'll spend two weeks on the Cape in August. And then it won't be long before Owen enters kindergarten. There, I've just taken care of the entire summer. Time to start shopping for winter clothing....

Switching gears to music....Every music nerd's dream is to discover an artist nobody else knows about. One current band I can claim some ownership over is Chin Up Chin Up, about whom I've written a little bit recently. Of course, I found out about Chin Up in an email from Insound, the excellent indie rock retailer. But I don't know anybody else who's bought either of their albums, so I say I discovered them. Over the years as I flipped through albums, tapes and CDs (and now digital storefronts), I would usually have a list of stuff I knew I wanted. But I was always on the lookout for stuff that just looked cool, without having any clue whether it sounded good. In recent years, Newbury Comics helped me out with its in-store Muze kiosk, which catalogued artists and records and provided album info and reviews. Back in the olden times, however, I just went on gut instinct, which typically meant "Does the album cover look cool?" Most times I struck out and ended up selling the record somewhere else or giving it away. The biggest success I had, in terms of finding something I liked and that nobody else ever bought, was in the mid-'80s, with Crippled Pilgrims. I really liked the artwork and the name was just weird enough to make me want to buy it. The band, hailing from D.C., sounds a bit like early R.E.M., a bit like Television. They don't do anything out of the ordinary, but the guitar work is really clean and creative throughout their catalog. I was pretty happy in the past year to discover their two slabs of vinyl had been reissued. I (gasp!) downloaded the whole thing, and love hearing music on my iPod that I dug on my crappy turntable so long ago.

Over the years, I've searched online for info about Crippled Pilgrims, with no luck. Even after I discovered that their stuff had been reissued last year, I still couldn't find out what the guys in the band were up to. Were they still in bands? Where? Did they tour? Would Crippled Pilgrims reunite? Well, finally I've gotten some answers. I did a search a few weeks ago and lo and behold, got a hit for the Internet homepage of Rambling Shadows, which features at least two of the guys from Crippled Pilgrims. I excitedly read through the band's history, news and upcoming gigs section, and then decided to check out their MP3s. I'm not sure what I think. They're still jangly, but like any old guy, Jay Moglia has lost some of the youthful vitality in his voice. Rambling Shadows definitely sound like an '80s band, which isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. So far, I like Shading a Dream, but am still not sold on the vocals. I've given the other free tracks on their web site a few brief listenings; I'll tune in some more before I decide whether any of it is worth downloading, and whether to buy their upcoming album.

Tuesday, May 29

A few quick hits to cover the past week:

Beth got a stomach bug that lasted from Tuesday night through Thursday night. She stayed home from work Wednesday and Thursday, and was miserable. She felt good enough to return to work Friday, but still doesn't feel all that great, what with her due date only four weeks away. Thankfully, Owen and I didn't get the bug.

We went up to Seabrook, NH, late in the day on Saturday to hang out with some of Beth's college friends. Owen had fun playing with a boy who is almost four, and Beth had a good time catching up. I ate too much, as usual, but had a good time, as I've known many of the people at the party nearly as long as Beth has.

Sunday was a perfect day for baseball, with temps in the 70s in Scituate, where the game kicked off at 10:30 a.m. Things were going great until the bottom of the 8th, when our team fell apart and gave a way a 2-0 lead. I had an error, our second baseman lost a pop fly in the sun, our pitcher hit a batter, walked a batter and threw a wild pitch. Toss in a few cheap hits and all of a sudden it's 3-2 and the home team is whooping it up and we're all hanging our heads. We lost 3-2 at the same field, to the same team, last year. That game was also 8 innings, but that was an extra-inning game. This year, all games are 8 innings, which made my coach mad. "Why the hell are we playing 8 inning games?" he said after we lost. "We should have won this game." Eight innings is too long, even if you win. My struggles at the plate continued, as I went 0-3 with two strikeouts and a weak groundout. I'm gonna switch bats and switch to a new "lucky" t-shirt to wear under my uniform. Of course, I should hit the batting cages, but that's too much effort (!).

I was flipping channels Sunday night, mourning the fact that "The Sopranos" was taking a Memorial Day break, when I happened across the Travel Channel's "Weird Travels" show. It was about UFOs, which astute DaveBrigham.com readers know is a favorite topic of mine. Beth had already gone to bed, so I left the show on. The show featured the usual footage of unknown crafts flying over Phoenix and interviews with people who saw bizarre lights. The segment about Mexico, however, proved to be the most fascinating. Evidently, our neighbors to the south have experienced intense UFO activity over the years, and many folks have videotaped these events. The footage was, as almost all such footage is, grainy and unremarkable. Sure, something's up in the sky, but it's difficult even for photography and video experts to say what it is. Undeterred, I kept watching, because there was little else on until the 11 o'clock news.

Very quickly, the segment switched gears to talk about something infinitely more interesting than UFOs. A policeman from a crime-ridden area of Mexico City (I think) talked about an encounter with someone who dropped out of a tree, flew into the air above his car, and then zoomed down to attack him. He backed up his car, smashed it into a wall, knocking himself unconscious. He claimed this person was a witch, but had no broom. Now, I know this sounds ridiculous. But as soon as the show's narrator used the term "flying humanoid" my ears perked up. I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of such a thing before. According to this article, from a site I'd never visited before and as far as I know is operated by a complete lunatic (I mean, look at the guy's hair on the main page!), these flying humanoids haven't made contact with people on the ground, but have given "threatening" looks. I know, I know. This just sounds so stupid. But yet, I'm fascinated by it. Judge for yourself. The video (which features the above-mentioned policeman) is in Spanish, but I know that the "bruja" they talk about means "witch." I think "flying humanoid" just sounds soooo much better. I don't know what's flying in that video. A few people on Snopes.com commenting on the video say it looks and moves like a balloon of some sort. I'm not sure about that. My default thought about anything unexplained such as this is that it's a U.S. military project that we'll all learn more about in a few years. Any other thoughts?

Tuesday, May 22

Owen turns 5 tomorrow, which I find hard to believe. It's not that he doesn't act like a five year old; his fascination with maps, his love of tearing up playgrounds and his increasing independence on all fronts testify to that. It's just that when I think back across his short life, I can't believe how quickly he's grown, accumulated knowledge and grown into himself. And soon he's going to be a big brother, and he'll take on new responsibilities and mature even more. I'm not fooling myself, though: I know Owen is bound to experience what all new big brothers do, from jealousy to intense dislike to ambivalence about his baby sister. That's natural. And while I'm sure Beth and I will be a little rusty with our new baby, I can hardly wait for her arrival, to learn what gifts she'll bring into our lives.

As for Owen, he's had two birthday parties in four days, and it's not even his birthday yet. Today, his preschool class sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him a special paper crown, while eating the cupcakes I lovingly purchased from Star Market yesterday. On Sunday, he had his "kid party" at our house, with a bunch of his friends. They were well behaved for the most part, and everyone had a great time. Owen was very excited to see his friends, open presents and eat cake. He's had a great time since then playing with new toys, such as Toss Across, Magformers, Bowl-a-Dude and Twister. Saturday we had a "family party" for him. My parents and sister made the trip up from CT, joining us, Beth's parents and her sister, brother-in-law and our nephew, Max. More great gifts and plenty of cake; Owen had a great time, of course.

Beth and I bought him a new bike for his birthday. He had fun riding it yesterday. The salesman said it should last him for two years before he outgrows it. At the rate he's growing, I hope that's true. For his actual birthday tomorrow, we'll give him a few more gifts and have some sort of special meal and/or dessert. For those keeping score at home, Owen shares his birthday with my cousins Amy and Joy, as well as my friend Erik, and more well-known folks including the Father of Taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, soap star Joan Collins, synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, rotund comedian/actor Drew Carey and snaggle-toothed singer Jewel.

Friday, May 18

Bloody weather.... Cold and rainy today, three days after temps hit the 80s. Last week I almost got sunstroke on a 5-mile run in the late morning. Today I've had to bump the heat a few times. Arrgghh!

Owen's home sick today. I believe it's a cold, but it could be that his allergies have ramped up their aggressions. He's had a few rough sleeping nights this week, which means Beth and I have, too. Beth gets tired enough as it is these days, so I feel bad for her. Owen's spirits have been pretty good through this past week of allergy/cold. I just hope he feels better this weekend, because we've got two parties (one for family, the other for kids) planned for his 5th birthday, which falls on May 23.

With two parties in the offing, that should mean some new pix for this page and for the photos page. Got a lot to do before the extravaganzas begin tomorrow, such as buy snacks, drinks, cakes, ice cream, beer, ice, etc. Beth and I are attending a four-hour "refresher" class at Newton-Wellesley Hospital tomorrow, in order to recall how to have a baby, so our time is a little crunched. Beth was induced when Owen was born, so we never went through the whole water-breaking-rush-to-the-hospital-remember-your-breathing ritual. So tomorrow we'll take copious notes in case this time around she isn't induced. But there's a chance she will be, as her doctor told her the baby is big, and she doesn't want to perform a Caesarean. She would prefer to induce a little early if necessary. If only we could think of a name for Baby Girl Brigham....

On Wednesday night, in between watching "American Idol" and "Lost," I flipped over to VH1 Classic to watch "Rock 'n' Roll High School." It's so cheesy I couldn't resist. It's like "Grease" for the punk rock crowd, with actors and actresses who are too old playing teenagers, wearing stupid outfits created by a costume department without a clue. The late Paul Bartel and one-time Warhol collaborator Mary Woronov are pretty funny. Other stars include Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard (go here for, coincidentally enough, Clint interviewing Johnny Ramone), and PJ Soles. I didn't like Soles's character, Riff Randell. Her outfits were stupid, her attitude was wrong and the fact that she was 29 playing a high school student was just ridiculous. Still, she's got great B-movie cred, having been featured in "Carrie," the original "Halloween," "Stripes" and "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble," among other things. More recently she had a cameo (barely) in the video for The Donnas' "Too Bad About Your Girl." According to IMDB, Soles is also considering a remake of "Rock 'n' Roll High School." I assume she would play the Woronov part; or perhaps she would produce.

Saturday, May 12

Owen stayed home from school yesterday, due to what I believe is a seasonal allergy of some sort. Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, lethargy. So after running some errands we went on our latest cruise through what is called MetroWest -- the suburbs west of Boston that include Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Sherborn and Westborough. Owen is completely and totally into maps, and has been for quite some time now. Beth tells a funny story: she and Owen were at the grocery store a while back, and she spied some kids' DVDs, and told Owen he could pick one out. But a rack of small road atlases caught his attention first, and he told Beth he wanted one of those, rather than a DVD.

Anyway, over the past few weeks he and I have gone on plenty of jaunts through some of the horsier towns west of Newton, including Wellesley, Natick, Weston and Wayland. I love driving, especially on country roads lined with farms and historic mansions (although I never cease to be amazed/disgusted by the ostentatious McMansions, with their three-car garages and huge tracts of land). Owen's just glad to gather new data to plug into the map of Eastern Massachusetts he keeps in his head. When we get home, he thrills at drawing roads on his Magna Doodle, and at checking out new routes on Google Maps. He knows more about the layout of streets, roads and highways than most adults, including Beth and me.

We did a second drive yesterday, through Brookline, West Roxbury and Newton. He seems to be feeling better today, although his eyes are still red and puffy. With any luck, we'll get out to a playground. Tomorrow we're going to Beth's sister's house for a Mother's Day brunch.

This past Wednesday, Owen went to the Horace Mann School for a play date with other kids who will enter kindergarten in September. While he made new friends, I joined other parents in meeting with the principal and taking a tour of the school. The principal seems really nice, the school looks better on the inside than I figured it might based on its outward appearance. Most importantly, Owen quickly bonded with two kids, as evidenced by the great time the three of them had on the playground afterwards.

You know you're a music nerd if: like me, you refer to Baltimore relief pitcher (and former Red Sox) Chad Bradford as "Labradford" simply because I recall hearing the name many years ago, on several occasions, on college radio. According to this bio, the band trades in "lo-ball ambiance and occasional icy sadness." Interestingly enough, Chad Bradford trades in submarine (or, you might say, "lo-ball") pitches and an ability to leave batters with "icy sadness" based on his 2.90 ERA in relief last year with the Mets. But don't confuse him with this guy. Okay, I'm all done with the dorky stuff.

As you were.

Saturday, May 5

Before 8 a.m. today, I learned something about Cinco de Mayo. Like many people, I believed that the holiday celebrated Mexican independence from Spain. That day is actually September 16. Cinco de Mayo commemorates "the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin over the French occupational forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862," according to Wikipedia. Turns out that the French, Spanish and English governments sent representatives to Mexico to collect on debts incurred during various wars and political crises. The Spanish and English evidently settled their financial affairs and moved out. France, however, had empire expansion ideas, according to various Internet sources. Mexican forces defeated Napoleon III's army at the town of Puebla, which is the reason for today's celebration. The French eventually exerted control over Mexico, and for three years (1864-1867) Archduke Maximilian of Austria (Napoleon's cousin) ruled. After our civil war, the U.S. provided military support to Mexico and the French were expelled.

Apparently Cinco de Mayo is a huge holiday in Puebla and in parts of Mexico that border the U.S., and in parts of the U.S. with significant Mexican populations, but not in Mexico as a whole. I went to a Cinco de Mayo party in Dover, NH, a million years ago, held by my friends Pete, Foose and Chris. I recall drinking too much cerveza and sangria, trying to break up a fight inside the house that eventually spilled outside, and sleeping on a loveseat with my legs dangling off the side, resulting in an uncomfortable and short night's sleep. Hardly the proper recognition of an important Mexican holiday

On the homefront, I joined Owen and his entire school on a field trip to Drumlin Farm on Wednesday. Operated by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Drumlin features the usual array of farm animals -- pigs, horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens -- as well as a display of birds including hawks, owls, peacocks and crows and random other animals such as a red fox (no, not Redd Foxx) and a woodchuck. Owen and his friends had a great time on the hay ride and just walking around. I chaperoned Owen and his best buddy, Tamer, and laughed a lot at the random things they talked about, including donuts and bologna.

Next game: tomorrow at 5:00.

Tuesday, May 1

We played 8 innings on Sunday in less than two hours. We had more errors (4) than hits (3) and lost 2-0 to the team that beat us for the league championship last year. Their pitcher had a good mix of curves, changeups, sliders and knuckle-curves. Nobody on our team could do anything. Very frustrating.

Today I finally popped in my other Amazon birthday CD into my booming car stereo system (not): The Gun Club's fantastic 1981 debut, Fire of Love. I really dug this band in college, but for some reason I never bought any of their stuff. I've been missing out, that's for sure: "Sex Beat," "Preaching the Blues," "She's Like Heroin to Me," "Ghost on the Highway" -- so many great songs dripping with swampy evil and demented blues. I get the feeling The Pixies were listening to a little Gun Club back in the day, based on this album (I'm not alone in this opinion; scroll down below this BBC review of The Pixies' Wave of Mutilation to the part where one bloke comments that, "A friend of mine was on tour with the Pixies as a member of Pale Saints and vouched for the fact that Black Francis could never shut up about Gun Club."). Here's a live video for "Sex Beat," featuring a barely coherent Jeffrey Lee Pierce (RIP).

One more thing: I'd like to welcome my sister to Blogtown (I hate the term "blogosphere".). With her site, Connect the People, she focuses on "connecting people in everyday life and employment." She works as a recruiter in the fashion industry. One thing she connected me to was the web site for five03 Records. Somebody she knows designed the site, or works for the label, or something (obviously I wasn't paying full attention to the email she sent). Anyway, I like this video by The Prids (one of only two bands on the roster at this point), especially the beginning. I wanted those punkers to go at it the whole time. Oh well.

Sunday, April 29

On Friday I received my A Murder of Crows package from Caleb Miles, former guitarist and vocalist for the Albuquerque band I wrote about a few weeks ago. I wondered whether I would be let down, and realize that the band wasn't as good as I'd remembered over the past 19 years. I believe they're actually better than I'd recalled. The only song of theirs I'd remembered was "Mass Murder Boogie" (the title of which I recalled incorrectly a few weeks ago); it's as good as I'd hoped it would be, and there are plenty of other excellent bluesy, psychedelic rock numbers to round out the 2-disc set that Miles sent me.

Also, turns out that Mao was the winner in the "Mass Murder Boogie," with at least 30 million murders, according to the song. That song is included along with 15 others on a disc that was recorded in part at Albuquerque's late Fat Chance Saloon on May 28, 1988. There's a good chance I was at that show with Pete and Andy. Funny.

With an Amazon gift card I received for my birthday, I bought Deerhoof's latest, Friend Opportunity, which I popped into the box for the first time Friday. I'm diggin' it already, which is rare for me with just about any band. Here's a video mashup of OK Go's famous treadmill clip with Deerhoof's "+81" providing the soundtrack. And here's the official video for Deerhoof's "The Perfect Me."

I started this entry on Friday, and was going to write more, but I keep getting derailed. Next entry will talk about other new music, today's baseball game (if we play) and other stuff.

Tuesday, April 24

Another beautiful day.

Sunday's game was a lot of fun, and not only because we won 14-4. It just felt great to be out in the sun, playing baseball on a nicely groomed field and giving out lots of high-fives and knuckle bashes. I didn't do a lot: a single, a walk, one run scored. I also popped out and struck out, although I reached first because the catcher missed the third strike. I didn't have much action in the field, either, which is fine because I was sore enough yesterday. We play again tomorrow night against the same team.

Saturday's Toastmen jam was a complete and total blast. There were many times over the past several months when I wasn't so sure we were ever all gonna get together. But everybody's schedules meshed perfectly and we gathered in Ken's living room and ripped through several songs, mostly old, one or two new, and, if I may so say, we sounded pretty damn good.

We still haven't figured out when we'll actually play our big reunion gig, but that seems secondary now that everyone has shaken off the rust and is primed to practice again and make it happen. With any luck, the show will happen before the end of this year, making it a 20th reunion gig. For pictures of what we looked like at that final show in 1987, go here.

Monday, April 23

This week is shaping up much more nicely than last week. Owen is back to 100%, the weather is beautiful, my baseball team won our season opener and The Toastmen rocked Ken's living room down to a nub (OK, technically, that was last week, but the weather in Keene on Saturday was much more "this week" than "last week." Know'm sayin'?).

I'll write more tomorrow about the game, the jam and whatever else I can dig out of my mind. Now I gotta wash dishes so's I can watch "24" in a little while.

Tuesday, April 17

Beth, Owen and I are home this week, on vacation, and the weather is cold, windy and rainy. There's a good chance that my game scheduled for this Thursday night will get called, just as this past Sunday's game did. At least the Sox are playing (for the most part) and winning. I'm excited to watch them play the Blue Jays and then the Evil Empire this week. Should be some good games.

Owen didn't enjoy the first two days of vacation. He had a 24-hour stomach bug that started just after he ate pizza (oh boy...) for lunch at a friend's house on Sunday and continued until after he fell asleep that night. Yesterday he felt better, albeit a bit tired and not that hungry. Today he's improved, although he still hasn't eaten much. With any luck, the three of us will get out of the house a bit more as the week goes on, and (fingers crossed!) maybe even venture to a playground if the sun comes out.

Today we went to the Atrium Mall in Newton. We had lunch at Bertucci's and kicked around a few stores, including Pottery Barn Kids, where Beth and I picked out some stuff for Baby Girl Brigham. I also bought two books at Borders: Heyday by Spy magazine co-founder Kurt Andersen; and Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree" by Lisa Alther. Here's what hooked me about each book:

Heyday (from the front flap) -- "In the middle of the nineteenth century, modern life is being born: the mind-boggling marvels of photography, the telegraph, and railroads; a flood of show-business spectacles and newspapers; rampant sex and drugs and drink (and moral crusades against all three); Wall Street awash with money; and giddy utopian visions everywhere."

The main characters include a muckraking journalist/daguerreotypist/stargazer, a fireman and "damaged veteran" of the Mexican war, and a "freethinking actress (and discreet part-time prostitute)." I never watched HBO's "Deadwood", but I love the idea of stories that dismantle the idealist viewpoint that people from the 1800's didn't swear, cheat, steal, fornicate, scheme, lie, fight, kill and do whatever else they had to do to get ahead. I'm hoping that reading Heyday might inspire me to pick up the slack on my novel-in-progress that about the history of a dysfunctional family that takes place in part in the Wild West.

Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree -- This book has another subtitle: "The Search for My Melungeon Ancestors." I am a genealogical nerd, so the title caught my eye, the subtitle made me pick it up and the front flap description sold me: "[O]ne night a grizzled babysitter with brown teeth told [the author] about the Melungeons: six-fingered child-snatchers who hid in cliff caves outside town." This is non-fiction, which I forgot to mention. The flap continues: "[The author] learned that the Melungeons were actually a group of dark-skinned people -- some with extra thumbs -- living in isolated pockets in the South. But who were they? Where did they come from?" Yes, indeed, I'm hooked.

Before I crack these books, however, I need to finish Rat Bastard, the memoir written by onetime Whitey Bulger protege John "Red" Shea. The book has been optioned by Mark Wahlberg, so Shea's tales of Boston's Irish mob may show up on the big screen before too long.

The first full Toastmen jam is slated for this Saturday, April 21. Shhhh...don't jinx it.

Thursday, April 11

Today's entry is long, as I've finally put together everything I wanted to write about the Albuquerque music scene, circa 1988. Here goes.

There wasn’t enough noise in Albuquerque. Sure, there were loud cars roaring down the streets, planes buzzing overhead, construction equipment grinding away, highway overpasses rumbling and creaking, people yelling across the street to each other. But after seeing a handful of local bands I was tempted to post signs on utility poles around the city asking: “WHERE’S THE NOISE?” This was 1988 and I was totally into loud bands such as Big Black, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Phantom Tollbooth and Mission of Burma. Really, I was expecting too much from Albuquerque. It’s a modern city, as the filmstrips from my elementary school days said of Rio de Janeiro, Taipei, Cairo and other far-flung metropoli. But it wasn’t a hotbed of punk and indie rock. There were places for bands to play -- the Fat Chance, El Madrid Lounge, Club Rec, house parties – but most of what we saw was kind of boring.

But there were exceptions.

El Madrid Lounge, which we redundantly called “The El Madrid” (silly gringos), was the funkiest place we hung out. It was within walking distance of our house, very colorfully decorated and featured Mason jars of Black Label (I think; or maybe it was Piels) for 99 cents. The only bill I recall featured a guy who went by The Poet In a Bottle. He was too late to be a beatnik and too early for the poetry slam craze that would sweep the country a few years later. Headlining that bill was Cracks in the Sidewalk, a local band whose primary interest to my roommates and me was their hot bass player, Jezebel. The band was a little bit punk, a little bit Goth, and a whole lot self-indulgent. They opened local shows for fIREHOSE, Butthole Surfers, the Meat Puppets, Helmet, Soundgarden and Jane’s Addiction, among others (see them mentioned again below w/ the Rollins Band), according to their web site. They were OK musically, albeit not loud and distorted enough for me, despite what they say about themselves on their posthumous web site (“hard crunching metal to fast, speed punk to jazz and funk contortions”). Check out their song Leatherword (or others) and judge for yourself.

Thinking back on it, I realize that if the band didn't have a foxy bass player, we wouldn't have given them a second chance. I really didn’t like their singer. At the El Madrid gig, he had his hair in tiny ponytails, and proceeded to cut them off during their set. Wow, crazy man! Still, they were the closest things to (local) punk rock I saw in that town during three months in 1988.

My favorite local band during our short tenure was A Murder of Crows. Back then, I didn’t realize that “a murder” was how you quantified crows, like a “pride of lions” or “gaggle of geese” (for a really wild time, check here for an exhaustive listing of how to describe groups of animals – a “shrewdness of apes”? Really, now, who comes up with this stuff.), I just thought it was a great name for a band. And I understand there have been other bands across the US and A that used the name. But I only know of one, and they were really, really good. I saw them at least twice, although the only gig I remember was at an outdoor festival. And the only song title I can dredge up from the memory bank is “Mass Murderer Boogie,” a lovely stomper comparing Stalin, Hitler and Mao and their respective statistics for millions of people who were killed or died of starvation, mass migration, etc. during their reigns. I believe Stalin was the victor in the song, with 20 million. I’ll be able to report more on this soon. When I started ruminating on this whole Albuquerque mess two weeks ago, I did a Google search for Murder of Crows, and found links to one of the band’s members, Caleb Miles. Long story short: I emailed him and asked about getting my hands on some Murder of Crows stuff, and he said he’d be happy to burn me some stuff from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and would I be kind enough to buy his current solo CD? I said of course, so now I anxiously await some music from the olden times. I hope it lives up to my memories.

We also saw three national bands (relatively speaking) during our brief time in New Mexico. I’ll start small and work my way up.

I don’t know whose idea it was to go to an Albuquerque high school to see by Operation Ivy (known as Op Ivy to their fans), but that idea was likely inspired by Maximum Rock and Roll. I didn’t know anything about the band then, and all I know about them now is that Tim Armstrong (who went by Lint in Op Ivy) went on to form the much more well known Rancid. Pete, John and I went to the high school on a warm Saturday afternoon and watched the opening bands with little interest. We were outside when Op Ivy showed up in a mammoth, puke-green sedan (an old Dodge or Chrysler, I believe) with a giant wooden box mounted on top with their gear inside, locked tight. I must say, in all my years of seeing bands drive up to a gig, I’ve never seen another one that wasn’t in a van or bus. It was a funny sight.

So the Op Ivy boys are loading their equipment in and start asking if anybody there has an extra amp or two they can borrow, due to loss or damage, I forget which. So Pete and John say, “We’ve got stuff,” and off they go in the Gray Ghost back to our house. By the time they showed up with their gear, the band had borrowed stuff from somebody else, most likely another band. I don’t remember whether I liked Op Ivy or not, but that didn’t seem to be important at the time. I had a good time just hanging out in a strange city surrounded by bands I knew nothing about, wondering just what the hell I was doing there, how long would I stay, and would my buddies and I ever form a band.

Op Ivy was hardly a “national” act, but being from San Francisco, and having played the well-regarded Gilman Street, they were a minor deal in the New Mexico outback. The Rollins Band, on the other hand, featured arguably the best-known West Coast punk icon, Henry Rollins. His band played El Rey Theater, a great old place with lots of room for slam dancing. The aforementioned Cracks in the Sidewalk opened with their usual Butthole Surfers-influenced schtick. Whereas the first time I’d seen them the singer cut his hair during their set, this time he pretended to cut himself with a knife. Fake blood spurted out and onto the stage. It was lame. When Rollins hit the stage, he dipped his toe in the fake blood, brought it up to his mouth and tasted it.

”It appears someone has cut themselves,” he said in a voice of mock concern mixed with disdain.

Then the band kicked in and the place went nuts. Or as nuts as a mosh pit of no more than 20 guys can go. In preparation, I commissioned Pete to make me a "Rambis strap" to hold my glasses on. He fashioned one out of lots of tape, and it worked beautifully.

I have to say I was a bit taken aback at first when I saw Rollins. The last time I’d seen him, with Black Flag, a few years earlier, he looked like this, with the long hair that confused many a punk. However, with the Rollins Band, he looked more like the drill sargeant he more closely resembles today. Anyway, the band kicked ass.

The third national act we caught was Joe “King” Carrasco, the self-described King of Tex-Mex Rock ‘n’ Roll. They played an outdoor gig at the University of New Mexico, which pleased Andy to no end. He was a huge fan, and had introduced me to the King, who’s party-time songs included gems like “Houston El Mover,” “Buena,” and others that I’m not going to pretend to remember. He put on a helluva show in front of a big crowd on a hot day in a dusty field. He’d had some MTV exposure in the early ‘80s (check out “Bad Rap” before someone pulls the plug on it), and apparently still plays around. He now lives in Mexico, according to his site. So now maybe he plays “Mex-Tex Rock and Roll.”

Anyway, that’s my Albuquerque music spiel. My next entry will be more of the usual about living in the Now Times.

Monday, April 9

At last, more about Albuquerque, although I won’t be getting to the music stuff until tomorrow or the next day.

I spent just one season in Albuquerque, arriving a few days before spring began (It snowed nearly 10 inches not long after we got there, a rare occurrence for that time of year. I was shopping somewhere and told the clerk that I had arrived in town recently from New England, and she said, “Oh, so you brought the weather with you.” Yes, that’s the power I have.) and leaving right around the time summer kicked in. That’s not a lot of time when set against 42 years on God’s Green Earth, but I have plenty of memories from the Land of Enchantment. I read a lot of books while living at 314 Broadway SE, just a few blocks from historic Route 66 (Central Ave.), and penned some long letters and navel-gazing journal entries. I also walked around the city a fair amount, and one time trekked to the Rio Grande Zoo , which was pretty close to where we lived.

I recall two times when I got in the van with at least one of my roomies and ventured outside the city limits. On our first venture, we drove up into the Sandia Mountains and hiked around a bit and took in some great views of the city and surrounding desert. A friend we’d made during our brief stay in Albuquerque told us that there was a mountain along our route that had been hollowed out and filled with some sort of government installation. I’m sure it’s true. I conducted a Google search about such a place near Albuquerque, and found a few mentions that something supposedly exists. I found a lot more information of questionable reliability (my favorite kind!) about a town called Dulce, New Mexico, which is, and I know this will completely surprise regular readers, reportedly the “first and main joint United States Government/alien biogenetics laboratory,” according to AboveTopSecret.com. Supposedly there are “over 18,000 short greys (aliens)” at the facility, which goes down at least two miles and has seven levels.

OK, I don’t believe that there are tens of thousands of aliens housed at this facility, but I can easily believe that whatever goes on there would be quite shocking. Anyway, moving on.

2) Our other trip out of town was to Petroglyph National Monument, which features an estimated 20,000 carved images made by Native Americans from roughly 1300 to 1700, according to the park’s web site. In addition, there are archeological sites and volcanos. I would love to go back there again, because my memories of it are pretty dim.

A third time Andy and I ventured to the outskirts of the city to watch a thunderstorm come across the desert and into Albuquerque. I don’t remember whether we drove to the spot because we knew it was a good viewing spot, or just happened upon it. Maybe we were out and about and stumbled across the spot as the skies darkened. Either way, I’ll always remember watching the black clouds coming across the flat earth and then opening up with torrential rains and awe-inspiring lightning over the valley below us. There were some other really cool thunder-and-lightning storms during our short stay there, attacking the city very suddenly and moving on just as quickly. The snow storm that I mentioned above was pretty cool, too, dumping 8 or so inches one day, which melted within roughly 24 hours.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the bands we saw, the clubs we frequented and the music made within our happy little home by us and our neighbors, who were almost always drunk.

Saturday, April 7

I removed the YouTube link to "Happy Birthday" by Altered Images below, because I just clicked on it and received the following message: "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Viacom International Inc." The video was clipped from VHI Classic, which used to be a great station to flip to during commercials, but it no longer plays obscure videos and favorite oldies, but rather boring concerts and other stuff I couldn't care less about.

Anyway.

My sister and my parents visited from CT today to celebrate my birthday and my sister’s, too. Last night Beth, Owen and I went out with the Morahans to celebrate my birthday and my father-in-law’s. I got some nice loot – a handful of Sox shirts, some hip new Rockport shoes, two books and some other nice clothes. I also got an Amazon gift certificate, so I can buy some new music. Tomorrow we’ll do Easter at my in-laws, after Owen takes part in the neighborhood egg hunt.

I swear, I'm gonna post the next part of my New Mexico tale very soon.

Thursday, April 5

Happy birthday to me. I celebrated this morning by going for the longest run (approx. 4 miles) I've done in quite some time. This afternoon I hope to fit in a little time in front of the Sox game, watching Dice-K's debut. Tonight, I shall be showered with gifts by my lovely wife and son.

The magical weekend continues tomorrow night when we go out with my in-laws (mother-, father-, sister-, brother-, nephew) to celebrate my birthday, as well as my father-in-law's special day (4/9). My parents and sister are coming up for the day on Saturday, to celebrate my birthday and my sister's (4/14). The weekend will wrap up with an Easter feast, followed, I hope, by a nap.

I'm still working on the Albuquerque music stuff. I hope to post it tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 3

I'm not going to talk about the Sox today. Instead, as promised, I'm gonna go in the wayback machine and reminisce about my brief but interesting time in New Mexico.

A little more than 19 years ago, my friends Pete and John and I pulled our Dodge Tradesman van (here's an approximation; ours was a little longer and had windows all around, but the color was roughly the same, resulting in somebody dubbing it "The Gray Ghost") into Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the goal of settling in for a while. We'd set out from Connecticut February 25th (I still have one of my trip journals) and traveled down the eastern seaboard to Florida, then across to New Orleans, up through Mississippi and into Memphis, as some folks who read this may remember. On March 16 we crossed from Texas into New Mexico (Tucumcari, to be precise); on St. Patrick's Day we arrived in Santa Fe. Within a few hours, however, Pete and I were having trouble with the altitude -- 7,000 feet above sea level -- so we decided to head for lower ground, Albuquerque (only 5,000 feet).

Why am I writing about this? No real reason. I think about my big trip and living in Albuquerque with some regularity. I'd like to go back there someday and actually do something. Living out there was an adventure, but a bit boring at times (my fault) and we didn't have a lot of money. I spent too much time eating, drinking and reading and not enough exploring the city and its amazing surroundings. I brought a camera on the trip, but when we got to Albuquerque and I brought the rolls in to be developed, I was told they were blank. I was pissed, and threw the camera away when I got back to the house we were renting. I still kick myself to this day that I don't have any photos from that trip, just memories, some notes and a few articles that my hometown paper published (and which haven't stood the test of time). So a few days ago I was sitting around and decided to do some image searches on the InterWeb for places and people from 1988-era Albuquerque. So here I go....

One place we frequented was the Frontier Restaurant, which is right across from the University of New Mexico. My most immediate memory of this place, before the food and the hipster atmosphere, was that we used to see a girl there who we called “Pete’s sister.” She had short, dyed red hair, a large nose and wore these plaid pants that looked like ones Pete owned. She wasn’t ugly, but not pretty either. She was definitely a punk, well, a college punk, and seemed like she was cool. But I don’t believe any of us ever talked to her and told her that we thought she looked like Pete. If fortune has smiled on her, she hasn’t lost so much hair in the past two decades that she decided to shave her head, like Pete has.

Pete was the first one of us to get a job. He slung hash at the fabulous Route 66 Diner, home of the Route 66 pile-up, a breakfast bonanza that featured, to the best of my recollection, eggs, home fries, lots of meat, salsa, chili and god knows what else. I ate it once or twice, and it almost killed me.

John and I didn’t get jobs right away. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe John ever did. He left part way through our stay there. I eventually got a telemarketing job for which I was completely unfit, but through which I met some funny and shady characters. Not long after John left, my buddy Andy, who’d been on the trip until Memphis, joined us in the Land of Enchantment. He’d driven across from Connecticut with Peter Peck,a friend of Pete's and mine from college. Andy got a job as a security guard at an apartment complex, and also worked in a restaurant, the name of which escapes me. Peter Peck stayed for a few days and then went on to California.

I’m gonna wrap up this installment soon. I wanted to mention that when we rolled into town, we stayed at some fleabag motel for a few days until we found a house to rent for $325/month. For those first few days, and every once in a while over the subsequent three months we lived there, we ate a fair amount of cheap-o Mexican food at the Pop ‘n’ Taco down the street. Pop 'n' Taco was a glorified kiosk. You walked up and ordered through a window, and watched them put your order together in about a minute. It was fast, cheap and tasty in a greasy, unhealthy way. But after eating too many carrots and hot dogs in campgrounds across America for the previous month, Pop 'n' Taco looked good to me.

In doing a Google search, I learned that Taco Bell bought up a chain of L.A.-based restaurants called Pup ‘n’ Taco in 1984, but that three Albuquerque restaurants weren’t included in the deal (not good enough for Taco Bell? Scary.). So they changed their name slightly and I believe at least one of them is still open today.

The next bit about Albuquerque will focus on the music we saw, and the bars and clubs we frequented. And I’ll talk about getting in touch with one of the guys in my favorite band from my brief stay in New Mexico, and what I hope to get out of that.

Monday, April 2

I'm watching the Red Sox, and it feels great, even though Curt Schilling had a rough first inning. The weather in Kansas City is beautiful and warm, the polar opposite of the cold, dreary conditions here. Big Papi hasn't lost a step. doubling in Kevin Youkilis in the first inning. I'm ready for the madness once again.

I had hoped to post a lengthy piece over the weekend that looks back on my brief time living in Albuquerque in 1988. But I've got a lot of stuff I want to do, so I'm gonna break it down and parcel it out over the next few days. Right now, though, I've got to play Owen's new favorite board game, Junior Labyrinth. I'll yak at y'all later on.

Monday, March 26

I've posted a few new pics of Owen at the photo page.

Before I get any further, I want to acknowledge the fantastic season of the Hofstra University women's basketball team. They lost yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitational Tournament, to Western Kentucky University. Hofstra finished 26-8 for the season, "arguably the greatest in school history," according to the school. As regular readers know, my cousin, Sam Brigham, was a freshman on the team, and had a great season. She was awarded the Colonial Athletic Association's Rookie of the Week honor twice during the season, and named to the CAA's All-Rookie squad. Quite impressive.

I got a chance to listen to just a few minutes of the Hofstra game yesterday, after I got back from my first baseball practice. We hit the cages at the Dave Valdez Baseball Academy in Medford. The facility is inside a massive Gold's Gym, and is run by a friend of one of my teammates. After a little bit of throwing, we took turns against the fastball machine and the curveball machine. I didn't hit many fastballs solidly (60 mph) but considering I haven't been to any cages since the season ended, I'm not worried. I had some trouble with the curves at first, but then stepped up in the box and solved that problem. After we all finished, Senor Valdez put an offer on the table: "If any of you guys can foul off this pitch I'm setting up, I'll give you ten bucks for each time. You get five swings. For each miss, you pay me a dollar." We took turns flailing away at the pitch (from the curveball machine), which dipped sharply just before reaching the plate. No one on our team managed even a foul tip (and no money changed hands). Valdez stepped in and whiffed his first five times, too, but then smacked a few around. It was pretty funny. He's a good guy. If the weather isn't good, or it's too muddy, next Sunday, we'll probably return to Baseball Academy.

After practice, I met Beth and Owen at her parents' house, and then we all went to The Skellig, our favorite Irish pub. Every Sunday, the restaurant hosts what they call the Watch City Opry (Waltham is known as the Watch City), a loose gathering of banjo pickers, fiddlers, mandoliners, double-bass pluckers and guitarists playing bluegrass and Irish music. It was a nice way to relax after a busy weekend. Working backwards: Saturday we went to our friends Robin and Bill's house for pizza. Owen played with his friends Ryan and Ben and had a great time. During the day, we took Owen to Boston's Opera House to see Go Diego Go Live!. For those without children under age 10, this stage show is a live presentation of Nick Jr.'s "Go Diego Go!" cartoon. Owen had a great time, singing along, dancing in the aisles and growling like a baby jaguar when prompted. Afterwards, we went to Legal Seafoods -- hey, we adults need some sort of reward after sitting through 90 minutes of mind-numbing children's entertainment!

Now, back to the beginning of the weekend. I went out Friday night with the Webnoize crew. We hit the Border Cafe in Hahvahd Squayuh. I hadn't been there in at least 10 years, but it was the same old crowded, noisy place with good Mexican food and excellent Tecates. It was good to catch up with everybody.

Thursday, March 22

Boy, have I been slackin'. When I was sick a few weeks ago, I got out of the habit of blogging and I haven't gotten back into the groove yet. There hasn't been much going on to write about, but I should just make stuff up when that happens, eh? Anyway, let's see what's up.

We went down to my parents' house Saturday, after the storm had passed, I had shoveled three times and we felt certain the roads weren't treacherous. The first traffic report I heard on Saturday indicated that the speed limit on the Mass. Pike had been lowered to 40; I had visions of slow crawls, ice patches and misery. Turns out that nobody was obeying that limit by the time we hit the road around 1:45, and for good reason. The highway was fine. We celebrated my dad's 78th birthday with him, my mom and my sister, which was nice. After dinner, my cousin Amy (who's going to Sox spring training in a few days -- I'm a bit jealous!) came over with her twin, Joy, and Joy's husband, Andy, and their kids, Lindsay and Nate. [For an old photo of Andy, Lindsay and Nate, go here and scroll down a bit (if you've got a dog, consider spending some money at this site)]. Owen had fun playing with Nate, who's 13 and been taking over some of his 15-year-old sister's babysitting gigs. On Sunday, we took Owen out in my parents' yard for some sledding, then walked around their new neighborhood.

On the drive home, Owen fell asleep for about an hour. He woke up as we pulled in the driveway, and was very upset to have missed his favorite part of the trip: the intersection of the Mass. Pike and Route 128. He has rediscovered Google Maps and spends at least an hour a day on my laptop, cruising the Greater Boston area (and beyond). I promised him that we'd check out that massive interchange on Monday, after school. That placated him, and sure enough we went for a long drive that day to check out his favorite spot. The kid amazes me with his ability to remember street names and route numbers. He understands the connection between where are driving, what direction we're heading, what it all looks like from a satellite photo or Google map. Pretty wild.

Owen has always enjoyed going for a ride. He lets me play just about any music I feel like hearing, which is good for me (although I don't mind driving). Lately, he's been into chimey-guitar indie rockers Chin Up Chin Up. Now, I'm not one of those dorks who's trying to make my kid love indie rock and be hip and wear ironic t-shirts and play retro video games (no matter how much I like reading the foibles of Neal Pollack's son). But I think it's great that when either of Chin Up's discs are playing in the car, Owen asks the name of the songs, and then wants to know what the titles mean. And this band has some titles, let me tell ya: "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers" ("The Prudential Tower is a skyscraper," I tell Owen. "And he's right; we should have never lived like them."), "All My Hammocks Are Dying" ("What does 'dying' mean? It means you're not alive, but don't worry about that.") and "Virginia, Don't Drown" ("'Drown' means that you go under the water, uh, but you don't come back up. For more on that, listen to Hank Williams' 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues.'"). While he rarely comments on the music, Owen obviously likes the band, because he almost never asks me questions about any other band's songs.

One last thing: the Hofstra women's basketball team, featuring my cousin, Sam Brigham, last night advanced to the third round of the WNIT, beating South Carolina 64-59. They'll play this weekend against the winner of the Western Kentucky/Miss. St. game. At the team's web site, the school refers to this being "arguably the greatest season in school history." I assume they're referring to any and all sports. Brigham Nation is pretty excited.

Monday, March 12

We survived the Early Time Change yesterday. For some reason, Owen and I woke up early, before 7:00. I fell back asleep eventually, but I think he was awake for close to two hours by the time Beth and I called him into our room. He's very good first thing in the morning on weekends. He stays in his room, playing with his Backyardigans, and his blocks, or reading books or, well, I don't know exactly what he does. I'm just glad he does.

I found it strange that the sun had barely come up by 7 a.m. yesterday, but I understood the attraction to the early time change when the sun went down a little before 7:00. Winter hasn't been that harsh, except for very cold temps and wind chills over the past month, but I'm ready for spring. One sure sign that it's on its way: on Friday, I met at TGI Friday's in Braintree with the coach and some players from my baseball team.

We discussed practice schedules, hashed over last year's agonizing playoff losses (and how we should have won) and talked about how many guys we should add to the team in light of the fact that we're supposed to play an additional 10 games this season. We've got a few new guys who we're gonna add, and we're gonna bring back a guy who ditched us last year to play in a different league. I'm glad he's coming back, though, because he's a good player and a great guy.

Today marked another milestone in Owen's march toward kindergarten. He had his screening appointment at the Horace Mann School. While I chatted with one of their administrators and filled out some paperwork, Owen was playing with blocks, writing his name, answering questions, coloring, etc. He seemed to have a good time. Then I took him to preschool, where he got to touch an alligator. Ah, the life!

Saturday, March 3

Some of my regular visitors have reported that my site looks messed up since I added YouTube clips. Things look fine on my computer, using the Firefox browser, but evidently Internet Explorer users are getting headaches. I tried resizing the clips, based upon advice from my pal OJ, who's much more technically inclined, but I decided it's just better to link to the YouTube clips rather than embed them until I can figure out how to make them work for everybody.

That said, here's a link to a pretty funny clip from "The Colbert Report" about stay-at-home dads. Thanks to DJ Shy-Rock for hipping me to this clip.

Tuesday, February 27

Finally, I'm feeling almost 100% healthy. Sure, I've got post-nasal drip and a bit of a cough, but I can sleep through the night and haven't needed a cough drop for a few days, so that's progress. Owen is feeling good, too, and glad to be back at school. As for Beth, she's had a cold relapse, and isn't happy about it. She coughs her way through the day and night, and blows her nose as many times a day as she blinks. With any luck, she'll get healthy soon and Owen and I won't relapse.

I don't spend a lot of time here writing about cute stuff Owen does, but today I'm making an exception. He's really into "Blue's Clues," a show on Nickelodeon Jr. in which a cartoon dog plants clues for her human friend to find in order for him to figure out the answer to pressing questions such as: "What does Blue want to do today?" and "If Blue leaves a train station at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, heading toward Toledo at 74 m.p.h., and her friend Joe leaves at 7:45 a.m. at 68 m.p.h., heading for Toledo, but from a station that's 46.88 miles closer, who will get better service in the dining car?"

Anyway, Owen has watched so many episodes of "Blue's Clues" that he's memorized the songs and basic patter of the host (either Steve or Joe depending on the vintage). So this week Owen's been performing his own episodes, complete with different voices, searching for clues, writing clues in the "handy-dandy notebook" and then solving the riddles/puzzles/questions/conundrums. For instance, the clues will be a brown rug, a pole and the computer keyboard. After some deep thought, Owen comes up with the answer: "Blue wants to slide down the pole to the rug, and then go to the computer to play games." Of course, he's creating the clues, so the answer should never be a surprise. Still, it's great to watch him draw in his notebook, get very animated while deciding what the clues should be, and then coming up with a solution for the clues.

I did a little prep work in our downstairs bathroom today, in advance of painting it. Once we get our upstairs bathroom projects (one renovation, one master bath) under way, the basement privy will be our only one, so it's gotta look a little nicer. I'm not sure we're gonna get our bathroom projects done before the new baby arrives in June, but as long as things are well under way, that'll be good.

Now, for those of you who have stuck with me through this boring post, a reward: a trailer for "Riot on Sunset Strip," a totally cheesy movie from 1967 featuring The Standells and Chocolate Watch Band, among others. I saw most of this movie in 1988 or '89 in Berlin, NH. I went there with my roommates, Pete and Joe, to visit their families for the day when we were living in Dover, NH. Pete and I watched the movie at his parents' house and laughed our asses off. Anyway, enjoy!

Friday, February 23

The Lost Period continues. I'm having a bitch of a time shaking this cold. I am feeling better, but not as good as I thought I would a few days ago. Owen is still sick, too, but I sent him to daycare at his school today, because I think he needs to get out of the house and play with kids, rather than his sick old man. I got a half decent night's sleep last night, which was good, but I still woke up several times hacking like I had eaten a bowl of dirt.

And speaking of Sick: tomorrow's jam session in Keene has been postponed because Ken's son has a severe stomach bug. Winter took it's time getting here this year, but I'm sick of it (pun intended) and ready for spring. My baseball team might be meeting in two weeks to discuss this season's plans, so that's a good sign.

Now, an old trick to get me off Sickness and on to something more interesting. I'm gonna click through iTunes and see what 5 songs come up:

The Man Machine -- Kraftwerk: metronomic space music for robots. The masters. I love what these guys do and their adherence to their schtick.

Black Door -- The Black Keys: I never thought until now that the singer sounds a bit like Paul Rodgers. Despite that, I really dig their nasty groove. If I could get my guitar to sound like this just once in my life I'd be happy.

Ship In a Bottle -- Bright Eyes: I know why people like this dude so much, but he's a bit too whiny for me. His lyrics are clever and he writes a nice tune here and there, but really I don't know why I keep his stuff in rotation.

Finish Me Later -- Chevy Heston: These guys have a lot of great songs, but this one is just OK. It's too slow; I like the Big Ones. Psychedelic, twisted, perverted, poppy, hard rockin' -- that's Chevy Heston at their best.

Storm -- Cut Chemist: Beth downloaded an album by this guy, and while there's some interesting beats, sound effects and such thrown in, it's a bit too random for me.

Here's your random link for the day: Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Monday, February 19

I'm in the middle of a particularly "lost" stretch of time. Last Tuesday, Owen stayed home sick from school and I started feeling the stirrings of something in my throat and chest. By Wednesday, as I wrote here last week, we were both sick, there was wet, ice-coated snow to shovel and I could tell the direction in which things were heading, health-wise. Sure enough, I shoveled Wednesday night and went to bed with sore muscles, a sore throat and crazy-fever dreams.

By the time I woke up Thursday, Owen was still sick and Beth had joined our ranks. We all stayed home that day. Owen was feeling the best of the three of us, and he wanted to get out of the house, so I trudged through the Atrium Mall with him. My body was so tired from shoveling and sickness, I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I was miserable.

That night, my bizarre dreams continued along a now established theme: people from the TV shows I'd watched in the two hours leading up to bedtime starred in my increasingly claustrophobic wanderings. I never knew when I was fully awake, or really what had been happening in the dreams, but I remembered that folks from "Beauty & The Geek," "The Office" and "30 Rock" showed up. That trend has continued the last few nights. My mind and body are under such stress fighting this cold, or whatever the hell it is.

I called my doctor today but he wasn't in, so I chatted briefly with an on-call doctor who, upon hearing my brief description of severely congested nasal passages and chest, agreed to call in some sort of prescription, which I have yet to pick up. I'm hoping for some sort of relief tonight. Last night I awoke at least once an hour to huck up disgusting green bile and blow my nose raw and red. Loads of fun.

Anyway, I'm feeling marginally better today, and Beth never got as bad as I did, thankfully, and she went to work today. Owen, however, is sicker today than he was yesterday. I'll be taking him into the doctor tomorrow, which means our planned trip to the Museum of Science with his friend is off, unfortunately.

And now, a video of Phantom Tollbooth (w/ Robert Pollard) doing "Mascara Snakes."

Wednesday, February 14

It's Valentine's Day, it's been snowing all day and Owen and I are sick. So we haven't left the house, and I have yet to reach for a shovel. We've watched a bunch of "Jack's Big Music Show" on Nick Jr., and I've plowed through a significant portion of the Roberto Clemente biography I'm reading. Try not to be overwhelmed with all this information.

Owen was home from school yesterday (today the school is closed), and our big outing was to the Watertown Mall. We cruised through Target looking for snow pants for him, and then wandered aimlessly down to Best Buy and back again. Later we went to local retail haven, The Kids Barn, and found the snow pants we needed. It's been an exciting couple of days.

Owen's on vacation next week. Beth's taking Monday off, we've got a Museum of Science outing planned with friends on Tuesday, and Owen's going in to his school for a few hours of daycare on Friday, so the week should go by fairly quickly. With any luck, I'll have more interesting things to write about then.

Gotta link to something: I've only checked out a few of these clips at Weird U.S. TV. The "Mystery Spot" one is funny; I hope they keep filling up the YouTube larder.

Thursday, February 8

Just a quick note: I've posted an essay about being a stay-at-home dad on my Fiction/Essays/Other page. I sent it to The Boston Globe but they rejected it. I swore I'd write another one, and I did start a few, but have been focused on revising the (C)rock Stories lately.

That's all.

Tuesday, February 6

I didn't mean to let a week pass between entries. It's not as though nothing's been going on: a terrorism fake-out in Boston, the Super Bowl, a family playdate with our friends Linda and Dave and their daughter Zoe. But I've got a few other things to write about.

Last night Beth and I went to our first informational meeting at the school where Owen will go to kindergarten. While Owen's never had any difficulty entering a new school situation, I find it hard to imagine him in kindergarten. Not because he's not ready, academically and socially, but because I still think of him as a little kid. But he's growing up so quickly, and in the seven months between today and the day he enters kindergarten he'll make so many more advances. The principal and the kindergarten teachers who presented at last night's meeting all seemed very nice and eminently qualified. My major concern is that the school is stuffed with kids; Owen will be in a class with 20 kids most likely, and one teacher. In his current preschool, there are 16 kids with two teachers. He's smart and gets along easily, though, so I'm sure he'll be fine.

And secondly, I'm looking forward to going out this Friday to see Darling Nerves, a NYC band featuring the bass player from noisy '80s indie rockers Phantom Tollbooth, one of my all-time favorite bands. I missed Tollbooth back in the day, but saw their one-time reunion gig in the Big Apple in December '04, opening for Guided By Voices. I wrote about Guided By Voices mastermind Robert Pollard reworking Phantom Tollbooth's Power Toy album for Junkmedia a few years back.

Anyway, Gerard Smith, the Tollbooth bassist, is a cool guy who was instrumental in getting me interviews for the Junkmedia article, and free passes to the big reunion gig. We chatted briefly that December night after the show, but he felt bad we couldn't hang out more and chug a few brews. He even gave me his cell number and told me to call him about hooking up the following day. Remember, this guy had never met me before; he knew me only as a fan of his band that had broken up 16 years before. Anyway, we keep in touch every once in a while, and he's promised me a copy of Darling Nerves' upcoming EP. I guess I need to buy him a beer at the Abbey Lounge this Friday.

Tuesday, January 30

I was pretty prolific up until last Monday, but there hasn't been much to write about. Owen was a little under the weather, so things have been pretty quiet. There still isn't much to write about, but that's never stopped me before, so here I go.

Beth and I went out last Saturday with our friends Robin and Bill. We ate at Watertown's Halfway Cafe, which was really good, and then bowled at Lanes and Games in Cambridge. I was looking forward to 10-pin, which I haven't done in a long time, but there was a two-hour wait for a lane, so we did candlepin instead. It was a lot of fun; Beth did really well considering she's four months pregnant. If she wasn't pregnant, she probably would have beaten me. Owen stayed with Beth's parents and had a great time, too.

On the music front, I've got a few new resources to yap about. Thanks to Jim Corrigan, who posted a Mente song at his MySpace page, I've discovered a treasure trove of MP3s at this Boston band's web site. Jim, Beth and I saw Mente play with one-time local faves Ed's Redeeming Qualities (who moved to the West Coast and may have broken up) a million years ago at TT's and boy was Mente a barrel of monkeys! Stupid costumes, funny songs, amateur musicianship. What more could you ask for? Check out "Bobby Orr" and "Scrod". You won't be disappointed.

On a note of broader appeal, I recently came across CNET's free music download site, something about which more knowledgeable folks have probably known for eons. I started working through the editors' picks Saturday night after we got home from bowling. I listened to a few tracks by various artists, and downloaded "Ankle Injuries" by Fujiya and Miyagi, an electronic duo that, despite their name, hails from the British Isles. I liked the song so much that I bought their latest disc, Transparent Things, while on a rare trip to Newbury Comics on Sunday (during which I also bought the new Clinic disc). For an idea of how I feel when I listen to this album, watch this video.

Moving on.... My parents are coming in to town this Thursday, as is my sister. We're meeting up with my cousin John and his wife Leslie, to watch their daughter, Sam, and her Hofstra teammates play basketball against Northeastern. Should be fun to watch, as Hofstra is really good this year, and Northeastern, well, isn't. My sister goes back to CT on Friday, but my parents will be in town until Saturday. Owen's excited.

Monday, January 22

Jim and I trekked up to Keene on Saturday to jam at Ken's house. We made progress on a few new covers and discussed new originals but didn't attempt to play any. We also realized that we probably won't do our reunion gig until the fall, since Beth is due June 29. It's always good to get together and play and just hang out. If all goes according to plan, next month we'll get together at Ken's to jam with Brian for the first time in a long time. I'm really looking forward to that.

I got home around 6:30 on Saturday to discover two pieces of mail that I was actually interested in. The first was a drawing that my niece, Grace, sent. Very cute. Also, my long awaited correspondence from the FBI arrived. Turns out, I'm a nobody.

"To promptly respond to requests, we concentrate on identifying main files in the central records system at FBI headquarters," the letter read in part. "No records responsive to your FOIPA (Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts) request were located by a search of the automated."

The word "automated" hanging at the end of that sentence is confusing. Seems like something's missing, other than my file. They were kind enough to include an "FBI File Fact Sheet" with my rejection letter. The first bold-faced item on the list reads, "The FBI does not keep a file on every citizen of the United States." And so the lies continue....

I was disappointed by the Patriots' loss yesterday, but now I can focus more of my energy on the upcoming Sox season.

And now, since I need to link to something, it's my latest report from the outer reaches of sanity. Upon searching for "ice cream" and "conspiracy," I found this. Frankly, I'm amazed at how much time and energy this guy put into his argument. As a lover of "superpremium ice cream," I think he's understating just a little bit the size of the market. But I do love this line: "Let them eat superpremium cake!"

Friday, January 19

A brief update. Word was passed around today that Jon Johnson, a guy I knew from Keene State, died on Wednesday. I hadn't seen Jon in several years, and didn't know him well, but thought of him as a good guy who loved to play music. Over the last several months I learned more about him than I ever knew at Keene, through our participation in a Google group for alumni that discussed music, movies, TV, politics, books, culture of all sorts. He played in a band in college, The Demigods, that played with my band, The Toastmen, a few times. He also played in The Hellbillies with Toastmen drummer Brian Zawodniak. His most recent band was Lenny and the Piss Poor Boys. I had a chance to see them a little while back, but wimped out. Wish I'd gone to see them. RIP, Jon.

Now, on to the final installment of my free-music rant.

Several months ago, Wired ran a small feature about "nerdcore hip-hop" that intrigued me because a) I'm a nerd and b) I was looking to expand my musical horizons. I searched online and found this site, which in turn led me to Rhyme Torrents, where I found more free nerdcore hip-hop downloads than I could shake a pocket protector at. I waded through all of the stuff there and opted to download the following:

YT Cracker -- I like his flow the best, it's that simple. So many of the tracks I checked out at Rhyme Torrents sounded like what you'd expect, supremely nerdy white guys with no sense of cadence, language or style. On "White Warrior", YT gets his geek on, but he's clever. "Got a bit trendy / installed Linux / this ain't Charlie Brown, bitch / his name ain't Linus." I'm not a tech geek, but I just find pasty-faced dorks rapping about such stuff to be hilarious, when done right. "In My Time" is slower and a bit more ominous, but still funny.

MC Hawking -- he's got a funny schtick, but it must wear thin after a few songs. He raps using the same type of computer that Stephen Hawking uses. Yes, some might think that's cruel, but honestly, since MC Hawking is such a dork, I'm sure it's quite the homage. "Rock Out With Your Hawk Out" is the MC's way of personalizing a much more crude statement that I'll leave to your imagination and your Google searches. The song is funny ("king of nerdcore, I wear the crown / like a Weeble I may wobble but I won't fall down") and the rhymes are that much funnnier because they're delivered in that robotic voice. It's funky, it has a call-and-response section and mentions Occam's Razor -- how can you go wrong?

ShoNuff -- he's got a decent flow, and "S-H-O" is groovy.

Dr. Octagon -- I've spent a fair amount of time talking here about Kool Keith, aka, Dr. Octagon, so I'm just gonna point to two songs and move on. Go here to download "Ants" (a different mix than what I downloaded a few months ago); and here to download "A Gorilla Driving a Pick-Up Truck" remixed by Rob Sonic.

Speaking of Rob Sonic, I recently checked into more of his stuff, and grabbed a song called "Shoplift," which has got a heavy groove, some vocoder action and just a slightly dangerous vibe. Go here to find the download.

The end.

Thursday, January 18

Last night I went to hear Neal Pollack read from "Alternadad," his memoir of making the transition from ironic hipster icon to fatherhood. I first came across Pollack through his satirical essays in Vanity Fair, which I really enjoyed. Then I turned on to his blog, and when he published a rock 'n' roll novel, "Never Mind the Pollacks," and simultaneously issued a CD of the same title, I was hooked. I saw him read from the novel and perform with the Neal Pollack Invasion a few years ago at The Attic, a sports bar in Newton.

Pollack writes regulary at his blog about the trials, tribulations and all-around wackiness of raising a four-year-old boy. Obviously, I can relate, although Owen is no where near as goofy and imaginative (yet) as Elijah Pollack. Anyway, Pollack's reading last night was pretty good, and he seemed sincere when thanking me for paying $25 ($25!?!?) for his book, which he then signed,

Dave, The Backyardigans suck,

Rock on, Neal Pollack.

Most of the crowd at Boston's Great Scott, however, was definitely less into tales of toddler poop and a little too excited for Harry and the Potters, the band slated to play after Pollack's reading. Frankly, I was a little weirded out by all the nerdy college girls and guys in Harry Potter glasses and scarves. To be perfectly honest, I can see the attraction: two goofy guys writing funny songs about the various Harry Potter books -- perfectly harmless. Whenever I catch a "Harry Potter" movie on TV I watch a little bit and am entertained. But I know nothing of the cult of Potter, so I left before they hit the stage. They did accompany Pollack on two of his songs, which were sloppy but enjoyable.Tomorrow I'll get to the last part of my free-music write-up.

Tuesday, January 16

Owen went through a pretty serious "Blue's Clues" phase a while ago. He watched the same episodes via Comcast's on-demand service over and over. Some were latter, "Joe" episodes, featuring actor Donovan Patton; others were earlier, "Steve" episodes, featuring Steve Burns, who I believe originated the role of the human friend to a cartoon dog named Blue. I'd heard that Burns had gone on to become an indie rock guy, and today I received confirmation of that fact, which others more attuned to such things have probably known about for a while. Owen was watching kids' network Noggin, and during an interlude between shows who to my wondering eyes should appear, but Steve Burns playing some rockin' tune accompanied by the Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd. Weird. Funny, but weird.

What's weirder is Burns's web site, which acknowledges his sordid children's television past while monkeying around with a Warhol quote: "in the future, everyone will be famous for several years on children's television, then will make an indie rock album with the help of members of the flaming lips, and will ultimately become an unwitting pawn in a conspiracy by millimeter-tall space lobsters to take over the solar system via brain control.”

I'm glad Burns has chosen quality people to help him record his album, but I have no plans to listen to it. Anyway, on to part two of my free-music ranting.

I came across Sweden's David & The Citizens via my Pandora station. So I wandered over to their web site and was glad to find what I wish I could find at more bands' sites: free music. According to their site, they were nominated for a Grammy in their native country for best pop band, and had a No. 1 hit on MTV Nordic for "Song Against Life."

"Are You in My Blood?" is fairly basic power pop with a smidge of Eurosynth (well, they are Swedish). There's nothing spectacular or new here, but it works, on all levels. I hate when I come across a new song and am digging the music, and then the singer opens his or her mouth and just ruins the good vibe.

"Graycoated Morning" is a little more fey, with its peppy horn intro. Reminds me of a few tunes from Nick Heyward's (ex-Haircut One Hundred) The Apple Bed. "STOP!" is a bouncy folk rocker with nice backing vocals and a goofy organ solo. Almost Violent Femmes-ish.

I owe my knowledge of Blip Blip Beep to my Pandora station, too. "A Little While Longer" is the only track available for download from their site, but it's a good one. New Wave meets synth pop meets power pop. Again, nothing new here, just some catchy (I need a thesaurus) stuff that makes you shake your butt.

Kate Diamond -- doesn't she design handbags? Oh wait, that's Kate Spade (David Spade's sister-in-law). Kate Diamond features a bunch of guys who used to be in Chevy Heston, one of my favorite Boston bands. Chevy Heston broke up before I really knew enough about them, and Kate Diamond seems like they're not doing much beyond the few songs I downloaded from their MySpace page, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more, even though they haven't logged into MySpace since April '06. Oh well.

"Light the Fuse" is a mellow, organ-driven slice of psych-pop. "I Put My Lover Away" is a little jauntier, and features some choice usage of the "F" word. Both are available for download from their MySpace page, although it seems like the server is slow sometimes, so maybe they've taken them down. Who knows. Grab 'em if you can.

Coming tomorrow, or the next day, the final installment of my music rant: Oddball Hip-Hop.

Monday, January 15

I started this entry on Friday and after many stops and starts have only written about half what I planned. This is what happened:

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

I spent half an hour working on this entry, and for some reason my hosting company automatically logged me off, before I saved my priceless words. This has happened before, and I don't understand why, but I should have learned. I guess it's a safeguard of some sort; if there's no activity for a certain number of minutes, the hosting geeks figure maybe I've been killed and want to make sure my murderer isn't able to post disparaging messages about me on my own (now posthumous) web site. I was spittin' mad.

I then began saving every few minutes and that was going along swimmingly until the publishing system got hung up and I once again lost some material. And then my weekend filled up with various activities -- going to the mall with Beth and Owen, inviting Owen's friend Zoe and her mom, Linda, over for dinner Saturday night, inviting Owen's friends Madelyn and William and their parents, Sam and Nuala, over for a brunch-time playdate yesterday, then watching the Patriots win a nail-biter last night and finally watching the 2-hour premiere of "24" followed by the season opener of Ricky Gervais's fine "Extras" on HBO. So what am I up to here anyway?

I'm here to extol the virtues of free music. I was waaaaaayyyy behind the music downloading curve, as my onetime Webnoize coworkers will gladly, and humorously, attest. "An MP what-now?" I would joke when they were talking about downloading MP3's from Napster, Gnutella, LimeWire or other free-music services back in the day (c. 2000). About a year ago, Beth and I bought an iPod and a wireless laptop iBook and joined the digital music revolution. We've purchased a lot of stuff through iTunes, but I enjoy the search online for free music much more.

So below is a list of some of the better stuff I've grabbed over the past year.

Let's start with the ultimate treasure trove, Butthole Surfers. The band has made available at its Internet ranch the infamous Double Live Bootleg, which I downloaded in its entirety a while ago. In revisiting the site, I realized that in my initial excitement over the bootleg I forgot that there were free downloads from other bootlegs, outtakes and select tracks from the band's albums and EPs. The gem from my revisit is the Surfers' version of The Guess Who's classic "American Woman." I've never liked the version that appeared on the band's Rembrandt Pussyhorse; the drums sound like someone's banging on suitcases. The outtake version is much cleaner sounding, despite the vinyl pops from the LP that it was evidently take from. If you're a Surfers fan, or want to be one, definitely check out their site.

The rest of the stuff I wanna write about is mostly single tracks from a wide variety of artists. The first one is "Catch Me" by Dan the Automator, Lupe Fiasco and Evidence. I know only a little about each of these guys -- Dan the Automator is a producer who's worked with Dr. Octagon, Gorillaz, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and many others; Lupe Fiasco is a new rapper who's a devout Muslim and a skateboarder; and Evidence is from Dilated Peoples. This track is slated to be included on the soundtrack of the "NBA 2K7" video game.

"Catch Me" is funky and breezy, with samples of sneakers squeaking on a basketball court. Lupe Fiasco's raps are easy on the ears, and his boasts aren't thuggish but refer to his b-ball skills. If you can't dance to this one, then, well, you don't like to dance, I guess.

The next track is by New Zealand rockers Voom. I came across them in a sideways fashion. I loaded a CD comp from Paste magazine into iTunes a few months ago, and one of the cuts I dug was by The Brunettes. I looked them up and found Lil' Chief Records, whose artists include Voom. They remind a little bit of Eels, a band that I've really grown to like a lot over the last few years. The song is a bit like Radiohead's "Creep" in its portrayal of a stalker, and the video is an animated tour through a carnival, complete with a Tunnel of Love, freak show characters, Elvis impersonators and fortune tellers.

Hateful Little Cakes is the latest band from The Artist Formerly Known as Humpmuscle Pete. Fellow Keene Stater Mike Caulfield brought HLC's "Hey Brother" to my attention after finding it online, wondering whether the guy singing could possibly be former Toastmen singer Peter Duchesne. Indeed it was, and is. Whereas in Humpmuscle Mssr. Duchesne screamed and growled over heavy-metal skronk, Hateful Little Cakes finds him in a much more peaceful place. Folktronica? You could call it that. A little bit hypnotic, "Hey Brother" is mellow, catchy and a great surprise from a guy I've known for 20+ years.

Stay tuned for more ramblings about free music....

Monday, January 8

Just a quick note to let y'all know that The Toastmen continue their march toward world dominance. Our pal, Mark Maloof, converted an old Toastmen video to DVD and Ken ripped "Southern Baptist With a Gun Fetish" from that disc and posted it at our web site. It's pretty cool to see something from 20 years ago on the Internet (it's available via YouTube as well). There will be more videos available eventually. There are also some great pictures at the site that I had never seen before yesterday. They were taken at the last show we played, in May 1987. Thanks to Melody Lindner for sending those to Webmaster Ken.

Of course, we've still only jammed once, and there's some doubt about whether Brian, our drummer, will be able to make it to our next session later this month or early next month. And we need to find a time to get Pete in front of the mic, too. Details, details....

I'm sure you've all been wondering: what's up with your FBI file, Dave? Well, nothing. I sent my letter requesting a copy of my file, if one exists, nearly 8 weeks ago. Hope I hear something soon.

Thursday, January 4

I sat down to write up a few random thoughts on a beautiful day that puts the fear of global warming in my soul, and it turned into quite a lengthy entry. At least it kept me off the streets.

Random thought #1: I was sitting on the couch revising one of my (C)rock Stories this morning when I saw two people approaching my front door. Before I answered the doorbell, I knew they were Jehovah's Witnesses. The one doing most of the talking was a sweet woman who I'd say was in her 70s. A pleasant guy in his 30s had her back. Between the two of them I doubt they could have converted Jehovah, they were so inept and random. Anway, what kind of freaked me out was that five minutes before their arrival I had been working on part of my (C)rock Story that dealt with, you guessed it, Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm even gonna share that paragraph with you, my loyal masses:

It wasn’t all fun and games, though. Because I was like the seventh son they never had, Pat’s parents included me in the family chores. I stood dirty leg to dirty leg with the boys as they weeded the rather large family garden, helped shovel the driveway and clean their cars and on the odd occasion answered the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ knock on the door and absorbed their doorstep sermons on false religions while everybody else watched “Hee Haw” reruns.

Random thought #2: Has anyone else noticed Bands of the Now Times quoting lyrics from classic rockers? I don't listen to lyrics that closely, but recently my ears caught two bands inserting "classic rock" lyrics into their songs. Consonant, a really great band led by Mission of Burma bassist Clint Conley, flips a line from the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper" ("I hear every mother say / Things are different today") in "The Kiss" off their self-titled debut.

Whereas Consonant sounds nothing like the Stones, Golden State Band Louis XIV has an early Stones/T-Rex groove going on, which some people, like me, think is a good thing, while others believe they're talentless rip-off artists. Like Consonant, Louis XIV has no problem appropriating a Jagger lyric. On "Hey Teacher" from The Best Secrets Are Kept, Jason Hill sings, "I feel like a bird in a cage / for you to notice me / well, I'll take out a knife / suicide right on the stage." Slightly different from what Mick sings in "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)," but not much.

But more than anything, Louis XIV emulates T-Rex. In fact, according to this guy, who knows more than I do about Marc Bolan and Co., the T-Rex comparison is "clearest of all with the track 'Letter to Dominique,' which appears to be T-Rex’s 'Metal Guru' with different lyrics." What I couldn't help but notice is that on "Paper Doll" off The Best Secrets, the first words out of singer Jason Hill's mouth are "Oh, bang a gong / get it on." Anyway, I like Louis XIV despite their too-obvious homages and perceived lack of originality. They're all about being suave and sexy and worldly and a little bit crass, which generally I can't say I look for in a band, but somehow it works. They make me want to listen to more T-Rex, which isn't a bad thing, right?

Random thought #3: Don't forget to go here to check out my "best of" 2006 albums list.

Random thought #4: Beth had a hankering for pad thai on New Year's Eve, so I went to Lam's, a place in Newtonville that was supposed to be good. As I pulled up in front I noticed a car backing down Washington St. into a space. I waited until the car was parked before pulling in a few spaces behind, so as to avoid a fender-bender. The other driver and I got out of our cars at roughly the same time, and immediately I realized that the guy who'd been behind the wheel of the Audi A6 was none other than Boston rock legend Peter Wolf. We approached Lam's at the same time, and from behind I said, "Hey, you're Peter Wolf." Brilliant ice-breaker, eh? He replied with a grunt, then asked me, "Is this place any good?" as we walked in the door. "I don't know," I said, "my wife told me to come here. I hope so." The hostess looked at us and asked, "Party of two?" I chuckled and told her I was here to place a takeout order. I'm not sure if Wolf said anything.

He went off to a table and I placed my order. The waitress then told me I could wait in the bar. And of course I was 10 feet away from Wolf, who was reading a book and sitting by himself. Like anybody who spots somebody famous, I sat there trying to figure out what clever line I could hit him with that he'd never heard before. I realized there wasn't one, but that if I told him I saw The J. Geils Band rock the Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center in 1982 and I was on my feet the whole time and thought it was fantastic, that would probably make him happy. Then he got up and went to the bathroom, which gave me a few minutes to muster the courage to approach him. Upon his return, he walked past without so much as looking at me, and got back to his book. "If the waitress brings my food to me and I have to walk past him, I'll talk to him," I told myself as I sat alone and completely conspicuous at the bar, which was untended. Unfortunately for me and this blog, the waitress called me away from the bar to get my order, and I would've looked like a real stalker if I'd swung past Wolf on my way out. When I got home and told Beth I'd seen Peter Wolf, without missing a beat she said, "The Woofa Goofa?" and laughed. That's why I love her.

Finally, random thought #5. My sister-in-law and her husband gave me a book, "The Stars Are Falling: Reasons to Believe We Are Enslaved By the Serpent," by Matthew Delooze, for Christmas. As I opened the gift, Megan said, "This one's sort of a joke gift," as she knows I love reading about conspiracies, the weirder the better. I read the thing in two days (only 118 pgs.) and was struck by just how bizarre Delooze's theory is. He believes that "a race of extraterrestrials covertly rules this planet....I believe these extraterrestrials are reptilian in shape and nature. I call this group of beings the Serpent Cult." I won't bore you with the details of his lunatic ravings. The most interesting part for me was that he begins most chapters with a lyrical quote from bands ranging from The Who to ELO, Argent to T-Rex (they're everywhere!). Delooze is British, so that explains some of his musical leanings. Anyway, he also devotes part of a chapter to discussing how the Serpent Cult holds sway over the music industry, as it does with everything else on Earth.

"It is vital to the Serpent Cult," he writes, "that when each generation comes along it is spiritually imprisoned before adulthood. The fashions and music change but the hypnotism does not." Hmm, maybe he's got a point.

Delooze continues, "[T]here are many, many, very talented musicians and singers out there that we never get to hear because they have not been hyped by the Serpent Cult owned music industry." Or maybe he's just a disgruntled vocalist.

"The main aim of the music industry is to use selected bands to hypnotise the masses. A few subliminal messages, placed in a track or two of the latest album can either make a group superstars or make them massive flops." Aha! Finally an explanation for the success of Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty," Melanie's "Brand New Key" and anything by Ashlee Simpson.

As you were.

Wednesday, January 3

Happy New Year and all that rot. I watched the ball drop on ABC Sunday night and then turned in. I spent a lot of time flipping channels that night, from a Gorillaz concert (interesting) to some "best-of" London concert special (boring) to an MTV New Year's special featuring Lady Sovereign (disappointing) to "Dick Clark's (Non) Rockin' New Year's Eve" on which Christina Aguilera lip-synched to her latest big hit. Beth and I were going to watch "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" Sunday night, but Owen's messed-up nap schedule thwarted that plan. He fell asleep around 4:30, which is extremely unusual. He woke up crying about an hour later, so we brought him down to the living room couch, where he promptly fell back asleep until around 8:00! So needless to say he was gonna be up for a while, since he still needed to eat dinner and, of course, watch some of his favorite on-demand TV shows. He didn't go to bed until close to 10:00; Beth went to bed a little after 11. We watched "Talladega Nights" Monday night, and were hardly impressed.

With the arrival of 2007, I've finally gotten my act together to write up my favorite albums of 2006. Actually, the list is "albums I bought that came out in 2006." I purchased plenty of stuff last year, but a shamelessly small amount actually came out during the year. So I've posted way too many words here about what I bought and what I thought.

Saturday December 30

Beth and Owen are on vacation, so we've been enjoying a relaxing week. Yesterday we went bowling at Cambridge's Lanes and Games. We opted for New Age Candlepin: there are no winners or losers; everybody shares in each frame. Owen had a lot of fun, and mastered the "no-look" method, in which he holds the ball with both hands, counts to three and tosses the ball down the lane while turning his head to the left. Then he quickly runs back to the scoring console to see how many knocked-down pins it records. After six frames, however, he started getting bored. So we finished up quickly and then hit the arcade for some driving games and pinball. A fun afternoon was had by all.

By the way, after going to Lanes and Games many, many years ago and noticing that the restaurant was called Kegler's Lounge, I did a double-take. Was it mere coincidence that the hang-out at Simsbury Lanes, where I bowled as a kid and bored teenager, had the same name? I learned that kegler is a German word for bowler. Fascinating, eh?

On Thursday we went to the Museum of Science along with half the Western world. Things were so crazy, we had to park in the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall garage across the street. To get out of the garage and up to the street, we went through the funky Hotel Marlowe. For a brief moment, I felt like we were on a getaway to somewhere fun and exciting, maybe Montreal or New York City. Then we exited the hotel and found ourselves on Edwin Land Boulevard, overlooking the Charles River and with sweeping views of expensive new condo projects going up between Monsignor O'Brien Highway and I-93. Beautiful!

We had a good, but very busy, Christmas. Last Friday we drove to my parents' new place in Windsor, CT. We hung out with my whole family, and had fun watching Owen and his cousin, Grace, playing together and opening presents. I've posted some new pics here. We left CT on Sunday to drive back home. That night we went to Beth's sister's and brother-in-law's house to gorge ourselves, listen to music and hang out with baby Max. Christmas day Owen tore through his presents, and then we went to my in-laws for a lot more presents and a fantastic dinner. On Tuesday we hosted Beth's family, including her aunt and uncle, two cousins and her cousin's wife. More good times, but by Wednesday I was ready for some peace and quiet.

In the next day or two I plan to post too many words about this year's crop of albums. I didn't buy that much that was issued in 2006, but I've got plenty to say about all of them. Until then, Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 21

I present a true test. I've never been sure of how many people ever read my site. I don't check traffic reports to see how many unique visitors I've had. Frankly, I don't care all that much. I do this because it's an easy forum for my thoughts, my writing and my pictures. But I figure with this entry, I may hear from my loyal reader(s?).

This isn't the best way to do this, but it's certainly the way of the New Millennium, so here goes. Beth is pregnant. She's due June 29. All is well here, other than the fact that she doesn't feel all that well, but that's par for the course based on how she was when she was pregnant with Owen. So there you go.

We're leaving tomorrow morning for a few days in CT before heading back here to begin three days of Christmas celebration with the Morahans and their extended family. Hope everyone reading this has a great Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or whatever.

Peace out!

P.S.: I've posted three new pix of Owen performing in his preschool's holiday show. Damn, that kid is cute!

Monday, December 18

Just a quick update. I added another piece from the dusty Brigham archives to the fiction/essays page. It's an article I wrote several months after Owen was born and I began my new life as a stay-at-home dad. I published it on WestRoxbury.com, a site that held miniscule promise when it launched, but offered me the opportunity to write a handful of essays about being a primary caregiver. The site went bust not long after I'd written my third piece, and is available for sale. A further explanation for why I've posted it is available at that page.

Tuesday, December 12

Beth and I had our first parent-teacher conference with Owen's school marm today, and as I suspected, he's tearing the place up, punching kids left and right, setting fires and pulling the girls' pigtails. And mouthing off like a sailor. Well, not really. He's doing very well in his new school and has made a few friends and is evidently a model student, albeit a quiet one. His teacher offered no surprises, but it's always good to hear that your kid is doing well and is well liked.

Speaking of people doing very well in new environments, my cousin's kid, Sam Brigham, is lighting up the Hofstra women's b-ball program. She was named the Rookie of the Week for the Colonial Athletic Association last week. You can read all about it here and check out a pretty good action shot. Hofstra plays Northeastern on February 1st, and I anxiously await a chance to see her play.

Not much else going on. We've gotten some Christmas shopping under our collective belts, but have more to do. We'll be traveling to my parents' new house in Windsor, CT, for the holiday weekend. They have apparently made a relatively smooth transfer to the new place, and as of last weekend had finally snared a buyer for their old place. I look forward to seeing their new place with furniture in it, and to hanging out with my family, but it will be a little strange hanging out in a new place after 41 years of going to the same place in good ole Weatogue.

Wednesday, December 6

Beth and I took Owen to the Nonantum section of Newton (aka "The Lake") for the annual holiday lighting/climb on Giant Santa ritual on Sunday. The police closed off the streets, and hundreds of people gathered to watch Santa walk by (last year he arrived on a flat-bed truck) with a bunch of elves before taking a seat on his sleigh to listen to kids' Christmas wishes. There was a countdown and then the mayor threw a switch and voila! thousands of lights brightened Coletti-Magni Park. We ran into some friends there, which was nice. This year wasn't as much fun as last year, though, because there was no snow. Somehow snow on the ground makes walking through the park and looking at the lights that much better. Anyway, I dragged Owen back there the next day and snapped a few photos, which I've posted here, along with a new one of Owen and his Grandma Rose making a gingerbread house.

Went on my annual Christmas CD pilgrimage to Newbury Comics in Newton today. For some reason, over the last several years I've built up a collection of holiday music, ranging from traditional ("Christmas in TV Land" featuring Mitch Miller and The Gang, Perry Como and Judy Garland) to blues ("Blue Yule" featuring Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker) to space-age (Esquivel) to funky ("The Best of James Brown: The Christmas Collection"), with some Beach Boys, Rat Pack and Squirrel Nut Zippers thrown in for good measure. I had a lot of things in my hands today, ranging from "A Punk Rock Christmas" to some cornier jazz stuff. What did I come home with? Good question. Love Tractor's "Before and After Christmas." Why? Another good question. I've known the name Love Tractor since the mid-'80s because they're from Athens, like R.E.M., Pylon and the B-52s. I didn't know their music, however, but I figured a 24-track Christmas album would be fun. So far, so good.

Of course I had to buy non-Christmas CDs, too. I haven't listened to these yet, but I anxiously await their debuts: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness's self-titled album; Eels "Souljacker"; and Mr. Nogatco's (aka Kool Keith) "Nogatco Rd."

I'm making good progress on the (C)rock story upgrades. I avoided this task for quite a while, but realized that I have to get it done soon and get this book put together or I'll never do it. I'm glad I finally started getting my hands dirty. The 14 stories I sent to folks via email over the last few years were more or less first drafts, constrained by my self-imposed word limit. Now I'm free to bulk them up, flesh them out and go in some new directions. I actually look forward to attacking these stories now. Hope I can maintain the momentum.

Thursday, November 30

It's the last day of November and it's nearly 70 degrees outside. This is crazy. I don't like snow as much as I did when I was a kid, when I would play football, build snow forts, sled, have snowball fights and stay out all day in the stuff. But there's just something wrong with walking around in a t-shirt on November 30. My constitution don't like it one bit.

Anyway, I'm really into NBC's "Heroes". I really like the concept of everyday people discovering superpowers and trying to figure out what to do with them, how to use them. And the government conspiracy angle is nice, too. I'm a sucker for mysterious men in black trenchcoats, unmarked cars and with knowledge and technology beyond what they should have. After watching a few episodes, I realized another reason why the show resonates with me: 10 years ago I began writing a story about a guy who gradually realizes he has special powers in the midst of a crisis and he struggles with just what exactly to do about his abilities. Earlier this week, I typed all 2,200 words of this story (novel in progress? not another one!) into the laptop and now it's sitting there, taunting me. Along with the hard copy I dug up out of the catacombs, I found some notes from July '96 that show how I struggled to figure out just what it was I was trying to do with this story. Go to the Fiction page to read my notes if you're interested in the writing process at all. Otherwise, go here to look at a photo spread from a recent St. Patrick's Day parade in Holyoke, MA. I found this earlier this week while doing some vital Shriners research for one of my (C)rock stories that I'm reworking.

Sunday, November 26

Much to my wife's chagrin, The Toastmen continue their foray into cyberspace. Ken has been working hard on two sites: Toastmen World Domination Headquarters, which features MP3s of The Danes, a project that Jim and I were involved in; and the Toastmen MySpace Hovel, which will eventually feature music and video clips, as well as some blogifying.

Also, I've added some photos from our Thanksgiving visit to Simsbury to the photos page. It was our last trip to my parents' house there; they're moving to their new place in Windsor on December 4. I'll reminisce on this some other time.

Tuesday, November 21

First, I want to let y'all know that I've posted a new story on the Fiction page. Actually, it's a story from the Fall 1995 issue of Slank. I'd requested that contributors do something with the very basic theme of "heat" but few complied other than Jim Corrigan and yours truly. Anyway, the story is called "Dust" and was inspired by my brief time living in New Mexico in 1988.

Got together last Friday, the 17th, with the old Webnoize gang at Miracle of Science in Cambridge. Every year we celebrate Black Friday, the day we were laid off in November 2001. Hard to believe it's been 5 years. Well, no, it's not hard to believe. Memories of Webnoize are definitely fading, and so much has gone on in everybody's lives since then. Everybody's moved on to solid jobs; Jay and I became fathers; OJ got married. I have a feeling we'll commemorate Black Friday for many years, because it's really just an excuse to eat, drink and talk about music, TV and our lives.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. It'll be the first for my nephew, Max, who was born on Halloween. And four days off for everybody is always a good thing. We'll be at my in-laws on Thursday, and then we'll travel to CT to see some of my family on Friday and Saturday. Then I have to think about Christmas shopping. Ugh. I love Christmas, but the older I get the less I like shopping. Have to do more online this year.

I would be remiss if I didn't offer you a link I found while searching for "thanksgiving conspiracy," and it's a pretty good one to check back on during the course of the year: Cat Banter with Kimo & Sabia. Yes, crazy cat owners assuming the identities of their favorite felines. They make me think of the characters that Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock played in "Best in Show."

That's all, folks.

Tuesday, November 14

I really DO think about writing more in this space, but sometimes I feel like there's nothing going on. I should just make stuff up, I guess. Here's the update on my mission to get my FBI file: I'll drop the form and a cover letter in the mail tomorrow and then sit back and see what happens.

In a rare moment of prognostication back in the '80s, I predicted that someday Rudy Giuliani would run for president. I'm not known for my soothsaying, so I'm gonna harp on this just a little bit now that Mr. Combover has formed an exploratory committee. I don't have any witnesses to my prediction, although I know I mentioned it to friends over the years, and to Beth more recently. I recall seeing Giuliani on the news when he was a U.S. Attorney for New York in the '80s, and being struck by his passion, determination and intelligence. This isn't to say I like him, and I certainly wouldn't support him in an election, although he is apparently socially liberal. Also, he's a Yankee fan, which is a minus. On the plus side, he isn't afraid to cross-dress, but that may hurt him down the line.

I want to give a quick huzzah to my cousin (actually my first cousin once removed; I'm a genealogy dork and needed to find out just how to describe the relationship between my cousin's kid and me), Samantha (Sam) Brigham. She's a freshman b-ball player at Hofstra University, and had a great game on Sunday in a losing effort to Baylor. She played 18 minutes, scored 5 points, had 3 steals and 4 rebounds. She also fouled out, but apparently her coach got a technical arguing one of her fouls, and she was mentioned in the radio broadcast for her stand-out defense. I was hoping to watch her game on the 'Net the other day, but I wasn't around to do it. I hope to watch some other games, and will definitely be there when Hofstra plays Northeastern in Boston in February.

My latest full-album download from iTunes is Louis XIV's The Best Little Secrets Are Kept. They're Golden State boys, but their sleazy, glammy sound is very early-'70s UK. Come to think of it, they share more than a few attributes with the White Stripes, too, which means you can throw the Stones, Kinks, T-Rex and other '60s limey rockers in there, too. Check out their video for "God Killed the Queen." They had some racier versions of that video and another one on their site, but the links aren't working. Goddamn Homeland Security!

Not too much else going on. I'm looking forward to hanging out with my Webnoize buddies this Friday at Cambridge's Miracle of Science bar.

Tuesday, November 7

A quick search at the FBI's web site turned up the form I need to submit in order to find out whether the agency maintains a file on me, and if so, how to obtain it. I remembered another part of the story about the Keene State professor I mentioned in yesterday's post. He learned that it would cost 10 cents per page to cover copying costs, and that if he wanted to see his entire file, he needed to pay $70! Seven hundred pages makes for a pretty big file. Anybody interested in starting the process can go here.

Monday, November 6

I've long wondered whether it's true that the FBI maintains files on every American. Apparently during the Hoover years the feds monitored common peoples' activities (as opposed to celebrities/politicians/activists) more than they did after Hoover went to the Great Cross-Dressing Wardrobe in the sky. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, however, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act and things have swung back toward keeping tabs on what just about everybody is doing, from the phone calls they make to the books they take out of the library, and beyond. I'm no criminal, and I've done nothing that warrants the gummint peeking into my bidness, but if the FBI does indeed keep a file on every American, I'd like to know what the hell is in there. So I'm going to see whether there is a file, and if so, I'm going to find out how to get my hands on it.

While I was in college, my friend Jeff told me that a professor of his at Keene had obtained his FBI file and that it contained photos of him and his wife out at a restaurant and things of that nature. Apparently this professor (whose wife was a professor of mine at the school) had been somewhat politically active in the '60s or '70s and that's how he'd gotten on Big Brother's radar (based on case history related to sodomy laws, the gov't. has decent gaydar as well). During college I took part in some activities advocating that the University System of New Hampshire divest from South Africa. It was a very popular cause at the time, and it's possible that during the course of spending time at rallies I was photographed or otherwise documented by the government. I also took part in some sort of anti-war rally in Hartford way back when, so long ago in fact that I don't even recall what war it was. I guess it was more likely an anti-nuke event, and I was probably more interested in meeting liberal young women than I was in ensuring that Ronnie Raygun start dismantling A-bombs.

Anyway, nowadays it may be enough to just say or write potentially seditious words that can be recorded in order to earn an FBI file. Whatever the case, I'm going to look into the situation and will report on what I find in the near future.

Wednesday, November 1

I'll get to Halloween in a minute, but there's more important news. Beth's sister and brother-in-law welcomed their first baby, Max, into the world yesterday. He was born late afternoon and weighed in at 6 lbs., 4 oz., a peanut compared to his monstrous cousin Owen, who tipped the scales at 9 lbs., 13 oz. when he was born. Mother, father and baby are doing well and expect to leave the hospital on Thursday. I took Owen in for a quick visit today after school. He showed Max his plastic elephant and hippo, and presented his cousin with a very small stufffed cat that, of course, meows when you squeeze it. We're excited for the newest addition to the family. Here are a few pictures.

Owen had a great time on Halloween, cruising through the 'hood with his friends and gathering up tons of candy and the odd mini-tub of Playdoh. We had a small party at our house, so I dressed up as Zombie College Grad (see photo above). Beth and her mom cut out early to go see baby Max, and Beth's dad was teaching at Babson College, so I entertained their friends, did a lot of the cleanup and put Owen to bed. I was exhausted at the end of the night, what with the walking around the neighborhood, the drinking, the brain-eating. You know how it is. That's it for now.

Friday, October 27

Boy, I wasn't kidding about slowly undertaking a site makeover, was I? I got frustrated because the site's new tools wouldn't allow me to crop the photo at right the way I wanted to. And I wasn't inspired to write because there's not much going on, not that I usually let that stop me. Anyway, I've got a little extra time on my hands today because Owen's doing gymnastics for 45 minutes after school. So welcome to the Extreme Makeover of DaveBrigham.com ("Where Dave Brigham Meets Dot Com").

Beth and I took Owen to Honey-Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA, last weekend. I love autumn, and last Saturday was my favorite kind of day: blue skies, crisp temperatures, smell of wood burning in the air, nothing to do but shop for pumpkins, feed goats and eat cider donuts. The big attraction for Owen was the hedge maze, which, according to Honey-Pot Hill, is an "exact replica of the famous 'Hampden Court' Maze in England." I don't know from mazes, but this one was pretty good, and it took quite a while for the three of us to make our way through. Afterwards, Owen took three trips through a kids-only maze constructed from giant cardboard boxes. He was very excited to finally be able to walk through a maze, rather than simply having to do it with his fingers or a crayon in one of his several maze books. I highly recommend Honey-Pot Hill, although they'll be closing for the season soon.

I finally heard back from the Globe West about my proposed Suburban Diary piece. The editor said it was well written, but that I needed to focus on one aspect of the story I was trying to tell. I wish it hadn't taken him three weeks to get back to me on that, but I agree with his point and will venture forward with another attempt. On the fiction front, I continue to crawl forward with (C)rock editing.

Two weeks ago, Ken, Jim and I jammed up in Keene in Ken's basement. It felt good to play, especially with guys with whom I feel comfortable. My guitar sounded great, as did Ken's and Jim's bass. We woke up Ken's 16-year-old daughter, who was still zonked out at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon in her bedroom in the newly finished basement. If we'd put her to sleep, then we'd have a problem. We worked on most of the old favorites, as well as one cover song we plan to add, the Flaming Lips' "Jesus Shootin' Heroin." We've since discussed plenty of other new covers, and I have at least one new original I'd like to add to the mix. Don't know when we'll get together to play again, but in the meantime Ken's gonna take a web design class and get a proper Toastmen site up.

Finally, some music stuff. I'm heavily into Internet radio service Pandora. I'm constantly fine-tuning the station I created there, and have discovered many artists I'd never heard of. I head to the iTunes music store when I wanna check out more. Sometimes I decide that I'm not as interested as I thought I was. Other times I'm frustrated to learn that iTunes doesn't have anything by said artist. Once in a while, though, I check out stuff at iTunes that I actually want to buy and download. My latest such acquisition is Chin Up Chin Up's "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers" (Flameshovel Records). It's a little bit electro, a little bit new wave, a little bit post-rock and I dig it. I hate the band's name, but I'll get over it.

The band has a tragic history, as laid out on their web site:

...[M]idway through writing We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, hours, in fact, after mixing the demos the band faced a tragic loss. In February, bassist Chris Saathoff was walking home from a show at the Empty Bottle when he was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident. For months thereafter, the rest of the band mourned the loss of their good friend....In due time, Chin Up Chin Up decided to regroup and finish the record. Using three discs' worth of practices that the band had recorded over the last few years, they pieced together the record's final six songs, keeping Chris's bass lines as intact as possible.

For a sample of their music, check out this blurb and MP3 from Spin.com.

Thursday, October 12

I am slowly undertaking a site makeover. I tried to change the look of the site earlier today but ran into some technical problems. I'll fix those soon. I've changed the (C)rock page to the Fiction page. There, you'll find a mix of old, new and in-progress stories. The first thing posted there is "Autumn Suite," a 3-part rumination on fall that I published in SLANK several years ago.

Not much else going on. I've been working on my second submission for the Boston Globe's Suburban Diary section. I submitted the first one almost two weeks ago but haven't heard back from them about whether they'll publish it. I've also been slogging away on the (C)rock series. As I've mentioned, each of the 14 stories slated for the collection is getting reworked, which results in more work than I'd hoped to do, but the whole package will be much better in the end.

Three-fifths of the Toastmen will jam this Saturday in Keene. It will mainly be a rust-shedding exercise, but I'm really looking forward to it. It's been too long. We may even work out some new material. I plan to bring the Toastmen live video and some photos/posters to Ken's house. He'll get them digitized and then one of us will take care of getting them up on our MySpace page.

Friday, October 6

The Quincy Sons of Italy's baseball season is over. We played Wednesday night at Adams Field in Quincy, hands-down the best diamond we saw all year. Nice field with true hops, a fence to keep in the longballs, and sunken dugouts with plenty of room. As for the game, we were up 8-2 when things fell apart in the top of the 7th. Our ace, Angel, had pitched his usual great game, even though by his own admission he didn't have his best stuff. Our opponents, the Hyde Park Braves, were hitting him more than they had in the first game, but left some guys on base and managed only two runs through 6 innings. And, in my big moment of the game, I threw a guy out at home, after the Braves tried a double steal (1st and 3rd). Our catcher threw the ball to me as I cut behind the pitcher's mound and I threw it right back to him and he tagged out the guy trying to score. It was a great play and put a charge into the team. Unfortunately, the Braves bashed the ball all over tarnation in the top of the 7th and tied the score. Long story short, we couldn't do anything in the bottom of that inning, they scored two more in the top of the 8th and we failed again in the bottom. It was a fun season and I look forward to next year, but the ending certainly didn't go the way any of us thought it would.

Moving on.... I mentioned quite a while ago that I was considering changes to the site. First off will be a new layout and design scheme. I also plan to bring more of my fiction into the mix, starting with older stuff that appeared in SLANK many, many years ago. And, I hope, more photos. Hell, maybe even video at some point. Don't hold your breath, though.

Now, as Jon Stewart would say, for your moment of zen: Beer-pouring robots.

Tuesday, October 3

Owen and I went to the Topsfield Fair yesterday and had our usual grand time. He loves going on rides, and I love watching him do it. As he did when we went to the Marshfield Fair last month, he asked to go on the ferris wheel. I haven't been on one in at least 20 years, but would certainly do it in a second. But he's just too young, and thankfully seems to understand that when I tell him so. He was perfectly happy on the merry-go-round, the Berry-go-Round (giant strawberries), a few car and animal rides that go 'round and 'round and two trips with me down the giant slide. I could spend hours on end roaming around country fairs. I'm fascinated by the carnies (is that a derogatory term?) and find myself wondering what they do when they're not operating the rides, what is their state of mental health, do they have criminal records, etc. I just love the atmosphere, the junky food, the awful music, the lights and rides. What can I say, I'm a country boy at heart.

Our baseball game got rained out on Sunday. We were down 2-0 in the top of the second inning when the umps called it, so the postponement was a good thing. Our ace wasn't on the mound, as he (and our starting catcher, who travel to games together) didn't think we were gonna play because of the rain. A guy who usually plays first base pitched, and did a decent job considering he had no clue he'd be starting the game. We'll try again Wednesday night. If we win, then we play again, but I don't know when. If we lose, that's it.

Disclaimer: I feel terrible about the murders at the Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania yesterday. I just can't conceive of anybody doing what that guy did. But I got the word Amish into my head when doing my "conspiracy" search today, and what I found made me laugh.

Enjoy the deep, dark secrets of the Amish on Mars.

Tuesday, September 26

I'll spare you the details of my team's loss on Sunday. The final score was 4-3 and it was a good game, but we made too many errors (me included). I had a pair of doubles and scored a run, but we left too many guys on base. We play again this Sunday. We have to win two games to capture the league championship.

In barely lighter news, Beth and I are going to the Sox game tomorrow against the Devil Rays. I love Fenway, so I'll have a good time, but it's just not the same when your team is fighting to get back into second place. The team is hosting a Johnny Pesky night to honor him on his 87th birthday. They'll be officially dedicating the right field foul pole in his name, although it's unofficially been called the Pesky Pole for about 40 years.

The long-awaited, but much-feared first jam in The Toastmen's quest to return to the stage is slated for October 14. I brought my guitar to Cambridge Music yesterday for a "set-up," which translates to "getting your axe in shape after you've neglected it so long that it began turning to dust." With any luck, when I get it back I'll still remember how to play it.

Here's a shot from old pal Peter Peck's online photo archive. Enjoy!

Monday, September 18

Yesterday I played in the most exciting baseball game of my entire life. I've been on a lot of losing teams over the years, including last year's team, so being on a team that finished in first place and has the ability to come from three runs down in extra innings to win is a refreshing change. No more Bad News Barons (the nickname for my Babe Ruth League team when I was 14).

Our team won its first playoff series since its inception three years ago. Two years ago, before I was on the team, the Quincy Sons of Italy (more about this sponsorship below) team made the playoffs, along with every other team in the league, but didn't win a game. Last year, we finished in second to last place and made the playoffs but again didn't secure a victory. Last week the team won its first ever post-season game, 7-2. I couldn't make the game, and that bummed me out.

Yesterday's game was much closer, and there was serious concern on our bench that we might lose, which would have required us to play the rubber game of the best-of-three series. We were tied at two in the 4th or perhaps 5th inning when our ace, Angel, tumbled off the mound trying to stop a grounder, and severely aggravated his separated left (non-throwing) shoulder. After a few minutes of rolling in agonizing pain on the ground, Angel got up slowly, took the mound for a few warm-up tosses and declared himself fine and ready to pitch some more. This guy is amazing. He's 59 and claims to never have had any arm troubles. He's the best pitcher in the league, and also plays on a softball team (where he hurt his shoulder) and another baseball team. He eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. He's pitched at least four games for us since injuring himself. He's tough as nails, and we wouldn't be where we are this year without him.

So we finished the regulation 7 innings tied at 2, still confident that we'd beat our opponents, the Hawks. But in the top of the 8th, they scored three runs, and our team was a little down, because we hadn't been hitting much the entire game, and now we needed three runs just to pull even. But nobody was giving up, as we figured we'd just give it our best and see what happened. The worst that could happen, we knew, was that we'd have to play another game immediately after this one ended, and win that one to take the series.

We were fortunate that our lead-off hitter, Geoff, was up first in the bottom of the 8th. He led the team during the regular season in on-base percentage (.556) and had already reached base twice prior to that at-bat, with a walk and an error on a bunt. He bunted again, this time for a hit. I was up next, and, unbelievably, not nervous. I'd struck out, grounded into a double play (5-3-2) and singled, successively, so things were heading in the right direction. I just missed the first pitch, a fastball right down the middle, fouling it straight back. I told myself if I saw another one like that I wouldn't miss it again. Two pitches later there it was, and I launched one into the gap between left and center. As I rounded second, I saw the center fielder fall on his ass, so I knew I could make third. The throw came in and got past the third baseman and went out of play, so I was awarded home.

Now it was 5-4, with no outs. Our team was getting revved up. The Hawks brought in a relief pitcher, who promptly gave up a single to the next batter, our catcher, Clay, who then stole second. Things were looking good, and got better quickly when our center fielder, Mike, walked. First and second with no outs, and the number 5 hitter, our coach, Bill, coming up. He was 0 for 3 when he walked into the batter's box, but he's a great hitter and was just the guy we wanted up. Sure enough, he scorched a line drive to left that deflected off the left fielder's glove and kicked behind him. Clay scored easily from second, and Mike hauled ass from first and scored standing up. 6-5, Quincy Sons of Italy advance to the finals!

After the game, a handful of us went to the Quincy Sons of Italy hall for free beer and food. They put up money three years ago to sponsor the team, but we haven't heard anything from them. I guess now that we're a winning team, they want back into the action. Who can blame 'em?

Friday, September 15

Beth and I saw the Flaming Lips last Sunday at the Bank of America Pavilion on Boston's waterfront, and had a really great time. It was a cold but beautiful night for psychedelic freakouts, and the Lips didn't disappoint. As Beth said, "They started their show the way most bands finish up," with confetti and giant balloons flying all over the place, singer Wayne Coyne coming out with giant hands and dozens of dancers dressed either as Santa's elves or space aliens. They skewed heavily toward their latest albums -- At War With the Mystics, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and The Soft Bulletin -- as I expected. I would've liked more oldies than just the overplayed '90s nugget "She Don't Use Jelly," but I guess I'll just have to jack into the ol' memory bank to call up past shows at T.T. the Bear's in Cambridge, the Polish-American Club in Gardner, MA, and Boston's Roxy nightclub.

Coyne is totally lovable goofball. He went on at length a few times about spreading love with your friends and family, which is certainly laudable, but not something I really go to a Flaming Lips show for. I wanted more hard-rockin' stuff, but I guess those days are over. Coyne also had some boilerplate stuff to say about the Bush administration, all of which was made better by the band's blistering cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" to wrap up the show. It was awesome.

While we were at the show, my baseball team was winning its first playoff game, 7-2. We play again this Sunday -- possibly two games. The series is best 2 of 3, so if we lose the first game, we'll need to play a doubleheader. If we move on, the next game would be September 24, with the final game(s) on October 1. I haven't played in a few weeks, but I'm anxious to get back out there. I'll be at 3rd base, which I'm not too psyched about, but that's OK.

Monday, September 11

Just popping in quickly to post a few photos of our trip this past weekend to CT to visit with my family one last time at my parents' house. They're slated to move into their new place November 1, although they haven't gotten a bid on their current house. I'll surely get to see the old homestead at least one more time, but it will likely be on or around the day they move. Here are some great shots of Owen and his cousin, Grace, dancing to The Wiggles in my parents' living room.

Tuesday, September 5

Let's just jump right into my new favorite thing: ludicrous web searches for conspiracies. Today I searched for "sandwich" AND "conspiracy" and found this to be the most interesting link. It's mildly amusing, positing that rather than a 757, it was a grilled cheese sandwich that hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. I also chuckled at the mention of the Virgin Mary on a Mexican tortilla, as I once wrote a song called "Jesus on a Dorito." It does have a serious message, mirrored in the Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories that I finished reading today, which is that the government still hasn't released all the videotapes of the plane crashing into the Pentagon, and why is that? I haven't read enough elsewhere to know if something other than a 757 crashed into that building, but it does seem odd that so little footage has been released to the public. Theories abound: a missile, a military jet, a drone and, of course, my favorite from the 911 Truth web site, "a high-speed grilled cheese sandwich flung by the hand of Allah, all the way from Afganistan."

Anyway, there's other stuff going on but nothing as fun to write about as the above. Party on....

Tuesday, August 29

Owen wants to move out. He's only 4 but he seems ready to move along. We were at our local pet store today, buying litter and cat food. The store has a great array of birds, rabbits, fish and hamsters, but Owen was most interested in the puppies, naturally. He stood in front of their cages for several minutes, saying "Hi" to them, asking them how they were and barking occasionally. After I'd paid for our supplies, I told Owen we had to get going. "I want to live here," he told me. "You want to live here and sleep in the dog cages?" I asked him. "Yup, I want to live here." Well, we had 4+ good years with him, and I'm sure the store would allow us to visit as often as we like.

We Brigham men had a pretty mellow day today. We puttered around this morning, did some painting and then trekked out to the Natick Mall. That place was a zoo, so we bagged the playroom and just walked around a bit. Then we cruised into Wellesley to Vidalia's Truck Stop for lunch. I like the decor and the food, and the service is perfectly fine. But because the clientele is straight out of a Ralph Lauren or Talbot's catalog, I've dubbed it the Yuppie Cafe. Seriously, there were so many stereotypical suburban moms, dads and kids there -- blonde ponytails, skinny asses, loafers, Hollister t-shirts and brightly scrubbed complexions -- that I almost threw up on my Crocs. Anyway, Owen and I had a good time there. Then we hit the pet store, Newtonville Books and then came home to cruise through Google Maps. A rare rainy day turned out just fine.

So I'm slowly making my way through the (C)rock Stories and getting a little bit bummed. The stories that I really like need some work, and I don't mind it because there are good frameworks to hang some new words on. But the stories that I thought were OK turn out to be flimsier than I thought, which means I'm gonna have to do some major renovations -- build new frameworks, shore up foundations and patch up walls and ceilings. But, hey, that's what I'm getting paid...wait a minute? Nobody's paying me to do this?

And now to my newest feature, Fun With Conspiracies! A few weeks ago I was bored and did a Google search for "coin" AND "conspiracy" because, as I mentioned then, I have latent numismatic tendencies. I found an odd story about a supposed UFO coin. So tonight I decided to do another random search, for "baseball" AND "conspiracy". The item that caught my eye concerns a baseball field at Area 51, the top-secret military base where aliens and their spaceships are supposedly being held. Anyway, turns out the folks who work there have a baseball field. That in and of itself isn't that fascinating, but some of the posts below the photo are funny ("thats where they've been practicing for the intergalactic baseball league"), and others are just, well, really geeky. Which makes me even geekier for checking them out and chuckling to myself.

Thursday, August 24

It's 9:58 p.m. and I'm hanging out waiting for the Sox to start. I won't watch much tonight, as I'm getting up at 5:15 to cruise down to CT for a golf tournament in memory of my friend Bene. I haven't played golf all year, but I'm looking forward to the tournament, which is a best-ball event with carts, post-game lunch and a good chance to catch up with some friends. I was gonna head down tonight, but Beth's sick and it wouldn't be right to leave her alone with Owen tonight. Her mom's gonna help her with Owen tomorrow while I'm gone.

So my baseball team finished in first place for the regular season. We've got one more game scheduled, but there's a good chance it'll get rained out this Sunday, and the league might just wipe it off the schedule since it won't affect either team's standing. We'll get a first-round bye in the playoffs. We won last night 18-0 over a team that had beaten us twice before, so that felt good. They didn't use their best pitcher and seemed weaker in the field and at the bat than in the previous games. I was 2-4 with a single, double and RBI. After the game, the opposing coach quizzed our manager about my age. When told I'm 42 (actually I'm 41 but our coach forgot), the coach said, "He's not supposed to be on the team." Of course he is, our coach countered, because at the beginning of the season the commissioner approved that, and said other teams apparently were allowed to have one or two guys under 45 as well. "You didn't ask about age when you guys beat us earlier in the year," my coach said. The guy was just pissed because we crushed them. I feel weird about being one of two guys on the team under 45, but, hey, I didn't make the rules.

Thanks to Wired magazine, I've discovered nerdcore hip-hop. Here's a bit of what they say: "This geeky hip hop subgenre, also dubbed CS rap (that's computer science, yo!), is finally booting up with the release of Rhyme Torrents, a compilation featuring the work of more than 50 men -- and even a few ladies -- who bust rhymes (and C++ code)." I've listened to two albums' worth of tracks at RhymeTorrents.com; there are four albums in total free for downloading. I've only opted to grab four tracks (two by the awesomely monikered YTCracker) but expect to take a few more. The songs are totally dorky in content but a few of these artists have a real talent for rapping and putting music together.

Owen and I went to the Marshfield Fair yesterday and had a great time. He went on a bunch of rides, although not the first one he told me he wanted to go on. As soon as we walked through the gate, he said, "There's the ferris wheel. I want to ride that." Maybe when you're 5, I told him. He did go on a mini-rollercoaster and a small car ride by himself. I went on train, plane and haunted house rides with him, and stood next to him on the merry-go-round. He also got a kick out of the motocross action in the middle of the fairground, squealing with delight each time one of the motorcycles flew over a jump. A few pictures here.

Friday, August 18

Our team got back in the win column Wednesday night. We defeated by a 4-1 score the team that absolutely embarrassed us on Sunday. Our ace, Angel, was back on the mound. Considering that his non-throwing shoulder was really bothering him, he had an amazing game. He gave up two hits and one run, and that run came on a play where I could have thrown the guy out, but I bobbled a grounder and had to go to first instead. Batting more or less with just one arm, Angel also managed three -- three! -- infield hits. I've gone three games without a hit, and this guy, who's 59, gets three hits with one freakin' hand. Unbelievable.

Also on Wednesday, I took Owen to the Hammond Castle and Museum in Gloucester. Built in the 1920's by engineer and inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr., the castle is set on a beautiful spot overlooking the ocean. From the outside, it looks mostly like a castle, but in some places simply looks like a funky house. On the inside, however, it is more impressive. Filled with antiques, reproductions, coat-of-arms plaques, giant flags, a massive pipe organ, and all sorts of nooks and crannies and winding staircases, the castle really gave me the bug to visit England, Ireland and Scotland. Photos of our trip are here.

Tuesday, August 15

First, a very short word about the team: miserable. We lost on Sunday and I don't even know what the score was. If we're lucky, we only lost 22-3. I was 0-3 with one strikeout (I lead the team) and two flyouts; the lone saving grace was that my second flyout was a sacrifice fly. We play the same team tomorrow night. I believe we'll have our ace back on the mound, so perhaps we'll fare a bit better.

Owen had a playdate today. What a great thing is the playdate. In the past, when he got together with friends from school or camp, I went along, either to a playground or a restaurant. Today, however, he went to his friend Anicca's house and I had the pleasure of walking out and saying, "See you in a few hours." And how did I spend my free time? Walking around Borders for waaaaay too long trying to find $50 worth of free stuff (gift card). I ended up with Jon Krakauer's non-fiction, anti-polygamy tale, "Under the Banner of Heaven," a Willie Nelson greatest hits CD, a collection of late-'60s/early-'70s ska/rocksteady/reggae ("The Best of 1 Studio: Reggae Classics from Jamaica's Legendary Foundation Label") and a connect-the-dots book for Owen. Then I ate a fabulous lunch prepared by my personal chef, followed by some quality time spent formulating ideas for the cover of the (C)rock book. My sister-in-law said she's gonna start working on turning my favorite concept into actual art.

Had another interesting tutoring session this evening. My student has a good grasp of English, but wants help with slang. She hears things in conversation or on TV and wants to know what they mean, or, if she knows what they mean, she wants to know how to use these words or terms. As I've told her, I'm not the hippest guy, but I'll do my best to help her understand and use more casual language. She's 30 years old and from what she's told me, she has friends who good-naturedly kid her about her language. Today we spent a while at SlangSite.com, which has a ridiculous amount of terms, most of which I've never heard of (Example: "g'd up from the feet up: Looking ganster from head to toe: 'With these clothes I'm g'd up from the feet up.'"). I had recommended the site last week, so she spent a little bit of time since looking at it. She had some questions about some "A" words. The first one was "A-D-orable," which basically is just people spelling out the first two letters of the word and then pronouncing the rest. Whatever. The second term she quizzed me on was "a-delic," as in "pimp-a-delic" ("that lowrider is pimp-a-delic"). So I got to discuss "psychedelic," and then "pimp-a-delic," "pimp" and "shag-adelic." I've realized that I just have to jump in with this stuff, and not worry about embarrassing myself or my student. She's Korean, but has a good sense of humor and is eager to learn about more colorful language.

SlangSite is dangerous, though. Any fool can get on there and input whatever crazy shit they want. Such as:

Ubachung: A minature purple chicken that gives birth to equally small humans. Example: Farmer: My ubachung layed about a dozen people yesterday. [Salesman. Yeah, and your daughter laid about a dozen guys, too. The first being me.]

Tuesday, August 8

I love summer when the humidity moves out and the comfortable temps and soothing breezes glide in. Makes for perfect baseball weather. Unfortunately, that didn't help my team win on Sunday. We lost 3-2 in what was the best game we've had this year in terms of pitching and tension. The score was tied at 2 in the bottom of the seventh, when our opponents put together a nice inning to pull out the win. A hit, a sacrifice and a passed ball put a guy on third with two out. The next batter fought off a few pitches with some ugly swings, but then managed to line a single to center to knock in the winning run. A walkoff single -- must have been a great feeling for him. As for me, I played well in the field, especially on a rare 6-3-2 double play that cut down a very important run at home. At bat, however, I was like a Little Leaguer in the Big Dance. I struck out three times. The first two times at least I went down swinging after fouling a few off. The last at-bat, though, I let my previous poor showings get into my head. The first two pitches from their southpaw starter, who pitched a really good game, curved right across the plate at the letters -- a bit high but not so high that I shouldn't have swung at one of them. With two strikes I know that I have to protect the plate. But the third pitch froze me -- fastball on the inside corner. Might have been a ball, but it was too close to let it go, but I did anyway. I was so pissed at myself after that. We play again tomorrow night, the first of six games over the next three weeks. Gotta get my mojo back.

On a lighter baseball note, here are some pix from last week's trip to the Lowell Spinners game.

Wednesday, August 2

It's too hot to write much. Owen and I had a good time last night at the Lowell Spinners game. A single-A Red Sox franchise, the Spinners put on a good time for kids and families, even though they were losing 5-0 after 6 innings, which is when we left. There's a kids' entertainment area, which is like a miniature carnival with a bouncy house, giant air-filled slide, pitching games, spin-the-wheel games, etc. Everything costs money, though, but considering that really good seats cost only $4.50, I can't complain. There's not a bad seat in the house.

Owen and I spent most of the afternoon in air-conditioned malls: the Chestnut Hill Mall, the Atrium Mall and the Natick Mall. Worked out very well.

I've enlisted my sister-in-law for my publishing efforts. She'll help me design a jacket for my (C)rock book. She's a graphic designer for Staples, so as she said, "If I can make paper clips and staplers look good, I can help you." Believe me, I need it.

Monday, July 31

We've been in the middle of some serious heat and humidity, but it seems like the next three days are gonna be real killers . Good thing that Owen will spend some time tomorrow and Thursday at the local swimming hole along with his summer camp buddies. He also has swimming lessons at the Y on those days. Tomorrow will be a busy day for the boy: swimming at camp, swimming lessons and then a trip to his (and my) first Lowell Spinners game. The father of Owen's best camp buddy called to invite us along to the game, which features a giveaway of Rich Garces bobbleheads. Ah, El Guapo -- the Handsome One, indeed.

Meanwhile, in old-guy baseball, my team continues to roll along. We won 5-2 yesterday and are in first place at 8-1. Not a lot of highlights; I had a bloop single and made several plays in the field -- the most I've had in a game this season. Beth brought Owen and her parents to check out a few innings, which was nice. They got to see my hit, and Owen seemed to have fun.

We had a busy social schedule this past weekend. On Saturday we took Owen to his friend Ryan's 4th birthday party. Typical stuff: Owen didn't want to eat much, including cake; he had a lot of fun running around in the backyard and flying down the slide and into a small wading pool; and I ate too much. Yesterday we went to Shrewsbury for Summer 'Noize 2006. Yes, it was the annual Webnoize gathering, which was surely the best one yet. Ric had a pool set up in his backyard, and Owen and the rest of the kids spent a considerable amount of time swimming and splashing around. The food was good, the beer was plentiful and the iPod was cranking out the hot tracks, including the J. Geils Band's "Whammer Jammer."

Wednesday, July 26

I had my first meeting with my new ESL student today, and we've already discussed the popular phrase, "Kick your ass!" First, some background:

My student is a 30-year-old Korean woman who's married and has an 18-month-old daughter. She came to the States four years ago because her husband is working toward his MBA at Boston University. Because he is here on a student visa, she can't work. So I get the feeling that perhaps she is a little bored. She likes to cook and watch cooking shows, and took a cooking class at Newbury College. Apparently a friend from that class introduced her to the phrase, "Kick your ass!" Junguk -- her friends call her UK, which is cool, because that makes her name "UK Moon" -- hopes to learn to understand American slang and idioms during our time together. She said she watches shows such as "Friends" and misses out on a lot of what is being said. I haven't figured out my strategy yet, but because UK has a good sense of humor, I think we'll have fun.

We met briefly today, simply to introduce ourselves to each other, and so I could get a feeling for what she wants to learn. I asked her whether she knew what the term "slang phrase" meant, and she nodded her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Like the term I've heard: kick your ass?" I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. I said, "Kick your ass?" She said yes. "What does it mean? Is it something I can use with anybody?" "Well," I answered, "ass means" and I pointed to my, well, ass. She nodded, unsurprised. "So 'kick your ass' means, 'I'm going to do better than you,' or 'I'm going to win,'" I said. She understood that, too. "I should use that with my friends?" she asked. "Yeah. Some people might think it's rude," I answered. "But you can use it with friends." Should be an interesting and fun time.

To illustrate just how much of a nerd I am (as if anybody needed proof), and to reward all who have read this far today, I offer this brief article that combines my fascination with UFOs and my latent numismatic tendencies: Centuries' Old UFO Coin Remains Mystery .

Tuesday, July 25

As promised, the final (C)rock story is now available here. It's the longest one, and as always, it took way too long to finish, but I really like it. I was thumbing through some old blog entries last night and realized that I started working on this story last October. I completed one or two other (C)rocks in the meantime, but I never meant to take this long finishing the final story. Two and a half years and the series is wrapped. Feels good but I've got work to do on compiling the best stories to publish through CafePress. Carry on....

Monday, July 24

I just can't seem to get myself on a more frequent update schedule. That's due in part to my laziness and in part to the fact that I don't have a lot going on. I watch the Red Sox, I play a game once a week and I go to playgrounds with Owen. Not the most exciting blog fodder (as Dave Barry would say, "Blog Fodder" would make a good band name). I've been thinking about either terminating the blog or giving it a radical makeover. I'm certainly leaning toward a makeover, and hoping that Ty Pennington and the crew from "Extreme Blog Makeover" will take up my case. Fingers crossed....

So with that out of the way, here's what's been going on. My team won again yesterday, 10-2, putting us in first place at 7-1. A big difference from last year's league, when we fought to stay out of the basement. I hope this league can add some teams and talent next year. I like playing, and will likely continue on this team next year, but I could use more of a challenge. I feel a little guilty that our team has two guys under the age of 45 (the third guy under 45 rarely shows up to games), but our team would be really good even without the age advantage. They wanted our team in the league so they granted us exemptions; I wonder what they'll do if we win the championship.

I started slowly at bat yesterday, fouling out and then striking out (the ol' backwards K -- ugh!), continuing my mini-slump from the previous week, when I struck out twice and reached on an error. My final two at-bats yesterday, however, were much better: a double to left-center and a single to right-center. Felt good. Once again, I didn't have much to do in the field. I played third and fielded one ball and threw cleanly to first, and then took a throw to put out a guy. That's it. Not much action in the field at all this year. I've always been a better field than hitter, so get excited for chances to make plays. Either we need crappier pitchers or other teams need better hitters.

Anybody interested in pre-ordering Neal Pollack's parenting memoir, "Alternadad," can do so at Amazon. I'm a regular reader of his blog, which is largely about raising his 3-year-old son, so I'm gonna pass on reading his book. It should be funny, though.

Speaking of literacy...I'm slated to meet with my second ESL (English as a second language) student on Wednesday for the first time. I started tutoring in April and my first student moved out of the area after 6 weeks or so. I finally have been given a new pupil, and look forward to working with her. Like my first student, she is from Korea. Judging from our phone conversation today, she is quite a proficient English speaker. I think she wants help with idioms, slang, etc. She'll learn such useful terms from me as, "The Flaming Lips are the bomb!", "Snakes on a plane, baby!" and "Yankees suck!"

Finally, I'm about to finish the final (C)rock story, so look for a posting here soon about that. Once it's done I've gotta go through the 14 stories that I plan to anthologize and polish them up. I'm gonna get crackin' on the novel, too. This will be my third (or fourth?) attempt at writing a novel, so I'm already down on myself, saying, "You'll never get it done." But all I can do is try. The difference with this novel is that unlike the others it's not based on my college experiences and therefore unlikely to get bogged down in sentimentality and the fear of offending people.

Monday, July 17

It's been two weeks, but I'm gonna keep this (relatively) short.

On the first day of my summer vacation, I looked for a job. Then I went downtown and hung out in front of the drugstore. On the second day of my summer vacation, I looked for a job. Then I went downtown and hung out in front of the drugstore. On the third day of my summer vacation, I found a job -- keeping kids from hanging out in front of the drugstore.

But seriously. We were on the Cape last week and had a nice, relaxing time. Plenty of swimming and drinking and eating and sleeping. Owen had a playmate the whole week, which took a lot of pressure off Beth and me to entertain the boy. I didn't play any golf or catch a Cape League baseball game, but that's OK. My cousin, Ann, and her husband, Jon, stopped by on Tuesday, and we hung out at the beach. We saw them again the next day at the Falmouth Street Fair, where they were selling personalized golf ball markers and golf towels, as well as wind spinners and other stuff (see MyGolfMarker.com). It was nice to catch up with them.

I had a baseball game on Sunday, July 9, and one yesterday. We won both games, and I managed to get hurt in only one of them. I pulled my right hamstring in the first game, and it slowed me down quite a bit yesterday, but I think it will be better in a week or so. I had a double in the July 9th game, but struck out twice yesterday and felt as thought I wasn't seeing the ball very well. Maybe I had heat stroke....

Monday, July 3

One of the major reasons I stopped playing softball in favor of baseball was that my team was pummeling opponents so badly that I was no longer having fun. Well, certainly last year's baseball season gave me the antidote: we regularly got thrashed and ended the regular season 3-9 and got whupped in two playoff games. This year, however, we changed leagues and it's a different story. As regular readers know (yes, both of you), the league is 45+ but because the league is new and needs teams they let our team in with three guys who were under the limit. The pitching in this league is definitely slower and less challenging than in the other league. In our four victories (we're 4-1, and in second place), we've outscored our opponents 58-7. Yes, you read that correctly. Our primary pitcher has virtually shut down opponents in those games, and our hitting has just been relentless. Combined with walks, hit batsmen and errors by the other teams, these games quickly become ridiculous, and, frankly, not as much fun as I'd like. Sure, it beats getting smoked, but I prefer a little competition to get my blood flowing. If you simply looked at the fact that we have three guys under age 45 on our team you might think that's the reason we're beating up teams so badly. But it's not that simple. All three of us have played in only one game together -- yesterday's 20-1 annihilation. Combined, the three of us are 10 for 29, or .345. Now, that sounds pretty good, but considering that our team average is .390, it's only OK. And one of the guys is playing hurt. So what I'm saying is that age might be helping our team a bit, but we'd still be winning even if everybody was over 45.

As I've said before, I'll see how the rest of the season goes and, if it continues this way, I'll consider another team in a younger league.

On the homefront, we're having a July 4th bash that has turned into quite an affair. If everybody shows, we'll have 30 people here -- 21 adults and 9 kids. Should be fun, but we've got to get to the store and do some preparation tomorrow, in addition to taking Owen to Newton's all-day celebration (rides, food, games, etc.). We'll take in the fireworks from our backyard, as the "oohs" and "aahs" come more easily when I'm drinking beer in the privacy of my yard.

Owen went to his first day of summer camp today and as far as I can tell, he had a good time. There are a few kids from his school who will be there over the course of the summer, but only one, Charlie, was there today. Owen doesn't ever give many details about his school or camp days, so I'm not sure what he did, but I think whatever it was, it was fun.

We leave Saturday for a week on the Cape, which is always a good time. Golf, fried food, margaritas, Cape League baseball, swimming -- can't wait.

Gotta link to something musical: check out The Coup's video for "Ride the Fence" by going to their site, choosing "media" and scrolling down to "Party Music" and clicking on the video link for "Ride the Fence." I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've downloaded a few free tunes by this veteran rap crew, but I think I need to buy a full album. Groovy, left-wing rap that's fun and intelligent. Me likey.

Tuesday, June 27

It's been 9 days, but I'm just popping in for a quick entry. Owen finished the school year last Thursday. Here are some pictures of Family Fun Day from the day prior. He's on vacation (or, as Owen says, "bacation") this week, and starts summer camp next week, 5 days a week from 9-noon, including two days of activities at the local lake. A handful of kids from his preschool will be there, so they should have a great time.

Two words: Big Papi! 'Nuff said.

Looks like The Toastmen's 20th reunion slated for sometime next year is on. I spoke with Pete today and he's in. The rest of us had committed via email discussions, but Pete's not a real big emailer, so I had to try him several times via the telefono before I reached him. We all hope to get together a handful of times in the next several months to jam on old and new stuff. I'm really looking forward to playing again; it's been too long.

Sunday, June 18

Nothing like perching under a warm laptop on a hot, humid day to break a sweat. But my legion of fans demand blogging satisfaction, so I am here to serve. Had a busy Father's Day. I spent the morning scraping the remnants of wallpaper from my parents' bathroom, sanding the walls and painting the ceiling. I drove down to their place Friday night, and spent all day Saturday doing the same stuff in their dining room. Beth met me there Saturday morning, and my sister was there, too. We all pitched in to move my parents along toward putting their house on the market. I'm thankful that my parents have central air. The work was dirty and tiring, but I was satisfied to see the results today. They never would have gotten it done without our help. They have other stuff to do before it hits the market, but they've made good progress.

We got home around 1:15, hung out with Owen for a while, then went to my in-laws' for a dinner celebration. Two beers and a snifter of Bushmill's later, I was feeling pretty warm and fuzzy. Now I'm writing this while watching the Sox. A busy day, but a good day.

My dad pulled out some old photos and other papers from my grandfather on Friday night. Turns out my grandfather, who died in 1953 or 1954, was a freemason. My dad had a little black book that detailed his father's dates of completing various stages of freemason titles (Exalted this, Grand that, High Priest of the other, Leader of the Free World, etc.). As it turns out, Beth bought me a book about all sorts of conspiracy theories for Father's Day, and it includes a chapter on freemasons. Earlier tonight, I was checking out this web site about the history of freemasonry, which explained a fair amount. But of course I'm seeking the truth, not just some quaint historical facts.

Speaking of conspiracies, there's a rumor that The Toastmen are on the Internet. Well, I just checked it out, and it seems the conspiracy theorists are right. Heaven help us....

Tuesday, June 13

Last weekend was pretty much all about baseball. On Saturday, Beth, her parents and I spent roughly 7 hours at Fenway -- nearly 5 of them waiting for the rain-delayed game to start. If you had told me ahead of time that I'd spend 5 hours waiting for a game to start I would've said you're crazy-insane. But between eating, drinking and watching the Yankees lose on the big screen, time passed more quickly than you would imagine. Still, that's a damn long time to sit in those uncomfortable Fenway seats. We left after 6 innings because it was getting cold, we were tired and the game was, well, boring. That's our only scheduled trip to see the Sox; I hope another opportunity pops up later this year.

On Sunday, I played in my second game of the year (the team's 4th). It was a beautiful day for a game, we were on our home field and we'd had two weeks' rest, so conditions were perfect for a victory. The opposing pitcher was throwing pretty straightforward stuff, so as I watched from the bench during the first inning I thought to myself, "Boy, nobody should strike out against this guy." I led off the second inning by, you guessed it, striking out. At least I went down swinging. The rest of the game went much more swimmingly. I singled in a run the next time up, and scored a run. I singled again my third time up, and scored again. My last time up I walked. So, 2 for 3 with one RBI; I'll take that. Our ace, Angel, pitched an amazing game, as he often does. Two weeks ago he lost 10-2 but this week he overmatched our opponent and we won 17-1. Apparently, the coach of the other team watched Angel warm up and asked our coach whether Angel was 48, the minimum age to pitch in this league. Our coach must have laughed -- Angel's 59! He's in great shape, though, and throws hard, has a great curve and slider and when he's on, he's unhittable. He wasn't the oldest guy on the field, though. One of the other team's relievers was 68. For the full statistical story, go here. What you won't find there is the injury report. While there wasn't a lot to do in the field, I did have a play at second when their first base runner of the game decided, with two outs, to try and steal. The throw was perfect and I tagged him out, but I got spiked in the ankle in the process. It's not bad, but it's putting a crimp in my plan to do some pool therapy this week. Can't go in the pool with bandages or open cuts. Oh well, at least my groin injury feels OK.

While I'm enjoying a better season at the bat so far this year, I'm a bit conflicted. This new league is 45+, with the aforementioned stipulation that pitchers be at least 48. As I've stated before, because the league is relatively new and wants to add teams, they let us in with a few guys under 45. So far the pitchers we've faced are not as fast as the guys from last year's league. So I'm not better; they're worse. Which is OK, but I wonder how I would do if I'd stayed in the other league. If this year proves not to be enough of a challenge, I'd consider playing in a different league. Of course, we have plenty of games left, so maybe I'll be shuttin' up soon about all of this.

Thursday, June 8

I'm sure my regular reader(s?) has been losing sleep over the fact that I haven't posted a baseball update. Well, that's because there was no game on Monday. The new league my team has joined seems to have, how do you say, not much clout when it comes to scheduling fields. Last week, my coach emailed and asked about the possibility of switching our game from Monday (the 5th) to Sunday (the 4th) because there was a field conflict in Braintree. We couldn't field a full team, so the game stayed on the schedule for Monday, but at a different field. Two hours before game time, however, he called to say that the field we were supposed to play on that night was taken by somebody else. So no game. I hope we don't run into any conflicts for this Sunday afternoon's game.

My parents were in town Monday through Wednesday. My dad was doing work in Boston for his church, and my mom got to hang out with Owen and me. Owen really enjoys their visits; too bad my dad doesn't get to spend that much time with the O-Dawg. We'll be visiting my parents next weekend to help paint in order to get their house ready to go on the market. As it stands now, the builder will break ground on their house in an active-adult community very soon. The new house should be ready in November. My parents went to a party in their new communnity last weekend, and got to meet some of their future neighbors. They've been under a lot of stress lately getting the house ready for sale, and taking stuff to the dump, so it's good they got a chance to see who'll be living in their new neighborhood.

Beth and I are going to the Sox this Saturday with her parents, weather permitting. The game is a makeup from a May 13 rainout against the Rangers. It may be our only game this year, so I'm hoping for nice weather and a great victory. Word has it that the game will mark the major-league debut of pitcher Jon Lester. There's been a lot of talk about him lately, so expectations will be high.

And finally, Beth, Owen and I went to a party in Keene, NH, last Saturday. I was planning on going alone, but realized that wasn't fair to Beth. So we trekked up in the rain, partied inside for the most part and had a pretty good time. There was a drum set and two guitars set up, but I didn't jam. I was hoping Toastmen drummer Brian Z. was going to show up, so he, Toastmen lead guitarist Ken and I could jam. But Brian didn't show. Ken jammed with a few guys, but I just wasn't that into it. I'm way out of practice, but with talk rising again of a Toastmen reunion next year, I'd better start warming up my windmill arm and my scissor kicks.

Thursday, June 1

I hate when I come up with a good idea that can't be realized. Owen is into watching Kipper again lately, after taking considerable time off to watch "Caillou," for which I won't even stoop to offer a link (that's the only show he's been into that I can't stand). Anyway, Kipper is a totally mellow, unflappable British dog who hangs out with another dog named Tiger, a pig named Pig, and Pig's little cousin, Arnold. The show is very Zen and cute and a joy to watch. So today I said to Owen, "Would you like to get some Kipper t-shirts? One for each of us?" And he said, "Yes." So I asked him would he want black or white, and would he want Kipper or Tiger. "You will get black, with Kipper," he answered. "And I will get white, with Tiger." Great! I thought. But after a thorough online search I realize that no such t-shirts exist. Plenty of DVDs and books, but no Kipper attire. Total bummer. I think I like Kipper more than Owen does, so while he'll forget about this idea soon enough, the desire's gonna burn within me for a while.

I'm probably going to a big bash in Keene on Saturday. I asked Beth and Owen to come along but I don't think that's gonna happen. We've only got one car right now, though, so that could present a problem unless we can borrow one. The party's being held at this guy Mike's house and promises musical gear for people to bash around on (the primary attraction even though I'm way, way, way out of practice), BBQ food, beer and idiocy aplenty. If I go, expect a full report early next week.

Sunday, May 28

Played in my first baseball game of this season today, and even though we lost I'm very happy. I went 1 for 3, didn't make any errors and it was a perfect day for a game. But mostly I'm happy because I feel pretty good physically. My back is a bit sore, but it was bothering me before. I've got some aches and pains and a blister on my little toe. But my groin muscle feels good and that makes me happy. Should I say happy again?

I struck out my first time up, but didn't feel overwhelmed. The pitching in this new league (45+) seems to be a little slower than the league we were in last year (40+); they "grandsonned" me in because they want to add teams to the league. I think there are only 6 teams in the league, and I believe that we're the only team with guys (me and a guy who has also played only one game) under 45. My second time up I blooped a single to center, which felt good. I made it to second on a third-to-first double play, but then made a mental error on the next play that I'm still kicking myself about. On a ball hit to short I easily reached third and watched as the first baseman dropped the throw. I decided to try and score but stopped halfway there when I realized I had little chance. Rather than get myself into a rundown I decided to just break for home and hope for a bad throw. No such luck. Third out.

My last at-bat I broke my bat on a ground-out to first base. In the field, I lost an infield fly in the sun and never got a glove on it. I also flung myself to the left to try and grab a grounder up the middle, to no avail. I threw one guy out at first, and forced a guy at second on the two ground balls I was able to reach. All in all, I felt good about my effort. Next game: June 5.

Not much else going on. Owen's been having a lot of fun with his birthday presents, including Hullabaloo, a game in which you watch a DVD for instructions for a Twister-type game in which you put your hands and feet on pads placed on the floor. Any parents interested in the game, or anybody else who's confused by my description can go here. For pix from Owen's birthday party, go here.

Thursday, May 25

My baseball team is 2-0 and I've missed both games. I'll play my first game this Sunday morning. I'm looking forward to it but am a little wary of hurting myself. Between my lower back and my ongoing groin muscle strain I've been feeling really old lately. Can't get into an exercise groove. Full report to follow Sunday night or Monday.

Gonna riff a bit on music I've been downloading lately:

6/3/06 Dance Mix by Mike Caulfield -- Mike's throwing a bash on June 3 in Keene and was kind enough to pass along the dance mix portion of his party set. I'm waiting for him to send the song list so I don't know most of what's on there. Some Les Sans Culottes, Smithereens, Franz Ferdinand, Fatboy Slim (or one of his other noms de disco) and The Coup, a rap crew I hipped Mike to.

Free MP3 of Covers & Live Stuff by Deerhoof -- my pal OJ (somebody please use that as a band name) tipped me off to this. If you're a Deerhoof fan and want to hear them cover the Beatles, Canned Heat, My Bloody Valentine, Herman's Hermits and do live versions of good tunes, go here. If you don't know Deerhoof, check it out and give it a few tries. Took me a while to get into this band but it's worth it. They do a lot of cool stuff musically and the lead singer's voice becomes less annoying with time.

Light the Fuse/I Put My Lover Away by Kate Diamond -- I like to think that these guys named themselves in honor of fancy handbag designer Kate Spade, who is in fact David Spade's sister-in-law. Some of the guys in this NYC band used to be in Boston's Chevy Heston. I discovered Chevy Heston too late to see them live. The flipside is that all of their CDs were easy to find for a while in the cheapo bins. Kate Diamond is sunny pop music with a '60s groove going on but with lyrics like, "I said to her go and buy your junk and leave me the fuck alone."

Capture (Back to Me) by Mr. Nogatco -- I've mentioned Mr. Nogatco (aka Kool Keith) here before. I found a few tunes to download and I'm not sure yet whether to buy his new album. I'm not sure whether these songs are what I'll get from the album or not, as they were free from some random place and there's some weird shit thrown in that may or may not be on the album. Interesting stuff about aliens, outer space, conspiracies, etc.

Low Life by New Order -- I have this on vinyl but decided the chances of my ever getting my vinyl digitized before I'm 50 are remote, so I've begun to replace stuff via iTunes. I love this album. I don't have much other New Order stuff, but this is a classic that always make me feel good.

Non-Stop Je Te Plie En Deux by We Are Wolves -- My father-in-law bought this for me for Christmas based on a good review he saw in the Boston Herald (or maybe the Globe) and by listening to a few clips online. I must say he made a damn fine choice. Funky, nasty, rockin' and a more than a little Canadian.

Talking With the Taxman About Poetry by Billy Bragg -- When Beth and I moved from West Roxbury to Newton in 2003 we threw out 90% of our cassette tape collection and made a list. Slowly I've been replacing stuff either on CD or via iTunes. This is the only Billy Bragg album I've owned and I just love it. Good mix of political and personal stuff, solo and band stuff. Heartfelt, poppy, clever. I saw Bragg in 1985 open for Echo & the Bunnymen in West Hartford, CT. Nobody knew who he was then, and people were bummed that scheduled opener the Fleshtones were no-shows, but Bragg quickly won people over, throwing buttons into the crowd, introducing his mate/guitar tech/backup player Wiggy, and singing his heart out.

The Real Folk Blues by Howlin' Wolf -- My father-in-law turned me onto Howlin' Wolf and lots of other blues greats. This is another thing I had on tape. Howlin' Wolf has got the most amazing voice and the musicians backing him up are great. Raw meets polished, power vs. finesse, blues opening up to rock 'n' roll.

We Are the Ones by The Coup -- I forget how I stumbled across this rap crew. They've apparently been around for quite a while, mixing partying with politics. This tune is groovy and features a faux high falutin vocal about livin' in the 'hood. I'll probably have to download more.

Thursday, May 18

Well, I've been lazy, haven't I? The main reason I'm blogging now is that Owen is napping. He stayed home from school today with an unspecified sickness -- sneezing, coughing, general slugginess. He hasn't napped in probably close to two months, so I almost don't know what to do with myself. Anyway...

I'm listening to the newly downloaded "Big Heart" from the Lounge Lizards' Live in Tokyo. I chose not to grab the whole album from iTunes because I dig this song so much I just wasn't interested in the rest. I saw the band a long time ago at Nightstage in Cambridge and thought they were great. I believe my buddy Pete turned me on to the Lounge Lizards, although I already knew of lead man John Lurie through one of my favorite college-era movies, "Stranger Than Paradise." I recall that at Nightstage Lurie gave a free-form reading from Larry Bird's autobiography, "Drive," in which eventually he had Bird questioning his sexuality because he had gotten so much pleasure from smacking his teammates' butts during and after games. Funny. I may also download the band's No Pain for Cakes; I owned it on cassette and recently found my list of cassettes that Beth and I threw out when we moved out of West Roxbury, and am going through the list to see what stuff I want to own again. Fun process. I took forever to get an iPod, but, as I figured, I love it. Just hooked up a car adaptor so I can bring all my stuff on the road. A Luddite can change.

I went down to CT last weekend to help my parents with their yard sale, and to take stuff to the dump. They are in the middle of getting their house ready to put on the market, in advance of their move to an "active adult" community in Windsor, CT, by the end of the year. They plan to move to River Town Village, into a one-level house with a two-car garage, sunroom, front porch and a basement. I got a look at a model last weekend, and it's really nice. Hard to get used to the idea of my parents moving after 44 years in the same place. My mom plans to have some sort of last gathering there later this year so we can all say goodbye to the house.

Owen turns 4 on the 23rd so we're having a party for him on Sunday. Should be a lot of fun. There will be a bunch of kids, more than his first three birthdays, so that's good. Here are a few recent pictures of the boy.

Monday, May 8

We got back back from Florida around 3:30 yesterday, after a 3-hour flight during which Owen was a real pain in the ass. He had been really well behaved on the flight down, and for most of the time we were in Naples, so we expected the same for our return. I won't dwell on it, but suffice it to say Beth had her hands full (I switched seats with her but she bore the brunt of Owen's misbehavior). We stayed at the Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club, which was really nice: right on the water, great pool with accompanying bar, nice restaurant, a short drive from Old Naples and some even better restaurants. Owen had a lot of fun swimming in the pool and in the ocean (Naples is on the Gulf of Mexico) with me, Beth and her parents.

Beth, Owen and I went in search of alligators at the Naples Zoo, but caught only glimpses of them with their snouts peeking above the water. The zoo was a nice diversion from our routine of pool/ocean/lunch/pool/ocean/dinner. Located only a mile or two inland from the water, the zoo was really hot. I can't imagine being anywhere in Florida later than May 7 because of the heat. As Elaine said on "Seinfeld": "The heat; my god, the heat!"

While I was glad to get away for a short, relaxing vacation, I'm bummed I missed my team's first game. We were supposed to play last Thursday but the game got postponed because of field conditions. So our first game was yesterday. I didn't arrive home until about an hour after the game started, so there was no hope of my making it. I checked my email last night and lo and behold, the team won! The guy who was one of our weakest hitters last year had two hits and at least one RBI. He looked really strong at our last practice, too, so that's a sign of better things ahead, I hope. We don't play again until Wednesday, May 17. I'll be ready. I'm working with a physical therapist at the local YMCA, going to the gym and getting back into running, and right now I'm feeling pretty good. Trying to strengthen my legs and arms, make myself more flexible and avoid injuries this year.

Tuesday, May 2

We're leaving tomorrow for a mini-vacation in Naples, Florida. The weather's supposed to be sunny and temps are gonna be in the mid- to high-80s. Better than the 50s and rainy like it is here now. Beth's parents are flying down separately tomorrow night. We all fly back together Sunday afternoon. Should be a nice trip -- swimming, relaxing, taking Owen on some outdoor adventures.

Owen wasn't crazy about the circus last weekend. He was entertained for a while, but got bored and Beth had to wrestle him to stick it out until the intermission. There wasn't really enough big action for him, and our seats were limited view. He liked riding on the subway, though.

I felt pretty good after baseball practice on Sunday. I stretched a lot before and after, which is key. I've also been running a bit lately and that doesn't bother my groin muscle injury, so that's promising. My team plays its first two games this Thursday and Sunday, and I'm bummed that I'm gonna miss them. A few weeks ago, after our first practice, I figured I might not be able to play in games for a while, but right now I feel like I can play. I started physical therapy today (again), several weeks after I finished six weeks prescribed by my orthopedist. I'm working with a group that operates out of the YMCA where I work out. I'm gonna have to pay more, but I'm encouraged after my first session that they know what they're doing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thursday, April 27

Backyard critter update: after my buddy Jay mentioned in an email that he thought the bird pictured on my photos page might be a vulture, I did a little research. I think he's correct. Turkey vultures span North America, so it's conceivable that's what Owen and I saw. The bird we saw didn't have a wattle like a turkey, for instance. And it was in the "horaltic pose," a spread-winged stance they use to dry their wings, warm their bodies and bake off bacteria, according to an over-informative web site I found. Any amateur ornithologists in the house?

In other news, Beth and I are taking Owen to the Big Apple Circus on Saturday. Should be fun. I've never been to a circus. I was supposed to go to Ringling Bros. when I was a kid, but something happened -- I don't recall what -- and we couldn't use the tickets that I believe I won on the radio.

I have my last baseball practice on Sunday. There have only been two other practices, and I missed one. I'll miss our first two games because we're taking a short vacation to Naples, Florida, next week. I hope to be able to play this year without aggravating my groin muscle. I'm gonna start physical therapy/massage therapy/acupuncture/voodoo treatments at the YMCA next week, which I hope helps.

Tuesday, April 25

Owen and I were eating breakfast this morning and as usual I was half reading the paper and half listening to him. He was looking out the window into the backyard while pretending to eat his pancakes (mini frozen ones, not homemade). "There's a bird on the stick," he said. I looked out and saw a robin and figured Owen probably had seen a bird perched on one of our small trees. "There's another bird," he said. "Uh huh," I grunted. Then, after a minute, he asked: "Is that a bird?" I scanned the backyard but didn't see anything at first. Then I looked up at a branch in my neighbor's yard, about 20 feet up, and saw a turkey, as documented in the first two photos on the pix page.

Frankly, I was shocked. "Oh my God," I said. I hurried into the living room to get our camera. I took a few pictures but then realized that in my frenzy I'd forgotten to use the zoom. I went out on the back steps and took a few better shots and then watched in amazement as the the thing took wing and flew low, but fast, through a few backyards and disappeared. Owen was pretty taken by the giant bird, too. When I dropped him off at school this morning I had him tell his teacher what he saw, and he was very excited to let her know. Speaking of turkeys, Owen and I were at the Atrium Mall in Newton yesterday, in the playroom, when I heard a boy call his grandmother a "turkey grandma." Something's in the air.

I continue my quest for different music. I feel like I've been hung up on white-guy alt-rock for too long. Sure, I deviate from that norm once in a while, but I'm getting bored with my collection. I downloaded a Lady Sovereign track recently that's growing on me. I also downloaded "The Seed (2.0)," a Roots track featuring Cody Chesnutt. I'd seen the video a few times and really dug the track, so I used up some of my iTunes gift card dough to buy that track, along with a few white-guy alt-rock classics (Butthole Surfers' "Locust Abortion Technician," The Replacements' "Stink" and Sonic Youth's "Sister") as well as "Down Here," a CD that compiles the only two albums that Crippled Pilgrims ever put out. Yes, I said Crippled Pilgrims. I'm the only guy you've ever heard talk about this '80s "college rock" band, trust me.

I am curious about the latest Kool Keith project, Mr. Nogatco (Octagon backwards; Dr. Octagon is KK's most well known moniker). I own Kool Keith's "Black Elvis" album, which I like, but since it's rather mellow I don't listen all that much. Great lyrics. Keith has set up a great web site for his latest project, which is all about alien abductions, UFOs, alien autopsies, conspiracies and all that. I don't know whether the album will be any good, but certainly I dig the lyrical content.

Tuesday, April 18

I put some new photos up so check them out and come back here. I'll wait.

Jeez, it's about time! What took you so long? Hope you enjoyed the pix. We had a nice Easter, which was kicked off by the annual neighborhood egg hunt. This was the first year Owen took part, and he had fun after a slow start. We went to my in-laws' in the early afternoon to watch the Sox, eat and hang out. Unfortunately, my father-in-law had to go to the emergency room to get a few stitches in his finger. Nothing serious, but not how you want to spend what's supposed to be a relaxing family day.

Beth and I watched "Walk the Line" on Saturday night. I thought Joaquin Phoenix was great, the music was great, the story was great, and Reese Witherspoon was good. I really like her, but she looked too young for the role and I kept thinking, "There's Reese Witherspoon," whereas when Phoenix was on camera I bought him as Johnny Cash. Need to buy some Cash from iTunes.

I took Owen to the Rosebud Diner in Somerville for lunch today. He's on vacation this week and we were out and about running a few errands. He wanted to go for a drive, which he loves because he's totally into directions, street lights, traffic lights, names of streets/towns, etc. We ended up in Davis Square and I figured we might as well go to the Rosebud. I'm glad Owen's at the age where I can take him to a diner and he sits calmly across from me in the booth and eats the food on his plate. What a concept....

Wednesday, April 12

I'm gonna come right out and say it: I'm in danger of becoming readdicted to "Degrassi." Back in the day, my homies in Dover, NH, (Pete, Joe, Foose) and I used to watch "Degrassi Junior High", which, for those of you who don't know, was a Canadian series about, well, junior high students: Spike, Caitlin, Stephanie, Arthur, and of course the guys in Zit Remedy -- Joey Jeremiah, Wheels and Snake, the latter of whom is now a teacher on "Degrassi: The Next Generation". Beth and I watched the second half of this season's opening episode last night, after having watched an episode from last season over the weekend. Normally I don't watch shows or movies about high school kids, but something about "Degrassi" draws me like a magnet. Honestly, I think it's because of the Canadian accent (I'm embarrassed over how many times last night I jokingly put the word "aboot" into somebody's line of dialogue). I've got no other explanation.

We had a good time in Connecticut last weekend. Owen and his cousin, Grace, had fun together. We celebrated my birthday and my sister's; I got some books and gift cards for iTunes, which I'm very happy with. We all spent plenty of time talking with my parents about their plan to move out of the house where they've lived for 44 years, and into a condo in Simsbury. They have put down a deposit on a unit at Hopmeadow Place, which we toured on Sunday. The place is very nice, and in the center of town, close to shops, restaurants, banks, the library, etc., so that's good. I think my parents will enjoy the built-in social life at Hopmeadow Place, which is a 55+ community. It's very strange, however, to think of my parents living anywhere other than 29 Mountain View Road.

Tuesday, April 4

The Red Sox are in first place! I totally spaced out on watching any of the game yesterday, but caught the highlights. Schilling looked strong, Coco Crisp showed the speed, fielding agility and hitting capacity that we've been promised, and new 3rd baseman Mike Lowell had a home run. Keith Foulke had a shaky inning, but with some young arms waiting in the bullpen and the minors, I don't think we'll have to worry about too much more of that. He screws up again -- he's gone!

We're going to CT this weekend to celebrate my birthday and my sister's birthday with my parents, my brother, sister-in-law and niece, who are traveling up from MD. Should be a good time. Owen is sure to have lots of fun with his cousin, Grace, who is 2 1/2.

On the music front, I'm trying to break out of a period of relatively low interest in new music. I've got a running list of things to buy -- some I'll download to iTunes but I'm not giving up on CDs yet -- although I can't think of any of them right now. I'm trying to explore new genres of music. I feel like I buy a lot of stuff that sounds the same, and I'm getting bored with my collection. Part of the problem is that I tend to listen to too many albums that I don't really like, figuring I somehow owe it to the artists simply because their CDs are on my racks. Too often I ignore the stuff I really like. "I listen to that too much," I say to myself, "give somebody else a turn." Anyway, some of the artists I've checked out lately include: 1)Lupe Fiasco, a nerdy, skateboarding rapper from Chicago who hangs with Jay-Z and Kanye West, follows Islam and, like yours truly, is a failed clarinetist. He told SPIN this month that at an early age, "I was listening to classical music and jazz. I wanted to build rocket ships." I gotta say, though, I find his bio more interesting than the two songs I've listened to so far. But I'm gonna listen to more. 2) Lady Sovereign, a 5' 1" white British chick I've been reading about for a while. Based on what I've heard, I'm more likely to buy her stuff than Lupe Fiasco's. I certainly love both of their names.

Wednesday, March 29

I am completely unsurprised about the rising hubbub over Augusten Burroughs' "Running With Scissors," an alleged memoir about time spent with an eccentric doctor and his family in Northampton, MA. I read the book a few years ago, and while I don't remember a lot of specifics, I certainly recall spitting out the words, "That's a bunch of crap!" many times while reading, most often while in the middle of a passage featuring very specific details about conversations and the looks on people's faces, what people were wearing, etc. And while I'm sure some of the details of Burroughs's life (his mother supposedly dropped him off with her therapist one day, and he ended up living there during his teens) during that period are indeed true, if bizarre, a lot of it just seems made-up. Anyway, Burroughs (given name: Chris Robison) isn't talking, but his publisher has already slapped a disclaimer on his upcoming book, indicating that it is not absolute nonfiction.

One last thing. This quote from a bookstore owner in Amherst, MA, really bothers me: "There's a long tradition of putting in stuff that didn't really happen, from `Don Quixote' to `Gulliver's Travels. It's creative nonfiction." As someone who is in the final stages of completing a series of fictional accounts based on real-life events, I can honestly say I would never market as "creative nonfiction" something that is simply truth combined with imagination.

Here's what else is going on. Owen had his first playdate with pals from school yesterday. He and two friends (with their mothers and me) went to a playground for a while before eating pizza at a restaurant in Nonantum, aka The Lake. Owen had a great time, even though he didn't eat much pizza. Tomorrow his school is closed for a professional development day, so I think we're going to the aquarium to look at penguins. He's been really into "Madagascar" lately, which features penguins, among other zoo animals.

My first baseball practice is this Sunday. I'll be there but will keep my activity light, as I'm still dealing with a groin injury. The injury is likely a nerve or cartilage problem, and might be alleviated by a steroid shot, according to my physical therapist. I go back to the orthopedist next Friday, so I'll know more then.

Wednesday, March 22

The Vegas trip went smoothly until the last day. I was supposed to connect through Denver and on to Boston, but my flight out of Denver got cancelled. I never found out why, but I ended up staying overnight and flying out Monday morning in a snowstorm that I worried might result in that flight getting cancelled or delayed just enough to make me miss my new connection through Charlotte. I waited in a line for three hours Sunday in Denver International Airport to find out about other flights, hotel vouchers and whatnot, only to be told they had no record of me being on the flight that was cancelled, so they couldn't offer me a voucher. I still don't know what that was all about. Anyway, on to the good stuff.

I arrived in Vegas about 11:45 local time last Thursday, an hour or so late. After waiting 30 minutes for a taxi, I got to the Treasure Island hotel and casino (let's face it, there really aren't many hotels in Vegas that aren't also casinos) shortly after 12:30 (3:30 EST). Met up with my buddy Andy, his brothers Christian and Adam, and Adam's high-school friends Greg and Kirk. We walked a short distance to the New Frontier, where I played my first-ever game of craps. I managed to win $5 over the course of 2 hours or so, after getting down well below the $100 I started with. The Frontier is going to be torn down soon, replaced with a Trump condo tower. At Andy's suggestion, I pocketed a $1 chip as a memento of a dead casino walking that doubled as the place where I first played craps. We went back to the Frontier on Saturday night, and I won a whopping $26.

I didn't sleep well Thursday night. Going to bed at 4:15 (7:15 EST) didn't help. I was up by 9:00 and took a long walk on the strip, stopping into the Flamingo, hoping to run into Wayne Newton. No luck; I also lost $7 in a slot machine.

We spent a good part of the time on Friday at the Hooters Casino watching March Madness. Honestly. I think the Hooter waitress look -- white tank top tucked into orange shorts, leg-warmer socks and white sneakers -- is unattractive and unflattering. I bet on a basketball game for the first time in my life, and won a whopping $36. That night I went to bed early while everybody else lived it up.

I slept fairly well Friday night, and woke up way before everybody else, so I took another walk on the Strip, stopping to buy t-shirts for Beth and Owen and a hat for myself. That afternoon, Andy I walked to Stratosphere, a hotel tower with thrill rides on top. We had talked about going on these rides before the trip, and were determined to go on at least one. We ended up riding all three. The first one, Big Shot, "catapults riders from the 921-foot high platform up the Tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet. Traveling at 45 miles per hour, riders experience 4G's as they reach the very top, and feel negative G's on the way down," according to the official web site. It was amazing getting shot straight up like that, and getting a bird's-eye view of the city, surrounding desert and the mountains in the distance. An invigorating start. Andy and I bought copies of the picture that gets taken at the top of the ride; I look like I'm passed out, and Andy looks, well, like he's on the can.

Next, we rode X Scream. Again, from the Stratosphere web site: "Shaped like a giant teeter-totter, X Scream is an open vehicle that propels riders head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower and dangles them weightlessly above the Strip before pulling its riders back and over again for more!" A little more frightening than the Big Shot, because you get a look over the side, straight down 860 feet, where everything looks like a toy. The picture of us on this ride is nowhere near as funny as the Big Shot picture, and actually looks fake.

We left Insanity for last. As we waited in line, we talked about how it seemed like the mellowest one, because nobody was screaming as they were on the other two rides. Boy were we wrong. Go here and click on "Video" for an idea of what this is all about. You sit in a Tilt-a-Whirl type ride, but a mechanical arm swings the whole thing out over the edge of the tower. You spin around and the faster you go the steeper the angle gets, so you're eventually staring almost straight down, from almost 900 feet. Neither Andy nor I liked this one, and he kept saying, "OK, it's time for this to stop now!" For a few seconds I felt like I was gonna pass out or puke. Seemed like it went on forever. We were both ecstatic when it ended. I laughed about all the rides afterwards, and am glad I rode them. But I freaked myself out that night thinking about Insanity as I tried to get to sleep.

That night we met up with everybody else and had a great steak and wine dinner at Bally's. Later, Andy, Christian and I cruised through the unbelievably ostentatious Wynn casino. We finished up at the Frontier.

So that's it in a nutshell. Beth had to take an extra day off because of my return flight debacle. She got to spend some extra time with Owen, which she enjoyed. But I think she was glad to get back into her routine, as was I.

Tuesday, March 14

Two days until I head to Vegas. I'm going with my buddy Andy, his two brothers and two other guys. My first visit -- should be an adventure. Details to come next week.

Beth and I took Owen to Watch City Brewery for dinner Sunday, which is a family-friendly night. We met our friends Nuala and Sam and their kids, Madelyn and William. It was nice to sit and have a beer and a burger while the kids could run free, play with toys and just make a mess without having to worry about it. If you're in the Waltham area on a Sunday night and have kids, think about stopping in.

Tuesday, March 7

Today marks one year since my childhood friend Bene died. I can't believe it's been that long. Beth and I went to his memorial mass on Sunday, and then hung out with his widow, Stacy, and some of her family and friends. Stacy's doing as well as she can do, I believe. She's a strong woman, a great mother and a treasured friend.

The latest (C)rock Story is here. I'm not totally happy with it, but it's been sitting around for a while, so I put it up. I suspect I'll change some things before I put it in my book. Anyway, read and enjoy.

Thursday, March 2

Beth and I are partying like it's 2001 now that we bought (gasp!) an iPod. We bought it a week and a half ago, and while it hasn't changed our lives, it has filled our lives with more rock and roll. We had a CD player mounted under a cabinet in the kitchen before that has gone the way of the dodo now that we're rockin' a JBL speaker/charger unit for the iPod. We're way behind the curve on this, as usual, which is my fault. My Webnoize pals had iPods and other MP3 players before we all got canned in November '01. Better late than never.

While I love the iPod and buying and downloading music via iTunes, I still dig going to record stores to look for CDs. As such, I went to Strawberries in the Watertown Mall today. I hate going there, but I was in the mall for another reason and had time to kill before picking up Owen at school, so figured I'd check out some music. I bought the Lynnfield Pioneers' Free Popcorn, which mixes funk, psychedelia and rock in a pleasant stew. I also grabbed Mogwai's Come On Die Young, which Allmusic.com gives a lukewarm review, as I just found out. Oh well, I bought it used, just like the others: Sons and Daughters' Love the Cup, which I've already listened to and like; and the Fugs' First Album, which I've honestly almost bought a dozen times. Final tally: 26 bucks and change. Not bad for Strawberries.

Tuesday, February 28

I'm rockin' the wireless and I haven't updated in 2 weeks? Boy, am I lame. Probably because I spent so much time watching the Olympics and "Skating with the Has-Beens" and "Noddy" that I just didn't have time to update the world on my doings. Anyway....Beth is incredibly sick today with some sort of stomach virus. She started illin' around 2:00 this morning and at press time (8:30 p.m.) she's still making regular trips to the bathroom to puke. 'Nuff said.

Owen and I, knock on wood, are in fine health. For the first time today I took him to a playspace run by the city of Newton that's right around the corner from our house. He had a good time, so we'll surely go again. He's happy to be back in school, although yesterday he was a little kooky. Last week was vacation week. We had a pretty good time; one highlight was the imaginatively monikered Kids Playground in Woburn, where we spent 3 1/2 hours (including lunch).

On the baseball front, my team has jumped leagues, to the Boston Amateur Baseball League. Worse web site, but supposedly a better league than the Boston Men's Baseball League. The new league is 45+, but they've grandsonned me in. All pitchers have to be at least 48, but we may get a break on that, too. Today I started physical therapy for my ongoing groin muscle strain. I was encouraged by the session. The therapist thinks my lower back may be aggravating my condition, so he plans on working with me to strengthen my legs and back and work on flexibility for those areas. He said he thinks that I could see positive results in a month, and that playing baseball within the next few months is within the realm of possibility.

Not much else new around here. We're going to CT this weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. We'll also be going to my friend Bene's memorial mass on Sunday. I can't believe it's been almost a year since he died. Really can't believe it.

Tuesday, February 14

Having dug ourselves out from under the 15-18 inches of snow we got on Sunday, I took Owen sledding yesterday. He wasn't that into it, so afterwards we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Lots of giant snow drifts for him to conquer. Since he didn't have school yesterday, I took him into Boston to see "Curious George." We made it through a bunch of loud, annoying previews and maybe 25 minutes of the movie and then he wanted to go. Oh well.

This morning was Owen's theatrical debut at school. His class performed "The Mitten", with the teacher reading and the kids acting as different animals. Owen was a bear. The whole production lasted perhaps 3 minutes, and was very cute. Unfortunately, I discovered too late that the batteries in my digital camera were dead, so I have no pictures to post. Owen was very excited, because Beth and I were both there to watch, alongside almost all of the other parents.

Thursday, February 9

The Branca show last Saturday was really cool...and loud and dissonant and powerful. Approximately 80 guitarists, 20 bassists and one drummer -- Wharton Tiers, who has pounded for Laurie Anderson, Glenn Branca and others over the last three decades, and produced artists including Sonic Youth and Dinosaur, Jr. and done music for Priceline.com commercials featuring William Shatner -- worked their way through four movements over the course of approximately 80 minutes. While not something I'd ever listen to on CD, "Hallucination Symphony 13" was great to watch live. Just like any symphony, the musicians were broken into alto, tenor, bass and baritone sections. I enjoyed watching to see which guitarists got lost during the performance, and wondered which ones were playing the wrong notes. Mark told us afterward that he played some wrong notes, but that the composition was designed to allow for mistakes and people dropping out when they got lost. The most amazing parts of the piece, as you can imagine, were when everybody kicked in at once. The sound practically knocked people on their asses. There's a possibility of Branca releasing the performance on a CD, so if you're interested, you can keep on eye on his site.

I had a great time on the trip down and back up, catching up with Jim and Ken. I will warn my readers, however, that once again there's talk afoot of a Toastmen reunion. Probably some time in early '07, to mark 20 years since our last gig. Don't hold your breath. We've talked about this before, as some of you know. But we might as well cash in now, just like all the other big bands of the '80s.

My parents were in town the past three days. My dad was taking part in interviewing divinity school students who are considering the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Unfortunately, he didn't get to spend anywhere near as much time with Owen as my mom did. She really had a great time with Owen, and vice versa.

We're going to CT this weekend for the funeral of my friend Steve's mother. She was one of the nicest people I ever knew, and funny too. Steve and I have known each other since grade school, and hung out and did a lot of stupid stuff in high school. I learned from her obituary that she was a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She was a very talented artist and a great mom and grandmother, as well.

We'll be back Saturday night, before the snow falls, I hope.

Friday, February 3

I'm going to Montclair, New Jersey, tomorrow to see my friend Mark from college play with Glenn Branca in the Hallucination City: Symphony 13 for 100 Guitars extravaganza. I'm really looking forward to this performance. Mark has played with Branca before (as have luminaries including Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth and Page Hamilton of Helmet), and even invited me to play if I had the desire. Seeing as I haven't touched my guitar in months, I declined. I see on Branca's web site, however, that he's still looking for two bass players for Saturday's show. I'm traveling down with my buddies Jim and Ken. The journey should be as much fun as the event. Details to come next week.

Monday, January 30

Welcome to my first wireless update. Is it awesome yet?

We took Owen skating for the first time yesterday. He had a blast. He went around the big rink at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline several times, with one person holding each of his arms so he wouldn't fall down. He also went around the kiddie rink a bunch of times, a few of them while either sitting on or pushing some milk crates (for balance). Beth has a hard time skating due to the fact that the leg she broke in junior high school is bent, so she took pictures. Her sister, Megan, and brother-in-law, Todd, joined us. That was good, because if I tried to skate with Owen by myself we would have fallen down a lot. Here are some of the pictures.

I hadn't skated in nearly 20 years, but I felt pretty confident. Confident enough that I fell down once and almost wiped out a few other times. But I like skating, and plan to take Owen as often as he'd like to go.

Carry on, my wayward sons and daughters.

Thursday, January 26

Well, I did it. I went out and bought an iBook G4 on Tuesday. It's sleek and white, fast as hell and easy to use. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get it to wirelessly access the Internet yet. I've set up my AirPport Extreme and synced that up with my cable modem (I think) but apparently I need some info from Comcast about my modem and account. Once I get that done then I can make this site look a little better, I think, since my browser will be more compatible with the publishing system. Try not to get too excited....

Next will be, gasp, an iPod!

Shifting gears, I'm a little afraid of Hamas becoming the majority party of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel as part of its platform. It's bad enough that Iran is calling for the same thing, but to have a group within Israel's borders crazy for blood is frightening. Of course, Hamas has been around a long time, but they had no official power, although their followers are legendary for their allegiance to the cause. I won't say much more, because I'm ignorant of the situation. But a war in Israel would be catastrophic.

Big noise on the domestic front: Owen is (mostly) potty trained. We've been pushing it a lot harder lately, and his teachers at school have been, too. He has had only one accident this week, and that was when he was taking a rest in his bed for about an hour. Of course, he's only trained for good ol' No. 1; No. 2's gonna be a messier story.

Monday, January 23

First, check out new action photos of Owen on his sled. These are from a few weeks ago; I hope to get him out this week, too.

Went out Saturday night with Webnoize pals OJ, Jay and Steve, who, by some miracle, doesn't have a blog. He's even older school than I am. We went to the Miracle of Science in Cambridge, our usual gathering place for our occasional powwows. Fun as always. I spent a fair amount of time talking to OJ's wife, Amy, about television, and our local fake news, aka WB56's 10 o'clock newscast.

Not much else going on, other than intense potty training for the O-Dawg. He's getting the hang out of, no pun intended. Carry on.

Wednesday, January 18

I had mucho problemos yesterday (Wed.) getting this published. First, I got booted out of the hosting site's publishing system because I spent too much time typing without saving, apparently. Then my browser crashed. Finally, when I got everything where I wanted it (the second time) the hosting site was unavailable for some reason. A conspiracy, for sure.

Anyway, I swore I wasn't going to watch "24" this season, for no particular reason other than to avoid my wife's ridicule. Seems just about every Monday night during last year's run of the show, Beth would mutter something about how she couldn't believe I was watching "24," how ridiculous it was, etc. So this past Monday night I was in the basement checking email, surfing the InterWeb, blah blah blah when I hear a voice call down the stairs, "I'm watching '24' upstairs." Well, I know it can't be Beth, because she doesn't like the show (but here's a secret: she does). "I'm not watching it this year," I proclaim. "Okay," she says, "Just wanted to let you know it's on." So 2 minutes later I'm in front of the tube watching, and there I sat for the next 90 minutes. And just like that I'm sucked back in.

"It's really good," Beth says to me. "It's always good," I reply smugly. "I've got two words for you: mountain lion," is her response. "No show can be great for an entire season," I counter, remembering the foolishness two seasons ago when Jack Bauer's daughter confronts a mountain lion and somehow doesn't get killed. Anyway, the show is intense and often deserves open mocking, but we like it.

Early this morning when I was supposed to be writing the latest (C)rock Story I instead got wrapped up in a web search I think all of my readers will enjoy (yes, both of you!). I was writing, but in the course of doing so thought of a guy I hadn't thought of in a long time, a guy who won't appear in the story but who has tangential relations to it. His name is Andy Libert, and he was a drummer for one-time Connecticut hardcore mainstays Chronic Disorder, who, I just learned via another search, still exist, albeit in Seattle now.

Libert moved to Texas several years ago and was in a band called Echo Drain (I don't get it, either), which in 2002 sued Echobrain, a band that featured one-time Metallica bassist Jason Newsted (although he didn't stick around long) for trademark infringement. Long story short (since I don't want to retype everything) Echo Drain (I still don't get it) claimed Echobrain was trying to piggyback on the suceess of Echo Drain, and thereby confusing fans, who thought Echo Drain (nope, not yet) had stolen their moniker from Echobrain, which wasn't true.

Echo Drain's suit got tossed, with a court more or less saying that Echo Drain (I got nothin') only had an impact in the Greater Dallas-Forth Worth area, and thereby couldn't claim a band from outside that area was causing harm. People flamed the band at its site, apparently (I'm taking the Internet's word for it, 'cause the band has obviously broken up). (BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: I published this and did a search for more info. Apparently, Echobrain registered some "Echo Drain" web domains. Read more about it here, and then scroll down to read lots of harsh comments.

Small-world footnote: my sister-in-law, Megan, works with Libert's sister, who goes by what she says is the family's original name, Liberty. I knew Andy Libert briefly when he lived in Simsbury and hung out with a kid in my neighborhood. My buddy John married Libert's former girlfriend and mother of his child back in the early '90s. I haven't heard from John in years but I assume he's still married.

Saturday, January 14

I'm back on the vinyl tip. Today I'm pairing singles by Adam and the Ants and the Boomtown Rats. I have never been big into 10" or 12" records, because you don't get much on them. Well, obviously you can get rare tracks, or live stuff or alternate versions, but I'm not that much of a collector that I have ever sought them out.

Why did I like early-era MTV stalwart Adam Ant? Not because of the pirate outfits or makeup or his insouciance, that's for sure. I've always been a music guy, not a lyrics guy, so it really came down to the tribal beats and catchy tunes, I guess. I liked "Antmusic," which is the single I own, and "Don't Be Square (Be There)" is pretty good, too. But I really liked "Stand and Deliver," "Dog Eat Dog" and "Kings of the Wild Frontier." Due to my odd record-shopping habits, though, rather than seek out the singles or albums featuring tunes I like, I often buy stuff by favorite artists that may be unfamiliar to me. Just hoping that, you know, maybe it will be as good as the songs I've heard that I already know I like. Now, I'm not a complete idiot. If I find something that I know I already like, of course I buy it. But failing that, I'll take a risk. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes not.

As for the Boomtown Rats, again I was never a big fan of anything other than what I heard on the radio or saw on the MTV. I liked "Up All Night" enough, however, to pick up the 12" when I saw it in Capitol Records in Hartford, which I don't think exists any more. Because I watched so much MTV in those days (the Jurassic Age) I got influenced to buy stuff that if I'd simply heard on the radio I might not have. I have vague recollections of the "Up All Night" video and remember that I thought it was cool. Anyway, I still like the song. The flip side features "Mood Mambo," a bongo-heavy tune that I don't really dig, and "Banana Republic," a reggae-influenced number that I do. The best thing about the Rats was Johnnie Fingers, their pajama-wearing keyboard player.

That's all. Time to go to a Patriots-watchin' party.

Tuesday, January 10

The latest (C)rock Story is available here. I plan to write two more and close out the series in anticipation of self-publishing a collection and then moving on to a novel. And on to more freelance work.

Beth and I have been watching "Country Boys," a documentary on PBS about two teenage boys in Kentucky and their trials and tribulations. One is really smart and nice, but is the son of an alcoholic and lives in a trailer with his family, who are pretty poor. The other kid is a self-described "high class" guy, but the rest of us would call him middle class. He's got a messed up life: his mother committed suicide and then his dad shot his new wife and then killed himself. It's riveting. Runs tonight and tomorrow from 9-11 p.m. I like it so much that I'm foregoing "Scrubs" tonight. But we have to watch "Lost" tomorrow, so we'll only catch the last hour of "Country Boys."

I'm listening to We Are Wolves' Non-Stop, a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. They are not wolves, but they are Canadian, and play electro-funky-noise stuff that sometimes sounds like Nine Inch Nails and sometimes like Canada.

Thursday, January 5

So, Hasil Adkins' Out to Hunch:

I listened to it yesterday while de-trimming (untrimming?) our Christmas tree, and had plenty of good yuks. The record starts out with "She Said," which The Cramps covered a few decades ago. Adkins wrote it and certainly does it better: raw, psychotic, caveman rock comin' out of West Virginia (if you don't know about Hasil Adkins, read this). Other Side 1 highlights (who talks about "sides" of music any more except me and your grandfather?) include "Chicken Walk" and "We Got a Date," the latter of which is all about Adkins' need to cut a woman's head off on their date (Enlightened? No. Funny as hell? Yes!). His yowling in this song is primal, and if you were to tell me he was sober when he did it I'd slap you and call you a liar.

Side 2 features "The Hunch," a song about, well, you can probably guess. Also, another song about decapitation -- "I Need Your Head (This Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Show)". There are two covers on this album -- "Rockin' Robin" and Chuck Berry's "Memphis" --that I could do without. Overall, though, this album is sick, evil, grungy, funny, gutbucket rock and roll that you just don't find any more.

I saw Hasil (pronounced "Hassil" according to his web site, although I've always called him "Hazel" and probably still will) perform several years ago at the original House of Blues in Cambridge (R.I.P.) on a bill with other Fat Possum acts including T Model Ford. Hasil looked pretty much like this and was totally awesome, sitting behind a drum set, kicking the bass while bashing his guitar, and every so often smashing a cymbal with this axe. God rest his soul, along with his fellow Mountain Staters, the 12 miners who died earlier this week.

Tuesday, January 3

Happy New Year! There, that's the last time I'll have to do that until next year.

Beth, Owen and I had a great Christmas. Owen got plenty of toys, books and clothes (see the photo page); Beth and I kept it simple this year because we plan to buy a laptop and, gasp, an iPod, in the near future. I got some great books and CDs as well as shirts, pants, etc.

As I write this I'm counting down until this year's delayed debut of one of my favorite shows, "Scrubs" (1 hour, 45 minutes). I don't understand why NBC couldn't put this show on earlier in the season. I'm glad they gave "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" the chance to snag audiences; I love both shows. But for god's sake, please NBC, kill off "Joey" and "Will and Grace." And don't bother to debut "Four Kings" because it looks moronic. Hire more people like the ones who are creating "Scrubs," "Earl" and "The Office." Please!

New Year's Eve was fun. We went to Jim and Nikki's for dinner. It was good to catch up with them and some of the other folks who were there. And to see their adorable daughter, Sophia (I've put a picture of Sophia on the photo page. This is a DaveBrigham.com first: a solo shot of somebody else's kid. She's that cute!).

My quest to begin listening to my LP's has begun, albeit slowly. I spun "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the music side, not the story side) and it sounded pretty good. The turntable needs tweaking, but works OK once it gets warmed up. Next up on the wheel of steel: Hasil Adkins' "Out to Hunch."

Today I finished "The Da Vinci Code," which I'd managed to ignore despite all the Oprah-related hype when it came out. My dad lent it to me at Thanksgiving, so I figured I'd better get through it. I liked it a lot, more than I figured I would. I'm a sucker for mysteries that relate to ancient times, secret societies and the undermining of religion. I look forward to the movie.

Wednesday, December 21

I'm listening to Christmas With the Rat Pack to cheer myself up after learning that the Red Sox let Johnny Damon go to the Evil Empire. This really hurts. I thought the Sox owners and management were smarter than this. But then again how intelligent is a team without a general manager? Of course, I was upset when the Sox got rid of Nomar a year and a half ago, and we all know how that season turned out. But Nomar was damaged goods (although I'm sure glad he didn't end up on the Yankees, too), whereas Johnny is the best leadoff hitter in the league (just ask him). Sure, he's had some injuries and he throws like he's got a bocce ball in his hand, but he's a great player. Maybe my dad is right: once he cuts his hair and beard he'll lose all his talent.

In positive news, my old pal Pete has a new band, Hateful Little Cakes, which is markedly different from his old combo, Humpmuscle. Check out their tune "Hey Brother." They have an album out, according to the Internet.

Finally, I think the solution for the whole "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas" conundrum lies in wishing people a "Fantastic Festivus!

Thursday, December 15

I can't believe Christmas is 10 days away. I've bought a few things, but still have plenty of shopping to do. Beth and I are exchanging donations with my family this year, along with a few token gifts, so that cuts down on some time at the mall. I love Christmas but find that each year I really don't care about getting presents. I like to shop for people, Owen especially, and I have a good time buying Xmas CD's and putting up lights, etc. And of course being with family, and naturally eating and drinking more than my fair share, is enjoyable too. Here's hoping my faithful readers (you both know who you are) have a Merry Christmas and or Happy Hannukah and or Festive Kwanzaa or Terrific Festivus and a Happy New Year!

I've bookmarked Ricky Jay's World Wide Website. He likes to call himself a sleight-of-hand artist, but he's got a whole lot more than that going on. I remember seeing him on an episodeof "The X-Files" several years ago; he's also appeared in several David Mamet films, as well as "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and "Tomorrow Never Dies." The reason I bookmarked his site is because I came across a copy of his new book, "Extraordinary Exhibitions: The Wonderful Remains of an Enormous Head, The Whimsiphusicon & Death to the Savage Unitarians," which presents "an informal look at sensational, scientific, satisfying, silly and startling attractions based on 17th, 18th and 19th century playbills from" his collection. I've added that to my Christmas list.

In other news related to dust-gathering technologies, I've returned my turntable to its rightful place in the entertainment center. For some reason, when we moved in here two years ago I didn't hook it up, figuring I wouldn't listen to my LP's very much. Well, I decided that with the holiday season upon us I needed to listen to my "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" vinyl, so I've hooked the sytem back up. It's not great -- I rescued the unit from a former coworker's trash 15 or 16 years ago. Who knows how old it was before she decided to deep-six it. Anyway, I hope to start making my way through the collection and writing on occasion about my rediscovery process.

Later....

Wednesday, December 7

Not much going on. Work continues on the latest (C)rock story. It's been really cold here lately so Owen and I haven't gotten outside much. Yesterday's snow storm didn't materialize here, but the forecasters are saying we could get one on Friday.

Enjoy some new pictures of Owen at the photo page.

Wednesday, November 30

Beth's away for a few days, so here I sit at 10:30 at night listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and playing catch-up. We had a good Thanksgiving. Went down to my parents' house in CT and hung out with them, my sister and my brother, sister-in-law and niece, Grace. She and Owen had a good time together, especially on Saturday when they were dancing with my dad and bouncing around on the couch with him and my mom. I also took Owen to a party on Friday at my friend Stacy's house. He had a good time with the kids there, although some of them were older and bit rowdy. I got to hang out with some high school pals while Beth was back home at her 20th high school reunion.

I have gotten a little more feedback on the latest (C)rock story, which I appreciate. Turns out that not one but two women have admitted to closing their eyes and/or swaying while listening to The Church. I'm sure there are others out there.

I plan to write three more (C)rocks -- one relating to Fugazi, one to the Meat Puppets and one to some characters I saw on a road trip to New Orleans in '88 -- and then get things ready for on-demand publishing via the so-called Information Superhighway.

The last story in the series will tie in to my novel-in-progress, which is more like a novel-not-in-progress right now, but that's OK.

I'm not sure whether I've mentioned the Museum of Hoaxes web site before, but they've taken on the question that's on every dogie puncher's lips: what's up with the giant cowgirl? In the process of making sure I had the right term in "dogie puncher" I found this great site. I learned that "chaps" is pronounced "shaps". I won't say it that way, but at least I'll know I'm wrong.

Onward to December!

Tuesday, November 22

Just a quick entry before the looooong weekend, which starts tomorrow. We're going to CT to visit with my family, which I'm looking forward to. Owen will get to see his cousin, Grace, which will surely be entertaining for everybody. I'm also looking forward to seeing some friends on Friday night, which will give Owen an opportunity to run around with a bunch of kids, most of them a little older, which he will surely also enjoy.

Went out last Friday night to the Miracle of Science in Cambridge to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Black Friday, the day the axe fell at Webnoize. Good times, such as those that were made for Lowenbrau.

If anybody actually reads this and hasn't read the latest (C)rock story, please do so and give me your feedback. If you've read it already then get off your keister and let me know what you think, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 15

The new (C)rock Story is up. I find it hard to believe, but I posted the previous one 5 months ago! The new one is the longest I've written, but I really like it. Hope you do, too.

Sunday, November 13

Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Not much has been going on, but here's the lowdown on a few things.

I went to CT last weekend to see my dad in a play, "The Boys Next Door." The story is a bittersweet tale of men in a group home, their caretaker, neighbors and families. The play is both humorous and dramatic, and all of the performances were really good. My dad had a small part, playing a complete bastard. He was the father of one of the group home residents and had a memorable 5 minutes on stage. I hadn't seen him in a play in a while, so I was glad I went down. My brother flew up from MD and we went with my mom, sister and a few cousins.

Owen didn't have school on Veteran's Day so I took him to the Children's Museum in Boston. I knew it was gonna be mobbed because a) it was a holiday and b) it was the opening of some "Nutcracker" preview. Despite the 30-minute wait to get in, we had a great time. However, our trip to Friendly's afterwards wasn't worth it. I never should have forsaken Cabot's, our favorite restaurant.

This weekend was gorgeous, so we all got out as much as we could. We took Owen to Gore Place in Waltham yesterday to see farm animals and wander around the grounds. Owen had a blast climbing up huge piles of leaves. His Aunt Megan and Uncle Todd came along, too, and then joined us at our house later for a rousing round of Balderdash, which is fun when you drink wine and watch VH1 Classic.

Today the three of us went to Stonehurst in Waltham to walk on the nature trails and wander the grounds. That's where Beth and I got married.

Yeah, that's it.

Tuesday, November 1

There's new stuff on the photos page. Come back later for more words.

Tuesday, October 25

I was copy-editing a Junkmedia article today and I had to find out the name of the bass player in Redd Kross, which, it turns out, the writer had gotten wrong, as I suspected. I go to the band's site and get the correct name. Then I decide I have to check out the link to "Bitchin' Ass." No, it's not what you think; it's a series of short video clips, featuring said bass player (Steve McDonald), his fellow bandmate and brother, Jeff, and some other folks. It's billed as "a heavy headed psychedelic sitcom" and it's amusing. I've only watched two of the six episodes, but my favorite part so far is when a girl who looks to be about six or seven tells Steve McD, "I used to be so into Brian Jones" as she tries to help him find a newer, hipper wardrobe.

Hung out with some of the old Webnoize crew Saturday night at the fantastic Redbone's. Drank some beer, ate some ribs, got hassled by the waitress -- all while Beth was home with an inconsolable Owen. Ooops!

Wednesday, October 19

Nearly three weeks ago I announced to my vast readership that I'm working on a novel, and true to form, I've done very little with it since then. I got back into the groove a bit with it yesterday. I'll leave you just one tidbit: buffalo coat.

More immediately I started working on the latest (C)rock story today, one that's been in my head a while and which I hope will be relatively quick and easy to write, since I know the masses are hungry. I think there will be two more after that one, and then I start the process of self-publishing.

On the music front, I bought some rekkid albums today:

Mike Watt's Contemplating the Engine Room: I like the cut of Watt's jib. I have only scattered Minutemen and fIREHOSE albums, but I dig what I've got. I saw the 'hose play a million years ago -- actually it was probably Oct. 1988 according to Watt tribute site sidemouse.com -- and just loved the way he played the bass and interacted with the crowd. I'm listening to the album as I type and me likey.

Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited: For a long time I thought Bob Dylan was simply a talented folk singer who looked like my friend Pete "Humpmuscle Pete" Duchesne. I like a lot of Dylan's music, but until today the only bit of it I owned was the LP of Self Portrait, which I picked up at a bazaar at the nursing home where my mother-in-law works. Turns out the album, which I bought for a quarter, used to belong to my father-in-law, but he thought it was crappy so he donated it for the fundraising sale. Anyway, with all the talk about Dylan lately I figured I ought to buy one of his classics.

Cracktorch's Tonight the City: I love Cracktorch, and shed a figurative tear when I heard they had broken up. Anyway, I haven't listened to this, but surely it rocks most steadfastly. Let's find out: what a surprise -- I was right!

Broken Social Scene's self-titled new album. I really dig You Forgot It In People but was disappointed with Feel Good Lost. Here's hoping the new one is spongeworthy.

The Kingsbury Manx'sThe Fast Rise and Fall of the South: I bought this because Junkmedia told me to. Well, actually it was this sentence in their review: "There's a delicacy to the crisp acoustic guitars and intricate vocal harmonies, but there are occasional bursts of furious electricity that will rouse any listener out of his or her reverie." I'm hoping that by drinking the blood of new music I will stay young and hip forever.

Deerhoof's The Runners Four: Not sure what to make of this one yet. Childlike singing, interesting music, attractive album art. Who knows?

Thursday, October 13

Sometimes I worry that my sole purpose in life is to point out stuff like this online. I'm not a big fan of snakes or of idiotic action movies, but if that flick was called "Snakehandlers On a Plane," I'd go see it in a second.

Not much else new around here. Just hoping to see the sun before Christmas.

Monday, October 10

I stumbled across the Jesus of the Week site today while searching for cool t-shirts to buy. I really got a kick out of it -- this is my favorite one so far, primarily because I wrote a song called "Jesus on a Dorito" back in the Toastmen days. Back then people just ate food with religious figures on them; nowadays folks sell them on eBay.

Anyway...the Sox were so lame against the White Sox, but the better team definitely won. I like the cut of the White Sox' collective jib, and plan to root for them as long as they're around in the playoffs.

Beth and I took Owen bowling for the first time over the weekend. We got him to roll the ball down the lane a few times, but he turned out to be much more interested in the arcade, especially the car-driving games where you sit in a seat and spin the wheel, stomp on the gas and shift the gears. Also, he seemed to like the "Sopranos" pinball game. Well, not really.

I'm all outta ideas.

Tuesday, October 4

I'm not going to write about the Red Sox today.

More new photos today.

Not much to write about. I'm reading "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America" by Thomas Frank, which I've meaning to pick up since last year's election. I'm only a few chapters in, but finding it fascinating, this telling of how blue-collar people who were traditionally pro-union Democrats who wanted to stick it to the Man have turned, in Kansas and across the country, in culture warriors who support politicians who are screwing them financially but are smart enough to be anti-choice and anti-gay and that seems to be enough for these voters. Eye-opening, but depressing as hell.

On a (barely) lighter note, I also recently bought Chuck Klosterman's "Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story," in which he drives cross country visiting the death sites of people ranging from Kurt Cobain to Buddy Holly, as well as the Rhode Island club where 100 Great White fans died. I haven't cracked it yet, but I'm sure there's plenty of Klosterman's trademark humor amid the, you know, depressing stuff.

I'm listening to Explosions In the Sky's Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die album right now, and it's really, really good. That is all.

Friday, September 30

I've added some stuff to the photos page. I bought Beth a digital camera for her birthday, so now we can take much better photos and I hope to post stuff there more often.

Despite my best intentions, I believe I am working on a novel. I started what I thought was going to be the latest (C)rock story a while ago, but just yesterday as I was driving around I realized that I wanted to do a lot more with this idea, and that I was going to exceed my self-imposed word limit by doing so. I hate to admit that I'm working on a novel, because I have a horrible track record in going long. I've begun a few novels before, and never finished them, so I know I have to work against that history in order to finish this one. I've got a long way to go, but I really want to get this one done. Stay tuned.

Now for the Red Sox. After 159 games and a one-time 5-game lead, it's all come down to the last weekend of the year. Of course. Last night's game had me alternately throwing in the towel and whooping it up. I'm a terrible fan sometimes, I'll admit, but that's because I use negativity to protect my sanity. They never make it easy! Anyway, I was puzzled about why the White Sox have clinched a playoff spot, even though they have a 3-game lead over the Indians with 3 games to play, against each other. Here's the answer, from MLB.com:

The reason the White Sox and Indians wouldn't play a one-game playoff is because, with the Red Sox and Yankees playing each other this weekend, one team would be guaranteed to finish out of the playoffs if the Indians swept the White Sox. And in instances in which teams are guaranteed to make the playoffs, MLB does not use a one-game playoff, instead relying on head-to-head matchups to break the tie.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Tuesday, September 27

Under the heading of "Only in Harvard Square": I went there last Friday to buy CDs at Newbury Comics (I bought Mono's Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined, The Police's Zenyatta Mondatta, Bellini's Small Stones, Killing Joke's The Unperverted Pantomime? and Kinski's Alpine Static) and passed by a place called Papercut 'Zine Library. I had to stop in. I found exactly what I figured I would: a single-room lending library (staffed by requisite goth/punk woman with semi-Mohawk and unshaved legs) stocked with 'zines of all sorts. "Personal," "Humor," "Sports," "Transgender," "Music," "Political," etc. I even got a library card and took out two publications. "Hic Jacet," which, according to the Dictionary of Difficult Words, means "here lies," was published by Black Ocean. It's a short memoir written by a guy who spent some time working for a Boston funeral home. I found his descriptions of dead bodies and trips into homes to retrieve corpses to be fascinating and somewhat gruesome. The book is well written and something I read while hanging out in the basement with Owen and surfing the Web.

The other book, "The Watermark, Volume XII," is a publication from UMass Boston filled with fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photos and artwork by students and alumni. Interesting coincidence: one of the short stories is the Chet Frederick Fiction Award Winner, Mr. F being a friend of my in-laws who has published a few novels and story collections. Later on that day I was at my in-laws' house when my father-in-law took out a copy-shop box and told me it contained Chet's upcoming novel, which my f-i-l will read before its publication.

OK, now I have to do some deep-breathing exercises to get ready for today's Sox doubleheader.

Thursday, September 22

I just don't know what to think about the Red Sox. With 10 games to go, they seem to be running out of gas. Injuries, dead bats, weak relief, spotty starting pitching, you name it, they're afflicted by it at one time or another. I hope today's off-day allows them to regroup and get ready to fight for the division title.

Owen's having a great time back at school. He comes home with paint in his hair and tells us about playing with scooters and basketballs in gym class, and about who he chased on the playground.

As for me, I'm trying to pick up writing work. I've been pitching an idea to various people affiliated with Greater Boston's Community Newspaper Corp., publisher of various weekly TAB newspapers, as well as the MetroWest Daily and others, to no avail. They don't have freelance budgets. And of course the Globe is laying people off, so there are hard times for newpaper people. I've also pitched some stuff to a new arts publication based in New Mexico that will distribute to several Western states, as well as online. Most likely, though, the next thing I write will be for the Society for Commercial Archeology's newsletter, which is slated to publish a short article I wrote over the summer.

Big doings this Sunday: Beth and I are taking Owen to Edaville USA in South Carver, MA, along with some friends and their two kids. We'll all get a chance to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine and meet characters from the book/TV show, which is one of Owen's favorites (or at least was when we bought the tix online). There are other amusements there, so should be a good time. Then, later in the afternoon, it's our neighborhood's annual block party. This neighborof ours was there last year; I imagine he'll show up this year, too.

Friday, September 16

First off, thanks to my pal OJ (listen to what I'm saying: use those last three words as a band name and you can't go wrong) for hipping me to Japan's Mono, who are similar to two of my faves, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor , in that they play epic rock songs that start slowly and beautifully and end in a cacophonous rush of passionate insanity. Mono is touring with Bellini, a band whose members hail from Austin, Texas, NYC and Catania, Italy, that I've just discovered as well. They're coming to TT's in Cambridge in October, and I plan to be there. Listen to Bellini's The Buffalo Song if you care to.

One more thing: Neal Pollack is at it again!

Thursday, September 15

Got back from a mini-vacation in NH yesterday, so it's time for an update. Beth, Owen and I met up with my parents, my sister and my brother and his wife and daughter last Saturday at Granite Lake in New Hampshire. Just north of Keene, the lake is a great spot. We stayed in two houses owned by one of my sister's coworkers, and didn't have to pay anything more than the cost of a gift for the house, in our case two Adirondack chairs. Everybody else is staying until tomorrow, but we had to get back so Owen could start preschool, and I could go to my team's second playoff game.

Owen started school today, a day later than other kids. He has the same teacher he had last spring, in the same classroom, so he was comfortable right away, which is great. He had fun in NH with his one and only cousin, Grace, who is almost 2 years old. I had fun, too, watching them together. It was great to see everybody and to hang out in Keene a little. Brought back plenty of college memories, which I bored Beth with during the course of the week.

We went to a petting zoo on Sunday, which the kids enjoyed. On Monday, we went to High Hopes Orchard and had an, uh, interesting time. It's a small amusement park/pick your own farm in Westmoreland, NH. The amusement part was good, as Owen and his cousin, Grace, rode the carousel a few times, petted some goats, went into the Barnyard Bouncer to jump around, etc. They also went with everyone else on a train tour of the orchard. The train ride was fun, as was the chance to feed some domesticated deer, but the scary Halloween portion of the ride was odd, although I don't think Owen or Grace were the least bit scared. Obviously, the orchard's operators are gearing up for Halloween, so they've set up fake corpses, graveyards, crashed UFOs and other scary stuff throughout the woods on the property. I found it funny, but my sister-in-law told my brother once or twice, "I don't want Grace looking at that stuff." It certainly wasn't appropriate for little kids, as tame as it was. Just strange.

As for baseball: the team played and lost on Monday, but I missed that game. Last night all I could do was coach third base and cheer from the bench, as my oblique strain hasn't gotten much better. We lost again, 12-2, and the season is over. If anybody knows a guy over 40 who's a half-decent baseball player, let me know. I want to start recruiting now for next season.

Sunday, September 4

I'll just say one thing about the hurricane aftermath: after six days, I still can't believe what's going on, and think we'll continue to be shocked for quite some time.

On a much lighter note: Beth and I recently caught a bit of Jethro Tull: Nothing is Easy on INHD, the digital cable channel we get from Comcast. Made in 1970, the documentary captures Tull on the brink of popularity as they play the UK's Isle of Wight festival, and mixes in current-day commentary from singer/flautist Ian Anderson. The first scene we caught featured Anderson in full glory: long, frizzy hair, mountain-man beard, knee-length boots over canary-yellow pants, and a long robe that was much longer on one side than the other (not front and back, but side to side, like somebody hacked at him with a sword and he dodged it and lost the right side of his robe). He was doing something we've dubbed scat-flute-yoga-dancing, during which he plays the flute, emits guttural sounds and yelps, lifts one leg up in the air and holds it while positioned in front of the mic. As Beth said at the time: "There's nothing about this that's not awesome!" Quite a performance. I've never been a Tull fan, but I respected the prog-rock jams they were laying down, and the hundreds of thousands at the festival were jamming, too, albeit mainly because they were higher than weather balloons.

Beth and I celebrated our anniversary a few days early last night. We went into the big city to see "Broken Flowers," the new Bill Murray film directed by Jim Jarmusch. I really liked it, but can understand how people might get bored by it. I really like how Jarmusch uses silence and awkward moments, because they see so real. I appreciate Hollywood escapism as much as the next jamoke, but I also dig movies that present real-seeming people doing things I can imagine doing, or saying things I can picture saying. And I love Bill Murray no matter what, "The Life Aquatic" notwithstanding. After the movie, which we saw at the mega-huge Loews Cineplex in Boston's Downtown Crossing area, we spent a gift certificate to Les Zygomates that Beth's aunt and uncle gave us last Christmas. We drank some great wine and enjoyed fantastic food, while listening to live, but thankfully unannoying, jazz. Afterwards, we walked through the city and had dessert at the Parrish Cafe while watching the Sox beat the Orioles. A perfect night.

Tuesday, August 23

I Googled myself today. Many of the 308 hits are my articles from Junkmedia, Webnoize and even WestRoxbury.com, distributed at various sites. There are plenty of Dave Brighams, however, who are not me. Here are some of my favorites: -- zookeeper Dave -- protein-sequencing Dave -- horse-owning Dave -- web page Dave

My friend Ken and I briefly considered going to Tucson over Labor Day weekend for the Hotel Congress's 20th anniversary celebration. Among the artists playing are Giant Sand, Green on Red, Friends of Dean Martinez, the Sidewinders, Naked Prey and Spoke, which features two guys from Calexico. Oh yeah, and the Band of Blacky Ranchette, which is Howe Gelb's (Giant Sand) country project. If anyone knows of any rock festivals, anywhere in the US of A, coming up in the next several months, I'd appreciate an email. I'd love to do a trip to check out someplace new and see some rock and/or roll.

Thursday, August 18

First, I want to let you know that you must go to World of Sound, the new blog at Junkmedia written by my pal OJ (I've said it before, I'm saying it now: use those three words as a band name and you can't go wrong). Fresh, funny writing about the indie rock scene. 'Nuff said.

Last night, my team lost its final regular season game, 6-2. Once again, lack of hitting sunk us. It's killing me to sit on the bench when we're in the field, and coach third base when we're at bat. But my oblique is far from better, so I gotta watch. Our chances for the playoffs look good, but we won't know for sure for a week or two. That's all for now.

Saturday, August 13

There's no way to ease into this subject, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say I used to really, really like Kansas. Not the state, the band. I was reminded of how much I liked them today when Beth and I took Owen to the wonderfully air-conditioned John Harvard's Brew Housein Framingham, MA. We were listening to piped-in music by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull when all of a sudden I realized that "Portrait (He Knew)" from 1977's Point of Know Return (get it?) was wafting through the air as I enjoyed a chicken quesadilla. I asked Beth, "Is this Kansas?" as if she would a) care or b) admit if she knew.

Sure enough it was. My mind drifted back to my parents' rec room (I never knew what the "rec" part meant when I was a kid; I thought of it as "wreck." How come people don't have rec rooms any more?), where I spent waaaaay too much time playing air guitar to many a band, including Kansas. Drums, too. And, hell, violin. I also remembered, and made the mistake of telling Beth about, the Kansas belt buckle I had when I was a freshman in high school. Like the cover of Point of Know Return (get it?), the buckle had a ship on it. But the background was shiny red and perhaps there was an optical illusion when you moved the buckle around, I'm not sure. Anyway, it was totally dorky, just like this one they're selling at their official site.

So Kansas was really popular, and songs like "Dust in the Wind" and "Point of Know Return" (get it?) are still played on classic rock radio, but why is "Portrait (He Knew)," which AllMusic.com describes as an "awkward" attempt to balance "progression" and pop, getting played at lunch time in a brew pub while a bridal shower is going on in the backroom?

Don't answer; that's a rhetorical question. Carry on, my wayward sons and daughters.

Thursday, August 11

Back when I worked at Webnoize, because I used to spend all day on a computer with an Internet browser open, I would do random searches for bands from the '80s that I had once loved: Phantom Tollbooth, Icicle Works, Crippled Pilgrims. Crippled Pilgrims always proved elusive. There just was never much info about the band, what ever happened to the guys, etc.

Well, I hadn't searched in quite a while, but tonight I finally found something useful. Pop Matters, which a year ago or so was one of my "favorites," has a review from last fall of Down Here, which compiles the EP and LP that Crippled Pilgrims recorded between 1983 and 1985. That's all they put out, and I have both on vinyl, but it's been a few years since I've spun the wax. Anyway, the band wasn't that great, but it was one of those things where I felt like I was the only one who liked them, which made them seem cooler. Just like for a while in college when "Brother From Another Planet" was referred to as, "The movie only Dave has seen."

Go here to check out samples. As with a lot of vinyl, tapes and CDs I've bought over the years, I'm sure I bought Crippled Pilgrims because of their name and their album cover. The music is a little jangly like R.E.M., but also has some great guitar riffing a la Television or Built to Spill. That is all. I think I'm gonna go watch "In Good Company."

Wednesday, August 10

Just a quick message tonight. We lost again last night, 7-0. I think our team managed only one hit, while striking out 14 times. Pretty ugly. It was the first game for me on the DL. I coached the bases and cheered, but that was all I could do. I'll go to the rest of our games, but I won't be happy to be sitting on the bench.

Monday, August 8

I'm on the DL. No more beisbol for me this year. I'm really upset about this, but I gotta follow doctor's orders. I've had groin and abdominal strains for several weeks, due to playing baseball. Between games the pain wasn't bad and seemed to get better, so I kept playing. But after last week's game, my abdominal muscles hurt, so I checked in with the doctor today. He said I've got a strained oblique (which is better than the hernia I was expecting him to diagnose) and no more baseball or running for 8 weeks! Our team has two more regular season games, and will probably make the playoffs, which means at least two more games there. But none for me.

Otherwise, life is good. Hung out with our friends Chris and Kelly and their 6-month-old son, Jack, for a few days last week. Good to see them; they don't get here from Colorado very often.

Went to the Summer Shack in Cambridge last night to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. The food was good and I love the atmosphere. Go there if you get a chance. There are other Shacks around Boston, too, I think.

Tuesday, August 2

First, the bad news. We lost last Thursday, 8-1. I made the last out twice with the bases loaded, which I'm still kicking myself for. Oh well.

Now, the good news. We won last night, 5-1. The other team only had 8 players, so they used just two outfielders. We didn't take enough advantage of that for most of the game. The team, the Metro Red Sox, is coached by the 40+ league commissioner, who gave our team a hard time last year for forfeiting two games. He reiterated his point at the draft this year, which pissed of our coach, Bill. So we were all laughing at the prospect of the Metro Sox having to forfeit, as it looked like they might have to do minutes before the game. That said, we should have beaten them worse than we did.

Our ace, Angel, threw another great game. One run, at least 12 strikeouts and only a few hits. It was my best offensive game yet. I walked (my first walk of the year!) and scored in the 3rd inning. In the 6th, with the score at 2-1 with runners on 2nd and 3rd I nailed a double into the left centerfield gap, scoring two runs. When I hit that ball, I felt like I was dreaming. I had two strikes, so was just looking to protect the plate. I hit the ball on the button with a bat that I didn't even want to use, because I thought it was too heavy. But since I'd broken two lighter bats in successive games last week, I figured I'd better not buy another one. Good thing. On the next play I scored after a throw from short to first got away.

We're almost definitely gonna be in the playoffs now. There's a team that's 1-6 that has more games to play than we do. But even if they win 2 out of their 5 last games, we beat them head-to-head, so we'd win the last playoff spot. Sweet.

Wednesday, July 27

We lost 22-0. 'Nuff said. Tomorrow's another day.

Monday, July 25

Slowly but surely I'm making my way through 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Angeles. I knew next to nothing about how Oppenheimer and his team built the bombs that ended WW II. The government took by eminent domain a private boys school tucked in the mountains outside Santa Fe and very quickly turned it into the town of Los Alamos. Formerly a top-secret location where scientists had to use pseudonyms and code language, Los Alamos is now soliciting tourists. Anyway, the book is fascinating, regardless of where you stand on the ethics of dropping atomic bombs on Japan to end the war. It's an amazing story.

I've got a baseball game tomorrow, so look for details on Wednesday. A win could sew up a playoff spot. We play again Thursday.

In other news, I'm pursing a story about Whalom Park, a defunct amusement park in Lunenburg, MA. The story in a nutshell: the park has been abandoned for 5 years, and a developer recently agreed to buy the land. Some folks associated with the old Whalom Park want to save some of the structures from demolition. That's where I come in. If anybody has a good idea about where I could pitch such a story, let me know. I'm wracking my brains but haven't come up with a good pub yet, probably because I'm not sure exactly what the angle on the story is. I'm supposed to talk to one of the hopeful preservationists in two weeks.

Props to my father-in-law for pointing me to this site. I did a little research on the Crying Demons album and found a rather unimpressive MP3. Just plug the title into Google and click on the first hit, I belive was how I did it. Somehow I also ended up here. When I've got more time I'm gonna look further into some of this crazy music.

Saturday, July 23

Just a quick administrative note. I've ditched the Slank material, and replaced it with my blog archive. Also, I've added some black and white pictures that I took during my interview with Dave Waller, the Malden neon sign restorer and collector.

Thursday, July 21

We won our second game last night, 1-0. Our ace, Angel, pitched a fantastic game, giving up only two hits and striking out 11. The guy is 58, and pitches in at least one other baseball league, as well as a softball league -- amazing. We had a few other scoring chances, but the run we scored in the top of the 1st was enough. I managed another weak infield hit, and am batting a respectable .286. Unfortunately, I also aggravated a few injuries. No practice Sunday, and next game isn't until Tuesday, so I hope that much rest will enable me to play then. We also have a game Thursday, and one the following Monday, so anybody who wants to catch a game has plenty of opportunities upcoming.

I haven't plugged Neal Pollack in a while, so I'm gonna do it right....now! I've only read one of his books, "Never Mind the Pollacks"; I also have the corresponding CD and (shameless plug alert!) you can read what I thought about those products here. However, he has other books that you and I should read. But more importantly, he has his blog. Today he briefly covers how the U.S. is pissing off China by claiming that country is a military threat, just as China is working to smooth out the North Korea situation. Also, Pollack talks about the new Supreme Court nominee. Priceless quote: "If I were an anti-abortion timber company executive, or brainwashed automaton, I would consider John Roberts (whose name sounds like it should belong to a protagonist in a bad Bruce Willis action movie) a fine nominee. But instead I'm an abortion-loving atheist with Jew blood. George Carlin is the only nominee who would really satisfy me. Those odds are long."

Tuesday, July 19

We had a great vacation last week. Went to Cape Cod, Pocasset in particular, and spent lots of time at the beach, which Owen loved. Also played a round of golf and caught part of a Cape Cod League Baseball game. And ate fried food, drank margaritas and lounged around. Nice.

The Quincy Sons baseball team lost again on July 15. I made the trip from the Cape up to Boston for the game, and I'm glad I went, but the game was ugly. We couldn't hit, gave up too many walks and made too many errors. We play again Wednesday, and then have two games the following week, and one the Monday after that. We need to win at least two of those games to have a shot at the playoffs.

I got the word over the weekend that my short profile of a guy who collects and restores neon signs will be running in the Society for Commercial Archeology's newsletter. Sure, it ain't the New Yorker, but it's a start, as I move away from music writing.

Beth and I took Owen to the 70th St. Mary of Carmen Society Festival in Newton on Sunday. We missed "the Festa" (no, not Festivus) last year because of vacation, but I was determined to get Owen on a carnival ride this year. After walking around for a while, he decided he wanted to ride on a Dragon Train, which was a very simple roller coaster. Beth and I were a little skeptical that he would like it, but he had a great time. We didn't stay long, 'cause it's been so goldarned hot.

The Festa is run by Our Lady Help of Christians (I don't understand the naming of parishes; I really don't). Unfortunately, we missed the main event: the Procession of the Madonna, which involves marching a statue through the streets of Newton's Italian section (Nonantum, aka The Lake -- wow! that site is fascinating; I'm gonna bookmark it) to the carnival site, where they have a shrine set up. Apparently after a concert of traditional Italian music, they then hold a candlelight procession back to the church. I'm not Catholic, nor religious in any way, but I would have loved to see that. Next year.

Wednesday, July 6

Just a quick note today. For the last two days I've been grooving to Kyuss' Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss, which I bought a few years ago and pull out every once in a while, when I need a fix of psychedelic stoner metal. I don't own any other Kyuss albums, and understand from reviews of Muchas Gracias I've read online that I should buy their other stuff 'cuz it's much better. Still, "Un Sandpiper," which opens the best-of album, is one of my Top 10 songs of all time. Clocking in at more than 8 minutes, it's a thick slab of rock that I play over and over again.

Sunday, July 3

It has always been my intention to write here a few times a week, but I haven't been doing that, have I? I'll try to crank it up this week, because the next week I'll be on vacation.

What's going on? I played in a charity golf tournament on Thursday in memory of my friend Bene. The tournament was held here, and was well-run event. Bene was a great golfer, so I wasn't surprised at how many people turned out. Everybody felt strange playing on a course where Bene had spent so much time, but we all had a good time. The course has named its annual club championship in Bene's honor.

Because I was playing in the tournament, I missed my team's baseball game. We lost 6-2, and are in second-to-last place. One team out of 9 misses the playoffs; it better not be us. There might be an over-40 All-Star game in August. That gives me something to strive for. Our next game isn't until July 15. I'll be on vacation, but will probably make the trip from the Cape to Boston for the game.

This week I hope to turn in the first article under my new freelance regime. I am writing a short piece for the Society for Commercial Archeology's newsletter. There is no pay, and little distribution, but I am cracking a new market that interests me. I'm profiling a guy who lives in Malden, MA, and collects one-of-a-kind neon signs, restores them and displays them in his home, which is a converted 1890's firehouse. He'll be displaying many of his signs at Boston's Suffolk University in September. If you're interested in more details, I'll provide them as I get them.

Happy July 4th! If you've got nothing better to do, fly out to New Mexico to check this out.

Sunday, June 26

First, a minor correction: the wedding Beth and I attended yesterday wasn't at the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel, but rather at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club, which is a perfectly nice place for a wedding, and right across from the hotel. However, I was really looking forward to checking out the hotel, which was saved from the wrecking ball several years ago and which is very nice. Oh well. We had a great time at the wedding despite the heat and humidity. We danced like crazy until the mosquitoes chased us out, and then had a blast at Portsmouth bar the Press Room, especially when the bride showed up in her dress.

The news isn't so good for the Quincy Sons of Italy baseball team. We lost our third game out of four on Friday night, 6-2. We just couldn't get enough hits put together, and some errors in the field cost us a few runs. I continued my torrid hitting (ha ha) with another infield hit; I also reached on an error. I'm having fun, despite the aches and pains.

That's all for now.

Friday, June 24

My team lost 13-3 on Wednesday. We were in the game until the 4th or 5th inning, when the other team began to pile up walks and hits and we started making errors. I had little action at shortstop, and was 1 for 2 with what I consider to be my first "real" hit, a line drive into left field. I scored my first run, too, but overall the game was a tough one to play in. We play tonight against a team that's 0-3. If we beat them, we'll be 2-2, but if we lose, then both of us will be 1-3 and perhaps in a battle for the playoffs. There are 9 teams in the league, and 8 make the playoffs. There are still 9 games to go, so it's early, but we need to win tonight.

My parents are coming into town today, on what figures to be perhaps the hottest weekend in recent memory. Today the temps are supposed to hit the low 90s; tomorrow there's a possiblity of a staggering 98 degrees -- with humidity, of course. They'll be babysitting while Beth and I go to her cousin Susie's wedding here. The Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, NH, is a beautiful old hotel that was restored several years ago. When I lived in Dover, I drove by this place a few times and was fascinated by it. I'm really looking forward to the wedding, as well as the chance to check out what's called "New Hampshire's Only Grand Hotel by the Sea."

Details on tonight's game are likely to be posted on Sunday. Keep cool....

Wednesday, June 22

Went to a party of Keene State alumni last Saturday, and had a great time catching up with a whole bunch of folks, including the other Toastmen (Brian, Jim, Ken and Peter); Mike and Lenore and their baby girl, Acadia; Wick and Traci and their little girl, Ellery; Nancy; Doug Johnson; Mark Maloof; and of course our genial host Mike Caulfield and his wife Nicole. It was great to catch up with everybody, eat some fine BBQ and drink a few beers. We should all do that more often.

In my continuing quest to find story leads about the quickly disappearing, quirky architectural and commercial landmarks of the U.S., this is my latest favorite site: Roadside America.

Not much else going on right now. I've got a baseball game tonight, so details about that will follow in the next day or so. Adios....

Friday, June 17

As promised, I will now profess my undying love for Charlie Chesterman. Under the moniker Chaz & the Motorbikes, Chesterman has just released two fine albums: Skunk on the Loose, a studio album with plenty of great songs that combine Buddy Holly-esque, rave-up rockabilly and country-flavored pop; and Well, My Heart Went BOOM, a live disc recorded on WMBR's "Pipeline" show.

Chesterman was in Boston band Scruffy the Cat years ago, but I didn't know his music then. I first heard him opening for Ed's Redeeming Qualities several years ago at TT the Bear's in Cambridge. I love his voice, his modest, humorous, clever lyrics and his affection for nuthin' fancy music. I was planning on going to the band's double-CD release party in April, but chose instead to join friends at the Middle East to see Mudhoney. While Mudhoney was good, I still wish I'd gone to see Chesterman. Oh well. He plays around Boston enough that I'll surely see him soon.

Other Stuff: I've posted some new links, photos and the new (C)rock Story, so please surf through the site...My next baseball game is Wednesday, June 22. I still have an ugly bruise from 8 days ago when I got hit by a pitch. And yes, I did indeed record my first hit at last week's game, as well as my first RBI. I was unclear, because the coach hadn't posted the stats initially, but now the sitehas been updated.

One more thing: I have received my first freelance assignment as I attempt to morph from a music writer to a preservation/restoration writer. More details to follow.

Monday, June 13

As my loyal readers know, I love conspiracy theories and lunatic ravings of the insane. If you're with me on that, then read on. If not, come back in a few days when I talk about how much I love Charlie Chesterman.

With Tom Cruise all over the media these days professing his love for Katie Holmes, giving Brooke Shields a hard time for taking anti-depressants and taking a hard line about Scientology, naturally I got curious to see what Scientology is all about. My first stop was here. As I figured, there's not tangible, useful information about the "religion" that Cruise and so many other celebrities practice. It's a bunch of pabulum that I wasted no more than a few minutes reading.

I got much more enjoyment when I cruised to Operation Clambake, which claims to be leading "the fight against the Church of Scientology on the Net." There's a lot of info here, and I only read some of it. But I believe a fair amount of the information about Scientology, its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and the ridiculous elements of both.

The site that surprised me the most, however, was Lermanet, which includes a host of anti-Scientology screeds, but also builds a case that well-known recording artist Beck is a Scientologist. The page goes on forever, but provides a lot of food for thought about Beck, his wife, Marissa Ribisi (Giovanni Ribisi's twin sister), whose family is apparently a well-known Scientologist clan, and the religion as a whole. As with any conspiracy-type site, I take it all with a grain of salt, as much of the information isn't sourced, or is second- or third-hand or is merely speculation. Still, it makes for good reading.

Friday, June 10

Well, we won. The Quincy Sons of Italy baseball team, which went 0-11 last year, in its inaugural season, took only two games to record the first victory in its brief history. The win wasn't particularly pretty; we took advantage of walks and hit batsmen with some timely hitting.

Befitting my history in baseball, which until this year I thought had ended at age 15, I was much better in the field than at bat. I got hit by a pitch, struck out and hit a grounder to first that was either a hit or an error, I'm still not sure. In the field, I figure I was involved in 10 of the 21 outs we recorded (games are 7 innings). I had three put-outs on pop flies and a soft line drive. I made a handful of routine grounder plays to first, and once again completed the first half of a double play before throwing over the first baseman's head. As he said, a good throw would have gotten the runner.

I'm most proud of two not-so-routine plays: I threw a guy out at home on a grounder, and nailed a guy at second after backing up an errant throw to third on an attempted steal and throwing to catch the runner trying to advance from first to second. My coach has nicknamed me "The Vacuum."

The team, especially the guys who suffered through a winless season last year, was very happy last night, which was cool to be a part of. The coach even had a Gatorade moment, when our first baseman dumped a cooler of water over his head. The coach's brother, who plays third, kept saying, "That was so cool" after watching that.

Our next game was supposed to be June 17, but the schedule has changed, and we're not playing until June 22. That means two weeks of practice before the next game, plenty of time to iron out some of our defensive problems. Go here if you have some desire to see the team's stats.

That is all.

Thursday, June 9

I'm thinking of moving some of this stuff to Blogger.com, joining my homies OJ, Jay and Ric. As I (slowly) move toward doing more writing work, I'll likely turn this site into a professional destination. The only writing I've been doing over the past three and a half years is CD reviews, artist interviews and features for Junkmedia.org. And of course the (C)rock Stories, which continue along at a snail's pace. I'm in the process of looking for magazines to pitch freelance stories to. Updates to follow.

Tonight is our second baseball game. Details to follow tomorrow.

Thursday, June 2

The Quincy Sons of Italy, my over-40 baseball team, the one that didn't win a game last year and was apparently the Bad News Bears laughingstock of the league...lost our first game last night. But only by 7-4, much better than the 16-1 drubbing the team took last year against the same team. We were actually leading for a brief time. But costly errors, a few hit batsmen and some hits by the Brockton Blue Jays took their toll. On the personal side, I was 0 for 2, with a pop out and a ground out. But that's OK. I didn't strike out, and I know that with more practice, some time in the cages and another game or two, and I'll start seeing the ball better and getting better swings, and, who knows, maybe I'll even get a hit.

My first at bat in 25 years was surreal. I led off the 2nd inning. I wasn't nervous, but I felt strange standing in against live pitching. I ran the count to 3-1 before swinging at a high fastball and popping to short. My second at bat I felt more comfortable, even though I was the first guy to face their relief pitcher. Again, I led off the inning, and ran the count to 2-1 before grounding to first. I wasn't thrilled, but felt OK about the at-bats.

As for fielding, I only had one ball hit to me on the ground. It was slowly hit, and my throw to first was late. I managed to catch a soft line drive, as well. However, I screwed up the second half of a double play by throwing over the first baseman's head, and held the ball on a few relays (a la Johnny Pesky in 1946) when I should have thrown either to third or home. The hardest part of the game, I realize after last night, is figuring out in a split second what to do with the ball, listening to teammates when they tell me where to throw on relays, and always playing heads-up ball. Sounds easy until you get out there and try it. I'll still yell at the Red Sox when they make errors, because they're professionals, but I can relate a little more now to what they go through.

Our starting pitcher last night was Angel, a 58-year-old with great stuff, and a really great guy. He pitched all 7 innings, struck out a bunch of guys, but also hit a few guys and gave up a bunch of hits. He almost picked a guy off at second, but I was late to get to the bag -- another thing I need to work on.

Anyway, that's all for now. Anyone interested in checking out the team's stats can go here.

Tuesday, May 31

As some of you know, I frequent UnknownCountry.com, my main source for stories related to UFOs, unexplained, earthbound phenomena, conspiracy theories, etc. I take everything I read there with a grain of salt, but enjoy reading about events and people I don't hear about in the mainstream news. This item qualifies as the single weirdest thing I've read at the site. This site explains more, and is likely the source used by UnknownCountry. Most frightening point of this story: "there would not be much point in trying to break up the pulpy mass with explosives or other devices. 'It seems pretty indestructible,'" according to a scientist who discovered the floating mass. Whoo boy!

Assuming the weather doesn't change drastically, I'll play my first baseball game tomorrow. At practice on Sunday, the coach told me I'm gonna start at short. I was expecting outfield, but I think that since I'm the youngest guy on the team, and have demonstrated some range in the field, he wants me at that crucial position. I'm up for the challenge.

Thanks to a really well-written article in the Boston Globe last week, I've tuned in to Thirsty Ear Records, which is based in Norwalk, CT, of all places. Their releases focus on the fusion of jazz and electronica; I look forward to buying the label's latest, At the Center by Meat Beat Manifesto. Go here to hear samples of that album and others, including a collaboration between DJ Spooky and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.

Baseball update coming Thursday, June 2.

Monday, May 23

Today is Owen's birthday. There's a new picture here, and more will follow. A few of his friends came to his party, along with plenty of adults. He got lots of cool presents and had a great time. Hard to believe he's three. On Wednesday, he's starting preschool. And I need to find work.

I'm totally bummed about the weather. Not only has it cost my baseball team some practices, but now it's cost us our first game. We were supposed to open the season tonight in Lynn. And despite the fact that it's cold and gloomy and I would have to drive to Lynn, I was really excited to play. Now we have to wait until Wednesday, June 1.

That's all.

Thursday, May 19

I'm being watched. For the last hour or so there's been a helicopter hovering over my neighborhood. There's no fire, no accident, no newsworthy event. I doubt there's an escaped convict pool-hopping in the 'hood. I'm being watched. I don't like it.

Went to see Gang of Four Monday night with my pal OJ, who wrote about the show, so I don't need to say anything other than it was fantastic.

Big times ahead for Owen. He turns 3 on Monday. Tomorrow I'm taking him for a short visit to his new school, so he can meet his teacher and new friends. Next Wednesday, he starts going to preschool from 9 a.m. to noon, five days a week through June 24. Then he gets a few weeks off and starts a six-week summer program four days a week. Hard to believe. I think he'll do really well. The transition will probably be harder on me, as I need to find some writing work.

I'm in countdown mode for baseball. Four days until the first game. Going to the cage Saturday morning. Keep your fingers crossed.

Thursday, May 12

As loyal readers of (C)rock Stories know, I worked produce for both Stop & Shop in Simsbury, CT, and Tuttle's Red Barn in Dover, NH. At Stop & Shop, there was a fraternity of sorts called the Resistance. We had fun, and occasionally did stupid things, but we never did stuff like these guys did. If I was still living in West Roxbury, I'd have set these kids straight, by golly.

I don't have a lot to write about today, so I'm gonna plug a few things. If you want to read about basketball and literature, check out Neal Pollack's site. His blog used to be about politics, but now he writes a lot about the Phoenix Suns, which I don't care about. But he also reviews books as he continues his "year-long quest to read nearly a book a week." And he's just a good writer, and often funny.

What is it about a diner that I like so much? The neon? The chrome? The food? The car clubs that hang out in front? The jukeboxes? The sassy waitresses?

And while I'm at it: I also love drive-ins. I'm just an old-fashioned guy. Actually, I'm a guy who rarely goes to diners and hasn't been to a drive-in since August 2002, which I imagine is more recent than most people. I like the idea of diners and drive-ins. Yeah, that's my point.

Sunday, May 8

I don't remember why I bought Solid Pleasure, the 1980 debut album by Swiss electronic duo Yello. I might have heard a track on college radio, or, just as likely, I might have been wowed by the album cover. The songs are by turns goofy, catchy and scary. I never bought another Yello album, but liked the videos of theirs I saw in the early MTV days. Of course, they're best known for "Oh Yeah," which appeared in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and other movies, and, I believe, a Twix commercial.

Every once in a while, I go to their site. I've never been let down. They have a great mix of audio and video. I think I'll pick up their Essential collection, although I just read some reviews at Amazon that indicates the album is remixed tracks that don't sound that great. Hmmm...maybe I'll have to buy some of their other stuff.

Sunday, May 1

Beth and I went to see the Flaming Lips documentary, Fearless Freaks, last night. Boy, what a great movie! I've been a Lips fan since 1988, when I bought Oh My Gawd...It's the Flaming Lips. I own most of their catalog, but not all of it. But after seeing the movie, I realized I need to own everything.

A mix of old movie footage and video shot over the last decade or so, the movie tells the tale of this weird band from Oklahoma City that has turned into a well-respected art-rock icon. Lots of good stuff from lead singer Wayne Coyne's brothers, who in the '70s put together a sandlot football team made up of drugged-out weirdos, and who called themselves the Fearless Freaks. A good timeline of the Lips, with plenty of archival footage of them thrashing away in clubs, doing their "boombox experiments" and up to their rebirth with The Soft Bulletin.

I can't say enough good stuff about the movie or the band. I'm gonna buy the DVD when it comes out, so if you don't want to see it in the theater, call me up and I'll screen it for you at my house.

Tuesday, April 26

I've adopted the Johnny Carson method of listening to CDs. Carson invited many stand-up comics to appear on his show, but only asked a select few over to sit on the couch after they did their schtick. Well, I have dropped a pile of new CDs next to the boombox in the basement so I can listen while I'm working on the computer. I cycle through them during the course of the week. Once I decide something is good enough, I beckon it over to the computer so I can take a closer listen. Or I send it out to the car so Owen, Beth and I can listen together.

Here's the list of discs I've got in the hopper as I write this:

John Cale: Fragments of a Rainy Season This was a birthday gift from my in-laws. I've only listened to a few songs, and I like what I've heard.

Broken Social Scene: Feel Good Lost I bought this at Newbury Comics with a gift card. It's not as rockin' as You Forgot It In People, that's for sure.

The Band of Blacky RanchetteStill Lookin' Good to Me I bought this as an early birthday present. It's Howe Gelb from Giant Sand doing country music. Excellent as always.

Junior KimbroughYou Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough What I've listened to I like. Another b-day gift from my in-laws.

Ass PonysSome Stupid With a Flare Gun Despite their stupid name, I really like this band. Oh yeah, and the stupid album title cribbed from "Smoke On the Water." Bought this for myself.

The RosebudsThe Rosebuds Unwind Reviewed this for Junkmedia. Nice garage-influenced, countryish rock.

Various ArtistsAngry and Old: Briggy Turns 40 My man Jay made this for me. Great stuff.

BeckGuero Got this from sister-in-law and her husband. Good stuff, but I haven't given enough listens yet.

The Fiery FurnacesBlueberry Boat Beth gave me this, and I don't know what I think. It's not very accessible, and lyrically it's as dense as a black hole. But I'll persevere.

Dinosaur jr.You're Living All Over Me Beth gave me the reissue, which is a huge slab 'o rock.

InterpolAntics Beth also gave me this. I had a CD-R copy from Jay, but now I can say I've contributed to the band's well-being. Good stuff.

The Flaming LipsFinally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid I tell ya, my wife loves me. This 3-disc set includes the band's first, self-titled EP, Hear It Is, Oh My Gawd...It's the Flaming Lips, Telepathic Surgery and tons of bonus tracks.

CanarticHeadphone Test Former Phantom Tollbooth dudes go all dub-electronic. Very chill.

ClinicThree EPs I love this band, and now my collection is complete, thanks to my wife.

Queens of the Stone AgeLullabies to Paralyze More from Beth. This is American good rock.

Bright EyesDigital Ash In a Digital Urn Bought this along with the one listed below at Best Buy, thanks to a gift card from Lee and Mary Helen Black. Thanks.

Bright EyesI'm Wide Awake, It's Morning See above. This disc is currently enjoying the cherished "Carson's couch."

The Mars VoltaFrances the Mute Another from Beth. Prog-rock. Dense. Loud. Spanish. Good.

VinxRooms In My Fatha's House This is a CD-R from my brother. I have listened to a little of it. Jazz, soul, world music -- it's in there.

The CDs below are not currently on the boombox stack, but are scattered around the house and car.

Ray CharlesThe "Ray" Soundtrack Also from my brother. You gotta love Ray Charles.

Keb' Mo'Just Like You Another from my brother. Good blues.

Joe Strummer & the MescalerosStreetcore A really good album that I bought for myself, and which I expect to get better with each listen.

Thursday, April 21

I don't know why I love UFOs and conspiracy theories, but I do. I realize that a lot of UFO sightings are bogus, either because of hoaxes or simple gullibility. I believe, however, that some of the mysterious things people spot flying at night are secret government projects. I acknowledge the possibility that beings from other planets could be buzzing our atmosphere, and may have landed here. I think if it were happening on a large scale (a la "The X-Files"), though, we would know about it.

Part of my UFO thing is a put-on. I like the idea of liking UFOs. Still, I can't help but seek out sites like this one.

As for other government secrets, I'm fascinated by hidden military complexes and hideouts for the president and VP. During the few months I lived in Albuquerque, I became intrigued with the idea of such things when someone told me that there was a government complex buried deep beneath a mountain outside of the city. I never found out more.

Today I bought "109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos," a book by Jennet Conant about "the desert hideaway where...world-famous scientists raced to build the first atomic bomb." I can't wait to read it.

Tuesday, April 19

Today my friend Bene would have turned 40. He succumbed to a long battle with cancer last month. I still can't believe he's gone. I'd known him since grade school, and spent a lot of time with him and my other friends through high school and college. We didn't see each other but once or twice a year for the last several years, but when we got together it was always easy.

Bene was a great guy -- hard-working, funny, a great listener, a perfect husband and father, a great golfer and hockey player. I miss him and think about him all the time.

Now, a shout-out to my Phantom Tollbooth buddies. I saw the band reunite in December for their first gig in 16 years, and they were great. The drummer, Jon, and bass player, Gerard, recently put out "Headphone Test" under the moniker Canartic. The album is on Jon's label, Dank Disk (go here). The album is mellow and groovy, thoroughly unlike what Tollbooth was into.

Monday, April 18

Had my first practice yesterday. My hitting needs work, but I felt good in the field. And of course I'm sore today. My team, the Quincy Sons of Italy, didn't win a game last year. I've been in that situation before, but not in 25 years. I'm really looking forward to playing baseball. The team seems like a good bunch of guys.

Wednesday, April 13

I'm lame. I review music for Junkmedia but I seldom seek out new stuff online or at Newbury Comics. Yesterday I went hunting and found something I really liked at Jagjaguwar's web site: Oneida. I'd heard of them and one of the guys in Liars told me I should check th