Preseason hype!

Ok, so two teams finished last year with double digit wins, BCS bowl victories, and top ten rankings. Both are now replacing their offensive and defensive coordinators. Both lost several defenders to the NFL draft, but still show depth on both sides of the ball. Both are likely starting true freshman at quarterback this fall. Both are bringing in nationally ranked recruiting classes.

But one is ranked 4 and the other 18.

Mountain West football

Oh man, I had the best thing to add to the sports radio call in show this afternoon, but the phone line was busy forever. So, I'm going to post it here, because that's what this blog is for.

They were asking what were this season's "Make or Break" games for Utah and BYU. Many people were saying Oregon and Oklahoma, respectively. The hosts said TCU and Florida State. I was going to call in and say Colorado State for Utah. And I'll tell you why.

The point is "Make or Break" not biggest game. And here's the thing; wins at any or all of Oregon, TCU, or BYU would be awesome, but losses at any or even all three would not ruin the season. They're "Make" games, but not break ones. Ute fans know how the hangover after a BCS season feels, and we know that there are some big players and two coordinators gone from that team. (Well, one good coordinator - I think the offensive play-calling will improve without Ludwig. They're going all no-huddle.) Anywho, a 9-3 season, a good bowl game, and 3rd place in the MWC would be totally satisfying.

Now, out of conference, the Utes also play Utah State, at San Jose State, and Louisville. In the MWC, they get Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, and San Diego State at home (the last three breaking in new coaches). Honestly, the Utes still have enough talent on both sides of the ball to be favored in those games. Air Force will be a close one, but the Utes should pull it out in front of the home crowd. So, opposite of the other games I mentioned, any of these losses would certainly be "Break" for the season, but none of these wins are "Make."

The Utes will face a talented UNLV team on the road, and there's a good chance of being upset there. Mike Sanford might get them to a bowl this year. But UNLV still hasn't built up the prestige to call this a "Make" game either.

That leaves Colorado State. Perfect "Make or Break" game. On the road against another of the MWC's improving teams. They beat Fresno State in the New Mexico bowl, and even though Gantrell Johnson is gone, they'll still have a potent offense with some very talented WRs. Now, Colorado State has been down a little lately, but Steve Fairchild has got them back on the right track. And I'd say they have the prestige. Now, beating them would secure the Utes' place in (at least) third in the conference. Losing to them... 8-4 and fourth in the MWC? That would be a bit disappointing to Ute fans.

So, in a much less verbose fashion, that was exactly how I was going to enlighten the sports radio world. Damn I'm so smart. I even wrote all that without having to fact-check.

While we're on the subject, I would agree that BYU's "Make or Break" game is Florida State. They're looking for a BCS berth, and so of course every game is a potential "Break." Except Oklahoma. A loss to the Sooners in the first week will not hurt them at all. In fact, it may even help. Odd as that may seem, I'll explain. Last year, TCU lost to Oklahoma early in the season, but still worked their way back up the rankings. Had those point-blank field goals not missed at Utah, they would have been the ones beating down those Alabama losers in the Sugar Bowl. There was even talk about would TCU be the first one-loss BCS buster. Well, BYU has the chance to create that same buzz. Make a good showing against Oklahoma, even in a loss, and then go undefeated from there, and they're in.

But they've got to beat Florida State. Undefeated in the MWC is almost good enough to voters, but a win over a nationally regarded team like the Seminoles would put the loss to Oklahoma out of the voters minds, and set BYU back on the path towards the BCS. Lose to FSU, and even an undefeated MWC season wouldn't satisfy the Cougars.

Blah blah blah. I love college football.

By the way, here's my breakdown of the coaches poll:
1. Florida - yeah, can't argue there. Boring.
2. Texas and 3. Oklahoma - I'm not so sure these two will be duking it out over the Big XII south like last year. I have a feeling one of them will drop a game. I just don't know which.
4. USC - rocks as usual. Will inexplicably lose another Pac-10 game as usual.
5. Alabama - Nick Saban sucks. We'll see.
6. Ohio State - They've got to win the big games.
7. Virginia Tech - Without their running back, they might not live up to this expectation
8. Penn State - Offensive line is a big problem. It will be their downfall.
9. LSU - They could surprise. But it would be just that - a surprise.
10. Mississippi - Classic case of a big bowl win for an ok team suddenly making them seem awesome. I hate to be this negative, but I have a feeling they're very overrated.
11. Oklahoma State - Too bad the Big XII South is so powerful, because this is a heck of a good team that probably will be better than their final record would suggest.
12. California - Weird. I'm not as impressed by Jahvid Best as everyone else. But I could be wrong.
13. Georgia - What a schedule. Arizona State, Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech (and Tennessee Tech) out of conference. And they drew Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU from the West. Sheesh.
14. Oregon - Just like Penn State, their offense won't live up to it's potential with the questions on the O-Line.
15. Georgia Tech - I'm big on Paul Johnson and his rushing attack. But their OOC schedule has to be the toughest in the nation - 3 SEC teams?!
16. Boise State - A win over Oregon might be big enough to get the voters to overlook the rest of the schedule. 2 MAC teams, a D-1AA and a Malzahn-less Tulsa, in addition to the not-so-hot WAC.
17. TCU - Possibly a #1 defense again this year. If everything comes out as predicted, it will come down to the BYU game to determine which team goes to the BCS.
18. Utah - Koa Misi out for the year. Damn.
19. Florida State - The rest of the ACC has really caught up to them. I wonder if they can remain on top.
20. North Carolina - I like where Butch has them going, but I'm not quite ready to say they're there yet.
21. Iowa - The loss of Shonn Greene will be pretty big. I can't say how well the offense will continue on.
22. Nebraska - Maybe it's one year too early, but this could definitely be the season for the Huskers to reclaim the North.
23. Notre Dame - They're just biding their time until Meyer is available.
24. Brigham Young - Boo.
25. Oregon State - I like this team, but I can't really foresee them making it to the Rose Bowl.

All right that's it. Goodnight.

The album!

Well, it has finally happened. I have an album. Wow. It's something I always dreamed of, and so in its own way, this is very important to me. But I'm trying to remain humble about it.

First of all, it's a little disappointing. I really don't like the sound of my own voice. So it's more difficult than I had expected to promote it. I'm shy about it. Obviously, my voice sounds much fuller in my head, and well in tune. It grates on my ears to hear it so thin and out of key when I hear it on record.

On the other hand, it's fun to finally hear each song as I've always imagined. Some things work even better than I had hoped, others not so much. Just Let Me Go is beautiful and poignant and yearning, I think. Gravity is prettier than I ever thought it would be. Alone rocks. And When I Dream About You is my favorite track on the album. It's so funky and mysterious. It's better than I had ever hoped.

Olivia, though... Eesh. It doesn't work. Making Friends Is Easy sounds overdone, and The Girl I Love doesn't quite come alive. Oh well. What can I do now? Nothing. I'm too tired to go check the quote precisely, but the Tao Te Ching says "Do your work, then let go. The only way to make anything that lasts."

Almost all these songs were written September-November 2002. Making Friends Is Easy, The Girl I Love, Olivia, Gravity, There's Truth In This Yet, and Esprit D'Escalier were all written while I lived in the dorm. (As well as several songs I'm putting on the second album). That's What I'm Here For was written the summer before that, and Just Let Me Go the summer after. Thunderweasel was written before I was married. Tony wrote the lyrics to When I Dream About You in '99 and I completed the music in Long Beach in 2000. And Alone was written entirely in one afternoon in the summer of 1999. It turned 10 years old as of this recording. Weird.

This was the fourth official attempt to record the album, and probably the hundredth unofficial one. I first tried in my dad's basement in 2002. The album opened with Summer Of Whenever (remember that one?). The drums for most of the album were probably identical to the current ones, even though I re-programmed the tracks a dozen times.

The second time I tried was at a studio down in Highland. I recorded everything in one take that afternoon, but went back and listened to it and hated the way I was singing. I never went back to work on it any more.

The third time I tried in my basement, with the idea of taking the tracks over to Emily's cousin's studio. But the plans fell through. So, I tried mixing them at my dad's house, but once again, hated my voice, and realized the midi piano I used was no good.

Finally, I started over this April. The drums are fake, but everything else is real. And it's me, playing every instrument, singing every note, and mixing every track. It's quite an accomplishment, and I'm proud of myself for that.

So, there it is. Now, what am I going to do with it?!

Neuro-Trippin'

So, today was my first encounter with an ADD drug. I know it's the popular thing to have ADD, and I hate doing anything popular. But then, you look at my academic career, and it makes sense. I have a passion for learning, yet I was hardly able to graduate high school, and seven tries at college hardly resulted in any completed courses. I'm a failure at the one thing I've always wanted to excel at.

I don't even know what led me to discuss it with my doctor, but when I did, I unexpectedly broke out in tears. It was embarrassing, but I wept uncontrollably as I told her how disappointed I am with myself and how I feel like I had such potential, but was unable to realize it.

So that led me here. I tried my first pill this morning. This was supposed to be slow acting stuff; a couple days to build up before you felt anything. Try a couple hours.

I can't help but think of Fear and Loathing where Hunter describes mescaline taking effect - the first hour was all waiting... then ZANG!

Suddenly I was talking a mile a minute, re-organizing a cluttered mess of used glasses frames, and going above and beyond to help each patient who came in the door. There was nothing I couldn't do, and couldn't do quickly. I felt so energetic, I could take on the world. I was eager to help some of our most troublesome patients. I answered the phones on the first ring and jumped to attention when the front door opened. And when there were no patients I paced back and forth, looking for something else to do.

The whole day went by in a flash. I skipped breakfast. I skipped coffee. I wasn't even hungry for lunch, but I tried to make myself eat. Nope, not hungry. I had about five bites of chicken, then right back to work. My mouth was dry and my head was spinning but it felt so good to have such a rush of energy. Time just raced by, and before I knew it, 5:00 rolled around. But I stayed behind to finish some paperwork, and a patient came in about 5:30 and I happily stayed late to fit her glasses.

I should have been on the ground, writing in starving agony. My stomach has not tolerated hunger well lately. But I was great! I got home, got dressed for the softball game, and left again. No time for the dinner Emily cooked. I wasn't hungry anyways.

At the game, I started getting the numbness in my hands that I've gotten at the last couple big important games. Last week I couldn't complete the game, my hands had gotten so bad. But tonight I just decided to tough through it, and sure enough the feeling faded away.

I stayed late to talk to my dad and uncle and cousin, then ran an errand to Target to get some printer ink. I got back home about 9:20, still nothing in my stomach. Still not hungry.

I made myself eat as much of a baked potato as I could, but it was a struggle. My body didn't want it. I tried some yogurt later, but it was a force-feed. It's now 11:13 and I've been typing madly in the dark.

I'll give this one more try, maybe two. But it's kinda scary it has taken such a hold of me. The positive effects are certainly nice, but maybe this it too much.

Happy Thought For The Day!

You know how when a new CEO takes over a failing business, tries to make it more "profitable?" And then he restructures the company, pulls all the money upward, and squeezes every last dollar out of the business, which the shareholders walk away with as the company goes bankrupt and the employees lose their 401ks?

I REALLY hope that that's not what our government's doing to us right now, because boy does it look like it.

Hello There

Ok, so this is my first post since learning I have readers. Awkward. I'm going to just pretend you're not there.

So, you know when you're driving really fast and then slam on the brakes, you feel as though you're being pulled backward? That's how Emily and Maddy and I feel today. We have been doing so much stuff in so little time - we've been to Disneyland and Seattle in three weeks, as well as the Hogle Zoo and the new Waterpark and the 4th of July Parade a host of other things, all while excitedly anticipating our pregnancy, and I've been building the deck and recording my album, all in just over a month total. Today we're all sitting in different rooms, laying down, watching different tvs. We're forcing ourselves to slow down. And it's making us all feel weird.

2009 will be a memorable year, I hope. I can't really discern the differences between 2006, 2007, 0r 2008 in my memory. I really think that not moving locations has made it difficult for my mind to attach dates to memories. I think that remembering that Italy, the conception of our next child, the deck, kindergarten, and the album all came in 2009 will help to make this a standout year. I've even made a real effort to only listen to albums that have been released this year, in hopes that I can find something that can act as a mile-post in my memory. I hope so. If not, then what? We'll have to move, I guess.

Its weird, but I think I'm beginning to feel the undertow of self-effacing parenthood. That my life is no longer about me, it's only about my child. It actually comes as a great relief to learn that acquaintances think of me as a nerd. Because that means that there is still enough quirky personality left in me to shine through. I was starting to worry I was becoming bland.

This seems like it's all I think about lately. How odd.

P.S. I don't think I stressed over a single thing while in Seattle. The flight, the car rental, driving around town (even getting lost), making plans, changing plans, packing the most amount of activity into every day... I should have been a wreck. But I wasn't. I don't know what that's all about.

P.P.S. I'm kinda jealous of singers who go crazy with their vocals. Any time I try to sing cool or breathy or hoarse, it seems to me like I'm just faking it and I'm too honest to actually sing like anything other than little old me.

The Free Market

A big problem for me lately is the division between what is ethical and what is profitable. I feel almost like I expect those in the situation to make the moral choice, even if it means less money. But they never do.

In defense of greed over integrity, I've heard the free market get blamed. The power lies with the people, right? Then why do people chose to support companies that are, in fact, hurting them by means of pollution or outsourcing or other similar means?

There's a distinction between Democracy and mob rule. Hammurabi's code of laws was established "so that the strong should not harm the weak." Or, Larry Flynt once said something to the effect that you must have minority protection in a majority rule state, "because you can't have five wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for dinner."

So, should the free market be that free? Even if we're chosing inconsequential coverage of Michael Jackson's death over potentially life-saving coverage of the revolt in Iran?

I don't have an answer yet, anyway. This requires more thinking.

The March Hare!

Sheesh. I had an encounter with a real nutbag today. Let me try to replicate the phone conversation. I'll be normal. He'll be italic because he's seriously off balance.

Hello?

William?

This is Christopher.

Can I talk to William?

He's examining a patient right now. Is there something I can help you with?

That means he's there then. In the office. Most white-collar types take Fridays off to go camping.

Yes... he's here today.... What can I help you with?

I was given his name and number by someone at his church. I need to bring my son in to get him some glasses. See, his... mother - and I use that term in a derogotory way - she only buys him these weak little glasses that break all the time. I don't even know why places sell these pieces of trash to people. They're weak little things that fall apart. I need something that will hold together for a young boy. He plays hockey. And there's gotta be something out there that is meant for little boys to be rough with and never break. Like, if they can make cell phones that you can run over with a car, why can't they make glasses out of the same stuff? But they have a scam. They sell you stuff that will break in a year. Like cars today. They sell them to you when they know they're going to break. It's garbage! THEY'RE GARBAGE! And I'm sick of these doctors selling my boy glasses that BREAK ALL THE TIME! I want some that are undesctructable. I don't care if they look good or not. His mother worries about fashion, but I don't care. I'll make him wear them. I know we have to get his eyes measured, and we do that every year or six months or whatever, but we do that and get the glasses and they break in two weeks. We just got his last pair after getting his eye measured and they broke in a couple days. So can we come in there today and get some glasses that WON'T BREAK?!

Well, does he have a prescription, or-

Obviously he needs to get his eyes measured again. Did you not pick that up? His last one was way over a year ago and I know we need to get them checked every couple months. Don't you know that? So, yes, I need you to measure his eyes and make him some glasses that aren't weak pieces of crap that every time something happens his astigmatism lenses come out.

Ok. The doctor is currently booked for two weeks.

*Silence*

You can tell by my silence that I am not too happy about that. Two weeks? I've never heard of such a thing. I've NEVER heard of such a thing! How can he be booked for two weeks?! What would happen in an emergency?! What if I gouged my eyes out?! You wouldn't turn me away IF I WAS BLEEDING! TWO WEEKS?! What does that even mean?!

We have two weeks worth of patients waiting to see him.

For TWO WEEKS?! How long does it even take to get your eyes measured?!

About forty minutes.

For just the one doctor?! You have that many people waiting to see him?

Yes. We have a lot of patients. We're very blessed.

Well, I guess so. The guy who gave me his number sure liked him, so that's why I'm calling. How much does that forty minutes with the doctor cost?

Do you have insurance?

What do you think?! OF COURSE I don't have insurance!

Well, then it will be $95 for the exam. Plus you're looking at about $120 for the frames and $95 for the lenses.

Three hundred dollars? And you have glasses there that won't ever break?

Well... we have glasses here that are well made and have warranties in case of breaking. I've got to tell you, in my experience, you can the most well-made frames on the planet, give them to a young boy, and he'll find a way to break them.

Well he's very good with his glasses. Always puts them in his backpack. He wears them for hockey. And he runs around in them. Gets a little rowdy. But he's good with them. He never will try to break them. They just are crap! They're CRAP! I look at them under a magnifying glass and it's just cheap material they use to build them with. I need something strong for him. Something that could withstand the Space Shuttle taking off. I mean, you don't even understand what they could be making glasses out of. You tell me this: why don't they have a polymer hinge?

Er... a "polymer hinge"--

What's your name?

...Christopher.

Christopher, you don't know much about glasses. I would hope that someone in your field would know all about every kind of glasses out there. There's got to be something stonger out there to make glasses out of. They need to make polymer hinges and coat the astigmatism lenses in it to they stop breaking. You know the stuff on the bottom of the space shuttle? Why can't they make glasses out of that?! I want to be able to hit them with a hammer and they'll be fine! I know they can make them but they'll probably cost a thousand dollars. And we can't all live out there on the East side and so nothing but polish our cars all day. So why can't they make unbreakable lenses that I can afford?! Tell your fancy doctor - and I shouldn't even use that term. He's not even a real doctor, is he?

Yes, he's a doctor.

Does he have a PhD?

He's an O.D.

Listen, I'm from Canada, and up there we don't call someone a doctor unless they have a postgraduate degree. They have to actually be a doctor. They have to have a doctorate of something.

He does have a postgraduate degree, he earned a doctorate in Optometry, and he's licensed in the state of Utah as A DOCTOR!

Well, tell your fancy PhD to call me and explain to me why they can't make unbreakable glasses. Will you? Can he call me and tell me why they can't have a polymer hinge? I'll just need five minutes of him talking. I'll just listen. I just want your doctor to explain to me why every pair of glasses is a piece of crap.

Sure. What's your name?

---- -----

And your phone number?

--- ----

And who referred you to us?

No, I'm not going to tell you. I know you must all ready think I'm an asshole. I don't want you to get mad at the person who referred me. Just have the doctor call me.

Ok...*click*

WHEW!

Well, dad called back and was immediately barraged by the man's conspiracy theories. Like how Dentists won't tell you to floss so that you have to keep coming back to them. Dad warned him right then not to get off topic or he would hang up. But still, it was mostly the guy talking and my dad trying to get a word in. Despite the fact that he can "talk circles" around my dad when it comes to Quantum Mechanics, eventually he was convinced that there is no such thing as unbreakable glasses. And that was that. And he also told my dad that I was a good boy. Weird!

Little White Lies

So, surprisingly enough, I didn't love Fastball's album on first listen. I bought "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" the same day, but it didn't really do much for me either. Then I saw Franz live, and went back to their album and loved it. I couldn't stop listening to it. After that kinda faded a little, I went back to Fastball. Oh man. What is wrong with me?

I LOVE Little White Lies. The title track is awesome, the closing song "Soul Radio" is epic. But the middle stretch "How Did I Get Here?" "We'll Always Have Paris" "Angelie" and especially "She's Got The Rain" is 14 minutes of pure bliss. Complete genius. It's so weird that this stuff can't hit me on first listen. It's so weird that it has to soak in. I wonder how many things out there I'm missing out on because they need more time.

Also, I got the Decemberists' "The Hazards of Love." It's a pretty darn cool album, and the ambition of it is admirable. I need to sit down with it some evening and read the lyrics as I go, since I've got most of the story figured out, but there's still a couple details I'm hazy on.

All in all, it feels good to be listening to contemporary music again. It feels good to be back on the forefront of music. And most of all, it feels good knowing that there are still great musicians out there making music that I love. I thought those days were over.

Gotta Blog

I have to keep writing. I have to get in the habit of putting my thoughts down as I get them, because I think my ability to make new memories is hampered. Most of my memories are cross-referenced with each other. But the background has been changing for years and now has stopped. I mean, I can remember grades in school, and almost every year after high school has a different location to go from. All I had to do was remember where I was living, and I could remember what year it was and what else was going on. But since moving to this house, everything has stabilized. Same friends, same family, same house, same job. And I love everything, so I'm not about to change any of it. So, I have to find another way.

Another worry is that blogging everything won't solve the problem by itself. I have to read it. I see things that I've written on myspace years ago that I don't remember at all. But at the same time, I worry that adding too much stuff will bury the important stuff, as I wrote before.

Hey, I remembered that.

Bag of Nerves

I get so nervous over little things. Tonight I'm going out with Felix to see Franz Ferdinand play at the Avalon Theatre. It's the first time in months that I've done anything without Emily or Madeleine, and it's so funny how much that scares me.

I take it as a sign that this is something I absolutely must do. "A person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken." Right? I'm worried I'll settle down too comfortably in my own little world, and begin to lose touch with reality.

I was a complete wreck as the plane touched down in Rome. Changing plans and planes
in Atlanta and Paris had shaken me, and knowing that a large city in a foreign country lay ahead of me got the better of my senses. But finally something clicked in me and I was able to function again. The whole trip had its difficulties that caused me plenty of worry, but that's part of what it made it so great for me. The high I felt (and am still feeling) is due in no small part to the feeling that I "survived" it.

But does seeing a band I'm familiar with in a venue I've all ready visited with one of my closest friends really count as a new experience? It's got me nervous enough, so we'll count it as one.

Grown Up

My girl is growing up too fast for me. We went bowling tonight, and I just couldn't believe she's all ready at the age where we can go on dates. Not just me dragging a toddler along, but having a real conversation - even if it was silly. She informed me that after she's a ballerina and a rock star, she's going to be a worm-helper (veterinarian for worms), and finally an eye doctor. Then she realized that before all that she needs to be a babysitter first. Then she told me that she's not a baby, so if I need someone to watch her, I should call a babysitter, I should a grownupsitter.

Death and Taxes

Oh good God. Today was "Tea Party" day. I'm making a note of it now, because within weeks it will be forgotten. If only we could remember the sheer volume of stupidity of this day, maybe we wouldn't be doomed to repeat it.

It's a covert Republican rally. The Republican brand has been shamed so thoroughly, they can no longer sell it. But I can't decide if it's laughable or frightening that their new tack is "Bring down the government!" They mean "Bring down the Democrats" but I don't know if that's clear enough to their constituents.

Hateful people can be stirred up into a dangerous frenzy, it's true. But I wonder if anything lasting will come of this, because the figureheads of the movement don't truly believe in it. It's all a soulless ploy to rebuild a political party. Amazingly enough, it's the party that created the economic problem they're rallying against.

I had a little bit of hope that our country had turned a corner, and Bush's incompetence had awoken the people to just what his party was up to. But here we are, he's only been out of office a couple months and these morons are clamoring for more.

Protesting taxation? Really? First of all, this is still Bush's tax rate. Obama hasn't done anything to it yet. If you had wanted change, you should have asked for it during the six years Republican control. Calling this tax code tyranny or even terrorism (Neil Boortz just did), is calling Bush a tyrant. You didn't like that so much when we did it, did you?

Secondly, these public places you're using for your rallies are maintained by your tax dollars. The roads you drove on to get there are maintained by your tax dollars. The schools you pulled your children out of, the police present keeping the peace, the military you claim to support, the very infrastructure that makes your everyday lives possible: all tax dollars. Don't fool yourselves.

Thirdly, there are a few historically handicapped folks (outside of Washington D.C.) that are screaming "no taxation without representation!" Hopefully not all of you are that stupid.

Speaking of history, how about these protesters claiming that this is all about getting back to what the founding fathers had in mind? I heard a woman claiming that this is about small business, as the constitution intended. Completely unaware of what the Constitution actually says (specifically regarding tax), she also didn't realize that under the original constitution, she would not have a vote.

Finally: teabagging? Seriously? Your mothers must be so proud.

But why do I worry? Like I said, in a few weeks this will all be forgotten. America will go on as usual. I'm just recording the parade of idiocy.

Fastball

Fastball has a new album out today, so I'm writing about it before I ever hear it. I have a problem with new albums from bands that I love. I never like them at first. I don't know why, but my first day with an album is always a disappointment. Fastball has been this way for me, so have Spoon, Rufus Wainwright, and the Strokes. Almost always, I go on to love the album, but it takes awhile. So, I'm experimenting this time, and getting all my negative feelings out beforehand. Now we'll see what happens when I listen.

I'm also looking to buy the new Franz Ferdinand album. I'm still not so sold on their previous one, but I've discovered another interesting facet that colors my view of an album (like cover artwork): release date. There is something to be said about being contemporary. Maybe it comes from studying music of the sixties and wondering what it was like to hear this music in context. But I happen to enjoy an album differently (not necessarily more or less) when I know that other people are also hearing it for the first time.

It's a surprising revelation, actually, how much more goes into my view of music than just music. My opinion of the artist (or in some cases, only the limited view of the artist's image) shapes my opinion of their songs. I guess it's like blindfolded taste-tests; the tongue has a different taste for things without the eyes telling it what to expect.

Playoff!

I don't care if college football playoff games won't sell out. Not every bowl even does right now anyway. Remember those reports about how cheap Orange Bowl tickets were going for the day of the game? So, now today I hear some nobody sportscaster opining that we shouldn't have a playoff because the games won't sell out.

What B.S.

Yes, of course I understand what big business college football is. But it is still a sport, and not even a professional one at that. If the integrity of the game is to be preserved, all other considerations besides fairness must be pushed aside. End of discussion.

The NCAA and the Presidents and Athletic Directors of the BCS conferences have proven that they could care less about fair play. It's about the money. It's worse than the other rigged sports like Professional Wrestling or the NBA because at least in those sports the athletes are getting paid.

Sure, the college athlete gets a scholarship, and I'm not going to disparage the scholarship itself. Nor the degrees these athletes earn. Other people diminish this accomplishment, but I'll never understand why. It's an honorable compensation for their efforts. There's two other things that upset me instead.

First, academic dishonesty. Universities either lower their academic standards or actually cheat in order to attract skilled athletes that would otherwise be academically ineligible. The Universities themselves are cheapening the athlete's education and the degree conferred upon them. In essense, they are diminishing the compensation to the athlete. They are saying that their education is worth nothing. So, thanks alot for that.

Secondly, there is the greater effect that a football program has on a University's finances. Not only does a successful football program boost student applications to the school, but the more profitable a program is, the less of a burden it is on tuition-payers. This is important because it means the BCS gives an advantage to certain institutions of higher learning. This then affects (to exactly what degree, I can't say) their research capabilities, their grants, the economies of the surrounding cities, and the state that funds them in part. So, when someone says this isn't Congress's problem, I respectfully disagree.

You Liar!

Laura Ingraham, you are a liar. We did not receive three feet of snow during your stay in Utah. We did not receive another three this morning. Not even at Alta, where you stayed during your trip. It was a bizarre moment for me to be driving down a clear street with the sun shining, and hear your voice on the radio proclaiming that I was covered by three feet of snow. You lied.

Furthermore, I thought you knew that Utah is a very Republican state. I'm fairly certain that a good portion of locals at the lodge at Alta were conservative. When they reacted as your daughter said "Put Barack in the fire!" I think it wasn't just because they were mindless "libs," as you accuse, but rather, they were simply decent people who couldn't help but feel disgusted at the suggestion of the immolation of our president.

Please, kindly shut up. Thank you.

P.S. Also on the topic of AM Talk Radio Right Wing Douchebags, I'm wondering if, in all fifteen years of his talk show, Michael Savage has ever EVER gone a single broadcast without comparing Liberals to Nazis. EVER?!

Stu takes first! Does Stu take second?

Well, the Utes won. And the Utes lost. The Red Rocks Gymnastics team went down to BYU and smashed them 197.800 to whatever low score the Cougars got. Ute fans absolutely outnumbered BYU fans by about 200 - 50. It made Emily and I wish we had gone down there. Madeleine wanted to go too, since it looked a lot quieter than Ute meets. It's sad to see Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim leave; they've been our favorites ever since the first meet we attended.

And the Runnin' Utes lost to Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. Even though I held out hope until the end, and was sincerely excited when they started fighting back with five minutes to go, it was glaringly obvious to me from the start that Arizona was going to win. Their guys were just all over the floor, hassling the Utes and showing endless energy. As I write this, Cleveland State is leading Wake Forest, but I would expect either team to lose to Arizona in the next round after what I've seen tonight.

There, you see? I blogged again. Maybe there is some hope for this becoming actively used again. The embarrassing thing is the how edited my former posts are. Everything you see posted prior to today has been edited by me sometime in 2005. I went back and cleaned out all the bad language and cutting out "unworthy" stuff. How foolish of me. What's the point of polishing this up?

The World Needs More Blogs

No it doesn't. So I'm just resurrecting my old one. I would find it embarrassingly hilarious if I made this particular post one of those "This is what my blog will be about" posts, then follow it up with absolutely nothing. You can find those littering the landscape of the blogosphere. It's awesome.

Speaking of littered blogospheres, there's a thought that's been kicking around my head. And since getting my thoughts into writing is what my blog will be about, here we go.

I think about how much of history is simply lost. There are billions of unaccounted-for lives that were lived with no written record of their accomplishments. And every lifetime contains accomplishments. Even large, powerful civilizations have had their written records lost to history. And we think we're so lucky now that everything is adequately catalogued and filed away so that every last detail of our life and times are preserved for the ages.

But do have any idea how much CRAP is recorded too? Look at the damn "Blogosphere" or YouTube or Twitter or imagine how many copies of People or Us or Entertainment Weekly have been printed that have preserved exactly nothing of historical value. Well, not the important stuff. Nothing that will enlighten future researchers in their understanding of the early 21st Century. All of the important details of our time will be buried underneath a mountain of useless information.

Of course, it all depends on what is considered important. I realize that. My point was more to illustrate just how equally transient in time we are to those lost civilizations. All this will be gone, everything we have constructed will be eroded away, and everything we have written will go unread.

Like this. Heh.

Anywho, one other thought I must get out before I lose it; my love of the words "nuanced" and "robust." Specifically because they can be used to describe their own usage. To use the word "nuanced" is to have a nuanced understanding of your subject, the word, and its usage. Furthermore, if you use "robust" in describing something, you are also declaring your robust support for calling it so. At least that's the way I think of it. They're fantastic words.

P.S. Reminder to myself if I'm reading this about 360 or so days from now - go with your gut when you're filling out your NCAA Bracket!!! Again this year I got bit in the opening round, wondering why I changed my mind on picking Texas A&M, Michigan, and Maryland.

Transistor Hut!

How the hell is Radio Shack still in business? If I have to explain to the employee of a electronics supplies store what a 15-pin male-to-female SVGA cable looks like, or what a TRS quarter inch / Stereo RCA adapter does, I really don't feel as though I'm getting top-notch service. It doesn't matter anyway, because they don't have them there. I don't know what in the hell they do have, other than useless random parts I have to take home and solder just to get them to do what I need. And nobody is ever in the store except for three employees, each asking me if I want a free cell phone with my purchase.

No. I don't want a cell phone. I see people driving in to work at eight in the morning, talking on their phones (and tailgating me). Who the hell are they talking to that early in the morning? "What did you do today?" "Well, I brushed my teeth with that new Emeril toothpaste..." I don't have a damn thing to say to anyone before three frappochinos (and I know that spelling is incorrect. It's a mark of my shame for being addicted to a product of a soul sucking corporation. Who needs three goddamn Starbucks in the same mall?!). Nowadays I'm at home or work all the time. And what if I'm out and need to contact somebody? Payphones.

I just wasn't made for these times. Everything was fine when it was analog. I would prefer any machine or device that the troubleshooting instructions read: "Give it a good whack. If that doesn't work, shake it around a bit." Who needs all this electronic crap? At the transistor hut today they had a book-sized portable dvd player. There it is. Why should anyone read a book ever again? At the grocery store, they have razors that require batteries for god knows what kind of evil purpose. On the internet, they have countless websites where people rant on and on about senseless bullshit...

Oh.

Well, I'm going to go read a book and listen to vinyl. Call me when the scientists stopped researching laser-guided bedets and actually figured out how to create a wormhole into another dimension.

Paul loves John.

Paul McCartney is a badass. I never realized it before, but his remixing of the "Let It Be" album into "Let It Be... Naked" wasn't just some sort of ego trip on his part (as Ringo would have you believe) but instead - perhaps - a way of making peace with John Lennon's ghost. I happened to be listening to the "Naked" version of "Across the Universe" and I was reminded of something John said in his last interview before his death. Talking to Playboy in 1980 John said: "The Beatles didn't make a good record of it. ...The guitars are out of tune and I'm singing out of tune 'cos I'm psychologically destroyed and nobody's supporting me or helping me with it and the song was never done properly." If you listen to the "Wildlife" version of it, it's covered with out of tune wah-wah guitars and girl singers. The "Let It Be" version was "puked on" by Phil Spector and sounds like shit. But the "Naked" version is just John and his acoustic guitar, all the phasing and tremolo washed away, with only faint hints of tambura and the guitars and strings far off in the distance. It's as if Paul were trying to undo all the "sabotage" John said he did to it.

Of course, Paul was also trying to undo the sabotage Phil Spector did to the whole album as well. Since "Let It Be" was originally recorded with the notion of recording all the songs with no overdubs at all, it's pathetically ironic that Spector produced the album with his trademark "wall of sound," ladling strings and brass and special effects onto almost every track. A few years ago, Spector was receiving a lifetime achievement award and Paul walked out on the ceremony, mentioning to journalists: "He fucked up 'Let It Be' and I'm not a man who forgets." Also, a precedent was set by George Harrison rereleasing "All Things Must Pass" in a de-Spectorized version a year or two before. So Paul removed all the crap, all the effects (even reverb is used very sparingly) and changed the song lineup, removing "Maggie Mae" and "Dig It."

But the most revealing aspect of the entire album is his remixing of "The Long And Winding Road." Stripped of the gaudy orchestration, the track reveals John playing bass - very poorly. Ian MacDonald lists the mistakes in his footnote in Revolution In The Head: "Recurring wrote notes at 0:28, 2:10 and 3:07; mis-strikes at 2:39 and 2:52; drop-outs at 2:59 and 3:14; a fumble at 0:19; a vague glissando at 1:03; a missed final push at 3:26." If John truly felt that Paul "subconsciously tried to destroy songs," what was John doing here? Still, on "Naked," Paul lovingly removes all the gunk covering "Across The Universe," yet brings John's bass up in the mix on "The Long And Winding Road." Taken in this context, it sure seems to me that Paul still has a great amount of love and respect for his former partner. And for that, I think he's a badass.