Baseball Season

Baseball season is about to start this year just like spring and with it a newness and rebirth of optimism for the season ahead. This season actually kicks off this Sunday with the Yankees - Red Sox rivalry.
Pretty much everyone who reads this knows I am a huge NY Mets fan and after their terrible year last season I am really hoping for a bounce back in 2010 due to the lower expectations. They may not be able to top the Phillies but I think they can make a run at them if they stay healthy.
I was kind of wondering who your favorite baseball team is? Who do you pull for? I know not everyone is a sports fan but everyone should at least have a team they identify with a little bit. Give me your thoughts on this baseball season and how you think your team will do.

-Doc

Our Most Influential Albums

Last week I went to my two best friends and blog contributors AbsolutGator and Mt. Cat and gave a little assignment. Each of us was to come up with a list of our Top 10 most influential albums. Each of us is a huge music fan and although we have some similar tastes we also have very different tastes as well. The rules to the list are that this is not a "favorite" list but the music that has influenced us. Also it must be a studio album and not a compilation or Greatest Hits collection or a Live performance. It's interesting to see how there are some parallels because none of us knew what the other was listing. Here goes so give a read and Tell us what you think:

Here is the AbsolutGator's list of influential albums. I made this list based on the album influencing me personally to not only listen to the band, but open my musical tastes to listen to other bands like them. These are not in any particular order:
Metallica: Master of Puppets - This is the best of Metallica and, arguably, the best metal album of all time. RIP - Cliff Burton
Jimmy Buffett: Fruitcakes - I always liked Brother Jimmy, but this was the album that got me to really become a fan.
Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction - In the late '80s, you didn't go out after the Friday night football game without listening to this! Playing Def Leopard's Hysteria before GN'R was considered bad form.
The Clash: London Calling - This album hit on all types of genres and made punk something worth listening to.
AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - C'mon, what 3rd grade boy isn't gonna love singing about his balls?
Motley Crue: Shout at the Devil - Glam rock that kicked major ass.
Eagles: One of These Nights - The first album I can ever remember listening to as a kid with my Dad using the Aiwa reel-to-reel.
The Cure: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - I knew a girl in high school that said she did interesting things when Shiver and Shake would play. Unfortunately, I could only dream as she dated a friend of mine.
Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill - Rap w/ classic rock riffs...that I can get into.
Jane's Addiction: Nothing's Shocking - This was the album that got me interested in and started alt-rock to me, making Grunge possible.

The next ten:
Herb Albert - Rise
Van Halen - Diver Down
Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses
RHCP - Freaky Styley
Huey Lewis & The News - Sports
Green Day - Dookie
John Cougar (Mellencamp) - My 1st CD!
The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
Social Distortion - Social Distortion

Here is the Mt. Cat's list. Below are my top ten. A few on the list can be higher or lower depending on my mood. Also, I listed about 45 other big albums in my life. Surprise by any of them? - TMC


1. Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd (I think I listened to the album more than any other. Their Wish You Were Here album isn't far behind either).
2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (Greatest pop-rock album of all-time).
3. Led Zeppelin I - Led Zeppelin (Greatest raw hard rock album ever made).
4. Thriller – Michael Jackson (The King of Pop got me into music as a ten year old [insert Jesus Juice joke here]. Who is not influenced by the album??)
5. Who’s Next – The Who (This album as well as Quadrophenia are mind-blowing. Keith Moon makes the hair on my arms stand up).
6. The Stranger - Billy Joel (This album sweats the five boroughs of NYC).
7. Violator - Depeche Mode (I never liked them before this album. I've been mesmerized ever since. Their 2009 Sounds of the Universe album is equally great).
8. Invisible Touch – Genesis (My theme album for my grammar school graduation).
9. Play - Moby (First big album of the new millennium for me and when first I became a proud, successful Manhattanite).
10. The Fat of the Land - Prodigy (A disturbing album to listen to but it reminds me how strong I've become from hard times in my life).


Almost made the list:
Quadrophenia – The Who Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin IV Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin Abby Road - The Beatles Sgt. Pepper - The Beatles Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette So - Peter Gabriel No Jacket Required - Phil Collins Jimmy Buffett - Songs You Know By Heart The Doors – The Doors L.A. Woman - The Doors Joshua Tree - U2 Achtung Baby- U2 Metallica – Metallica Master of Puppets – Metallica Ride the Lightning – Metallica Sounds of the Universe - Depeche Mode Synchronicity – The Police Van Halen I – Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge – Van Halen 1984 – Van Halen The Living Years – Mike + The Mechanics Ray of Light – Madonna London Calling - The Clash R - Queens of the Stone Age Hysteria – Def Leppard Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park (What's the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis Purple Rain – Prince Empire – Queensrÿche Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine OK Computer – Radiohead Dr. Feelgood - Mötley Crüe Pretty Hate Machine – Nine Inch Nails You've Come a Long Way, Baby – Fat Boy Slim Meantime – Helmet Oranges & Lemons – XTC Throwing Copper – Live Dream of the Blue Turtles – Sting Please - The Pet Shop Boys Very – Pet Shop Boys Presto – Rush Moving Pictures - Rush Storm Front - Billy Joel Nevermind – Nirvana Back in Black – AC/DC

Here's Doc's Top 10 list. Mine was really hard to crop down so I also included some that almost made the list. I did mine in reverse order David Letterman style.

10. Everything to Everyone - Barenaked Ladies - One of the greatest albums of the last 10 years. A great listen beginning to end. Also gave me a new kind of hope during a difficult transition time in my life.
9. License to Ill - Beastie Boys - My soundtrack for 9th grade in my life. I moved to Charlotte from a smaller town and found this album about the same time. Listened to it every day on the hour long school bus ride to and from. Probably still know every word by heart. Funny thing is my least favorite song is the "hit" Fight for your Right.
8. Purple Rain - Prince - Wow talk about an eye opening album for a young almost teenager!
7. The Long Run - Eagles - Still a great listen and another one you can listen to from start to end. One of the first records I ever bought with my own money.
6. Synchronicity - The Police - When this album came along it marked my introduction to more complex lyrical music. Wow what is this? Imagery? You mean the words can mean something else? I wore out this cassette tape in a summer and had to buy another copy.
5. Cracked Rear View - Hootie and the Blowfish - Another transition album in my life. I really liked this album and then was given the opportunity to move to Columbia SC during it's heyday. I even ran into Darius Rucker right after I moved there and ended up attending the release party for their second album.

4. Sports - Huey Lewis and the News - Super Pop Rock album and the first CD I ever owned.
3. Automatic for the People - REM - An anthem album for me in college and after. I also picked it up again a few years ago after not listening for a decade and it still speaks to me just like it did back then.
2. Appetite For Destruction - Guns-n-Roses - Hard driving and my introduction to gritty tough Rock-n-Roll. Grabbed me from the opening note and never let go.
1. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi - Im my opinion the best Rock album of all time. Probably the album I have listened to the most times in my life. Great music and 2 separate and distinct parts to the album. Even though it served as a high school anthem the 1st part still rings true today. Timeless and I still listen from time to time.

Almost made the list: (no particular order)
1984 - Van Halen
Please - The Pet Shop Boys
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morisette
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Fruitcakes - Jimmy Buffett
Storm Front - Billy Joel
The Stranger - Billy Joel
Boston - Boston
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

So there they are. We would love to hear what you think... Feel free to make a list of your own most influential albums and share it with us.

-Doc, Mt. Cat and Absolutgator

A few Monday thoughts

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We did, very busy with stuff all three nights. Last night we even had some severe weather and a tornado touched down in the next county but altogether a great weekend. A few notes:

-NCAA tournament updated standings to the right over there. Kimmeh continues to lead but can score no more points. Can anyone catch her?
-Later this week possibly tomorrow (if they get them to me) My two other blog brothers Mt. Cat and AbsolutGator and I will be posting our top 10 lists of most influential music albums of out life. Should be good stuff!
-The NASCAR race at Martinsville Virginia was rained out yesterday so I get the rare opportunity to listen to the race here at work on the radio... GREAT FUN on a Monday!
-I am here this week but will be leaving Friday night on vacation (Spring Break) up to New York (The NOFO) for the opening of NY Mets season and my brother in law's wedding the following weekend. I will basically be gone from the 3rd until the 13th and although I will have internet access but probably won't be able to post much so I have a request... Would a couple of you like to guest blog here on YJKOBT for me? A few posts about whatever you like? Random stuff or odd news? Let me know because I would love to have some guest bloggers to post next week. I will just add you on as a YJKOBT contributor.
-After this weekend I am less than 10 miles away from completing my goal to Walk to 100 miles so by the time I get back from New York I will have completed my goal ahead of time actually! It also seems that I have been losing some weight so I guess I am doing OK with my goal of living healthier.
-Why the cat with the lime on it's head? Because I like it and have never had a good excuse to post it here.

I hope everyone has a great week!

-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 3/27/10

-Enjoy your Weekend!

-Doc

Oops, This was Not A Good Idea

The playground pictured to the right is in a New York City's Bedford-Stuyvesant section in a public housing project. The jungle gym features bars and a door with a bright orange jail motif. It even says JAIL directly over the door. Now I want to know who thought it was a good idea to have kids playing in jail before they even had a chance to commit any crimes. This is a minority neighborhood and as you can imagine residents were upset. One lady even says that several times she painted over the Jail sign only to have it repainted by city workers repeatedly over a period of 8 years. It wasn't until a news article pointing out the inappropriateness of the children's playground that the city agreed to take it down.
I wanted to know if you all know of any other inappropriate things like this that were meant for children to play with? Tell me what you've got!

-Doc

I'm with Coco (The Colon that is)

From the blog that brought you the worst mascot ever Petey the Pee Cup I now present to you the best mascot ever Coco the Colon. I heard about Coco on the radio the other day when Sheri Lynch from 107.9 the Link was trying to do an on air commercial and could not keep from cracking up because the name Coco the Colon is just so funny. Well apparently Coco is coming to Charlotte to raise awareness about colon cancer. Coco is a 40 foot long representation of the human intestines that shows healthy and diseased guts and is used as a teaching tool. I actually think this is a great idea and while funny is a good for raising awareness. While I probably won't get to go visit Coco because we will be out of town on vacation I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention because it's such a great idea and the catchy name is easy to remember. Enjoy your time in Charlotte Coco!

-Doc

I hate when I worry about stuff I can't control

Sorry if I haven't been my usual fun self in the past day or so but I got some difficult news yesterday at work and for some reason I don't deal very well with things like this.
Some background, I have a great job that I like and I do well at. I am an outside vendor servicing a major insurance company. I'm sort of a local go between for two companies that have a quarter of a billion dollar yearly account. I enjoy what I do and think that I do it very well. My operation has been used as a model for others across the country. In fact my job was one of the few spared during the restructuring of our department during the recession. My point is this, I have a vested interest in making sure that my job stays the same and right where it is.
Yesterday I found out that my manager since 2004 took a different job in the company. I know that he had been looking at doing something but I was shocked that this seems to have been a demotion not a promotion. This creates the worry. I hate when this happens because I have this terrible internal worry mechanism that I can't seem to turn off that makes me run over all the worst case scenarios when something like this happens. I hate it and intellectually I know it's irrational but I still worry. Why would my manager take a demotion to move elsewhere? Why wouldn't he tell me? Is our department being disbanded? What will happen to me and my customers? What will happen to all I have built here? Why this? Why now? Why me? I can't control any of this but yet I worry.
I hate it but I just can't seem to stop it. Arrrrghhhh!

-Doc

What was Jesse James thinking?

So last week after I heard about the Jesse James and Sandra Bullock scandal where this motorcycle builder who is married to one of America's sweethearts has been accused of cheating on her I figured the woman he cheated on her with must be some sort of knockout. Then I heard her name was Michelle Bombshell McGee so that fits right? Then I heard she was a tattoo model and I went uh oh. A tattoo model? Then I saw pictures and I just had to post this. When they say tattoo model they aren't saying that this woman has a cute little tramp stamp or a bunny on her breast, she is flat out covered in the ink. She also looks kind of like a vampire or something. So without further adieu let me introduce you to Michelle Bombshell McGee: (for more pictures you can click here)
Now I know that the tat model refers to you as the Vanilla Gorilla and all that but I just cant see it my man. Sandra just reached the pinnacle of her career and won an Oscar. Jesse, buddy you had this at home and chose to screw around with that?

Of course maybe Jesse is just one of these guys who gets really turned on by the ink. I am not sure that Sandra Bullock has any and certainly not as much as Ms. Bombshell or Jesse's former squeeze (and porn star) Janine Lindemulder pictured below in a happy moment where she isn't in prison or waging a no holds barred custody battle with Jesse over their daughter.

So what do you think? Take the cheating issue out of it because of course that it wrong but is Jesse of his rocker (or chopper)? Who would you prefer the tattoo model or Sandra Bullock? I just can't believe that he was dumb enough to do this... but as Tiger Woods has shown us anything is possible.

-Doc

(Funny thing is there is actually a movie called Vanilla Gorilla coming out next year)

Monday.. Monday...

Good Monday morning to everyone... where did the weekend go? Not that I hate my job because I don't I just wish that I could have another day to spend with my wife and son because we have so much fun on the weekend when we aren't running like crazy this Saturday.
Anyway I don't mind Monday too much but i certainly don't love it like Mrs. D does... She is downright tickled pink that Monday gets here and she can get back on her normal routine.
What's that picture on the right of? That's either my NCAA Tournament bracket or the Republicans debating the health care legislation last night because both exploded over the weekend . I'm not sure which. Oh boy nothing like Kansas, Georgetown, Villanova and Wisconsin to mess up a bracket right ? Updated standings are to the right of the blog and we have quite a showdown including a 3 way tie for 7th place. Good Stuff! I can't wait to see what happens and who captures the trophy in the end.
So how was everyone elses weekend?

-Doc

Motivational poster of the Week 3/20/10

Enjoy the Weekend.

-Doc

So how is your bracket looking this morning?

So after Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament we have all the madness that is to be expected. Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Marquette all go down on day 1. Villanova barely escapes and BYU/Florida play in double overtime. The teams of the day yesterday had to be Murray State and Northern Iowa who both won great shots with no time left on the clock. Great stuff!
So how are you doing in your bracket pool? I have the updated standings of Jay and Doc's Blogger/Twitter league posted to the right. Please feel free to make any comments you wish.
Guess what. The Madeness continues today because the games start all over again today at 12:15 pm Eastern time. Enjoy!

-Doc

Thursday Random Thoughts 3/18/10

Stuff I have been thinking about:

-The NCAA tournament starts today! Today and tomorrow are two of my favorite days. Teams playing all the upsets. Watching the brackets and the ups and downs of watching teams you picked win and lose. This year I have the added excitement of the Tournament pool with all my blog and Twitter friends. I will do my best to keep the scores updated in the column to the right on the blog.

-I saw this picture the other day on Momma's Gone Mad Blog listed as the the Ultimate Redneck Mommy and I simply had to post it. If I didn't know that it's probably a for real picture I would think it was a joke. Hilarious. Sorry but I had to share it. You would almost think that someone would have photo shopped Sarah Palin's head on top.

-Had the Corned beef and potatoes for dinner last night to help celebrate St. Patrick's day. (We don't do the cabbage) It was fantastic! Corned beef brisket, spices, and a can of beer poured into the Crock Pot and cooked for 9 hours and it came out very well.

-How do we know for sure that Bluetooth devices don't cause brain cancer?

-This Nationwide Insurance "World's Greatest Spokesperson In the World" is very annoying and starting to get on my last nerve. So much so that if I had Nationwide insurance I think I would cancel it.

-OK lets bring up the Peeps debate. Peeps are one of these things that people either love or hate and I'm in the hate category. I think that Peeps are absolutely the worst, nastiest, teeth grating thing anyone could ever put in their mouth and I do my best to ban them from our house. So what's your opinion of the Peeps?

-For those of you who use a Blog Feed or a Google reader I am sorry about the motivational Poster for May 8th that popped up in it the other day. I schedule those posters ahead of time and while creating that one I forgot to change the date. Guess what? you will get to see it again on May the 8th! HA!

-I know that I brag on my son and sometimes too much but It's my blog and I will brag if I feel like it. Last Saturday he started his second year of swimming lessons. Because he did so well last year they are letting him "skip" a year and go into the class with the older kids. He is certainly the youngest and smallest in the class but he held his own and we were very proud of him. Even when he fell in the water when he wasn't paying attention and the Lifeguard had to grab him.

Until next time... enjoy the NCAA tourney games! I can't wait until lunch when I will grab a Jimmy Johns #9 and check out the games from work on the computer.

-Doc

The Worst St. Patrick's Day Ever...

Here I will reprint a previous post entitled "I woke up and I was walking" - It deserves a re-read. This is Mine and AbsolutGator's version of "The Hangover" where I had to call his mom and report that I had lost him. Couldn't find any pictures from that trip but here is one of us from just prior to a Jimmy Buffett concert in 02. Looks like Absolut is trying to show me how to smoke something. (look how thin we used to be)

You guys have heard a bunch of stories about Mt. Cat and I causing trouble. Today I am going to tell one on our buddy Absolutgator and explain why I will never willingly to go to Savannah, Georgia again.St. Patrick's day 1996. I was living in Columbia, SC at the time and a former roommate of mine (and Mt. Cat's) Paulie, my buddy Absolut and I decide that we are going to accept an invitation I had of a place to stay in Savannah Georgia for what is supposed to be the largest St. Patty's party outside of Dublin. Absolut and Paulie meet me in Columbia and along with a girl I worked with at the time named Angela we all pile into a rental car and get on the road. We decided that I would drive down there because I knew where I was going and so I wouldn't have to drive later that night.

On the trip down Absolut starts to drink a few so by the time we get to Savannah he is in full gear. This is where we meet Kelly whose place we are to stay at and her friend whose name I can't remember.It's going to be party time. Angela doesn't drink and agrees to drive us all home. Excellent lets go party. Well as it turns out Kelly and her friend had been having a few before we got there and her friend ended up passing out and not going downtown with the rest of us. Kelly was in bad shape too but we all set off to go to downtown Savannah for this huge party anyway.

During the ride Kelly is all over my hugging me and loudly whispering stuff in my ear and generally being very annoying. Absolut was very annoying too by playing with the radio and at one point tuning in an AM station that was just static. We were trying to find a place to park and it was really getting on Paulie's nerves. All he wanted was a few beers. After a few trips around the party section with no success in finding a spot to park and the drunks yelling Paulie and I had finally had it. We told Absolut and Kelly to get out of the car and assigned Angela to watch them and meet Paulie and I at the corner bar as soon as we could park. Of course we then found a space right away.

Now Paulie and I are really ready to party. We park and get out and head to the closed off bar street area where the party is to meet our friends. We weren't away from them 15 minutes, that's all. We show up at the appointed location and see Angela but no Ablsolut and no Kelly. We ask her where they are and she points to a bar. Wait right here for us and we will go get them! So Paulie and I wade into this mass of humanity and realize after another 10-15 minutes that we have no shot at finding them in this place we are going to have to wait for them outside and catch them as they leave. Fine, I want a beer.

Paulie and I get beers from a street vendor and decide to wait for them, because by this time Angela had disappeared too. Since we are at the arranged meet up site they would have to show up sooner or later right? Half an hour goes by... an hour goes by... Nothing. Keep in mind this was before everyone had cell phones all over the place and all we had was the phone # for Kelly's place and my directions there as well as the car keys. We started to get a bit concerned since we hadn't found anyone so we decided to call Kelly's house. We get her friend who is now awake and informs us that Kelly took a cab home and left us there. Where is Angela and where is Absolut? Who knows?

It's now 10:30 at night and we decide to go back to Kelly's house because at least Angela has the phone # and will wait for her call. Well she calls on our way there and says she is at "A very scary motel at the corner of JFK and Gardens, but there are two nice guys taking care of her." now starting to get really worried and fully sober Paulie and I go and pick her up and she tells us what happened. After they got out of the car Kelly and Absolut went into the bar and then Paulie and I went in after them. Apparently I just missed Kelly because she came out and took a cab home. Ok fine, no everyone is accounted for except Absolut. When was the last time she saw him? "Oh I was watching him and he picked up an empty keg and tried to throw it at a cop," she says in a very matter of fact manner. Are you kidding me? Please don't tell me that my buddy got arrested in Savannah, Georgia on St. Pattys day... We may never get him out.

Being good friends Paulie and I go to the police station and get the very rude desk Sargent to go through the 117 arrest records from that night and no Absolut. Wheew that was one little bit of good news but still has us no further to finding my one of my best buddies. What are we going to do? Well about 2 am we decide that we will walk over the town until we find him. We start with the party area. Going through the alleys and park benches where drunks are asleep and passed out and worse. We walked from one side of Savannah to the other. We walked until it got light outside. We did not find Absolut. We did find my cousin who happened to be there on break from school and said hi to him. We walked until 10 am when we decided that we had been about as good a friends as we could be and Absolut was a grown up and may have to find his own way home.

We had one option left and it was the option that I was dreading. We could call Absolut's mom. I did not want to be the one to call up and tell her that we were in Savannah Ga and misplaced her son, but I had no choice so I went ahead and made the call. She was not easy on me but after owning up that I was here and Absolut was not she told me that he had called her an hour before and he was at the bus station getting a bus ride back to Columbia. We found him just before he was going to board his bus. We asked him where the heck he been and what had done. He said he couldn't remember a whole lot (go figure right). He did have a pretty decent answer when I asked him when he realized that he was really lost. His quote to me was, "I woke up and I was walking."

I don't care what the enticement is, I don't ever want to step foot in Savannah, Georgia again for any reason and certainly never again on St. Patrick's day.

-Doc

Curious Geroge Live!

On Sunday we took my son Patrick to see his absolute favorite Character Curious George live on Stage. He was thrilled beyond belief and even though he missed his nap we had a great time. I figured that I would share a few pictures:

Trying to get his picture with George.... This is the best of about 15 tries.

The Stage!

Proud Dad and son getting ready for the show.

Curious George on Stage!

"Hi Curious George"

Yum.. Popcorn!

"I sit with you Daddy?"

At the intermission I got him a balloon.... Oh what fun!

Good thing I tied it to my camera case

Please smile for the camera

My son the stalker kept trying to go back a row and hit on this poor girl. I bet he tried to talk to her 10 times... also wanted to "show her his balloon" You go boy!Here is his new favorite can't put it down stuffed animal George. He refused to pose for a picture for me so this is the best I have.

-Doc

Dumped By John Edwards Rielle Hunter now having Affair with Barney

Pictures are worth a 1000 words... Apparently
In a little bit of breaking news here John Edwards' mistress/Baby Momma is now admitting to an affair with the lovable Dinosaur Barney as seen below:



Dora The Explorer her former Lesbian lover is very jealous!


Oh the scandal.

-Doc

The Tournament Madness is Here!

It's here. It's NCAA tournament time and time for all the fun that comes along with it. To make it a little bit more interesting this year Jay and I decided to host an online tournament pool for all our fellow bloggers. Picks are now available and the first games tip off at noon on Thursday. If you aren't in yet and want to be please e-mail me at docnolz at yahoo dot com. It's free and easy to play but I have to e-mail you an invite. We do have room for plenty more players. If you are already in a couple of relevant notes:

-When making your picks make sure and pick EVERY game of the tournament including the final Four games and the Championship.
-Please enter a tie breaker. The tie breaker is the total final score of the championship game. (Example if you think the final game score will be 52 - 50 then the tie breaker is 102)
-The scoring is pretty simple. For every correct pick in round 1 you get 1 point, Round 2 = 2 points, Round 3 = 4 points, Round four = 8 points etc. The difference between this pool and others is this pool rewards risk taking. In addition to regular scoring you also get bonus points for picking upsets. If you pick a # 12 seed to beat a # 5 seed and they do then you also get 12 point bonus. Of course if they don't win you get nothing.
-Because of the bonus system the best possible score of the different entries will fluctuate. don't worry about this. Keep in mind as the games progress this will change.
-Go ahead and make your picks ASAP. If you want to make changes later you can right up until tip off time at noon on Thursday. This way you won't take a chance on having the scorn that will be an empty bracket.
-If for any reason you can't fill out your bracket please let me know. As the commissioner I have the ability to make your picks for you.
-Please engage in trash talking. It makes the game even more fun. There is a message group message board on the site and most of us are on Twitter and blogger so I am sure you will find a way to talk junk.
-Our budget wasn't huge for this but Jay and I managed to come up with a Super rocking trophy for the winner to post on their blog. This along with bragging rights for the next year ought to make it all worthwhile:

-If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

So fill out your brackets and may the best team win!

-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 3/13/10

Have a great weekend!

-Doc

Hitting the High Notes 3/12/10

Stuff I have read in the news recently:

-My favorite is this little news item about the Anheuser-Busch company suing small company called Baby Beer Bottles for making exactly that. Beer bottles for babies. While I find this humorous I guess the Anheuser-Busch folks didn't like them selling a bottle called "Bunwiper" HA!

-Did you hear about this? One of Michael Jackson's nephews apparently bought a taser online and was chasing Blanket around with it. I can't make this stuff up you guys!

-By now I am sure you heard about one of the worst ideas for take your children to work day. Yep the Air traffic control tower at JFK airport is not the best place for kids. If you haven't heard about it give the article a read. An air traffic controller at JFK had his son on the headset giving clearance to taxi and takeoff to planes.

-Here is an article I found oddly creepy. It's about a convicted serial killer who actually was the winner on the 70's game show The Dating Game. Ummm bachelor # 1 do you like rape and murder?

-I know what Snooki has been doing in her spare time. Knitting!

-Be careful if you tell someone in a movie theater to stop talking on their cell phone. You might get stabbed in the neck with a meat thermometer. I still can't figure out why someone would have a meat thermometer in a movie theater unless it was to check exactly how freaking cold they had the AC turned down there. I have heard someone say "That theater felt like a meat locker" before.

Until next time Keep reading the news!

-Doc

Thursday Random Thoughts 3/11/2010

Stuff I have been thinking about:

-OK I am going to just put this out there. I watched a new show for the first time the other night and was struck like lightning out of the blue. OMG My oldest running blog crush Aunt Becky from MommyWantsVodka looks exactly just diddly damn like Rachel from the show Glee. See for yourself:

Now I have been stalking Becky for years on the interwebz and have secretly been plotting the demise of her husband "The Daver" so that I can become Big Daddy Vodka, but am pretty sure I never noticed that Aunt Becky had a twin sister. I mean they are either twins or Aunt Becky has been keeping hidden singing talents from me (and the rest of the blogosphere) for years. I just thought she was clever, snarky, and a deceptively brilliant tease with the sense of humor to make both 13 year old boys and 30 something mothers pee their knickers. So what is it Auntie B? Is your alter ego this argyle sweater wearing angel voiced hottie from Glee or is it just your twin sister?

-The second phone line that I rarely use here at work appears to have been taken over by some sort of Spanish Language party line. (complete with a mariachi band) I really need to check that voicemail more often. Seriously I wish I could play these messages for you all.

-I'm not exactly sure what Nutella is... But I am pretty sure I don't want to find out!

-The NCAA tournament starts one week from today and the Brackets will be out this Sunday around 7 pm. I love March Madness, the excitement, teh upsets, and the stories about kids and teams you have never heard of beating the big schools. This year will be extra fun because about 20 or so of you all (fellow bloggers and Tweeters) are joined up to compete in the pool that Jay and I are running. If you haven't signed up yet you don't want to miss it... If you haven't gotten an invite yet please email me. There will be some sort of prize for the winner to post on their blog but we haven't decided just yet what it will be.

-I think that my current favorite Rock (Non Jimmy Buffett) Song of all time is In the City by The Eagles. Awesomeness!

-Save your money and only buy Crayola Crayons. All the rest suck. don't make the mistake I did and make your kid sad. Fork over the extra 50 cents for the real deal.

-Here is a cool one for you. My other brother in law is getting married next month up in New York. We were talking to them this weekend and he said that the lead singer of band they got to play at their wedding probably won't be able to play at their wedding because he is on American Idol. Sure enough Michael Lynche (Big Mike) from the show is the normal singer of the band. That would have been pretty cool to hear him sing live but I am sure he has better things to do.

-Speaking of American Idol the singers I think should go home this week are Tim Urban, Aaron Kelly, Paige Miles, and Lacey Brown... but I think these also should have gone home last week and they are still there so we shall see.

Until next week...

-Doc

Odd Street Signs

I figured I would share some funny or odd street signs I have seen come across recently. Enjoy!

-Doc

The Amazing Bone

My son loves books and being read to. After finishing a story he will take the book and "read" the story back to you. This is a good thing. He has lots of books and we are also blessed because my mother who is a teacher has boxes of books that she has given him that are former school books. Every so often he will grab a book she has given him off his shelf and specify that we read it to him for bedtime story. Last weekend he did just that with the book The Amazing Bone by William Steig.

This book looks to be a bit older. It has a stamp inside from my mom's old school but also says that it's a Caldecott Medal Winner which is a prestigious award for children's books. Plus his grandmother gave it to him. It should be no problem right? Ummm it's a problem. Let me give you some excerpts of how children's literature is different today than it was in 1976. A little background.

This book is about a young pig named Pearl who lives in London and decides to walk home on a beautiful spring day. She finds a talking bone in the woods who eventually helps her to escape from being a fox's dinner.

My wife starts reading this book to our 21 month old and gives me a look when she reads this line:

"On Cobble Road she stopped at Maltby's barn and stood gawking as the old gaffers pitched their ringing horseshoes and spat tobacco juice."

OK so they chew tobacco... a little odd for a child's book but whatever. Then a few pages later after Pearl finds the bone we have this:

"Who should rush out from in back of the boulder and spoil everything but three highway robbers with pistols and daggers....they were fierce and spoke in chilling voices."

Robbers and guns? Are you serious?

"You can't heave my purse," she said, surprised at he own boldness. "What's in it?" said another robber, pointing his gun at Pearl's head."

It was at this point that we stopped reading to our son. What kind of kids book has robbers pointing guns at the head of the main character? Who wrote this Quentin Tarantino?

There's more. Just a few more quotes from The Amazing Bone after Pearl meets the fox who wants to eat her:

"The bone commenced to revile the fox. 'You coward!' it sneered. "You worm, you odoriferous wretch. These expletives were annoying. "Shut up or I will eat you."

"I regret having to do this to you," sighed the fox. "It's nothing personal." (a line apparently stolen from the Godfather)

"He's sharpening his knife," the bone whispered.

How did this book become a Caldecott Honor Book? Times were different back in the 70s. Can you imagine the uproar if a child's book today had guns being pointed at the head? HA! I searched a little bit more online and found some instances where this book has been banned. Now I'm not a fan of banning books, I feel it's the parent's responsibility to monitor what the child reads and has access to.

What do you think? Is this book no big deal? Are kid's books today just to P.C.? do you have any other examples of not so appropriate material in books that are supposed to be for kids? I would love to hear what you all think.

-Doc