An infamous jab from the Buckeye haters is calling the Buckeyes a clever name, Luckeyes. You know, Luck as in you don't earn anything you get it from luck and if you substitute a L for the B it spells that. Yes, very ingenius I know. Must have been a Michigan Man that came up with that, they are so stinkin' smart aren't they?
Well, listen to this stat haters (I heard it on Shark on Sports 103.9 FM by Jeff Logan). In every season since 2005, the ones where OSU has been very successful, Ohio State has ranked 119 out of 119 schools in opponents penalty yardage. Let me spell this out for you. The teams that play Ohio State get called for penalties when they play OSU less than EVERY OTHER SCHOOL'S opponents. This means that OSU is NOT benefiting from their opponents mistakes. This benefit would fall under the category of luck. If the other team is making mistakes that you benfit from and it's not directly as a result of your effort, you are lucky. Well OSU is not getting that luxury.
I am not claiming this is a result of bad officiating or a conspiracy against my beloved Bucks, what I am saying is that teams bring their A game when they play OSU. EVERY team, EVERY week, regardless of who they are, play OSU well. At the very least, OSU is not getting bonus yards from their opponents that other teams, eh hem, EVERY team is getting from their opponents.
On the flip side, Ohio State ranks in the top third of Division I's schools in least amount of penalties called on them. So all those frustrating false starts and penalties that make us so mad are not that much worse than 2/3 of the whole DI group of schools. Therefore, we aren't killing ourselves in the greater scheme of things either.
So here is one more reason you can stop using that ridiculous name. You are wrong. It is not luck that has gotten our Bucks to the title game the past two years. It has been athletes, coaching and hard work.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday Morning QB on a Sick Day
Today is a scary day in my household. A doctor's appointment is at hand that is requiring I take a whole day off of work. The emotions behind this appointment are probably justifiable enough to take a day off. So with a couple of minutes to spare here, I would like to share my thoughts on several happenings in the world of sports this past weekend.
- Ohio State (9) v. Penn State (3).......
This game confirms what I have been saying for awhile: This Buckeye team is just not very good. My preseason optimism was quickly crushed after the abysmal showing against USC and once again, this weekend's game was more of the same.
The defense has been in the cross hairs of my criticism most of the season but I am beginning to come around with them. Their showing against Michigan St. impressed me. It was a road game against a good if not great RB in Javon ringer (Ohio Product) and they shut him down. The defensive line which I have been most disappointed in, played great. This led me to an optimistic feeling for the big showdown against border state rival, Penn State.
The defense held their end of the bargain. They were able to contain QB Daryl Clark (Ohio Product) and his potent PSU offense who were averaging around 45 points per game coming in. I still feel good about that. But true freshman Terrelle Pryor (PA product...yeah baby) wasn't able to get in the end zone and in the end, his mistake lost the game for us.
Before you are up in arms over that last sentence, read on. I am NOT about to pile on 19 year old Pryor playing under the lights in a nationally televised game for a top ten team with a fan base as rabid as any. NFL like expectations and pressure pour from the residents of Columbus, Ohio and alumni across the country and even the world. This kid is 19 years old without a full off season to practice, without a full season behind him, with a full course load during the week, only 5 months or so removed from his senior prom. Please, I am not expecting him to be perfect. But the fact is, that fumble lost the game.
It's ok though. It was a freak fumble. A good play by the defender. Pryor was hustling, trying to get a big first down. I can live with that. Like Tressel said, penalties are bad but sometimes a hustle, aggressive penalty is not AS bad. You'd rather a guy get flagged for something that was caused by hustle and effort than a lazy, stupid, mistake. Pryor was looking to win the game. The middle was clogged up. A quick bounce to his right could be free.
It wasn't.
That set up the PSU offense for their only TD of the game. And Pryor still had another shot to tie it. But fell short. Chalk this up to a learning experience. It is hard to say that for Ohio State who's expectations year in and year out is National Championship. In college football today, you can't live with mistakes and maintain those expectations. One loss and you are pretty much out. It is a playoff from week one. So it is very difficult to type those words out. But I need to stick with what I said earlier in the year.
I felt Todd Boeckman, a senior QB who led the Buckeyes to an outright Big Ten title and national title appearance last year and even fielded some Heisman talk from national media types for a week or two, should be benched for Pryor. I fully understood what that meant. It meant we were going to deal with mistakes. It meant there would be freshman, rookie errors that Boeckman wouldn't have. But my reasoning was Pryor's athleticism and ability would outweigh his mistakes. I felt our offensive line is mediocre at best. I felt our WRs were overrated. I felt we needed something else to compensate and Pryor had that.
I also knew this was a risk. With the national title hopes dashed after the USC loss, I felt it was worth it. I didn't foresee Penn State's success though. I thought we would cruise through the weak conference schedule. I am not going to be one of these Sunday morning Johnny come lately's who call in to the radio shows (I am going to be one of the smart ones) and says whatever happened the past game was bad after it failed even though they were calling for it the whole week prior.
Example: "Put Pryor in . Put Pryor in. ....Why isn't Boeckman the QB????!" Hypocrites.
Also, I didn't realize we would have to resort to Tressel ball. Although I respect Tressel ball and I trust Tressel ball (see: 2002 BCS title season), it only works with a shut down defense. Now that the defense is beginning to fulfill that requirement, I was ok with playing that style against PSU. It seemed to be working too. But the sneaky problem with Tressel ball control game plans is that there is very little margin for error. Pryor made that error and it cost us.
I still love Pryor. I still think we will reap the fruits of this season next year. But I am not going to be positive about it anymore. I am going to be rotten, hard-to-watch-games-with Beau again. I know my role. I let you all down this week. I won't let it happen again.
2. Browns v. Jaguars.....
So I was back to my normal self Sunday morning swearing off the Browns and how much they suck. I had no reason to believe they would do anything worth watching later that afternoon and just as it should be, they win. See? I learned my lesson. How do I feel about this win?
Horrible.
That win was probably the worst possible thing that could have happened. Yes, it was a road win. Yes, it was against a legit team. Yes, it brings us to one game under .500 with Baltimore at home next week. Yes, we have a 4-4 record at the half way mark in sight. That win Sunday was better than any win last year. And the Giants game two Mondays ago was the biggest win in several years. Yes, the offense moved the ball. Yes, there were no penalties on the Browns. Yes, D.A. looked good. Yes, they got Lewis the ball. Yes, the offensive play calling of Chudzinski remains a positive. Yes, the defense showed more improvement against the run. Yes, the defensive backfield somehow contained the passing game JUST enough.
But it is all bad.
Derek Anderson had a good game. So that means he will remain the starter and come out next week sucking like he should. Romeo gets another week as coach meaning that will take more to fire him even though he truly isn't that good. Kellen Winslow is watching the team succeed without him and will become more disenchanted causing locker room strife. That will eat away at the team. And most of all, it keeps me coming back hoping on hope that maybe they are really as good as they looked that one game.....even though we all know they really are not.
3. Mike Singletary's Tirade........
Hell yeah!!! It is about time we see a coach take his team by the (expletive) and get control. Vernon Davis slapped an opponent disrespectfully in the face mask after a tackle and received a flag. Davis is one of very few "stars" on the San Fransisco 49ers this year. Even that title could be debated for him as he has under produced for a first round pick receiving millions of dollars for unproven talent. Singletary was ticked off. Not only did he bench Davis, he sent him to the locker room and told not to come back. Then in the post game press conference, he didn't let up. You could see the fire in his eyes and you could see he was determined to create the type of team atmosphere that needs to exist and he wasn't about to bow down to a player because of the money he made or his status on the team.
YES!!!!!!
The NFL is beginning to see more of this and it needs to continue. Kellen Winslow is the type of player that needs a strong kick in the ass like this to be honest, but I am not so sure his recent incident in particular this past week called for it. I am speaking more of the Terrell Owens type of stuff. That guy deserves a Mike Singletary boot up his you know what more than once. Can you imagine how Singletary would have dealt with T.O. when he was chewing out the offensive assistant coach on the 49er sideline several years ago? Oh, I would love to see that. But all these premadonnas need a wake up call.
Here's to people in authoritative positions like coaches (and teachers and principals and parents) taking off the kid gloves and taking back control. The inmates are running the asylum in sports and other arenas. I would love for that to stop.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sigh
Ohio State 6 Penn State 13
I just saved a profane laced tirade post. I intended on publishing it but thought better.
Let me just say I am very mad. The Huey Karma is real. And I am done with sports.
I hate this.
Being negative worked so much better for me than this positive crap I tried.
I may be a negative, "what if" catastrophic thinker but it worked. This doesn't.
There. That was clean. If you want the other post ask me for it. But don't be faint of heart. My emotions right now are not right.
I just saved a profane laced tirade post. I intended on publishing it but thought better.
Let me just say I am very mad. The Huey Karma is real. And I am done with sports.
I hate this.
Being negative worked so much better for me than this positive crap I tried.
I may be a negative, "what if" catastrophic thinker but it worked. This doesn't.
There. That was clean. If you want the other post ask me for it. But don't be faint of heart. My emotions right now are not right.
Friday, October 17, 2008
I give you....The Top Ten
I have been sharing with you my all time favorite bands. My personal favorites in my opinion meaning not necessarily my idea of the overall, objective best bands of all time. I have counted down from 25 to 11 VH1 style. Today we crack open the Top Ten. I hope you enjoy.
Here is a recap:
25)Public Enemy
24)Nine Inch Nails
23)Huey Lewis and the News
22)Hanzel Und Gretyl
21)Nirvana
20)Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
19)The Who
18)Sublime
17)Outkast
16)Pink Floyd
15)Jane's Addiction
14)Muse
13)The Cars
12)The Hollies
11)Audioslave
The Top Ten
10) Linkin Park: I am partly embarrassed to list this band in my top ten as a 33 year old male. I should be over this kind of manufactured rage rock with a wannabe rapper mixed in shouldn't I? Regardless of your answer, the reality is that I truly enjoy this band. I also enjoy their live performance too. The feelings of self loathing, isolation, angst and depression still home believe it or not. I also enjoy the energy and loudness. My parents passed down a theory to me. You may agree. It is that everybody has a period of life they are most comfortable with and they tend to live their life as one would during that period regardless of their chronological age. This is for another post on another day, but my point here is my period would be the 18-25 range. So I still hang on to bands like this for that reason.
While I enjoy most of Minutes To Midnight, Linkin Park's first two albums are their best. I choose to ignore the Jay-Z experimentation although more power to them for venturing into other forms of music they enjoy. Hybrid Theory seemed to have more pointless screaming than Meteora but both are good listens all the way through. "Don't Stay" has lyrics that fit my life at the time I began listening to it much like Muse's "Time is Running Out." Despite the radio's urge to overkill many of their songs, I managed to avoid the Linkin Park fatigue many others have. In addition, I have fond memories listening to Linkin Park with my brother and talking about their albums and the feelings the songs evoked. We also enjoyed two of their shows together and both were very fun. So Linkin Park and my bro have a particular connection for me like The Who and my dad making them a personal top band.
9)Stone Temple Pilots: Throughout high school I was consumed with rap music. Groups like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions sparked my interest in the civil rights movements and the black, urban experience I was so clueless about. A Tribe Called Quest drew me in with their clever, creative lyrics and rhymes over classic beats. Eric B. and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube, Geto Boys, Wu Tang Clan and others appealed to me because they just seemed cool.
Then the summer of 1993 and college came. While the seeds of rock already were planted with Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten was about to play the same role, I discovered Core by Stone Temple Pilots and the free fall out of rap and into rock began. The whole Seattle grunge vibe kicked in and I bought in. I never grew long hair or wore boots and a flannel shirt regularly, but I fell in love with Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and some Soundgarden. Even though STP wasn't from Seattle, they were lumped in with those bands because of their sound and timing.
Core was one of those albums I listened to over and over and over again without getting tired of it. "Plush" was epic as an anthem for me. I had no idea what Scott Weiland meant in those heroin induced lyrics, but they just fit together so well.
Top to bottom the intensity and deep, powerful sound of the album is still one of my favorites to listen to. The follow up, Purple was much more laid back, mellow album but still top notch. Again, top to bottom, I would listen to it without skipping a track. their live shows were fun and entertaining. They played the good songs whether they were a hit or not. Weiland knew how to front a band making it a show. Unfortunately, the same fuel that led to those odd lyrics and entertaining shows also led to the band's demise. In fact, like any addiction, it continued with him into his other band, Velvet Revolver whom I also enjoyed over the years.
8)The Offspring: I can't ignore The Offspring's role in my free fall to rock. At first, my brother went head over heels with Dexter and the crew. The speed and sophomoric lyrics appealed to him to the point that he played this band 24-7-365 literally. I was reluctant to dive into the whole pop punk trend that The Offspring and Green Day fronted in the mid 90s as Smash and Dookie hit the big time. But Smash's pull got me. The more I listened to it, the more I fell in love with it.
I followed my brother's lead seeking out their earlier albums from a self-titled import that included "Jennifer Lost the War" and Tehran" and Ignition that had so many good tracks from "Kick Him When He's Down" to my personal favorite Offspring tune, "Dirty Magic." As time went on, they continued to put out more and more albums. I enjoyed just about everyone. Many fans began to peel off as they grew up and the songs began to blend together for their liking. The Offspring would tend to put out some catchy gimmick song on every album that inevitably pull in fringe listeners to the dismay of their fans. Songs like "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" where even popular in the 'hood where I taught middle school. Apparently, I was pretty fly for a white guy from all the times I heard it. Of course, I was the only white guy they could sing that to so I guess I got tagged by default. Or maybe sarcasm. In that same vain, "Original Prankster" came out and so on. I overlook those decisions because I just love their other stuff so much. When I looked in my itunes catalog to get a vibe of who I had the most songs from, helping me gauge this countdown, The Offspring had page after page of songs. I just couldn't keep from burning all of them on my computer. As far as their live shows, the earlier I saw them and the smaller the venue, the better they were. Too much Jim Beam ruined one good show but otherwise, every show at Newport in Columbus, was a good one. The reason they are ranked so high is because of the sheer volume of songs I enjoy. Also the pleasant memories of listening to them throughout college. I could still put any one of their albums in and enjoy the whole thing.
7)A Tribe Called Quest: I just can't say enough about Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammud.
I came across their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm in 11th grade and fell in love with the beats and rhymes. The more I listened the more I enjoyed the lyrics and appreciated the creativity. The chemistry of Phife and Q-Tip was/is a perfect 10. Each album had its own character. Their live shows were outstanding. I always walked out feeling like I just saw a great show. They were able to convey a kind of energy and emotion you don't get at a rock show. Once again, every song on every album is good. I can listen to any of their first four albums all the way through without skipping. Low End Theory is their best album with songs like "Check the Rhime," "Scenerio" and "Excursions" are the best from that album, but there is so much more. "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" and "Bonita Applebum" are my two favorites from their first album, People's Instinctive Travels... but again, there are so many others I enjoy. Midnight Marauders is packed full of jams as well. Tribe was so good at writing creative songs that were enjoyable to listen to. At the same time they maintained a certain amount of street credibility without lowering to trashy, degrading lyrics rapping about relevant issues intellectually with candid, real, legitimate commentary and opinion.
6)Fun Lovin' Criminals: Again, my brother fell in love with this band before I did. I knew of them earlier but never fell in love. I had heard "Scooby Snacks" and thought it was a clever, cool song. But once my brother discovered them on his own and fell in love, I heard more and more of them at our parties or casual evenings of hanging out with friends. Soon they grew on me. Quickly, I saw how my brother loved them so much. They were just a cool trio of guys. Their songs were so mellow and laid back. Smooth. Cool. What else can I say? Their first album I fell in love with called, Come Find Yourself is another top to bottom classic. We saw them perform at Ohio Stadium before U2 and my bro had front row seats (bastard!). It was a cool show. I was pessimistic about them handling a huge venue like that but they pulled it off. From there, the following album 100% Colombian continued the list of great tunes. The first track off of ...Find Yourself, "Fun Lovin' Criminal" is by far my favorite, but both those albums are top to bottom deep again. You have to be to be in my top ten. My bro continues to introduce me to more of their stuff. Their style, cool, smooth lyrics and look are all so strong. There may not be a better band to put in the car as you drive down the road with the top down and the stereo playing on a warm late spring day.
So that just leaves us with one more installment of Huey's Top Ten Bands of All Time. Enjoy this one and let me know if I'm crazy or if you are feeling this list too. What are your top 5 before I reveal mine? Let's compare.
Here is a recap:
25)Public Enemy
24)Nine Inch Nails
23)Huey Lewis and the News
22)Hanzel Und Gretyl
21)Nirvana
20)Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
19)The Who
18)Sublime
17)Outkast
16)Pink Floyd
15)Jane's Addiction
14)Muse
13)The Cars
12)The Hollies
11)Audioslave
The Top Ten
10) Linkin Park: I am partly embarrassed to list this band in my top ten as a 33 year old male. I should be over this kind of manufactured rage rock with a wannabe rapper mixed in shouldn't I? Regardless of your answer, the reality is that I truly enjoy this band. I also enjoy their live performance too. The feelings of self loathing, isolation, angst and depression still home believe it or not. I also enjoy the energy and loudness. My parents passed down a theory to me. You may agree. It is that everybody has a period of life they are most comfortable with and they tend to live their life as one would during that period regardless of their chronological age. This is for another post on another day, but my point here is my period would be the 18-25 range. So I still hang on to bands like this for that reason.
While I enjoy most of Minutes To Midnight, Linkin Park's first two albums are their best. I choose to ignore the Jay-Z experimentation although more power to them for venturing into other forms of music they enjoy. Hybrid Theory seemed to have more pointless screaming than Meteora but both are good listens all the way through. "Don't Stay" has lyrics that fit my life at the time I began listening to it much like Muse's "Time is Running Out." Despite the radio's urge to overkill many of their songs, I managed to avoid the Linkin Park fatigue many others have. In addition, I have fond memories listening to Linkin Park with my brother and talking about their albums and the feelings the songs evoked. We also enjoyed two of their shows together and both were very fun. So Linkin Park and my bro have a particular connection for me like The Who and my dad making them a personal top band.
9)Stone Temple Pilots: Throughout high school I was consumed with rap music. Groups like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions sparked my interest in the civil rights movements and the black, urban experience I was so clueless about. A Tribe Called Quest drew me in with their clever, creative lyrics and rhymes over classic beats. Eric B. and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube, Geto Boys, Wu Tang Clan and others appealed to me because they just seemed cool.
Then the summer of 1993 and college came. While the seeds of rock already were planted with Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten was about to play the same role, I discovered Core by Stone Temple Pilots and the free fall out of rap and into rock began. The whole Seattle grunge vibe kicked in and I bought in. I never grew long hair or wore boots and a flannel shirt regularly, but I fell in love with Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and some Soundgarden. Even though STP wasn't from Seattle, they were lumped in with those bands because of their sound and timing.
Core was one of those albums I listened to over and over and over again without getting tired of it. "Plush" was epic as an anthem for me. I had no idea what Scott Weiland meant in those heroin induced lyrics, but they just fit together so well.
Top to bottom the intensity and deep, powerful sound of the album is still one of my favorites to listen to. The follow up, Purple was much more laid back, mellow album but still top notch. Again, top to bottom, I would listen to it without skipping a track. their live shows were fun and entertaining. They played the good songs whether they were a hit or not. Weiland knew how to front a band making it a show. Unfortunately, the same fuel that led to those odd lyrics and entertaining shows also led to the band's demise. In fact, like any addiction, it continued with him into his other band, Velvet Revolver whom I also enjoyed over the years.8)The Offspring: I can't ignore The Offspring's role in my free fall to rock. At first, my brother went head over heels with Dexter and the crew. The speed and sophomoric lyrics appealed to him to the point that he played this band 24-7-365 literally. I was reluctant to dive into the whole pop punk trend that The Offspring and Green Day fronted in the mid 90s as Smash and Dookie hit the big time. But Smash's pull got me. The more I listened to it, the more I fell in love with it.
I followed my brother's lead seeking out their earlier albums from a self-titled import that included "Jennifer Lost the War" and Tehran" and Ignition that had so many good tracks from "Kick Him When He's Down" to my personal favorite Offspring tune, "Dirty Magic." As time went on, they continued to put out more and more albums. I enjoyed just about everyone. Many fans began to peel off as they grew up and the songs began to blend together for their liking. The Offspring would tend to put out some catchy gimmick song on every album that inevitably pull in fringe listeners to the dismay of their fans. Songs like "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" where even popular in the 'hood where I taught middle school. Apparently, I was pretty fly for a white guy from all the times I heard it. Of course, I was the only white guy they could sing that to so I guess I got tagged by default. Or maybe sarcasm. In that same vain, "Original Prankster" came out and so on. I overlook those decisions because I just love their other stuff so much. When I looked in my itunes catalog to get a vibe of who I had the most songs from, helping me gauge this countdown, The Offspring had page after page of songs. I just couldn't keep from burning all of them on my computer. As far as their live shows, the earlier I saw them and the smaller the venue, the better they were. Too much Jim Beam ruined one good show but otherwise, every show at Newport in Columbus, was a good one. The reason they are ranked so high is because of the sheer volume of songs I enjoy. Also the pleasant memories of listening to them throughout college. I could still put any one of their albums in and enjoy the whole thing.
7)A Tribe Called Quest: I just can't say enough about Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammud.
I came across their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm in 11th grade and fell in love with the beats and rhymes. The more I listened the more I enjoyed the lyrics and appreciated the creativity. The chemistry of Phife and Q-Tip was/is a perfect 10. Each album had its own character. Their live shows were outstanding. I always walked out feeling like I just saw a great show. They were able to convey a kind of energy and emotion you don't get at a rock show. Once again, every song on every album is good. I can listen to any of their first four albums all the way through without skipping. Low End Theory is their best album with songs like "Check the Rhime," "Scenerio" and "Excursions" are the best from that album, but there is so much more. "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" and "Bonita Applebum" are my two favorites from their first album, People's Instinctive Travels... but again, there are so many others I enjoy. Midnight Marauders is packed full of jams as well. Tribe was so good at writing creative songs that were enjoyable to listen to. At the same time they maintained a certain amount of street credibility without lowering to trashy, degrading lyrics rapping about relevant issues intellectually with candid, real, legitimate commentary and opinion. 
6)Fun Lovin' Criminals: Again, my brother fell in love with this band before I did. I knew of them earlier but never fell in love. I had heard "Scooby Snacks" and thought it was a clever, cool song. But once my brother discovered them on his own and fell in love, I heard more and more of them at our parties or casual evenings of hanging out with friends. Soon they grew on me. Quickly, I saw how my brother loved them so much. They were just a cool trio of guys. Their songs were so mellow and laid back. Smooth. Cool. What else can I say? Their first album I fell in love with called, Come Find Yourself is another top to bottom classic. We saw them perform at Ohio Stadium before U2 and my bro had front row seats (bastard!). It was a cool show. I was pessimistic about them handling a huge venue like that but they pulled it off. From there, the following album 100% Colombian continued the list of great tunes. The first track off of ...Find Yourself, "Fun Lovin' Criminal" is by far my favorite, but both those albums are top to bottom deep again. You have to be to be in my top ten. My bro continues to introduce me to more of their stuff. Their style, cool, smooth lyrics and look are all so strong. There may not be a better band to put in the car as you drive down the road with the top down and the stereo playing on a warm late spring day.
So that just leaves us with one more installment of Huey's Top Ten Bands of All Time. Enjoy this one and let me know if I'm crazy or if you are feeling this list too. What are your top 5 before I reveal mine? Let's compare.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Power of Words
Today marked a perfect example of how the things people say to me can take me from one extreme emotion to the other. I bet it has more to do with my weak inner fortitude, oversensitivity or codependent personality. I should care far less than I do about what people say to me, but the facts are, the reality is, I do care. It bothers me. It makes me feel estactic. It makes my day and it ruins my day. You know how coaches say their teams shouldn't get too high after a win or too low after a loss? I am the antithesis to that to my own dismay.
Here is my example:
I open the day like any other day dropping off my daughter at school and heading to my place of employment to hack out another day trying to educate our youth. Usually, it means more of listening to a barrage of disrespectful responses and dealing with complete apathy. Anyway, a colleague comes to me in the hallway to "thank" me. Thaaaaaaaank me. I sigh, knowing what was about to come. Apparently he felt bad about his class' test scores from last year as they were not showing the kind of results he wanted for his Master's project. But after he look at my and another colleague's class scores, he didn't feel so bad. So he thanked me for basically failing worse than he did. What am I supposed to say to that? I felt like crap. I already deal with enough feelings of failure at my job, another blow to the head from him doesn't help.
This comes after I consistently speak up in his and other's defense at grade level meetings with the principal. I huddle my team in the morning to pump each other up after compliments or evidence of something going well. I include his condescending rear end in that too. I overlook his shortcomings because quite honestly, we all have some. So I was pretty down and angry. Fortunately (????) for me, I had a class full of rowdy kids coming who quickly get my mind off of everything that takes place outside the classroom doors. So no sooner did I process what just went down did I focus on something else.
After another exhausting day, I was preparing for next weeks lessons when I ran into another colleague who asked me how my daughter was doing. My daughter is well known at my school from her frequent visits and her attendance last year. She was hard NOT to notice for reasons I'll choose to avoid this time. I love talking about her and I think it is noticeable because everybody asks me how she is doing out of kindness and small talk if not genuine interest. My colleague proceeded to speak very highly of my girl which felt nice but it led to more talk about special education. This colleague is currently pursuing a degree in special education. With a daughter in special education, not to mention a wife who teaches it, I have read a ton of stuff regarding it, talked to a number of people about it, and experienced a ton of it from the parental angle over the past 6 years.
It was a good discussion. Coincidentally, another colleague who I have worked with for a decade now was just around the corner and overheard the whole conversation. She, too, has a background in special education. This is a woman I wanted to compliment earlier in the day about how open she is to other teacher's ideas and strategies. She has no ego. But she was with a close companion to the degrading, hurtful colleague at the time and I decided to pass. Well after missing my opportunity to pay her a compliment I felt she deserved, she took a minute to praise me for how much I knew about special education. She said I pretty much hit the nail on the head and she could tell by the words I used that I knew what I was talking about.
That felt good. That felt damn good!
So I went from one extreme to another today. I really need to learn to even things out.
Here is my example:
I open the day like any other day dropping off my daughter at school and heading to my place of employment to hack out another day trying to educate our youth. Usually, it means more of listening to a barrage of disrespectful responses and dealing with complete apathy. Anyway, a colleague comes to me in the hallway to "thank" me. Thaaaaaaaank me. I sigh, knowing what was about to come. Apparently he felt bad about his class' test scores from last year as they were not showing the kind of results he wanted for his Master's project. But after he look at my and another colleague's class scores, he didn't feel so bad. So he thanked me for basically failing worse than he did. What am I supposed to say to that? I felt like crap. I already deal with enough feelings of failure at my job, another blow to the head from him doesn't help.
This comes after I consistently speak up in his and other's defense at grade level meetings with the principal. I huddle my team in the morning to pump each other up after compliments or evidence of something going well. I include his condescending rear end in that too. I overlook his shortcomings because quite honestly, we all have some. So I was pretty down and angry. Fortunately (????) for me, I had a class full of rowdy kids coming who quickly get my mind off of everything that takes place outside the classroom doors. So no sooner did I process what just went down did I focus on something else.
After another exhausting day, I was preparing for next weeks lessons when I ran into another colleague who asked me how my daughter was doing. My daughter is well known at my school from her frequent visits and her attendance last year. She was hard NOT to notice for reasons I'll choose to avoid this time. I love talking about her and I think it is noticeable because everybody asks me how she is doing out of kindness and small talk if not genuine interest. My colleague proceeded to speak very highly of my girl which felt nice but it led to more talk about special education. This colleague is currently pursuing a degree in special education. With a daughter in special education, not to mention a wife who teaches it, I have read a ton of stuff regarding it, talked to a number of people about it, and experienced a ton of it from the parental angle over the past 6 years.
It was a good discussion. Coincidentally, another colleague who I have worked with for a decade now was just around the corner and overheard the whole conversation. She, too, has a background in special education. This is a woman I wanted to compliment earlier in the day about how open she is to other teacher's ideas and strategies. She has no ego. But she was with a close companion to the degrading, hurtful colleague at the time and I decided to pass. Well after missing my opportunity to pay her a compliment I felt she deserved, she took a minute to praise me for how much I knew about special education. She said I pretty much hit the nail on the head and she could tell by the words I used that I knew what I was talking about.
That felt good. That felt damn good!
So I went from one extreme to another today. I really need to learn to even things out.
Space and Time
I was thinking about 2012 and the polar shift and the end of the world earlier this week. The coincidence of the Mayan calendar ending that year seems a bit eerie to me.
This got me thinking. What does this really mean? How significant is the end of the calendar? Does "time" really stop? Let's say humans were gone, butt he sun, earth and moon still existed as it does now. Wouldn't time still exist? Or is time solely a figment of the human experience?
I figured time is based on the rotation of the earth and its revolution around the sun as well as the moon's revolution around earth. Therefore, if these things continued, so would time. Each revolution of earth around the sun would still be a year. Each rotation of earth would still be a day and so on.
But without humans there to mark these times, would it not truly exist. These solar actions would be just that....a solar action. So time would not exist anymore.
I suppose it is a "tree falls in the forest with no one to hear it, does it make a sound" type of thing. But then I thought to myself if you were so far out in space that there was no star in sight to measure your distance to, would you be moving? I guess if you were approaching a star even if it was not seen, you would be, so maybe my question is would you feel like you are moving? I would think you would have no idea.
I had a friend explain to me the concept of traveling at the speed of light using some example similar to this but for the life of me, I cannot remember the details. I think it was some part of Einstein's theory of relativity.
Either way, I am too lazy to go look this stuff up. Just thought I'd write it down somewhere.
This got me thinking. What does this really mean? How significant is the end of the calendar? Does "time" really stop? Let's say humans were gone, butt he sun, earth and moon still existed as it does now. Wouldn't time still exist? Or is time solely a figment of the human experience?
I figured time is based on the rotation of the earth and its revolution around the sun as well as the moon's revolution around earth. Therefore, if these things continued, so would time. Each revolution of earth around the sun would still be a year. Each rotation of earth would still be a day and so on.
But without humans there to mark these times, would it not truly exist. These solar actions would be just that....a solar action. So time would not exist anymore.
I suppose it is a "tree falls in the forest with no one to hear it, does it make a sound" type of thing. But then I thought to myself if you were so far out in space that there was no star in sight to measure your distance to, would you be moving? I guess if you were approaching a star even if it was not seen, you would be, so maybe my question is would you feel like you are moving? I would think you would have no idea.
I had a friend explain to me the concept of traveling at the speed of light using some example similar to this but for the life of me, I cannot remember the details. I think it was some part of Einstein's theory of relativity.
Either way, I am too lazy to go look this stuff up. Just thought I'd write it down somewhere.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Teaching Social Studies
I just finished a unit on Government with my fourth graders. One of the lessons was How A Bill Becomes A Law. It brings back those old Schoolhouse Rock songs we would listen to doesn't it?
As I looked out to a classroom filled with bored, quiet, inattentive students I realized nothing was hitting home with them. Nobody cared. I had to spice it up a bit. I did not have my handy dandy copy of the Schoolhouse Rock video on hand. So instead of continuing with the introduction of the concept, I skipped ahead to my little example.
My class is divided into six groups of four or five students. Each group has their own table. The tables are set up in 3 pairs. Conveniently, there are three branches of government. So I made each pair a particular branch: the legislative, executive and judicial. The two tables that made up the legislative branch were divided into one table as the Senate and the other as the House of Representatives. Side note: Can you believe my students cannot pronounce Representative to save their life? Executive, and Judicial also present problems. But they have no problem saying Legislative.
So I specifically picked the pair of tables that had 3/5 boys as the Legislative Branch for a reason that you will read in a minute. I proposed a law to the General Assembly (in Ohio our 4th grade standards state that we focus on State government) that girls would no longer be allowed out of their house after 6 pm. See my 3/5 boys reasoning now? I intended on picking some inflammatory , ridiculous law to wake them up so since I am a man I figured I'd play the "Boys rule, girls drool" card. They love it when I play like that. "You play too much Mr. Huey."
It worked.
So we voted in the "Senate" and it naturally passed. Oh the girls were steaming. Then the "House" passed it. Then it was really getting fun because the boys were loving it and the girls were not happy. 100% engagement baby. Full on attentive, listening. I am not exaggerating. Of course, it had to be approved by the Governor. Well, the Executive pair had more girls. So they got theirs. The bill was quickly vetoed. So we sent it back to the General Assembly. We needed 3/5 to pass it. We got it!!
Noooooooooo cried the girls! That's not fair they screamed. Well, after a discussion how that law seemed to go against the spirit of the liberties given to us by the State Constitution, I suggested the girls take it to the State Supreme court and get a ruling that this law was unconstitutional. So they did and the Chief Justices (mostly girls due to my careful selection) agreed and the law was dropped.
I understand there may be some missing elements here but I was thrilled how much the students enjoyed this lesson and how engaged they were. We reviewed the whole process in time to be finished by the time my administrator came in. Ugh!! She has to wait until the end to check out my hard work? So I HAD to get them to tell her what we had just finished. They explained it perfectly! I was so proud of them. And I was pretty pumped that I got some brownie points.
Later, I gave them an assessment. And of course, I get one blank paper and another describing how you put bills in the bank. And I only figured that out after 10 minutes of deciphering the illegible handwriting and fragment sentences tripping over themselves with misspellings.
Sigh.
Looks like my supposed success was a farce. But I am still sharing this with you in case you can use it in your classroom or with your child when they are learning how bills become laws. Maybe you will have more success than me.
As I looked out to a classroom filled with bored, quiet, inattentive students I realized nothing was hitting home with them. Nobody cared. I had to spice it up a bit. I did not have my handy dandy copy of the Schoolhouse Rock video on hand. So instead of continuing with the introduction of the concept, I skipped ahead to my little example.
My class is divided into six groups of four or five students. Each group has their own table. The tables are set up in 3 pairs. Conveniently, there are three branches of government. So I made each pair a particular branch: the legislative, executive and judicial. The two tables that made up the legislative branch were divided into one table as the Senate and the other as the House of Representatives. Side note: Can you believe my students cannot pronounce Representative to save their life? Executive, and Judicial also present problems. But they have no problem saying Legislative.
So I specifically picked the pair of tables that had 3/5 boys as the Legislative Branch for a reason that you will read in a minute. I proposed a law to the General Assembly (in Ohio our 4th grade standards state that we focus on State government) that girls would no longer be allowed out of their house after 6 pm. See my 3/5 boys reasoning now? I intended on picking some inflammatory , ridiculous law to wake them up so since I am a man I figured I'd play the "Boys rule, girls drool" card. They love it when I play like that. "You play too much Mr. Huey."
It worked.
So we voted in the "Senate" and it naturally passed. Oh the girls were steaming. Then the "House" passed it. Then it was really getting fun because the boys were loving it and the girls were not happy. 100% engagement baby. Full on attentive, listening. I am not exaggerating. Of course, it had to be approved by the Governor. Well, the Executive pair had more girls. So they got theirs. The bill was quickly vetoed. So we sent it back to the General Assembly. We needed 3/5 to pass it. We got it!!
Noooooooooo cried the girls! That's not fair they screamed. Well, after a discussion how that law seemed to go against the spirit of the liberties given to us by the State Constitution, I suggested the girls take it to the State Supreme court and get a ruling that this law was unconstitutional. So they did and the Chief Justices (mostly girls due to my careful selection) agreed and the law was dropped.
I understand there may be some missing elements here but I was thrilled how much the students enjoyed this lesson and how engaged they were. We reviewed the whole process in time to be finished by the time my administrator came in. Ugh!! She has to wait until the end to check out my hard work? So I HAD to get them to tell her what we had just finished. They explained it perfectly! I was so proud of them. And I was pretty pumped that I got some brownie points.
Later, I gave them an assessment. And of course, I get one blank paper and another describing how you put bills in the bank. And I only figured that out after 10 minutes of deciphering the illegible handwriting and fragment sentences tripping over themselves with misspellings.
Sigh.
Looks like my supposed success was a farce. But I am still sharing this with you in case you can use it in your classroom or with your child when they are learning how bills become laws. Maybe you will have more success than me.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Goals and Aspirations
I have used Goal Setting as an overall, year long theme in my classroom several times. It is good to teach students to set goals and work towards achieving them. It also creates a jumping point for discussing how and why hard work is mandatory in life. It provides numerous teachable moments throughout the year regarding these important aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Finally, it gives me a structure to refer back to when trying to motivate the kids. I can use their own goals that they gave me to drive them to do what I want them to do.
So what goals and aspirations do I have for myself? Find a cure for cancer? Feed the hungry? Save the dying? Lead people?
Nope.
I want to be a regular caller on the local AM radio sports talk shows. Yeah, lofty goals from a scrub like me I know, but this is what I aspire to be and you can't tell me I can't!
I bring this up because I called in today to Shark on Sports and made it on the radio again. I have done this numerous times in the past. Unfortunately the calls are so spread apart that nobody remembers "John from Hilliard." Also, sometimes I have used my nickname Beau. Other times I have said I am calling from Columbus. Lastly, I have called different shows. Most of the time my calls have been to Kirk Herbstreit's afternoon show on 1460 The Fan.
He is always pretty cool. We got into one time when I called about the annoying fair weather Indians fans. He gave me plenty of love at the end though. It may have been patronizing, in fact I know it was, but whatever.
The best memory is when my friends are listening without my knowledge. One time I called about the Cavaliers and Bruce Hooley (who I never agree with) loved my take so much that I got two free rounds of golf. Instantly I got a text message from my buddy Ernie asking for first dibs in my pair.
But that is the best I got. I am officially setting my goal now. I want to call in enough to be "known." I think Shark on Sports is my best bet.
He is cordial and attentive to the callers, lets us speak and has several regulars. Now, I need an identity that makes me memorable. I am open to suggestions. Should I be the crazy guy that says all kinds of inflammatory things to get people riled up? Should I be the "Cavs" guy that always calls in about the Cavs? Should I have some catchy nickname like "Buckeye Beau?" Should I always have a catastrophic negative attitude or over the top positive attitude?
Hmmmmm......
Regardless, I am going to push to call more often and be "that guy." Don't laugh. That is gonna be me.
So what goals and aspirations do I have for myself? Find a cure for cancer? Feed the hungry? Save the dying? Lead people?
Nope.
I want to be a regular caller on the local AM radio sports talk shows. Yeah, lofty goals from a scrub like me I know, but this is what I aspire to be and you can't tell me I can't!
I bring this up because I called in today to Shark on Sports and made it on the radio again. I have done this numerous times in the past. Unfortunately the calls are so spread apart that nobody remembers "John from Hilliard." Also, sometimes I have used my nickname Beau. Other times I have said I am calling from Columbus. Lastly, I have called different shows. Most of the time my calls have been to Kirk Herbstreit's afternoon show on 1460 The Fan.
He is always pretty cool. We got into one time when I called about the annoying fair weather Indians fans. He gave me plenty of love at the end though. It may have been patronizing, in fact I know it was, but whatever.The best memory is when my friends are listening without my knowledge. One time I called about the Cavaliers and Bruce Hooley (who I never agree with) loved my take so much that I got two free rounds of golf. Instantly I got a text message from my buddy Ernie asking for first dibs in my pair.
But that is the best I got. I am officially setting my goal now. I want to call in enough to be "known." I think Shark on Sports is my best bet.
He is cordial and attentive to the callers, lets us speak and has several regulars. Now, I need an identity that makes me memorable. I am open to suggestions. Should I be the crazy guy that says all kinds of inflammatory things to get people riled up? Should I be the "Cavs" guy that always calls in about the Cavs? Should I have some catchy nickname like "Buckeye Beau?" Should I always have a catastrophic negative attitude or over the top positive attitude? Hmmmmm......
Regardless, I am going to push to call more often and be "that guy." Don't laugh. That is gonna be me.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ohio St. vs. Wisconsin
Thank God for local AM sports talk radio. Here in Columbus, we have WBNS 1460 The Fan. We also have Mark the Shark and former Buckeye Jeff Logan on FM 103.9 in the afternoons with "Shark on Sports". There are more local sports talking heads but The Fan's Jim Hooley, former Buckeyes QB (and ESPN darling)
Kirk Herbstreit and LB Chris Speilman as well as 103.9's duo are my preferences. Without these guys to get me home in the afternoon, I don't know what I would do.Today's topic, as with any football season Monday was Saturday's Buckeye football game. I was surprised at the reviews I heard. Actually, I was not the least bit surprised that Hooley's was different than mine, but it seemed as though everyone was disappointed in upset with the close, hard fought win. This struck me as odd because I am usually the pessimist. Ask comoprozac. I actually feel pretty darn good about the victory.
Here is my rationale. I have seen Tressel ball for enough seasons now to get a good feel. Personally, I have grown to like it. He wins with it. It may not be pretty but he wins. Can't we understand that by now? This past Saturday's game was another game in which we won ugly. In 2002 we went 14-0 that way and earned a National Championship. At that time, Tressel was in his second year and I wasn't sure what to make of it. I didn't know if I liked it. But now, as I have seen Tressel play several different styles, I actually prefer we go back to that conservative style. Back to my point, Saturday was not pretty but we won in a hostile environment against a team that has won 16 in a row at home and more than 10 night games consecutively as well. They are a solid team. They are not a great team but good enough to feel like we earned a good win in their house. I have more positives from this game later.
The problem is this. The Tressel formula relies heavily on a shut down defense, excellent special teams and a ball control offense. So if we go back to my preferred Tressel ball then we need these components. Unfortunately, this defense is the most poorly coached defense ever. There is supposed to be a ton of talent but they are in the wrong places. They "play" slow. In addition the defensive line needs to be stout and they are not. The Badgers were able to run all over that line. The line couldn't get any pressure on the QB either leading to Wide Receivers being open all game. It was very frustrating.
Despite this, the defense managed to hold just enough to keep in the game. Then Jenkins sealed it with a key interception. Also, the coming out party for Terrelle Pryor
continued as he added to his resume a clutch, fourth quarter, game winning drive capped by a beautiful option run for a TD. I tell you what, this kid is smooth. He just glides across the field. That drive alone was big time. It was critical. He is learning so much this season and growing so much that I can't wait to see what he has in store. There are obvious problems. He holds onto the ball like Charlie Frye. He takes big sacks. He still hasn't learned the Krenzel special of throwing it to cracker jack vendor in row 15. Some throws are way off. But he has still brought more positive than negative.Overall, I woke up Sunday morning feeling really good about the victory. I still do. I am not surprised or let down by the close game. I predicted a 23-20 Wisconsin victory. Apparently, I know this team better than the "experts." I know better than to think it would be 31-17 Buckeye win like Hooley and his fellow radio guys thought last week. That Michigan game didn't fool me. So I am not disappointed in the 3 point margin. I still get angry about this defense that everybody loves. The schemes just flat out stink like old cheese. I will not deny that. But a win is a win. And if it is gonna be close victories all year...so be it. 2002 was fun. And I don't need to have them in the BCS Title game again.
MARK MAY SUCKS!
Mark May is know for discrediting the Buckeyes. He is public enemy number one in Columbus, Ohio. For that reason alone I try to avoid trashing him. He is doing his job and these hillbillies here feel like he is out to get us. The same ones that get mad when Herbstreit wears a blue tie or yellow tie. Supposedly that means he is a traitor. Or if he doesn't defend Buckeye nation regardless of how they played. I like to think I am better than them. I like to think I can respect the objectivity and professionalism of national broadcasters.
But after hearing how much May loves how Vanderbilt "finds a way to win" and fights for victories even though their stats don't back it up, or how they are a legit top 15 team, I can't take it anymore. He is quick to overlook this traits while TRASHING the '02 Buckeyes all year that season for the same attributes. To him OSU didn't deserve to be there because of the stats not backing up their high ranking. Granted, I agree Vandy should be ranked high. But so should have the Buckeyes in 2002. That contradiction has lost any respect I had. Now I'm jumping up to the front seat of that anti-May, Columbus bandwagon. That just isn't fair.
Once again, the only thing as powerful as the Buckeye nation is the anti-Buckeye movement of hate.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Huey's All Time Favorite Bands: Installment #3
And we are back to the countdown of my favorite bands of all time. To those of you new to this little ditty, I have compiled my all my favorite, most listened to CDs and sorted them out by bands. Through the process I picked out whom I liked best overall and ranked them in order. I started a couple weeks ago listing them in descending order a la VH-1 in groups of 5.
Reminder: This is NOT an attempt at objectivity. This is my personal opinion. I already wrote the disclaimer here. Feel free to add your opinion. Discussion is my goal!
Recap:
25) Public Enemy
24) Nine Inch Nails
23) Huey Lewis and the News
22) Hanzel Und Gretyl
21) Nirvana
20) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
19) The Who
18) Sublime
17) Outkast
16) Pink Floyd
And with no further ado:
15) Jane's Addiction....This one surprised even me. I always liked listening to this band. I had roommates or friends who would play them in college but slowly, over time they grew more and more favorable to me. As I began to get past "Been Caught Stealing" and "Jane Says" which started to bore me and spent more time listening to songs like "Stop" off Ritual de lo Habitual. Then from Strays, I fell in love with "True Nature" and "Just Because." Why do I have them so high? All I can say is I am just feeling them right now.
14) Muse...I first heard Muse in 2004 on CD101 here in Columbus, Ohio, by far one of my favorite radio stations of all time. (I also loved 92.3 Channel X in Cleveland back in the mid 90s, but it's garbage now) They had this song called "Time is Running Out" and it fit my life experience at that time perfectly. The feel of that song and the art rock, epic sound of their other stuff that I dove into after that pulled me in. "Knights of Cydonia" is powerful song. The sound of galloping horses with choir or opera like singing opening the song is awesome. And the video is pretty cool too. I only have two of their albums, Absolutionn and Black Holes and Revelations but they are so good.
13) The Cars...The Cars? What? Yeah, I have a soft spot for the Cars. Growing up I loved "You Might Think." I remember the video for that song vividly. As time went on I never realized how many songs by the Cars I enjoyed. Much that was said with Huey Lewis can be said here. I like more of Huey Lewis' songs but in the end, I think The Cars are just cooler. Their sound is cooler. I just enjoy it overall more then that of Huey.
"Shake It Up," "Just What I Needed," "Let's Go" and "Magic" are my favorites. There are more songs that I enjoy as well like "Tonight She Comes" or "My Best Friend's Girl."
12) The Hollies...To think a simple song my Dad and brother would play in the basement when we had friends over hanging out playing ping pong or beer pong or cooking out would turn out to be such an important song to me. Just this memory alone makes "Bus Stop" one of my all time favorite songs. But I later utilized my family's talents with this song to turn it into a wedding gift to my wife. I took a page out of every cheesy morning radio show and rewrote the lyrics to the song to fit my hopelessly romantic story of how I met my wife. I tried to give it some credibility by performing it in front of our friends and family at our wedding celebration with my Dad and brother. Regardless of how low the quality of my voice may have been, I loved every minute of it and it felt awesome. It meant a lot to me to do that for her. So this band holds a place dear to my heart for this reason alone. I also realized that The Hollies are a cool band that has numerous songs I have always liked but never paid enough attention to over the years. Through my search for "Bus Stop" I discovered how much I like "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," The Air That I Breathe," "Just One Look" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother."
This was the sound I was gunning for at my wedding celebration:
11) Audioslave...What do you get when you take a lead singer of a group I never really liked but heard more than my share of on the radio and the members of another band that annoyed the crap out of me after awhile? A pretty darn good, rockin' band that I love!! That's what! Chris Cornell fit perfectly with the guys from Rage Against the Machine. The great songs from the two albums I own just don't stop coming. There are way too many to list my favorites. The first self-titled CD is great hard rock 'n roll top to bottom. I love to blare the sound out the windows of my car and sing along. It is so strong. Cornell's voice pierces the speakers and the guitars rhythms are sweet. Sadly, last I heard they are breaking up. Oh well.
Hope you are enjoying this. Again, feel free to add your opinions. For instance, are you noticing a trend? I don't seem to get into bands until long after they start. The true fans of these bands would hate people like me for countdowns like this. Well, forget them. Music snobs!
Reminder: This is NOT an attempt at objectivity. This is my personal opinion. I already wrote the disclaimer here. Feel free to add your opinion. Discussion is my goal!
Recap:
25) Public Enemy
24) Nine Inch Nails
23) Huey Lewis and the News
22) Hanzel Und Gretyl
21) Nirvana
20) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
19) The Who
18) Sublime
17) Outkast
16) Pink Floyd
And with no further ado:
15) Jane's Addiction....This one surprised even me. I always liked listening to this band. I had roommates or friends who would play them in college but slowly, over time they grew more and more favorable to me. As I began to get past "Been Caught Stealing" and "Jane Says" which started to bore me and spent more time listening to songs like "Stop" off Ritual de lo Habitual. Then from Strays, I fell in love with "True Nature" and "Just Because." Why do I have them so high? All I can say is I am just feeling them right now.
14) Muse...I first heard Muse in 2004 on CD101 here in Columbus, Ohio, by far one of my favorite radio stations of all time. (I also loved 92.3 Channel X in Cleveland back in the mid 90s, but it's garbage now) They had this song called "Time is Running Out" and it fit my life experience at that time perfectly. The feel of that song and the art rock, epic sound of their other stuff that I dove into after that pulled me in. "Knights of Cydonia" is powerful song. The sound of galloping horses with choir or opera like singing opening the song is awesome. And the video is pretty cool too. I only have two of their albums, Absolutionn and Black Holes and Revelations but they are so good.
13) The Cars...The Cars? What? Yeah, I have a soft spot for the Cars. Growing up I loved "You Might Think." I remember the video for that song vividly. As time went on I never realized how many songs by the Cars I enjoyed. Much that was said with Huey Lewis can be said here. I like more of Huey Lewis' songs but in the end, I think The Cars are just cooler. Their sound is cooler. I just enjoy it overall more then that of Huey.
"Shake It Up," "Just What I Needed," "Let's Go" and "Magic" are my favorites. There are more songs that I enjoy as well like "Tonight She Comes" or "My Best Friend's Girl."
12) The Hollies...To think a simple song my Dad and brother would play in the basement when we had friends over hanging out playing ping pong or beer pong or cooking out would turn out to be such an important song to me. Just this memory alone makes "Bus Stop" one of my all time favorite songs. But I later utilized my family's talents with this song to turn it into a wedding gift to my wife. I took a page out of every cheesy morning radio show and rewrote the lyrics to the song to fit my hopelessly romantic story of how I met my wife. I tried to give it some credibility by performing it in front of our friends and family at our wedding celebration with my Dad and brother. Regardless of how low the quality of my voice may have been, I loved every minute of it and it felt awesome. It meant a lot to me to do that for her. So this band holds a place dear to my heart for this reason alone. I also realized that The Hollies are a cool band that has numerous songs I have always liked but never paid enough attention to over the years. Through my search for "Bus Stop" I discovered how much I like "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," The Air That I Breathe," "Just One Look" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother."
This was the sound I was gunning for at my wedding celebration:
11) Audioslave...What do you get when you take a lead singer of a group I never really liked but heard more than my share of on the radio and the members of another band that annoyed the crap out of me after awhile? A pretty darn good, rockin' band that I love!! That's what! Chris Cornell fit perfectly with the guys from Rage Against the Machine. The great songs from the two albums I own just don't stop coming. There are way too many to list my favorites. The first self-titled CD is great hard rock 'n roll top to bottom. I love to blare the sound out the windows of my car and sing along. It is so strong. Cornell's voice pierces the speakers and the guitars rhythms are sweet. Sadly, last I heard they are breaking up. Oh well.
Hope you are enjoying this. Again, feel free to add your opinions. For instance, are you noticing a trend? I don't seem to get into bands until long after they start. The true fans of these bands would hate people like me for countdowns like this. Well, forget them. Music snobs!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Thank You
Every now and then I feel the urge to thank those of you reading my blog. This is one of those times. I write this thing because I really enjoy it. I like discussing things on my mind. I have a lot of stuff on my mind, as does anyone really. But I enjoy putting it out there for others to read.
While I have had plenty of fun spewing my venom to the world for my own selfish, egocentric, vain reasons, there hasn't been much discussion on this blog. But that is ok. This is NOT a call for everyone to start commenting. Part of me wants more comments to fulfill some sort of need for validation. It is like that phase we all went through throwing "keggers" back in college. You would measure the success of the party by how many kegs you finished off. Somehow your supposed popularity was indicated by this. And the more popular you were, the cooler you were and therefore more worthwhile.
Well, that is how I felt anyway. I'll admit it. My point is, that same feeling creeps in at times. I want to be popular. I want to feel as though this blog is worthwhile. I think this could be measured by how many people comment on it. I feel like I go overboard sometimes in plugging this blog. I just linked it in an email thread with some friends but mostly strangers. I was hoping to continue an awesome discussion we had going. I wanted to create some buzz on this blog. Side note: Does anyone know how I can get new comments listed on the side of this blog so viewers can see new comments on old posts? My sister in law has that feature but I can't figure it out on here.
I have learned though that comments don't necessarily mean as much as I think. I don't really care what strangers who may so happen to browse through here think. I shouldn't. What I care about it how my friends and family enjoy it. I get a ton of positive responses from friends and family about the blog all the time. That is awesome. I love that. I love hearing that people liked what I wrote. Or I love hearing them reference old posts in our conversations. That is, in the end, the point.
So thank you.
Thanks Chris for having some fun guessing the other bands on my list. And thanks for other good conversations about the blog. It is actually the late night metaphysical discussions we would have back in the day that has inspired many of these posts. Granted those late night discussions may have been fueled by the partying earlier in the night but I haven't lost memory of them.
Thanks Kathryn for setting the blog as your homepage...or at least in the past.
Thanks Michelle for commenting on how you enjoyed the view into the education from a different point of view as your own. And thanks for calling me out on Pearl Jam.
Thanks Zac for consistently chiming in. Thanks for your help and opinions. Valid, educated opinions.
Thanks Chad for bringing up the posts at school to help lighten the day.
Thanks mom for lending your support and encouragement as well as your educated expertise on the spiritual posts..
Thanks Jackie for being so over the top complimentary about my stuff.
Thanks Doug for giving your two cents when we talk about the sports stuff.
Thanks Dad for keeping my grammar in check and jotting notes of your observations to share with me on trips out to Chicago to help Doug move. And tanks for passing the word to your friends at church.
Thanks Jenn for giving me the idea in the first place.
Thanks Mike T. for lending your eloquent insight and opinion and point of view as well.
Thanks Nelson for opening my eyes about MMA.
Thanks Kasper for reading for the sports posts and using them against me in our sports debates while religiously watching our Cleveland teams lose at King Ave 5.
Thanks Carrie for sharing your heart felt opinions about my Ally posts.
Thanks to Hostetler for quietly reading my blog then referencing a post during our pre-Vegas (errrrr...Veags) excursion with Travis out and about Los Angeles, CA.
I know I am forgetting people. For ANYONE who has been reading this blog regularly or casually, THANK YOU!!!!
It is very cool talking about this stuff with you guys. It really is.
While I have had plenty of fun spewing my venom to the world for my own selfish, egocentric, vain reasons, there hasn't been much discussion on this blog. But that is ok. This is NOT a call for everyone to start commenting. Part of me wants more comments to fulfill some sort of need for validation. It is like that phase we all went through throwing "keggers" back in college. You would measure the success of the party by how many kegs you finished off. Somehow your supposed popularity was indicated by this. And the more popular you were, the cooler you were and therefore more worthwhile.
Well, that is how I felt anyway. I'll admit it. My point is, that same feeling creeps in at times. I want to be popular. I want to feel as though this blog is worthwhile. I think this could be measured by how many people comment on it. I feel like I go overboard sometimes in plugging this blog. I just linked it in an email thread with some friends but mostly strangers. I was hoping to continue an awesome discussion we had going. I wanted to create some buzz on this blog. Side note: Does anyone know how I can get new comments listed on the side of this blog so viewers can see new comments on old posts? My sister in law has that feature but I can't figure it out on here.
I have learned though that comments don't necessarily mean as much as I think. I don't really care what strangers who may so happen to browse through here think. I shouldn't. What I care about it how my friends and family enjoy it. I get a ton of positive responses from friends and family about the blog all the time. That is awesome. I love that. I love hearing that people liked what I wrote. Or I love hearing them reference old posts in our conversations. That is, in the end, the point.
So thank you.
Thanks Chris for having some fun guessing the other bands on my list. And thanks for other good conversations about the blog. It is actually the late night metaphysical discussions we would have back in the day that has inspired many of these posts. Granted those late night discussions may have been fueled by the partying earlier in the night but I haven't lost memory of them.
Thanks Kathryn for setting the blog as your homepage...or at least in the past.
Thanks Michelle for commenting on how you enjoyed the view into the education from a different point of view as your own. And thanks for calling me out on Pearl Jam.
Thanks Zac for consistently chiming in. Thanks for your help and opinions. Valid, educated opinions.
Thanks Chad for bringing up the posts at school to help lighten the day.
Thanks mom for lending your support and encouragement as well as your educated expertise on the spiritual posts..
Thanks Jackie for being so over the top complimentary about my stuff.
Thanks Doug for giving your two cents when we talk about the sports stuff.
Thanks Dad for keeping my grammar in check and jotting notes of your observations to share with me on trips out to Chicago to help Doug move. And tanks for passing the word to your friends at church.
Thanks Jenn for giving me the idea in the first place.
Thanks Mike T. for lending your eloquent insight and opinion and point of view as well.
Thanks Nelson for opening my eyes about MMA.
Thanks Kasper for reading for the sports posts and using them against me in our sports debates while religiously watching our Cleveland teams lose at King Ave 5.
Thanks Carrie for sharing your heart felt opinions about my Ally posts.
Thanks to Hostetler for quietly reading my blog then referencing a post during our pre-Vegas (errrrr...Veags) excursion with Travis out and about Los Angeles, CA.
I know I am forgetting people. For ANYONE who has been reading this blog regularly or casually, THANK YOU!!!!
It is very cool talking about this stuff with you guys. It really is.
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