Monday, November 28, 2005

Greg's Gift Ideas

No this isn't a list of things I recommend you buy for your loved ones, friends and co-workers- its stuff I recommend you buy for me. Yes it's that time of year again. Christmas and Hannukah. I do get to celebrate both due to my extended family. This year Chanukah starts on the day after Christmas so its even more combined- ChristmasaKah or HanukaMas, if you will. Some people ask why I celebrate Christmas when I grew up with only Hannhucha. Well, any holiday where people want to make me a great dinner and give me gifts is OK with me. Kwanzaa also starts the day after Xmas this year if you want to give me something for that. Thanks to Todd for this great idea.

1. Eagles Encyclopedia - By Ray Didinger and some other guy. A compendium of the team's history going all the way back. Has the added advantage of not including this year!

2. WILCO Live in Chicago Kicking Television (CD) - I saw Wilco on tour last summer (Thanks for reminding me Alicia). They were incredible and really expanded on their songs live. Certain songs I never quite liked on the Ghost is Born CD are now favorites after hearing them live. Jeff Tweedy is actually funny and personable too- go figure.

3. An electric toothbrush - These have always seemed kind of cool to me. I think my Dad mentioned he has a brand he loves- so maybe this is a suggestion for him. He'll like it cause its a practical gift.

4. Next Man Up - By John Feinstein This is a book about a season Feinstein spent behind the scenes with the Baltimore Ravens. He had access to everything- locker room, coaches meetings. I find this kind of stuff fascinating and I want to see just how crazy Brian Billick really is.

5. Stuff from LL Bean - Can hardly go wrong there. Of course I love no iron shirts with buttondown collars, but a nice plaid or corduroy shirt would be nice too. Something to wear when I get to go camping (hint, hint)

6. Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith (DVD Widescreen edition) -
I love Star Wars and I have all the other DVD's so I must complete the collection. It's an epic story that you can understand without reading four other books on the subject. Just what the Popculture snob ordered.

7. Areas of my Expertise - By John Hodgman I saw this on the Daily Show and it sounds great. Kind of a history book / trivia book / almanac that liberally mixes fact with fiction. More fake history in the wake of America: The Book last year.

8. One of those cool speaker systems for my Ipod. Really - they're not all that expensive. Why I saw one at this web site http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/mp3/7d27 that is both cool and reasonable. I'm sure its available at other sites too.

9. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I have not read this one yet so don't tell me anyting about it dammit. I usually wait and get the paperback, but I've read all the other books and I'm impatient.

Stuff no one will get for me:

10. A Piano - Just one of those electronic ones with all the sounds and instruments, not a baby grand or anything (I don't have the room) I'd like to learn to play - a chance I had when I was about 12- although I don't think my hands have gotten much bigger since then.

11. Xbox 360 - What gift list would be complete without it this year? I'd like to have the Madden NFL 2006 game to go with it because its the only way you'll get to see Donovan McNabb throwing TD's to TO this year (or ever again). Come on...all my friends have them- actually they have lesser systems - thats why I need this one. Isn't that what Christmasakuh is all about?

Monday, November 21, 2005

Car Accidents

The old saying is true, as most old sayings are. “It was like a horrible car accident, but I couldn’t look away” Everyone knows that’s why traffic back ups take so long to clear – the worse the accident the slower everyone goes by to see what’s happening. God forbid something is on fire. Its going to be a very long wait. This year a few of my former favorites on TV have become proverbial accidents.

The Eagles have been setting themselves on fire for at least a month- probably all the way back to training camp. They have made very few right decisions on the field or off. The loss to Dallas last Monday was as depressing and frustrating as any I can remember. Much worse than the whipping Dallas gave them earlier in the year. A loss like that can effect the whole season. The players can’t really forget it no matter what they say. With the Eagles just about eliminated from the playoffs and their two best offensive players (McNabb and Owens) out for the year what more is there to watch? By now we can almost root for them to get a good draft pick. But I’m sure I’ll be there watching them right up till the end of the season. I don’t know why – I guess I feel it’s my duty as a fan to watch them when they are bad so I can enjoy them when they are good. I suppose if I had something better to do during a game now I can just “Tivo” it and watch it later. Now the games become just an excuse to drink a few beers and have a few sandwiches. Not the nervous, edge of your seat thrill rides and dominant performances we have been treated to over the last few years.

Saturday Night Live has become another TIVO standard because long sections of it must be fast fowarded. Now I know the shows' death has been predicted dozens of times and it has always pulled through. This time I don’t know if its worth it. Maybe you have to be tired and up late on Saturday night to enjoy it. Just about nothing on the show works anymore and some of it is just painful. Weekend Update has usually been a high point of the show even in down years. This year they are being demolished by The Daily Show on a regular basis. Their political jokes seem trite and less intelligent (and less funny) than John Stewart & co. come up with everyday. I really like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler - I just wish they could do better.

The skits are often very repetitive. How about the one where friends go to a funeral and they all die one by one day after day on the way home from the previous day’s funeral? This was worst than most real funerals I’ve been to. They also have some new repetitive characters that have not quite reached "Church Lady" status yet. I'll bet you haven't heard talk around the water cooler about "The couple that should be Divorced" or "The Falconer" Just pathetic. It makes you want them to bring back the "makin' the copies guy"

I haven't liked the musical guests lately either- but as I get older I'm sure that will always be the case. They book the hot new bands with actual albums out - not the 30 year old bands I like.

I think they still do a good job with the commercial parodies. These are filmed in advance and I'll bet they have more time to write and rehearse them and it really shows. They should have some more animation from Rob Smigel too, if he will lower himself to their level again.

I actually really like the women on the show lately. Saturday Nights' breakout stars have almost all been men, but I think the most talented performers now are the women. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch- they are now the heart of the show. All sexy in their own ways too- even after having babies.

I'll probably keep watching the Eagles and Saturday Night Live out of habit and my fascination with what could go wrong next. I guess with both of them I'll have to wait for next season for something fun to watch.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Bands you don't remember

Last Friday Pete called me up after work to tell me about a band he and Jen were going to see. Now this is unusual to begin with as none of us goes to see bands too much. My last two concerts: The Philadelphia Orchestra and Wilco (not on the same bill). Pete knows the drummer in the band - the younger brother of a college friend. They sounded like a lot of fun - very Pop oriented and melodic Rock n' Roll with FOUR "girl" singers- called "Tralala" The concert was at the First Unitarian Church at 22nd & Chestnut. I've been reading about this venue for years - its actually in an upstairs room at the church. They book very obscure indie bands and usually have all ages shows. There is no alcohol served of course (gods' house you know) and the room is nortoriously packed and sweaty.

I met Pete and Jen on the steps of the church and (I kid you not) they offered me a bottle in a bag which they claimed was a "40". I declined to have any and I think it was really iced tea and they were trying to look cool. Pete was aghast that most of the very young crowd waiting around to get in was drinking coffee of all things. I reminded him that most of the kids were under 21 - probably mostly highschoolers. Anyway I hear most of those kids skip the alcohol and go for Red Bull and X. It turns out that there had been some sort of booking conflict and the bands wouldn't be playing in the small hot, room, but in the main sanctuary - yes a literal church of Rock n' Roll. Actually this was probably better for me, being an old geezer in the crowd. It wasn't too hot in there and we had very comfortable seats in the pews. Not so great for dancing though and that was too bad because Tralala is very dance friendly. They played very catchy tunes with great vocal harmonies from the Girl singers. Unfortunately you couldn't make out most of the words because of the music mix in the unforgiving acoustics of the church. Rock n' Roll is not church music. The sound difficulties didn't hurt the show too much - every song was fun and the band obviously has a good time. Apparently they're used to playing clubs and drinking (a lot) during their sets. That I have to see.

The whole time listening to the band I couldn't help but compare them to a favorite band of mine from the late 80's early 90's Voice of the Beehive.
They also had female singers, a male backing band and a definite pop, melodic feel. They also had great lyrics - much sharper than most pop music. Stuff about drowning your sorrows in alcohol, bad boyfriends and break-ups.

".....That's why I sometimes sit alone at parties /
That's why I drink so I'll be who they think I am /
But don't say nothing, don't talk to no one
i'm not what they believe and if they
find out they will leave..."

"I say Nothing" from Let it Bee

Voice of the Beehive had a minor hit in about 1991 called Monsters and Angels. A nice song but of course not their best. They were introduced to me by a woman I worked with in DC. Jenny was the cool girl who you could always call with a nagging music question. This was pre-internet so you couldn't look everything up so easily. I would sometimes call her up just to annoy her and ask if it was Journey or Foreigner that sang "Double Vision" She would yell at me for putting the song in her head all afternoon. I still remember her hatred of the catchy 80's tune What I like about You by the Romantics. I guess it was overplayed.

After the very enjoyable but short set (there were two other bands we were going to skip) I went with Pete and Jen to meet his drummer friend.
Pete said he ran a record store also, so I was confident he would be impressed that I knew a band that was obviously a great influence on their music.
Me: "Your sound really reminds me of Voice of the Beehive - I mean right down to the vocal harmonies..."
Drummer: "Who are they? Voice of the What?"

Who are they? You might as well be a tribute band for them. You could do most of their songs in your set and no one could tell the difference. So I told him a little about the band. I hope he checks them out- I'll bet he doesn't though. I'd like to see "Tralala" again though- I hope they come back to town soon.

It turns out that no one else remembers Voice of the Beehive either. Nobody I've mentioned this to has had any memory of them. I swear they were great. I had to go home and listen to their CD's again to convince myself I wasn't making it up. Of course their best stuff is from 1988- that's a whole teenager ago. OK now does any one remember the Cult? Heavy metal band had a few good albums back when I was in college??

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Bring him back

During a time like this I feel sorry for people who aren't into sports. What do they pay attention to in their free time? The sports scene is the only true drama left in the world. Maybe politics, but politics and politicians these days are very depressing and discouraging. On the other hand you never know what's going to happen in a game. Take the Eagles Vs. San Diego a few weeks ago- they win on a blocked field goal that bounces directly into a players hands and is returned for a touchdown. Never seen that before. Its never happened to the Eagles.

Now all this stuff with TO is following the script you pretty much expected, but I wish the outcome had been different. Sure TO is a jerk and probably a bit of a sociopath, but no one doubts his ability on the field and that is what counts to me. It's not a moral victory for me if we got rid of a bad seed and didn't have to pay him any more money. I just want the team to win - I want to be happy on Mondays not wondering what went wrong. TO was extremely exciting to watch and even his off-field crap was amusing in an "I can't believe what he just said" kind of way. Bottom line is that they have a better chance of winning more games and being a better sports / entertainment product with TO out there. I also have a sneaking feeling that if the team would really lose significant money by letting him go it wouldn't have happened. They have already sold all their tickets. The TV money is already in the bank. They might sell a few less TO jerseys, but that shouldn't come to a huge amount. The funny thing is the team has most of the fans thinking that they are brave and correct and "doing the right thing for team chemistry" How about really doing the right thing and doing everything possible to win games?

Oh, and by the way, Eagles and #81 are such a big story in this town that a Phillies pitcher was arrested for attempted murder yesterday but that has been pushed to the back pages. I'd tell you his name but I can't remember- I'm using all my mental energy on the Eagles' soap opera.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Supremo Court-a-Rama

I have a few theories about why George Bush nominated Samuel A. Alito for the Supreme Court Monday. You could listen to the regular pundits who would tell you that he is pandering to the religious right in his party whoose only real issue is to move the Supreme Court to the far right and make us into some kind of Theocracy.

I don't believe all that - I think he made a mistake and he thought he was nominating Judge Lawrence ITO. I can just hear him saying:
"I really liked him back when he was on that OJ T.V. program. Why did that ever go off the air?" He couldn't get another woman on the court so he was going for the first Japanese American. "I like his judicial-ary philososophy and I like his neat beard" he reportedly told Karl Rove.

The other "real" reason Alito was nominated is just so obvious I hate to point it out. Everyone knows Bush loves nicknames (Scooter?) - what about his now infamous "You're doin' a great job Brownie" to former FEMA director Mike Brown in the middle of the Katrina fiasco. Alito already has a cool nickname given to him by the lefty-press "Scalito" for his following of Justice Scalia's philosophy (only a bit nuttier). But I think Bush was already coming up with more nickname ideas even as he was announcing the nomination. My money goes on either "Judgalito" (like some kind of mexican soda) or the more informal "Samalito". Either one is kind of close to his name but sufficiently folksy for a regular guy Justice. You've got to do something to soften his image when apparently his plan is to move the country to the right of Saudi Arabia.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Alumni association

Last night I went back to see a Philadelphia Orchestra concert for only the second time since I left their employ. Of course I got free tickets, and the Halloween concert is usually fun even if it is light-weight musically. Really the main reason to go was for the meeting of the Orchestra Staff Alumni association-not that we planned it – it just turned out that way.

Melissa Lohmann called me Sunday night (during the Eagles – Broncos game which I was more than happy to miss) to ask if I wanted to go to the concert. She was in town to go to the wedding of another Alum, Rebecca. Rebecca is another one of those women who I wished there could have been more between us. I have a long list, but I did have a particularly strong crush on Rebecca. I probably became friendly with Melissa because I was always over near their desks trying to talk to Rebecca. Melissa was usually more willing to talk to me and almost always in a good mood.

Melissa left the orchestra and moved back out to California about two years ago. She always seemed like a California girl to me anyway so it made sense. She is a pretty blonde who is usually described as “really nice, a total sweetheart” - In her case it’s actually true. I even asked her once if she go sick of people saying how nice she is all the time (of course not).

I would go any where with Melissa, but she sealed the deal when she mentioned that Sarah Friedman was also coming. Yes, Sarah is yet another Orchestra Staff Almumna. She is still in the Orchestra game- doing fundraising for the Delaware Symphony. Sarah and Melissa are direct opposites in many ways. Sarah is not usually described as nice, but she really is. I promise. She is very direct and usually quite assertive. Her maturity has always impressed me considering she isn't even twenty-eight yet. I like both of them, and of course they are friends despite their differences.

I didn't wear a costume when I went to meet Sarah, Melissa and her friend Kate at the concert. I usually like to come up with some sort of costume ( the Orchestra members and much of the audience all get dressed up) but this time I figured I was going to be with three beautiful fascinating women- I wanted everyone to recognize me.

I ran into Sarah first so we had a while to chat while waiting for the others. Of course there were many Orchestra staffers around, some who I didn't particularly need to see, but most of them were happy to see me and very happy that I had a good new job. I got to see a few more of the women I always "flirted" with as I made my rounds of the office way back when.

Sarah and I also ran into another more recent alumna as we waited. I had hoped I would see her there last night because Halloween was always one of her favorite concerts. She was cleverly incognito wearing a gypsy veil as to hide from the staffers she didn't want to see. I won't blow her cover. She was doing the right thing for a former staff member and planning to sneak into the concert. Badass.

Melissa and Kate showed up just in time for us to make it in for the start of the concert. I won't go into too much detail about the concert although it was quite good. It was hosted by the third (?) straight year by Carlotta Tendant a very hairy and funny local transvestite. It turns out that next year the Orchestra will not do a Halloween show, but will turn over the date to their new partners the Philly Pops. So it was the end of an era and the Orchestra played beautifully despite all the distractions. Many of the pieces they played were a part of their basic "scary" repetoire, including Mussorgsky "Night on Bald Mountain" and the Suite from Stravinsky's Firebird. Sarah and I both noticed how well all the pieces featured the full orchestra, not just the famous violins.

The meeting of the Alumni association ended after the concert over at COPA Too over a pitcher of Margaritas. We reminisced about the old days and what we are up to today. Just the easy conversation of old friends getting together after a year or two.

Going to a concert, getting lost in the music and having a drink with my friends were always my favorite things about working at the Orchestra. Thankfully I still have those things without the frustration of actually having to work there.