Well it has been almost two years to the day since my last attempt at this blog thing. My wife, Heather has struck gold with her own ramblings which can be read here, and she has inspired me to try again hence the title Take 2.
In the two year downtime not much has changed. The personal info is still the same as well. Professionally, I have almost completed my Masters Degree in School Administration from Morehead State University. Yes, I know the name Morehead makes me giggle every time I say it. At this time I have no intention to use this degree its just another hoop to jump through from the sweeties in Frankfort.
So there you have it, an update. Hopefully there will be more to come on a more regular basis.
Thanks for stopping by, & again please check out my wife's blog Sex on a Hobo Mattress
###
Monday, January 21, 2013
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
American Hardcore: The Fat Country Boy Edition
...And we're back! First of all let me apologize for the previous selection. When that was written I was out of my mind with all things 49ers, so that is out of my system for now. Hopefully today's yarn will be more entertaining and informative. Now lets enter the gutter....
As I mentioned in an earlier post, music is very beloved to me. So with this edition, I hope to entertain you with the stories of a fat kid in Western Kentucky who was for all purposes a stranger in a strange land, to steal from Leon Russell, or Iron Maiden, I will leave that to your discretion.
Today I am going to for the first time sit down and relive for the first time the "popping of my musical cherries." The actual popping came in 1981, but we will keep "The greatest story ever told" for a future installment.
Ah, the topic, "American Hardcore: TFCBE" It all begins in Wickliffe Kentucky, which for you geography nerds is the exact spot where the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers merge, to form Twain's legendary river. I was a regular kid growing up there, riding my bike all over the place, playing basketball, football, wiffle ball and any other type of activities with the other kids in my neighborhood. You see, I come from the generation of kids that actually went outside to play for fun, not being forced by our parents. Any way back the point.
My dad, was a radio DJ when I was growing up, and I guess could be considered a "Boss Jock", that means that he had that booming voice, you know the stereotypical one that is made fun of by Radio guys today. He worked "morning drive" (the 6 - 9 AM shift, when everyone is DRIVING to work, hence morning drive and "afternoon drive" (4 - 7 PM shift, when everyone is DRIVING home) on a radio station out of Paducah. So as a kid, I basically grew up in a radio station. Looking back as a full blown music snob, this acts as my descent into snob-dom. Some of my earliest memories, are sitting next to my dad, as he played all these now classic records. I even had my own set of ear phones, so yes, I was a bad ass!
My musical taste at first was very much like my fathers, he was really into Motown, Otis Redding, James Brown, The Beach Boys, The Beatles. Another one of his favorites was the "power" rock of the 1970's. Bands like, Asia, Queen, Electric Light Orchestra. But, I have to give the old man credit for one thing, he loved Van Halen, hell he still does. So I think of my musical family tree, this is pretty much the root system, with the major exceptions of my musical first love, "Black Sabbath" which I stumbled across at the age of 8 years old, much by accident. But that is a love story that will be coming soon.
So my love of music, is a gift that I received from my parents, even though the Manilow, James Taylor, Neil Diamond shit she listens to I barely even consider music at all. Now to my introduction to the music scene that would take me around the United States, and bring me some of my closest and dearest friends in my lifetime.
It is 1983, and Kentucky Oaks Mall has just opened in Paducah Kentucky. Now, this is early in the descruction of the American small business era, so we had no idea that we would destroy so many lives in the name of commerce, fraternity and awesome corn dogs. But my "I don't think we are in Kansas moment, came as I entered the turn styles of this place called Disc Jockey Records. I was with friends who were looking in amazement at all the cassettes, and LP's that this place had. I had no idea that my life was about to change. My friends, who names now escape me were all looking at copies of Michael Jackson's Thriller album, Cyndi Lauper, and other mind rotting pop current then on the radio, but I was struck by this guy who appeared to be punching his own reflection in a mirror. This was the cover to Black Flag's Damaged record. I was mesmerized by it. My friends where like, what is that? I said something along the lines of, "I don't know but it looks cool!" So, the purchase was made that day, along with 2 corn dogs!
So the whole way home, in our white Chevy station wagon that reeked of puke from the time I puked in my dad's hair, this guy was staring at me. My friends just made fun of me for wasting my money on something that I had never heard before. If memory serves one of them bought a Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" poster. But, my curiosity was killing me. After dropping of friends at their respective houses, we were finally headed home, so I could finally figure out what this was, or hopefully figure out why this guy was punching his reflection in a mirror.
So the time had arrived, I unwrapped the plastic, pulled out the record, and placed it on my Panasonic stereo system, with the slide out turn table, Yeah bad ass, I know! So I took the needle and placed it on the record. Click HERE to hear what I had discovered. Holy shit, right? This was my first introduction to a guy named Henry Rollins. So for the next few months, that song played over and over and over and over. So as a fat ten year old, my two favorite things to listen to in my room, on my terms (unless Mom said it was too loud) were Black Flag, & Black Sabbath.
I had no idea that in Raleigh North Carolina there were three guys, Reed, Mike Dean, & Woodroe who were older than me, but they had the same idea. Those guys, I am proud to say are my good friends, they are the band Corrosion of Conformity. They come into play alot later in my life, but we have to get there first.
So, I have two records that I am for the first time in love with, Black Flag Damaged and Sabbath's Masters of Reality, who my cousin had on 8 track. So the fat kid, who was too heavy for the bean bag chair, but sat on it anyway would sit there for hours at a time listening to these records, and knowing musical perfection. These two albums, along with the influences of my dad, have given my musical tree its roots, and they are virtually the same some almost three decades later. Following the discovery of Black Flag, I came across other bands in time, such as Minor Threat, The Bad Brains, Dead Kennedy's, and of course COC. I started reading the liner notes on these albums and see who the bands would thank, and I would then seek these bands out. Every chance I got I would go back to Disc Jockey Records in the mall and spend all the money I had, one album at a time.
So with the popping out of the way, it is now time for me to play mentor, and suggest the best of the best in my opinion for you to learn to love American hardcore music. Before I go on, if you consider any of today's bands, like Green Day, or Sum 41, or Blink 182 hardcore, thank you for reading but please leave.
In my opinion there are several items that I consider the "Dogma" of the American hardcore genre. The first thing you need to do is pick up a copy of Steven Blush's American Hardcore: A Tribal History. This book is absolutely amazing, it has everything you need to know about everything. This book, has been made into an incredible documentary (view the trailer HERE), that features some of my person friends, and well worth the purchase. Here are some other books that I have, that would be a good intro to the American Hardcore world. The first is something I received as a Christmas present a few years ago, it is A Cultural Dictionary of Punk 1974 - 1982) by Nicholas Rombes. Rombes takes you all over the spectrum, a good read. Gimme Something Better by Jack Boulware & Silke Tudor is a look at the West Coast scene, focusing on the bay area.
Well that is about it for me, I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully will expand your musical horizon's to try some of the greatness that came from the American Hardcore Scene. Please leave me comments or suggestions on how this thing can improve. I am a big boy, if this sucks, which part of me thinks does wholeheartedly, say it!
Later......
As I mentioned in an earlier post, music is very beloved to me. So with this edition, I hope to entertain you with the stories of a fat kid in Western Kentucky who was for all purposes a stranger in a strange land, to steal from Leon Russell, or Iron Maiden, I will leave that to your discretion.
Today I am going to for the first time sit down and relive for the first time the "popping of my musical cherries." The actual popping came in 1981, but we will keep "The greatest story ever told" for a future installment.
Ah, the topic, "American Hardcore: TFCBE" It all begins in Wickliffe Kentucky, which for you geography nerds is the exact spot where the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers merge, to form Twain's legendary river. I was a regular kid growing up there, riding my bike all over the place, playing basketball, football, wiffle ball and any other type of activities with the other kids in my neighborhood. You see, I come from the generation of kids that actually went outside to play for fun, not being forced by our parents. Any way back the point.
My dad, was a radio DJ when I was growing up, and I guess could be considered a "Boss Jock", that means that he had that booming voice, you know the stereotypical one that is made fun of by Radio guys today. He worked "morning drive" (the 6 - 9 AM shift, when everyone is DRIVING to work, hence morning drive and "afternoon drive" (4 - 7 PM shift, when everyone is DRIVING home) on a radio station out of Paducah. So as a kid, I basically grew up in a radio station. Looking back as a full blown music snob, this acts as my descent into snob-dom. Some of my earliest memories, are sitting next to my dad, as he played all these now classic records. I even had my own set of ear phones, so yes, I was a bad ass!
My musical taste at first was very much like my fathers, he was really into Motown, Otis Redding, James Brown, The Beach Boys, The Beatles. Another one of his favorites was the "power" rock of the 1970's. Bands like, Asia, Queen, Electric Light Orchestra. But, I have to give the old man credit for one thing, he loved Van Halen, hell he still does. So I think of my musical family tree, this is pretty much the root system, with the major exceptions of my musical first love, "Black Sabbath" which I stumbled across at the age of 8 years old, much by accident. But that is a love story that will be coming soon.
So my love of music, is a gift that I received from my parents, even though the Manilow, James Taylor, Neil Diamond shit she listens to I barely even consider music at all. Now to my introduction to the music scene that would take me around the United States, and bring me some of my closest and dearest friends in my lifetime.
It is 1983, and Kentucky Oaks Mall has just opened in Paducah Kentucky. Now, this is early in the descruction of the American small business era, so we had no idea that we would destroy so many lives in the name of commerce, fraternity and awesome corn dogs. But my "I don't think we are in Kansas moment, came as I entered the turn styles of this place called Disc Jockey Records. I was with friends who were looking in amazement at all the cassettes, and LP's that this place had. I had no idea that my life was about to change. My friends, who names now escape me were all looking at copies of Michael Jackson's Thriller album, Cyndi Lauper, and other mind rotting pop current then on the radio, but I was struck by this guy who appeared to be punching his own reflection in a mirror. This was the cover to Black Flag's Damaged record. I was mesmerized by it. My friends where like, what is that? I said something along the lines of, "I don't know but it looks cool!" So, the purchase was made that day, along with 2 corn dogs!
So the whole way home, in our white Chevy station wagon that reeked of puke from the time I puked in my dad's hair, this guy was staring at me. My friends just made fun of me for wasting my money on something that I had never heard before. If memory serves one of them bought a Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" poster. But, my curiosity was killing me. After dropping of friends at their respective houses, we were finally headed home, so I could finally figure out what this was, or hopefully figure out why this guy was punching his reflection in a mirror.
So the time had arrived, I unwrapped the plastic, pulled out the record, and placed it on my Panasonic stereo system, with the slide out turn table, Yeah bad ass, I know! So I took the needle and placed it on the record. Click HERE to hear what I had discovered. Holy shit, right? This was my first introduction to a guy named Henry Rollins. So for the next few months, that song played over and over and over and over. So as a fat ten year old, my two favorite things to listen to in my room, on my terms (unless Mom said it was too loud) were Black Flag, & Black Sabbath.
I had no idea that in Raleigh North Carolina there were three guys, Reed, Mike Dean, & Woodroe who were older than me, but they had the same idea. Those guys, I am proud to say are my good friends, they are the band Corrosion of Conformity. They come into play alot later in my life, but we have to get there first.
So, I have two records that I am for the first time in love with, Black Flag Damaged and Sabbath's Masters of Reality, who my cousin had on 8 track. So the fat kid, who was too heavy for the bean bag chair, but sat on it anyway would sit there for hours at a time listening to these records, and knowing musical perfection. These two albums, along with the influences of my dad, have given my musical tree its roots, and they are virtually the same some almost three decades later. Following the discovery of Black Flag, I came across other bands in time, such as Minor Threat, The Bad Brains, Dead Kennedy's, and of course COC. I started reading the liner notes on these albums and see who the bands would thank, and I would then seek these bands out. Every chance I got I would go back to Disc Jockey Records in the mall and spend all the money I had, one album at a time.
So with the popping out of the way, it is now time for me to play mentor, and suggest the best of the best in my opinion for you to learn to love American hardcore music. Before I go on, if you consider any of today's bands, like Green Day, or Sum 41, or Blink 182 hardcore, thank you for reading but please leave.
In my opinion there are several items that I consider the "Dogma" of the American hardcore genre. The first thing you need to do is pick up a copy of Steven Blush's American Hardcore: A Tribal History. This book is absolutely amazing, it has everything you need to know about everything. This book, has been made into an incredible documentary (view the trailer HERE), that features some of my person friends, and well worth the purchase. Here are some other books that I have, that would be a good intro to the American Hardcore world. The first is something I received as a Christmas present a few years ago, it is A Cultural Dictionary of Punk 1974 - 1982) by Nicholas Rombes. Rombes takes you all over the spectrum, a good read. Gimme Something Better by Jack Boulware & Silke Tudor is a look at the West Coast scene, focusing on the bay area.
Well that is about it for me, I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully will expand your musical horizon's to try some of the greatness that came from the American Hardcore Scene. Please leave me comments or suggestions on how this thing can improve. I am a big boy, if this sucks, which part of me thinks does wholeheartedly, say it!
Later......
Thursday, January 13, 2011
49er reconstruction act of 2011
The target of my affections in the pro game are the once great San Francisco 49ers. I know that they have been well, quite shitty as of late. Okay, the last decade. Last Friday, the latest reconstruction project began with the hiring of former Standford head coach Jim Harbaugh. I feel that he is very capable of doing a great job, but there are a few glaring problem spots. So, again for my sanity I would like to explain how I would bring the glory back to the so deserving 49er nation. Okay, before I go on, in my world I would like to eliminate the terms "epic" and when referring to a teams fan base as a "nation." So to quote Pharaoh, "So let it be written, so let it be done!"
So, we have a new coach, but he has no coaching staff, and a few player issues to tackle as well. We will start with the coaching staff.
Harbaugh, did a great job at Stanford, ran a pro style offense with a great QB in Andrew Luck. He has been saying repeatedly that he wants to get back to the "West Coast Offense" since it was made famous by Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh (RIP), in an odd side note, the "West Coast Offense, was created in southern Ohio, while Walsh was an assistant to Paul Brown in Cincinnatti. Any way, we need an offensive coordinator who is, as my people would say is "dyed in the wool" with this offensive philosophy. The problem with this is that most of these people are already currently employed by a team already, or in the booth for the four letter word network.
Some of the names of potential candidates for this job scare the be-jesus out of me. Mark Treasman is my main concern here, he already had one stint as the OC with the niners, that in my opinion is one of the main causes for the colossal (thought about using epic, but in this space that word doesn't exist) failure that has plagued me for the last decade. He has been a coach in the CFL for the last few years, and has done pretty well for himself. He is coaching in the Canadian Football League, he had to find a league where the field is wider and longer to thrive. So in closing, Treasman? No.
Mike Johnson was the OC last season under the former regime, and once the handcuffs were taken off of his play calling didn't do a bad job. He (Johnson) has some history with Harbough dating back to the end of his playing days. He knows the offensive talent base better than anyone in the franchise, so familiarity is good.
My dark horse here, is Ralph Friedgen, the former head coach at the University of Maryland, he is currently available, and has extensive history and knowledge of the the West Coast offense. Friedgan, comes from the Coryell-Gilman branch of the offense, and has had success as an OC using this offense. He also was Vernon Davis' coach at Maryland. The only problem is that with Nike taking over the outfitting of the NFL., finding official clothing big enough, since all Nike clothes run small. I can comment on this because I too, am Nike sized challenged. Needless to say Friedgan, would be an interesting fit, plus he has very good knowledge of the current college game, and could prove helpful at draft time.
As for the defensive side of the ball, I think we need to actively go after Rob Ryan, the soon to be former DC in Cleveland. Ryan runs a base defense of a 3-4. This is the same base that Greg Manusky has run for the past few years. We have the athletes for this defense.
In my opinion the only glaring weakness is at CB. Nate Clements was at one time a top 5 CB in the NFL, but his age is caught and passed him by , and Shawntae Spencer is terrible, sorry nothing witty to add, he is just that bad. DL line wise we are OK as well. Re-signing Aubreyu Franklin is a must. Justin Smith at DE is very good and Ray McDonald, Isaac Sopoaga are good at DE. Without question our defensive strength is at LB. Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes, Navarro Bowman, Manny Lawson & Parys Haralson. I challenge you to find a better group anywhere in the league. The future at safety is set as well. Dashon Goldson is improving every game, and given time Taylor Mays will live up to his hype. Until Mays is ready Chuck Smith out of Oklahoma can more than do the job.
Other candidates are Vic Fangio, who was Harbaugh's DC at Stanford, and has lots of experience on the pro level, he too is a 3-4 guy. Fangio, is a hot commodity right now, Dallas is also interested in his services as a DC for new head coach Jason Garrett.
Position coaches are also very important to the organization. The 49ers have some of the best guys at position coach. Tom Rathman hopefully will remain as the RB coach. Noone knows the West Coast Offense better than Rathman, plus he has done a great job with Frank Gore over the past few years. Jim Tomsula, is the DL coach, the organization is very high on him, and acted at the interim coach in the week 17 win over the Cardinals. Mike Solari, who is the OL coach, is as good as it gets at this position. With a very young OL consistency is a must. These are the three coaches who I think, we CANNOT lose.
Now we need some players, in spots as well. So here goes...
The most important player in the game is the QB, and guess what? WE DON'T HAVE ONE! The 49ers haven't had one since Steve Young retired. So where do we begin in mess? There are two players currently in the league that I think we can get and it won't cost us an arm and a leg.
Quarterback
Kevin Kolb, who is currently the back up in Philadelphia. Kolb, is a very good young QB, who can move in the pocket, read coverage packages, something that Alex Smith is painfully bad at doing, and is very confident. The Eagles offfense is what could be called the grandson of Bill Walsh's offense. Here is a deal that I think we could get him for. The 49ers should offer the 7th overall, and their second round pick, for Kolb, and the Eagles first round that is somewhere around 27th overall. Hell even throw in a future second round pick. For the simple fact that if the 49ers can the division the next few years, which is VERY doable, the caliber of player from the bottom half of the first round to the top of the second isn't much of a drop off.
Josh Johnson is who I am really wanting the 49ers to pursue. Johnson, is currently the back up QB in Tampa Bay. I think this guy's upside is off the charts. I seem to remember the 49ers going after another QB that played for Tampa, remember Steve Young? Now, I am not saying that he is the second coming of the Hall of Famer, but as Deion Sanders said recently, "The cupboard at QB is Old Mother Hubbard bare!" I think we could possibly get him for a second round pick this year, and just for giggles throw in an incentive draft spot. With a legit throw/run threat at QB this team could be a contender not only for the division, but for the conference.
Fullback
The 49ers have had a history of having very smart, physical FB's. These men include, Tom Rathman, William Floyd, and currently Moran Norris. Moran is in his second tour with the 49ers, and is a great back. Norris, however is getting old. I have a crazy idea, that I think may just work, and solve several problems for opposing defenses to scheme against. Move Anthony Dixon to FB. He has the size, power and knowledge of the offense to be a threat. People will think that I am a nut for suggesting this but, Rathman was a blocking threat for Roger Craig, as well as a threat as a receiver out of the backfield. William Floyd was the exact same way. This idea will work if they allow it to.
Kicker
Cut Joe Nedney, and keep Jeff Reed. The Steelers jumped the gun on this one, and it will be for our benefit.
Cornerback
For all intentsive purposes we do not have any. So there in lies the problem. A somewhat pricey solution on one side could be the signing of free agent CB Nnamdi Asomugha. This guy is worth the money, and he is in the top three of all CB's in the game today.
Prince Amukamara from the University of Nebraska. he is the best CB in the draft. If you can get a QB without giving up the 7th overall pick this is our guy.
I know that write ups like this are all "pie in the sky" delusions, but I feel that all of these things are very doable.
Now it is time for the 49ers to start getting rings for that other hand.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
In the beginning (Original, I know)
I have had this idea of writing a blog for quite a while now. But, the content is what is my problem. The ideas are there, but it is just in what matter will these ramblings, thoughts, & ideas be presented. With that out of the way, lets begin...
Dearest reader please bear (or bare) with with me as I try and muddle my way through these early ramblings.
They, whomever they are say that you need to know your audience, well in this case that is an impossibilty. So I will tell you about me. I will try to not make this sound like some shitty bio on a dating website (Although if I did, I would use Crash Davis' from Bull Durham.)
So I am the oldest child of a elementary school librarian, and a lifelong radio guy. They recently celebrated their 39th anniversary, in today's world is a major accomplishment. A sister have I, younger. I have a wifee, kids, dogs, and a job. Politically I would say that I am a "fence walker."
This would be the part in the shitty dating website bio where I would channel Crash Davis discussing, "long walks on the beach, and slow wet kisses that last for days" blah blah blah.
Currently, like Socrates, I am corrupting today's youth as a social studies teacher. Think Sam Kinison from "Back to School" would be an accurate portrayl of my teaching philosophy.
Yes, I like movies, if you hadn't noticed. So there is no need to yell at your monitor something along the lines of, "Jesus, you hack, write something without using lines from a movie as a crutch."
So, where was I? Yes, a oldest child who remembers actual events from the 1970's, a statement that gets me looks from my students like they are in the presence of some type of shaman. Granted my students have no idea what a Shaman is, but it was the only thing I could think of without referencing a movie.
Music, is probably my greatest love, next to sarcasm. My musical taste is all over the road, Sinatra to Slayer!, Sabbath to Harry Connick Jr. I am a self proclaimed music snob. If you like something that I find is drivvle, I will let you know, and basically tell you that your opinion means shit. That I guess is the republican in me, things appear only as I say, no room for deviation.
I have tons of stories that will no doubt appear in some fashion, top ten lists, and just the stuff that runs through my brain. So hear endeth the beginning.
Dearest reader please bear (or bare) with with me as I try and muddle my way through these early ramblings.
They, whomever they are say that you need to know your audience, well in this case that is an impossibilty. So I will tell you about me. I will try to not make this sound like some shitty bio on a dating website (Although if I did, I would use Crash Davis' from Bull Durham.)
So I am the oldest child of a elementary school librarian, and a lifelong radio guy. They recently celebrated their 39th anniversary, in today's world is a major accomplishment. A sister have I, younger. I have a wifee, kids, dogs, and a job. Politically I would say that I am a "fence walker."
This would be the part in the shitty dating website bio where I would channel Crash Davis discussing, "long walks on the beach, and slow wet kisses that last for days" blah blah blah.
Currently, like Socrates, I am corrupting today's youth as a social studies teacher. Think Sam Kinison from "Back to School" would be an accurate portrayl of my teaching philosophy.
Yes, I like movies, if you hadn't noticed. So there is no need to yell at your monitor something along the lines of, "Jesus, you hack, write something without using lines from a movie as a crutch."
So, where was I? Yes, a oldest child who remembers actual events from the 1970's, a statement that gets me looks from my students like they are in the presence of some type of shaman. Granted my students have no idea what a Shaman is, but it was the only thing I could think of without referencing a movie.
Music, is probably my greatest love, next to sarcasm. My musical taste is all over the road, Sinatra to Slayer!, Sabbath to Harry Connick Jr. I am a self proclaimed music snob. If you like something that I find is drivvle, I will let you know, and basically tell you that your opinion means shit. That I guess is the republican in me, things appear only as I say, no room for deviation.
I have tons of stories that will no doubt appear in some fashion, top ten lists, and just the stuff that runs through my brain. So hear endeth the beginning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)