Full Disclosure

In the interest of full disclosure, I figure I should just come out with it. You wanna know why I haven't been blogging? Are you sure you wanna know? Well, here it is. I am hopelessly addicted to Fantasy Football. Have been for years. I know that makes me a uber techo, wanna-be jock, geek. I understand. And I don't care. I like Fantasy Football. It's fun.

Did you watch the Saints game last night? On one hand, I'm still pretty weary of the Katrina coverage. I know, I'm supposed to be compassionate, but the wall of coverage that's still oh, so helpfully provided by FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC, Discovery, the damn Weather Channel, it just wears me out.

But watching that city last night, I was rejuvenated - kinda like New Orleans. It really is a wonderful city - I've only been there once, but I still feel a love for it. So it feels good to watch it heal. And like it or not, football was a significant part of it. It reminded me a bit of President Bush throwing out the first pitch in New York after 9/11.

So am I justifying my addiction by trying to apply some sort of social good to sports, despite all of the obvious social evils (football players make 8 million times more than school teachers!)? Probably. But it's tough to deny the evidence.

Dee Snyder Loves Me

So here's another covers post, so that I won't feel as bad about not posting anything real in the last week. These are pretty good. And they're free, so that's not bad.
David Gray - Smile Like You Mean It - Killers cover
Evan Dando - How Will I Know - Whitney Houston cover
Counting Crows - Borderline - Madonna cover

cover me in the leaves of fall....

You guys know I love covers. Here's a few peachy ones for you. Hopefully, this'll be a regular feature. 'Cause there's nothing I like better than being regular.

Out on the Weekend - Bill Mallonee - Neil Young cover
Sick of Myself - Death Cab - Matthew Sweet cover
Climb On (A Back That's Strong) - Caedmon's Call - Shawn Colvin cover

Sam & the Paperbacks

One of my favorite memories of my childhood is the Winter Park Public Library. There's a room on the second floor (at least there was a room, who knows if it's still there)in the children's section, full of comfy chairs and pillows, that's just perfect for spending long hours reading. I spent many, many hours in that room reading The Three Investigators, The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, C.S. Lewis, and every other book on those shelves.

It's truly great to watch my boy doing the same thing - albeit in a different place. Sam doesn't have a room like that Winter Park Library room, but he does ok. What I struggle with is trying to push off my favorite books onto him, when he's wanting to read something completely different. I have this overwhelming urge to pass on the joy that I experienced, one piece of juvenile fiction at a time. But, since we've been blessed with a strong-willed child, he's not too eager to to read the books that I suggest.

While shopping at the local used bookstore with Sam this Saturday, I picked up a copy of one of my favorite childhood books for 95 cents. Emil and the Detectives was a book I hadn't thought about in quite some time, but it screamed at me from the shelves. I snatched it off the shelf and said, "Sam, you'll love this book! It was one of my favorites!" Sam took a quick look at the back and said, "Nah, not interested."

Since this has happened lots of times, it came as no shock. But I still couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. There are some ways in which he is so like me that I feel like we should like exactly the same stuff, be exactly the same way, that I'm taken aback when he responds differently than I would have.

No one gives you parental training on this kind of stuff. How to respond when your child does something that kind of hurts your feelings a bit? It's not necessarily sensible, or rational, but I still want to say, "Why can't you just trust me? You'll like this!" As a matter of fact, I have said that. Doesn't seem to help, and yet I keep trying. Maybe I'm the stubborn one.

Ah, the joys of Wal-Mart. You never quite know what you'll find, or where you'll find it. And, oh yeah, God bless camera phones...

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Redux

The blogging world is a wonderful thing, and I'm happy about it. This week, I've come across two blogs that are just plain gorgeous, and are as different as night and day.

Ken Begg, the High Priest of Jabootu, a fantastic site in its own right, has begun blogging. It's a great examination of really, really, really, terribly bad movies (and other stuff, too). Ken has been my lifeline for years, letting me know that I'm not alone in the world in my love of cinema terrible.

Jabootu's Bad Blogging Dimension

The other site that I just came across today belongs to a young lady who goes by the name of Breezy. I don't know much about her, or the site, but it's good stuff nonetheless. Plus, if you look at her blogger profile, her favorite musicians are Sufjan, Page France, Death Cab, etc. Anyway, it's good stuff. Check it out.

My Tornado is Resting