A Weird and a Wonderful Show

I don't know if this has been widely broadcast or not, but we are with child (again!). This one is due March 15 (beware the Ides of March)... Keep us in your prayers.

And listen to this fantastic song from my current favorite non-Mallonee songwriter, Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists) from NPR's Live Concert Series.

Colin Meloy - Baby Song

I couldn't make this up if I tried

I just got this email at work:

If you would like to have the opportunity to meet Bob Corker, candidate for United States Senate, and the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist from Tennessee -- stop by for a free bologna lunch next Tuesday, October 10, from 12 to 1 at the I-75 Expo Center at Clinton Highway and Merchants Road.

Truth in advertising, I guess. It's nice to see the politicos admitting that they're feeding us bologna...

Live from the Capeman

One of my favorite memories is this. Janna and I, in New York City in 1998, married only a short time (did we celebrate our 1st anniversary there - geez, where do the days go?). We were among the fortunate few to see "The Capeman," Paul Simon's Broadway play about Salvador Agron, a Puerto Rican gang member who murdered two people in 1959.

The play is notorious for being one of Broadway's biggest flops - it ran for a mere 14 days before being cancelled. Why did it close? Good question. There were protestors. Well-meaning people who (without actually seeing the show, I'm sure) picketed because they thought Simon was glorifying that horrible crime. That didn't help. Plus, it didn't get the best reviews, although Janna and I loved it. It didn't help either, I'm sure, when Paulie came out and basically gave the finger to the Broadway establishment in return.

I hadn't listened to the CD in awhile, but I came across it a few days ago and have been wearing it out again. This is really vintage Paul Simon stuff. Seemingly contrasting styles melded together well, powerful imagery, seriously interesting subject matter. It's worth a listen - this track is 50's style doo-wop about Agron and Hernandez (the Umbrella Man) and their trial:

Adios Hermanos - Paul Simon

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.