I Am IRON MAN

When I was little, I loved cartoons much like the rest of you. G.I. Joe (Yo, Joe!) was the tops in my book/heart. If I did my three chores all week, I got $3. Ironically, a new G.I. Joe action figure was $2.99 at Target. At the same time if you put me in a car at our house in Brentwood, the only place in town I knew how to get to was Target on White Bridge Rd (home of the G.I. Joe action figures!). A close 2nd to the defenders of our freedom from Cobra, were the autobots of Transformers. What a show, and what a toy! Coming in third (just ahead of Masters of the Universe, M.A.S.K., Voltron and Thundercats) were the Marvel Comics cartoons. The old old Spider-Man cartoon=amazing. Right there with it was Iron Man. This cartoon just wasn't around like the rest of them. Short lived. Man did I love it! Iron Man was and is my favorite Marvel character to this day. Who knows why back then. Maybe I just new I was a Republican at heart (Tony Stark is the ultimate Republican superhero - billionaire, ties on Capitol Hill, tax cuts for the rich, obsessed with Weapons of Mass Destruction even before there were WMDs). Heck, Stark got this way from kicking it over in Vietnam with McCain....

As I'm sure you know, Iron Man is BACK!!!! This summer's 1st big blockbuster movie is nearly here with......Robert Downey, Jr......? Not my first choice, but I bet Steven Seagal was busy with Chapter 11. Why is Iron Man cool? He's deeply conflicted like many superheroes. He's a good guy, but at many times in his career he's been a bad guy. This is the same reason Daredevil is cool - too bad that movie was butchered by producer John Favreau (Swingers, director of Iron Man) by casting buddy Ben Affleck, making Kingpin black, and using Colin Farrell for anything. Please, John. Don't ruin this one. He's my favorite (pretty sure that he's listed as my hero on myspace.....), and he's Ozzy's favorite.

Don't mess with Black Sabbath.....

Remember this? No?

Cancelation Vacation

Well I had a patient no-show - therefore, more blogging......Yesterday, I picked up the latest in long line of nostalgic Nintendo games (let's be honest - that is all that Nintendo has going for them: nostalgia). Mario Kart Wii came out on Sunday (Whitney's Birthday - xoxo). Much like the guitar in Guitar Hero III for the Wii, the wiimote straps into a plastic wheel for all your driving needs. MKwii has free online play and has introduced the motorcycle into the world of karts along with aerial stunts for a boost. While awkward at first, the wheel works well once you get the hang of it. See you on the track.

3 Posts in 1 Day?

Impossible! While Whitney's still in Nashville, I will continue to post!
Just saw where Mates of State (check them out in this month's SPIN) have put out the video for their 1st single ("Get Better") off the upcoming album, Re-Arrange Us. Not as upbeat as the stuff of their's that I love but good.

Walla:


and here's an oldy but goody from the cutest little married couple band

On a serious note.....

I don't want to start a rift or whatever, but the murdered groom acquittal action in NYC last week is rather shocking...I remember when it happened, I figured there was just cause (there had to be, right....?) The dude got lit up with 51 bullets, though....Easy Cochese, I think you got him. Acquittal from 1st degree murder maybe, but complete exoneration for all 3 officers....unreal. Lawyer kids out there: sound off....I just don't know. Rodney King, this is not - it seems far worse. You can discredit it by saying, "You know he was coming out of a strip club". SO? Did that mean he needed to get hit up like this? I understand their need to take action if a threat was viewed. Take them down with a shot to maim/disarm....Sorry to kill the cheery mood on here......Thanks to that judge, you've just fueled this guy's fire for the next 30 years....
CNN

Seeecrets...

Martin and I are always talking music when I'm in town. Why? B/C! This weekend a sad reality was again brought to my attention. So many bands come through Boston (too many to keep up with). I promised myself when I got here I would take advantage of all the entertainment at my disposal. I've been to 4 concerts in one yr....BOOOOOO! (Kings of Leon, Rilo Kiley,Cat Power, Vampire Weekend) Not exactly living up to my intentions. Frequently (read: almost always), I plan on goin and never do. Case in point, the Pipettes - had tickets and didn't even go....and now 2/3 Pipettes quit last week - missed my chance. Now - I am at a crossroads, Secret Machines are here Wed night.....will I go? I've already seen them at the Ryman 2 yrs ago - awesome - but this will be in a tiny club. Their drummer is like a little Bonham (b/c that kind of label has never been applied......oh wait no). This all hinges on Nacho. Concerts are like workouts. You've got to have a spotter/accountability partner. There are those days when you just don't want to workout or run. The same can be said for your partner. The same goes for concerts. Maybe I don't think I can make it. Your friend says, "you have to go!" You go. No one wants to go to a show alone. If I can convince Dr. Sanz-Martin (Nacho) - I'll be there. Otherwise, another opportunity squandered....here is a SM video and some good celebrity seeeecrets just for laughs....Tom Hanks and ol' John McCain (for McCain - skip ahead about half-way if you don't wanna listen to Conie)

Outta Mind, Outta Sight

This month, I have to block off 3-4:30 on Thursdays for a hypnosis class.......yup. Looook into my eyes.....The department is losing revenue, since we can likely only schedule one pt on Thurs afternoons, now. As we close our eyes in class we're often lead by the instructor into a field of heather or a forest or the beach and on and on etc. As I sit here on a Friday hating life after taking a Head/Neck Anatomy Final Exam, I'm going to transcend space and time and go to my Graceland, Raiford's Hollywood Disco. I'm sure most of you have experienced the most famous danceclub in Memphis. If not, there's is hope. Sadly (or maybe luckily from her point of view), Whitney never got to experience all that is Raiford's. As Mr. Raiford hung up his turntables and his sparkly hat and closed Raiford's 1yr ago this weekend. As she likely let out a sigh of relief, I wept. Nevertheless, Raiford's is back. The call of a light-up-tile dance floor, white leather couches, 2 old fog machines, 1 beat up drum kit, 40 oz's, and one loud siren was too much for the old man. He's back in the booth like the late Rick James ("Give it to me girl.........."). NOW, I may actually have a reason to go back to Memphis someday. I mean I knew this place was the real deal when it was written up in Delta Sky Miles magazine (you know, the free one in the pocket in front of you). Welcome back old friend. Hope to see you all there someday and remember no parking on the dancefloor, Joy.

It's the Reason I'm Here

Destin? I'll be there....

Happy Birthday Flannel Shirts

A small little enterprise started 20 years ago this month has remained small after all these years and will be able to legally drink next year. Happy Anniversary to SubPop records. You know this logo (I hope), or maybe it looks kinda familiar. While it's no CBGB OMFUG, this logo has been seen on a many hipster t-shirts at concerts and clubs. These guys were at the inception and ground breaking of the "Seattle Sound". If we had never had SubPop, who would we maybe have missed? (and I know many of these bands were good enough that someone would have taken them, but let me have my moment) Oh, there was this one band that really blew your mind when you were in 6th grade and on through middle school and into high school where you swore that their frontman changed the world.......Nirvana. Maybe our lives wouldn't have been any different without them or another band that made us love the "Spoonman", Soundgarden. No SubPop, No Grunge, no Mudhoney. Maybe we wouldn't have been so bummed in the early 90's......who knows? After quietly transitioning into the new millennium, SubPop has begun to thrive once more in the 00's (pronounced "oughts" to the un-initiated). Indie rock really began to break into the mainstream in the fall of 2001 and has not looked back since. Boy, am I glad. Riding in on the subway this morning, Lit (and I enjoy ol' Lit) came onto my ipod's shuffle, and I thought, "Man, we were in college ('98-'02) during some of THE worst music..." (read - backstreet, n'sync, britney, korn, Xtina, etc - essentially any teen pop and nu-metal garbage...that I embraced at the time and now look back with fondness and yet disdain....) Back on point, Greg.... SubPop has brought us the likes of the Shins, Hot Hot Heat, Iron and Wine, and the Postal Service, long before Zach Braff told us they would "change our lives" (BTW- he = unhip, creepy dirtbag). Regardless, cheers to SubPop and to good music! Besides the aforementioned artists, go get some of SubPop's finest: Blitzen Trapper (one of their big signings from last year), some Band of Horses, some No Age, some Go! Team, some Kelley Stoltz or some Flight of the Conchords and tickle your funny bone. You will enjoy!

If the big 4 record labels had the street sense these Indies had, maybe the industry wouldn't be kaput. In the NW, it's SubPop and Barsuk. In the SE, it's Merge. In the NE, it's Matador. In the UK, it's Rough Trade and Domino. There are hundreds of them! Go buy some music people! I am the only person I know who buys CDs. I'm starting to buy more vinyl, b/c they come with CDs of the album or free downloads (making CDs from records - what a pain...). MP3s may replace all that we know, but it'll never have the heart that those little pieces of plastic did! There is nothing more sacred than having a physical piece of music!

PS-
(this Saturday is National Record Store Day. so, go out and support it. If you're in Nashville, there is an all day extravaganza @ Grimey's with live music, the Yazoo Brew Bus, food and more...)

The Lexington Brothers

Please check out these boys over on Whit's Blog - her friend's boyfriend is the guitar brother....

funny, indeed

Masters Wrap-Up

Well, the weekend is over.....Trevor Immelman was basically a wire2wire champ. Tied with Justin Rose after day 1, he held his own everyday until he was adorned with the green jacket today by last years champ Zach Johnson. Ironically, Zach Johnson was the name of a guy in the class behind me at MBA (much like the feel good story of the weekend, Brandt Snedeker). The difference is that unlike the Zach Johnson I know, this was the Brandt Snedeker. While Immelman carried the burden of being the leader, Snedeker was right behind him in 2nd for most of the weekend and at times sharing and taking the lead. Playing together in the final group on Sunday, Immelman played through the ups and downs cool as a cucumber, while Snedeker felt the weight of the spotlight. Other than eagle on the par 5 #2 and a few birdies here and there, Snedeker had little else to cheer for. As his 2nd shot on #13 trickled into Rae's Creek, so trickled away his shot at the green jacket. Nevertheless, you would never know his round and tournament were falling apart by the look on his face. With the downs being more prevalent than the ups, Snedeker carried on with a turn of the cheek and a shake of the head all with a smile and twinkle in his eye. After rounds of 69, 68, and 70, Snedeker closed out the weekend in Augusta with a +5 (77- T-3rd). As he walked off the green on 18, he received a standing ovation from the gallery while Immelman waited to roll in his final put. He left the same way he came in - with a smile. Clearly though, the weekend had taken its toll on him as you'll see on the clip below. Snedeker can and should hold his head up high. He played very well and will be a household name after this weekend. This is not the last we'll see of this young man. Today was not his day, but it may not be too far down the fairway....

Masters Time !!!

Augusta, your dogwoods and pines they play on my mind like a song......

Amen Corner






Give a little love to Brandt Snedeker, last year's PGA rookie of the year. He's a rising star on tour and a Vanderbilt graduate. OH, and he was in the class below us at MBA.
Currently -4 under...
(co-leader 6:32pm)




For all the tree hugging liber Massachusans blahblahblah that complain that women should be able to be members at Augusta National.....Here's a lovely protest across the street from Magnolia Ln. at the 2004 Masters.
Check out my boy in the back.....



Enjoy one of the best weekends in sports and what I've come to call:
"Tiger Watch"

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote....

....the droghte of March hath perced to the roote and bathed every veyne in swich licour.......

Did you ever have to memorize that whole prologue? Blegh! You do know what that's from, right? Seriously? Come on! Here are some April tunes to wash out the rain...

Playing In the Shadows No More

After a near upset of Maryland in the first round last year, I would not shut up about a relatively unknown guard for little ol' Davidson. When I thought Davidson, I usually thought Brew Davis or Georgia Yowell or maybe Mr. Fraley, my 7th grade English teacher who was fresh out of Davidson and Dr. Bueno's roomate. (As I remember, Mr. Fraley, who we were never to call Jeff unless we wanted to die, always called me Jeb and vice versa. Jeb was also derided for his love for eating chalk and the BB lodged in the side of his temple like Chas Tenenbaum's hand....ah, memories...) ANYWAYS, I annoyed Whitney to death last year telling her how her beloved ACC conference had spurned the likes of Dell Curry's progeny leaving him to sign with a school along the size of Sewanee and Rhodes that was merely nearby these giant programs. Papa Dell had a sweet stroke like Chuck "the rifleman" Person or Reggie Miller for over 15 yrs in the NBA . As we know now, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Like an "off broadway" play risen to stardom, Stephen (pronounced Stef-uhn not steven or stef-ahn) Curry charmed the pants of most of America (and my foreign classmates, too) in this year's NCAA tourney. If you didn't watch Davidson play, shoot yourself. Stephen Curry was amazing setting the record for most points scored in a single NCAA tournament (the rest of the top 10 are players that made the finals and usually won). Losing on Sunday to Kansas, Davidson had to settle for the Elite Eight. They were nothing short of elite. Curry was their star, but the team as a whole outplayed their competition. If you watched them, you probably know Andrew Lovedale, their power fwd who over powered the sequoia sized big men from Georgetown, Kansas and Wisconsin (during the regular season, Davidson also played UNC, Duke, and UCLA only losing to the latter by more than 10) On top of lauding the players, Davidson's coach, Bob McKillop, has to get the raise of the century or he is going to end up at a prime time program. He out coached the whole field. His dedication to film and strategy paid off in dividends (clearly). Then again it is not hard to out coach Bill Self, who is a chump and has been exposed countless times while consistently underachieving at Kansas. At the end of the day, the clock struck midnight, and Cinderella lost her slipper. Suck it, Gonzaga. You were never America's team or sweetheart - Davidson owns our hearts. We were all charmed by the little engine that could this year. As the NBA scouts look a little closer, they'll have to wait longer and quinch their thirst with us at next years tourney. Curry is staying in school. He is out of the shadows, and he has taken the spotlight....