Mmmm....Date night.

With all of the crud going on in our lives right now and all the struggles we're having, it's been really easy to lose focus on what truly matters in life. Melissa and I miss each other, even though we see each other every day. Our last date was sometime before James was born, and since we have no discretionary funds in existence, paying a babysitter and paying to go out just isn't in the cards anymore.

Thank God for family! Abby will be going to the Angels game on Saturday night (i'm slightly jealous) with my sister and her family and my mom and dad will watch the boys for us, so that we can go to Disneyland. Free entertainment. Time alone, together. I can't even begin to explain how much we need this. Plus, Moe won $50 playing bunco last night! So we're going to take the kids to the drive-in on Friday night ($5 for a carload!) so we get to see Corpse Bride. Ironically, we've seen two movies in the last 4 month, and they're both Burton.

We have about $100 bucks in cash from moe's winning and taking all of our change into the grocery store. It netted us about $85 bucks and we're using it for little things that we can't fit into the budget. I got a haircut with it. We also took the kids to disneyland a few times and we can get a big ole loaf of Sourdough bread at California Adventure, which is enough to be dinner for all of us. We pack a bottle of water and we can manage a very cheap day together.

Secretly, I'm hoping to save some of the cash, so that I can buy Mel a birthday present (Nov. 5th). Shh. Don't tell her. =)

Must. See. U2. NOW.

Check out the set list from Night One in Chicago. The boys are finally mixing it up a bit.

Discotheque has gotten some play.

Bad closed the show!

Walk On made it's first appearance (finally)!

Yahweh moved into the middle of the main set.

The First Time!!! Zooropa makes a HUGE cameo.

I'm only a little distressed that I Will Follow has disappeared again.

Marty Casey - The True Winner

Sorta like American Idol, where the competition winner is forced into a slavery-esque contract, I think Marty actually pulled out ahead in Rock Star: INXS. Will he be the lead singer for THAT band, no. Will he be the front man for an amazing band? Absofreakinglutely. I now have no vested interested in INXS as a band (never did before), because I just don't like J.D. Fortune's personality. I will want to get ahold of the official release of Pretty Vegas, though.

I wish I have said it out loud: I've thought for a few weeks that whoever finished second would be asked to be the opening act on the world tour. What a great opportunity for Marty. But will Dave Navarro play guitar on his first record? It depends on whether or not he's too busy cheating on Carmen Electra with "sweet" Suzie McNeil. He'll definitely be collaborating with her, too.

Here's to Marty and here's to seeing him have an awesome rock and roll career. Bo Bice, who?

Cy Young?

Congratulations to Fat-olo Colon, the first 20-game winner for the Angels in 31 years. Nolan Ryan in 1974 was the last guy to do it. Here's to hoping the Halos can hang onto the AL West and make it further into the playoffs than last year.

I'm a Pop Sensation

The Bloodhound Gang has written a new song called "Ralph Wiggum". The lyrics consist entirely of Ralph quotes from the Simpsons (except the chorus is part Cheif Wiggum). Check it out HERE.

It'll be you and me, up in the trees

Dude. Rock Star has taken a serious turn this week. There is a new front runner, and although I used to think he was the worst of the bunch (so much drama), I'm actually ok with him winning this thing. It'll also keep me from being compelled to see them live, which will save money that I don't have for concert tickets.

Suzie - I thought last night was pretty lackluster for her, even though the audience and the bandmates seemed to enjoy it. She faltered during What's Up, a song I love (because I can play it).

J.D. - Absolutely hit a home run. The band gave him Pretty Vegas again, I think to proof to the guys that he can nail the same song night after night, which is what touring is all about. And then he goes and does a great job with Money. One of my top-three favorite Pink Floyd songs. It didn't hurt that the house band does such an amazing job with so many songs.

Marty - I freaking love "Trees", no matter how ridiculously cheesy the lyrics are. And he nailed Creep, too. I love that he didn't hold back from his "screamy" thing, even though the band has told him they don't like it. It worked perfect for this song, and he isn't completely selling himself out. Only needed the crazy conductor.

Mig - Melissa thinks that he got the short end of the stick on song selection, because the band wanted him to falter and get into the bottom three. Controversy aside, I thought he did a mediocre job with the songs. I LOVE Paint it Black, but it just didn't work for me. Kiss from a Rose is a good song, but terrible for this competition. Only Seal gets away with making it sound like anything but Karaoke. If that song is to be covered, it has to have a dramatic change in style to work. It didn't and Mig didn't. Mig is wearing thin on me and I don't want him to win. He has this creepy gay-stripper look to him and he reminds me of a "nice-guys" Perry Farrell.

It's too hard to say who might be going home this week, between Suzie and Mig. I can only guarantee that JD and Marty will stick around. They have two potential hit singles for the band. J.D. is the front runner at this point and he has the charisma, voice, songwriting and leadership to be very successful. And with a song like Pretty Vegas, INXS will easily get back onto radio, both in the KROQ and STAR type of worlds.

I still like Marty the best, but I want him to front his own band (why not the house band from the show?) I want Suzie to win over J.D., because I would personally be more interested in the band. No matter what happens, it's been a fun show to watch!

Live Music: A Reflection

With the upcoming trip to NYC to see U2 at Madison Square Garden, which might amount to one of the best concerts ever, and with The O.C. Supertones hanging up the horns next month with a final show at Biola, I've been thinking about live music and all of the concerts I've been to over the years, and some I would LOVE to see live.

Tops on my "Wish List" is Garth Brooks. Now that he's possibly coming out of his semi-retirement, I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see him. I also want to see McCartney. I've never seen the Rolling Stones or Elton John. I also want to see The Killers REALLY REALLY bad. And now I want to see INXS on their next tour.

I've seen U2 eight times. All of them were memorable and wonderful and rank towards the top of any list I would do. The best two shows for me were the PopMart show at Jack Murphy, because it was my first U2 show ever (Rage opened and was cool, too) and the post-9/11 show at the Pond on the Elevation Tour. Not only was it a cathartic and worshipful experience, but No Doubt put on the best opening act I've seen at any U2 show.

I've seen Bob Dylan four times. The first time sucked, it was with Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell at the Pond and we were way the heck back up top. Van Morriscon didn't even play Brown Eyed Girl. Second time was ok, but our seats sucked. We were on the floor at the pond, way the heck back. Paul Simon opened and was cool. Third time was great, we were in the back at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim. Great seats, great set. No opening act. Fourth time was at the Pantages a few months ago. Not the best Dylan show I've seen, but it was still a great experience. Amos Lee and Merle Haggard were both a lot of fun.

I've been to three Acoustic Christmas shows and among the acts I saw (and liked) were Beck, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Blink 182, Fiona, Bush, Janes Addiction, Depeche Mode, Billy Corgan solo (and awesome), Garbage, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cake, Matchbox 20 (actually acoustic). Of course, a ton of one-hit wonder and other crap bands were there, too, like the Sneaker Pimps, Everlast, Powerman 5000, Tori Anus, Soul Coughing and, of course, Chumbawumba.

I've seen the Pumpkins once, Corgan once (plus the Acoustic Christmas) and Zwan once. The Pumpkins show was BY FAR the best of the group. Seeing Billy with his new band and new album in July was pretty sweet, too.

I saw Roger Waters at the Universal Amp. Very cool show. I also saw Kirk Franklin there with my mom. We were some of the few white people in the audience. It was awesome.

I've seen Counting Crows three times. All good shows. One with Live opening, one with a reunited Toad the Wet Sprocket.

I've seen the Supertones at least 30 times. Great memories. In HS and at Biola I had some very memorable experiences. I'm sad that I can't go to there final show at Biola next month (I'll be in NY for U2!).

I've seen Styx!

My very first concert was a Beach Boys/Chicago concert with my dad in the late 80s. I had been trying to win tickets all week (I was a HUGE beach boys fan) and never won. Pops suprized me with tickets the day of the show. I've seen the beach boys two other times.

When I was huge into the Ska scene during college, I saw The Aquebats at the Barn at UCR. Crazy fun.

I've had a ton of great experience with other christian bands, local "Biola Bands" and bigger. I saw Jars of Clay a few times. At Biola, I saw Holy Cow, Mike Barnett, Thee Spivees, Plain Jane, Wonderlove, Vinegar Joe, RC and OF COURSE, Mars Hill, more times than I can count. And I can't leave out Soul Kilter, featuring two members of Mars Hill in the pre-Biola days (Kenny and the Hungry Samoan).

Opening for the Boys

With the third led of the tour rapidly approaching, I'm shocked that there haven't been any official announcements from U2.com as to the opening acts for the tour. Some info has leaked on the web and we know some opening acts for some shows, but nothing has been officially announced.

The Thrills and Dashboard Confessional are doing 8 dates in Toronto, Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Arcade Fire is doing some Canadian gigs as well. Other rumored acts for the tour are Kanye West, Keane and My Chemical Romance.

It's starting to look more and more like there won't be a single opener for the entire leg (like Kings of Leon), which is rare for U2 in the U.S. They usually have no more than three bands doing longer stints (such as Garbage and No Doubt splitting duties on the Elevation Tour's third leg).

I'm kinda bummed, because I had heard early rumors that Switchfoot might open and I REALLY want to see The Killers.

Suzie's gunna win

After watching another flawless performance and seeing a strong original song from Suzie McNiel, I believe that she will end up as the winner of Rock Star:INXS. Mig is still the logical front-runner, but he is starting to show a few kinks along the way. Marty is still my favorite and he was FLAWLESS last night. I love "Trees" and can totally hear it being played on Star 98.7 next week. He just doesn't quite fit in with the band and won't win. I can't believe that J.D. is loved so much. I can't stand him. There is no way he's going to win this thing. And poor Jordis. It's just time for the girl to go home. She's to this competition what John Stephens was to the third season of American Idol. She's just to young but hopefully this experience will help propell her own solo career.

I also had this thought last night: Marty should join up with the "house band" and form a group. They would rule.

I think Marty will be getting the original encore for tonight and I think Suzie will get the cover encore.

Checking in with Rock Star

Although I was pretty disappointed to see Ty go home before JD, it really doesn't matter, since neither of them have a legitimate chance at winning.

I now believe that Mig will win hands down and at this point it looks like it will be a final-two showdown with Suzie. Where the heck did she come from!?!? She's been complete nails lately.

I still love Marty and he is still my favorite, but I don't see him as the lead singer for INXS. The lead singer for a rock band for sure, just not INXS. And he NAILED Wish You were Here, by the way...freaking phenomenal.

As for Jordis I hope she outlasts JD, but she also has no shot at winning. She's just too young and "I just don't think she's right for INXS".

Still Alive

I'm Still Alive. Life is pretty crazy and hectic right now with work and the growing family. Please pray for us right now as we are seeking some guidance and wisdom from the Lord on multiple issues!

Spawn of Askew - The Countdown

T-Minus 19 hours until we are supposed to be checking into Hoag for our induction tommorow morning. It's sort of bittersweet right now, though. We were supposed to stay at the Crowne-Plaza in Irvine tonight, so we'd be close by in the morning. Abby is sick, though, so we don't have a sitter for this evening and we're stuck at home. It sucks because it was going to be our last date for a LONG time.

THANK GOD, though, that my sister is still willing to watch the kids all day tommorow. It would have been crazy without that help. We are blessed with some wonderful family around us!

How I came to love a Britney song

Rock Star: INXS (8/16)

Tonight was an interesting night for Rock Star. The band hand picked the songs for each performer for a stripped down, acousticy night. Three performances rose above the rest. Also, instead of JD being on the bottom of the top crew, he's now at the top of the pile of crap that has no business being in this thing anymore. If it weren't for the fact that we get more performances from the top four, I wish they would just cut ALL FOUR of the crappy people now. The following is a ranking of the performances from last night:

1. Mig (Baby I Love Your Way) Played with just him and the piano, with him playing. Flipping unbelievable. He pulled off one of the best performances of the competition.
2. Marty (Hit Me Baby One More Time) He turned it into sort of a Violent Femmes feeling slow, angry ballad and it worked. It was still silly and when you strip away the pop in the background, you can truly get a feel for how insanely stupid the lyrics of this song are, but Marty did it in an incredible fashion.
3. Jordis (Knocking on Heavans Door) This would have tied for second, if it weren't for her slipping up on a lyric to a BOB DYLAN SONG!!!!! How do you do that?!?!?!? (editors note: I thought the lyric was "it's getting dark, too dark to see". Jordis sang "it's getting dark, too dark for me". The Dylan website says the line is "it's getting dark, too dark for me to see". While I've never heard it like that, we'll call it a wash).
4. Ty (Maggie Mae) He did this the only way he could pull it off, turning it into a Motown style song, tamborine and all. Not bad. Not a home run.
5. Suzie (Bring it on Home to Me) Not bad. Not Great.
6. JD (As Tears go By). Bad. Not terrible, but I was longing to see Mick Jagger come rip the mic out of his hand and punch him in the teeth.
7. Jessica (Torn). Bad. Really Bad. Karaoke Bad.
8. Deanna (I Can't Make You Love Me). Proving that she actually can't sing with ANY range, she turned a good Bonnie Raitt song into complete and utter drivel. She's a one-trick pony vocally, with her sultry/smokers voice. Not good enough to lead a band.

Overall Rankings (Last Week)
1 (1). Marty
2 (3). Mig - My wife's favorite. He's great and could easily lead this band.
3 (2). Ty
4 (4). Jordis - The bottom of the group that should even be considered to win this thing.
5 (5). JD - I'm so sick of him, but he's miles ahead of the next three
6 (6). Deanna - Someone has to sit on top of the crap heap.
7 (9). Suzie
8 (8). Jessica - The older Avril might skate by again....

The bottom three this week should be Deanna, Suzie and Jessica. I predict that Deanna will be going home, after proving that she just can't sing well enough.

I was wrong on my Encore prediction last week. I'm even more certain this week that Mig will get asked to sing Baby I Love Your Way again.

Call me Miss Cleo

I predicted the bottom three AND I predicted that Brandon would go home on Rock Star last night. I rule! Of course, I didn't realize that Brandon would be going home because he forgot the lyrics to the INXS song he had to sing....OOPS!

I liked Brandon well enough as a southern fried rocker, but he clearly wasn't going to be a good fit for the band. OF the people I like the best, only Jordis, Mig, Ty and Marty have a shot at actually winning. I think Mig is the front runner, simply because he's Austrailian. Ty and Marty, I think, are the best two, though. Jordis would be killer, but she's too young and too female. I just don't see the band picking a chick.

Rock Star: INXS

I gotta tell ya, I love this show. I was pissed when they moved the monday episode to VH1. This week has been a great one and I'm excited about tonight's elimination show. Last night wasn't the most solid all around performance night, but perhaps the best performance of the entire competition thus far was by Marty, doing a solo acoustic version of Mr. Brightside. It was simply phenomenal and will be a no-brainer to recieve the "Encore" tonight.

Last night's performances:

1. Marty - Mr. Brightside
2. Ty - No Woman No Cry
3. Suzie - Losing my Religion
4. Brandon - Rolling Stones song
5. Mig - All Right Now
6. Deanna - Long Train Somethin Somethin
7. Jordis - Layla
8. JD - Crazy (the Seal song)
9. Jessica - Come as you are (she simply BUTCHERED it).

My overall rankings

1. Marty
2. Ty
3. Mig
4. Jordis
5. JD
6. Deanna
7. Brandon
8. Jessica
9. Suzie

I think Brandon will be going home tonight, OR both he and Jessica (who will be in the bottom three for the third time).

On the right side of a bad beat

Best. Tournament. Ever.

203 total entrants, I finished 16th. My goal was to make it into the money, which was the final three tables and I did that. Once we got down to 30, I was pretty short stacked and knew that I had to make a move in order to get higher. spots 22-30 all paid the same, so it didn't matter if I went out quick, I needed to try and build my stack to get to the final table. I went all-in a few times and stole the blinds, went all-in again (for about 11,000 in chips) and got called, all-in from a guy with 10,000. He had aces, I had sevens (good ole sevens, like the quads I had at MY tourney last month). Long story short, I ended up sucking out a straight with the turn and river and knocked out the aces. HUGE. I'm up to around 21,000 in chips and one hand later I knock two people out with an A-8, all of a sudden I'm up to 42,000 in chips. We condense to two tables and I'm the second biggest stack at the table. I then proceed to make a RETARDED mistake. Board comes K-A-K, three of us check around. Turn comes seven, I have Q-7, so I pair my sevens. The guy with the big stack, in first position, comes in for ten grand. I read him wrong, thinking he's trying to steal. I go all-in, he calls immediately and I know I'm hosed. He had a King and tripped up to knock me out. Still, the best I have EVER played. It's nice to know that I really do have a little skill. Maybe someday I could make a living at this.

Oh, and I lasted longer than Brian, which I had never done before, so that was nice!

My friend Brian bought me a Pechanga entry for my b-day and we're going tonight. I have only done the weekday tournaments there, so it'll be interesting to do a night-time one. The day ones usually have a little stiffer competition, since it's all the poker players who don't work. The evening game might be a little better, with the guys who work for a living and play on the side. Here's to live cards and pocket pairs!

For my birthday I got the Michael Buble album. He's a crooner and on his new album he has a few songs that aren't classic "Sinatra" type of songs, that he covers in that style, including Can't Buy Me Love by the Beatles. It got me thinking about genre-crossover covers, the good and the bad. I love almost anything turned into the Big-Band sound. This morning I bought eight songs from the above pictured album. I also like Matt Dusk's version of Two Shots of Happy.

The ones I HATE are when Punk/Ska/Hardcore bands cover songs, usually 80's songs. Songs like Smooth Criminal come to mind. I do like P.O.D.'s version of Bullet the Blue Sky and I loved it when bands like Unashamed and Focused did mosh-out versions of worship songs like Awesome God.

I also can't stand country-fried covers. Oddly, I can't stand the Dixie Chicks, but I can tolerate their version of Landslide. I'm a model of contradictions, I guess.

Happy Bithday to US

Here are some of the people I share a birthday with:

Jackie O (but she's dead)
Dick Ebersol (sports dude)
Jim Davis (I always said I shared a birthday with Garfield when I was growing up!)
Lori Loughlin (Full House)
Elizabeth Berkley (I'm so....SCARED!)
Sally Struthers (I'll eat in her honor)
Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)
Bill Bradley (the basketball player, not the senator. Ha!)

No Grey Hair Yet...

Go shorty, it's yer birfday
We're gunna party like it's my birfday
Gunna sip Bacardi like it's my birfday
And you know we don't give a f*** cause it's my birfday!

I'm 27. Going to dinner with Mel and the kids, my parents, my sister, brother-in-law and their kids and my grandma. Olive Garden has this new Cheese fondue type of an appetizer. Awe yeah...

Way too Many SNL Lists

Top 5 Groundlings Alumni on SNL
(judged soley on their performance DURING their time on SNL)
1. Will Ferrell
2. Cheri Oteri
3. Chris Kattan
4. Maya Rudolph
5. Phil Hartman
5.5 Jon Lovitz!

Top 5 Second City Alumni on SNL
(judged soley on their performance DURING their time on SNL)
1. Mike Myers
2. Gilda Radner
3. Chris Farley
4. Dan Aykroyd
5. The Belushi's
5.5 Tina Fey

Top 5 Post-SNL Careers
1. Bill Murray
2. Adam Sandler
3. Mike Myers
4. Will Ferrell
5. Dan Aykroyd

Top 5 SNL Hosts
1. John Goodman
2. Christopher Walken
3. Alec Baldwin
4. Steve Martin
5. Queen Latifah

Top 20 Recurring Sketches/Characters
1. Wayne's World
2. BEAR CITY!!!!!!! Just Kidding
2. Spartan Spirit
3. Wake Up Wakefield
4. The Coneheads
5. Mango
6. The Samurai
7. Mr. Peepers
8. Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker
9. Celebrity Jeopardy
10. Jerret's Room
11. Da Superfans
12. Church Lady
13. Rob Schnieder's Copy room guy
14. Coffee Talk
15. It's Pat
16. Opera Man
17. Debbie Downer
18. Delicious Dish
19. The Hollywood Minute
20. Gemini's Twin
20.5 The Ambiguosly Gay Duo

Worst Ten Sketches/Characters Ever
1. The Falconer
2. The Ladies Man
3. Astronaut Jones
4. Brian Fellowes
5. Ed Grimely
6. Sprockets
7. The Prince Show
8. Nuni and Nuni
9. Mary Katherine Gallagher
10. (Just for Moe) The Contenental)

Top Ten Musical Performances
(Only from the ones I've seen, obviously)
1. U2 (11/20/04) - Vertigo, Sometimes, I Will Follow, All Because of You
2. U2 (12/9/00) - Beautiful Day/Elevation
3. Counting Crows (1/15/94) - Round Here, Mr. Jones
4. Smashing Pumpkins (10/30/93) - Cherub Rock, Today
5. Beck (1/11/97) - Where it's At, Devils Haircut
6. Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page (5/9/98) - Come With Me
7. Garth Brooks (3/14/92) - Rodeo, The River
8. Faith No More (12/1/90) - Epic, From Out of Nowhere
9. Fiona Apple (11/16/96) - Shadowboxer
10. Beck (12/4/99) - Mixed Bizness, Sexx Laws

Surprise!

On Saturday I was surprised with a birfday party! My birfday is on Thursday (July 28th). Melissa told me in the morning that we had a special date planned for the two of us that night and my parents were coming out to Rivertucky to watch the kids. We drove up to LA to eat at the Spaghetti Factory and when we walked into the Lobby, Brian, Aleasha, Shan, Josh and Paul were there to yell surprise. The Melonis and the Hoffmans got there a little later, because traffic was the devil.

So we ate dinner (I got through an entire plate of Mizithra cheese covered pasta without any...uh...repercussions...) and then we went to see The Groundlings. Being a huge SNL fan, I've always wanted to go to see the show, since a lot of my favorites (Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Jon Lovitz, Chris Kattan, Ana Gasteyer) are alumni. Current cast members that are alumni are Will Forte, Chris Parnell and Maya Rudolph. Phil Hartman and Julia Sweeney were also Groundlings, along with Howie Mandel, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Griffin, Mindy Sterling, Craig T. Nelson, Paul Ruebens and Pat Morita, so you never know what future star you might see on that stage.

It was a great night with some hilarious sketches. The Groundlings still know how to end a scene, which is something that has dropped off dramatically on SNL over the past five years or so. Every sketch ended with a punchline.

After the show, Mel and the boys went to Denny's for dessert. I promised her we wouldn't talk fantasy football the ENTIRE time, and I think, for the most part, we didn't. I know it snuck in every once in a while, though.

I had a great time and it was awesome to be surprised. Everything was great except for the big-arse Dodgers balloon that Brian brought to put on my chair at dinner. =)

Scrumdidiliumptious

After seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Friday night, I wanted a little cooling off period before I tried to write about it. Let me just say: Damn! My expectations had been way too high going in, but I still wasn't disappointed.

From a visual perspective, this is one of the most beautiful movies I've seen in a long time, and by far one of the most visually stunning Burton jobs ever. When he created the "look" for Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Batman, etc, it was all in preparation for his grand opus. Un-frikin-believable.

Elfman has created a timeless and recognizable score, which will remain a cornerstone of orchestral movie magic forever. They always use music from older movies on trailers, when new music isn't ready and this one will be used countless times, I'm sure. The songs were also written by Elfman and he did an incredible job with diverse styles, using the original Roald Dahl lyrics.

John August's screenplay was perfect. I never realized how much I would laugh watching this movie. I also never realized how darn funny it would be to start movie-quoting the next day on three-hours of sleep with Paul Hutchins.... "I'm Eat-ible".

The acting was great! I really liked what the Noah Taylor and Christopher Lee characters added to the story, even though the Wonka's Dad backstory wasn't in the book. Freddie Highmore was great, as were the other kids and the parents (even though I can't stand Missy Pile). Deep Roy was awesome.

That brings me to Johnny Depp. Holy Hell was he good. He was absolutely PERFECT for this role, in this movie, with this director. I can't imagine another actor who could have pulled this off. This is by far my favorite Depp role ever.

Overall, the movie gets an A. Not only does it become my favorite Burton film of all time, it is firmly planted in my top-20 all-time favorite films.

2005's First Event Pic

Today marks the opening of the first Event Picture of the year for me, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm extremely excited to see it, hopefully in this first week. I, of course, am a huge Tim Burton/Danny Elfman/John August fan. I really want to love this movie and I probably will. The biggest hesitation is the way Depp comes across playing Wonka. I think he was a perfect selection for a Burton directed version, I just hope the general public doesn't get caught up in trying to compare him to the unflinching creep-o played so perfectly by Gene Wilder. Wilder was awesome. The other hesitation comes from the fact that the worst Burton film happened to be his only other attempt at a Re-imagining (Planet of the Apes).

All signs point to a Burton film of epic proportions. Elfman score. Elfman written songs throughout (mostly, I believe, for the Oompa Loompas). John August (Big Fish) writing the adaptation from the book, having never seen the Gene Wilder version. A story focused around Charlie (the quietly brilliant Freddie Highmore). Oh and Burton, with a HUGE palate to work with for direction, art design, etc.

LIST TIME: Every Burton feature film ranked. This was harder than I thought it would be.

1. Big Fish - Over time, Scissorhands will probably just back up here, but right now if I had to only pick one Burton film for my collection, it would be this one. All of the classic Burton-esque features: a quirky story, fun performances, good acting, a great score, visually remarkable.

2. Edward Scissorhands - A flawless movie. The perfect "Burton" film, with all of the characteristics listed above, only better on every count, accept story. I love the Big Fish story. Elfman's score here is his best ever and one of the top-five film scores of all-time.

2.5 Nightmare Before Christmas - Actually directed by Henry Selick, who also directed James and the Giant Peach. But it's Burton's baby, through and through.

3. Batman - Until I see the new Christopher Nolan (Memento) directed version, the original is still the best. It was Burton's darkest film at the time and was a great vision of Gotham City.

4. Sleepy Hollow - Beautifully Gory. Depp at his best. Great acting all around.

5. Beetlejuice

6. Ed Wood

7. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

8. Batman Returns

9. Mars Attacks

10. Planet of the Apes

WSOP down to 27 players

Day seven of the World Series of Poker is today, with 27 left. After a $10,000 buy in and a total prize pool of more than $52 million, the next ten people eliminated will each win over 300k. among the 27 players left are Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow and defending champ Greg Raymer. All of my favorites are gone (Doyle, Jesus Ferguson, Daniel Negraneu, Howard Lederer) so I'm pulling for an Ivey-Raymer final.

Anyone for Poker?

I'm having a No-Limit Texas Hold 'em Tournament at the house on Saturday and wanted to invite any of my normal readers to join us! Melissa and I are pregnant and with each baby I have hosted a sort of "Guys Baby Shower" where we play poker and watch sports, and all the guys bring a pack of Diapers to help us out through the first few months. This time around, we're doing it tournament style, with a $20 Buy-in and an entry fee of one package.

If NE1 is interested, email me at sportsinfonick@aol.com

Don't tell anyone...

I have come to a dramatic spiritual and ethical crossroads in my life. My name is Nick Askew, and I like Garrett Anderson. There. I said it. It's out there.

I used to dispise "Friggin" Anderson, because he has notoriously been the laziest and worst fielders in baseball. We call him Mr. Clean, because he RARELY gets dirty. I would need all ten fingers and ten toes on everyone in my house to count the number of times he a) didn't hustle to a ball he could have caught, b) didn't hustle to a ball and allowed a single to turn into a double, c) didn't properly backup another outfielder and allowed a runner to stretch extra bases. The old rap on GA was that, while he was a career .300 hitter, he was anti-clutch. He would notoriously be a rally-killer, getting out in any key situation, with men on base and threatening to take a lead.

Since the World Championship year of 2002, a lot has changed, at least in the way I view him. Anderson made a series-saving sliding catch, and that I think started the ball rolling. Garrett has also developed into the very epitome of "clutch" in the last two years. Instead of groaning and pissing and moaning when he comes to the plate, I'm actually pretty stoked when he comes up in clutch situations. Last night he hit a three-run homer that won the game for the Angels.

Sure, he's still a crappy fielder most of the time, and frustrates me to no end with the way he can cost us runs in the field, but the good far outweighs the bad and that's enough to make me say that I am a Garrett Anderson fan.

I'm now just praying that, to use a Dr. Phil-ism, this isn't a deal breaker for my wife...

Melissa decided to blog up and we also started a family blog. I added links on the left. You can check us out here and here.

Happy Fourth

Inflatable Pigs Fly

A picture says 1000 words. The only thing better than seeing Waters back with the boys playing four songs (Home, Money, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb) would be seeing them love it enough to get back on the road together. How about just a small world tour? LA, NY, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney. Is that too much to ask?

I was expecting 50% Ebonic/50% Fo' Shizzle

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

20% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Well, you gotta start somewhere...

Last Friday I went golfing with my father-in-law, Paul and Brad Hutchins at Cathedral Canyon Golf Club near Palm Springs. I suck. I mean, I REALLY suck. I'm still very new to the game, and learning on the fly as far as how to use certain clubs, etc. Here were our scores

Tom - 102
Brad - 134
Paul - 145
Nick - 158

That's right, a 158. That includes a 19 on a par-5, in which I hit the water FIVE times. I also had two 14's and a 12. I had a pair of double-bogeys on Par-threes and those were my best two.

The Kids are Alright

I am on a huge Who kick right now. I've always like them, growing up under the umbrella of my dad's musical tastes, which had always been Arrow 93.1 (R.I.P.) and KLOS. I had always wanted to buy Tommy and finally did about a year ago. I don't buy music too often, so it was just a month ago that I grabbed the Ulimate Collection. I'll get "Who's Next" next. I haven't done a list in a while, so here's my top-15 favorite Who songs.

1. Seeker
2. Baba O'Riley
3. My Generation
4. Pinball Wizard
5. Won't Get Fooled Again
6. Behind Blue Eyes
7. Bargain
8. Substitute
9. I Can See for Miles
10. Who Are you
11. You Better You Bet
12. I'm Free
13. Sparks
14. Magic Bus
15. Happy Jack

Roland Morgan: Trend Setter

These things used to go around in email form. Now we use are blogs.

3 THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND
1. The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences.
2. How anybody could allow themselves to love their work more than their family.
3. America's obsession with No-Talent Ass Clowns

THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1. I almost went to George Fox instead of Biola
2. I hate sports.....just kidding
3. I like Chick-Lit

LAST...
1. Movie you Netflixed: Office Space
2. Movie you bought: Two Veggietales DVDs
3. Song you listened to: Babo O'Rielly - The WHO, in my car
4. CD you bought: Vineyard Worship CD with "Surrender" on it. I will by buying Billy Corgan's album VERY soon. And Coldplay.
5. TV show you've watched: Sportscenter this morning.
6. Person you kissed: My wife
7. Person you were thinking of: My wife

DO...
1. You have a crush on someone: I've had a crush on my wife for almost seven years.
2. You wish you could live somewhere else: I wish I could live in the O.C., but I'm not a millionaire.
3. You think about suicide: Not since high school
4. You believe in online dating: Not for me. I believe that it works for the right person.
5. Others find you attractive: Other than my wife, I have no idea.
6. You want more piercings: Have none, want none.
7. You drink: Not currently. I had a drink at dinner last week, but for the most part, I don't drink when my wife is pregnant.
8. You do drugs: I have a near daily Excedrin habit.
9. You smoke: Hell no.
10. You like cleaning: No.
11. You like roller coasters: Love 'em.
12. You write in cursive or print: Print.
13. You like soap operas: I have recently been cured of my O.C. addiction. Because my wife and sister-in-law watch it, I keep pretty up to date on All My Children. I used to love Days of our Lives.

HAVE YOU...
1. Ever cried over a girl: I had my heart broken numerous times in high school.
2. Ever cried over a boy: When my best (and at the time, ONLY) friend Felipe moved to Corona.
3. Ever lied to someone: Yes.
4. Ever been in a fist fight: Once. I threw a punch, missed and his mom walked in. We were twelve.
5. Ever been arrested: Nope.

WHAT...
1. Shampoo do you use: Herbal Essence.
2. Shoes do you wear: Vans, mostly.
3. Is your desktop background: This Picture at Home, This Picture at Work

NUMBER...
1. Of times you have been in love: Once. There were another handful of times I THOUGHT I was in love.
2. Of times you have had your heart broken: Too many. But I had an overly fragile heart in high school.
3. Of girls/guys you have kissed: Girls: too many to admit. I was a man-whore. Guys: I think just three: Brad Clark, Paul Hutchins and Roland.
4. Of drugs taken illegally: none. I had one sliver of alcohol in 6th grade.
5. Of people you would classify as true, could-trust-with-your-life type friends: ten-ish
6. Of people you consider my enemies: Just Garrett Anderson.
7. Of scars on your body: Legit scars, One. When I was a "roadie" in high school for my friends metal band Malicide, We thought we would be cool and try to fly into the side of a van all Indiana Jones like on a big flat rolling dolly. I headed towards the van really fast, planted to jump off, realized that if I jumped, I would hit the parking lot as the dolly slipped out from under me. I froze and didn't move, slammed into the side of the van and got a dime-sized puncture wound on my knee.
8. Of things in your past that you regret: I regret some very immature actions that I took during my second year of college. Other than that, I try not to have regrets. I try to look at every step as a part of my journey towards a more authentic relationship with Christ and with my wife.

Well, at least it was an improvement. For the second straight year, I lasted longer than Hutch and my father-in-law. After playing some pretty good hands early on, I was the chip leader at our table for a while and I lasted to the first break, and into the seventh round. I was in the top 45 or so out of 120. The final 20 were in the money, so I didn't get as far as I had hoped.

THEN, I went to play Let it Ride and BlackJack. I walked away from the Let it Ride table up five bucks and then sat down at a 15-minimum BJ table. Within about eight minutes, I was up 200 bucks and got up to around a 500 profit before I let 150 or so go. In all, after the tournament costs (for me and Tom) and lunch, I walked away ahead $195. Tom walked away up nearly 600 bucks, winning at let it ride, blackjack and then 200 on a dollar slot on our way out the door. Not bad for the a guy who was out of the tournament before the blinds ever increased!

A June Tradition

Part of the "perk" of working in college athletics is my ten-month contract. I work close to 60 hours a week during the school year, so in return, I get eight weeks of vacation. I have always taken four of those weeks to have all of June off. It was great to have the time off this year as my sister-in-law Crystal had her baby a little early (June 8th) and I have been available to take care of the kids alot so that Melissa can help Crystal and Cole. It has been such a blessing.

I also began a new June tradition last year of going to Pechanga for a no-limit hold 'em tournament. Last year we went on the wrong day and had to play a limit tournament (which was a bummer) but I outlasted both my father-in-law and Hutch, who went with me. We went out in the same round, but I stuck around about ten minutes longer!

Tommorow the three of us head back and I am pretty exited. I haven't done a large-format no-limit tournament yet, so it should be interesting. Wish me luck! This is my next stop!

I want a new toy

http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=0230

My birthday is July 28th, if in one is interested...

My only comment on Tom and Katie

I regret even making an issue of this NON-News piece, but damn, look at the rock! What happens when that thing gives her carpal tunnel syndrom and she can't take anything for the pain because of her new "religious" beliefs?

Bob Geldof can officially do ANYTHING

Gilmore and Waters on stage again. My wife is going to cry. Un-freakin-believable.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050612/en_nm/leisure_pinkfloyd_dc

No Kidding....

You were wrong? Get out of town....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050611/ap_on_re_us/davis_energy

This week on Netflix...

Summer is great because there is about 5% of the normal amount of TV on, so we can get through more movies in our netflix cue. Since the kids came along, we get far to few dates, so we rarely see movies in the theater anymore, so netflix has been a godsend. This week we watched the first five minutes of A Love Song for Bobby Long and were so uninterested that we gave up (another great part of netflix!). Then we watched Mr. 3000. I loved the movie as a baseball picture. it was fun. 7 out of ten fastballs. Last night we saw Being Julia. Annette Benning has been one of my favorite actresses since American Beauty, when she got beaten out for the academy award by an equally impressive Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry. This year Benning got beaten out by Swank again, although more deservedly this time. Benning was amazing and she single-handedly turned an average film into a good film, but Swank was flawless in Million Dollar Baby.

Next three in the netflix cue: Aviator (Melissa saw it, I haven't yet), Office Space (I saw it once, but haven't "gotten" the cult obsession with it, so I'm giving it another try) and Lara Croft, Cradle of Life. We liked the original enough to give this one a try.

I win!

Well, we finally got Jerm to a poker night, and I tell ya, it was well worth it. He was the first one eliminated once we did a no-limit tournament, and HE was the one pushing hardest for the tourney. We had eight people and after about 1 1/2 hours and one time around the table doing dealers choice (which I could feel a lot of people weren't too stoked about), we decided to do a tournament anyway. It only took us about 1:45 to complete the tournament. After I knocked out Jerm (he went all-in on me and I had the pocket rockets) and took a HUGE pot calling Shan's bluff, I had a huge chip lead and was able to knock everyone out one by one. I finished first ($70), Shan took second ($50) and Josh took third ($20) we had a 20-dollar buy in.

It was nice to have a good tourney for once. The last few times I played I wasn't taking it as seriously, played over-agressive and got knocked out, out of the money.

Vacation Time!

Ok, so I don't have any fun white-water rafting plans or anything, but I have the next FOUR WEEKS off from work! I am so excited to get a break. I get to be at home and spending time with Melissa and the kids. I, of course, also have a long list of honey do's to take care of and Crystal is having her baby in the middle of the month and moving in, but it will be relaxing nonetheless. Here's some of the stuff I have to get done this month: Get Mel's windshield fixed, get my Corrolla fixed from when it got broken into, put the elliptical machine together, get the dogs to the groomers, landscape the backyard, clean and organize the garage, put together my resume for a possible job interview or two, get our budget back on track...I know there's more, but that's all I can think of.

I also get to celebrate the beginning of my vacation with POKER NIGHT! All I've done the last five or six times I've played is no-limit hold 'em tournaments, so tonight we'll be doing a good ol' fashioned dealer's choice cash night. Since I'll be at home with the kids (Mel's got a Girlz Night planned, too), it's easier for me to get out from a hand or two if they wake up and I need to take care of them. It should be a fun night. Jerm is FINALLY able to play with us, unfortunately, some of the crew that normally plays can't make it. We will have Jerm, Josh, Shan, Hutch, Nick, Dave Meloni from my bible study and possibly Aaron, Josh's boss.

Long Weekend Plans

I haven't had a good three-day weekend in forever, so I'm looking forward to some time off. Of course, it seems like every minute of the weekend is booked solid, so it'll be no rest for the weary, but that's cool. Here's the schedule for the weekend, starting when I get off today at noon (or earlier, since none of my bosses are here).

FRIDAY
3:30 Taking Abby to her first movie ever: Madagascar
6:00 dropping the kids off at the pool (er, I mean, my parents house)
6:02 Hauling butt up to Biola to try and get to the school of ed/rosemead graduations before the read off Cyndi and Chris' names.
8:00ish Dinner with Cyndi's fam-damily. Haven't been to Bobby McGee's in a while, can't wait!
10:00ish Pick up the kids and head home

SATURDAY -
All-Day: Shop and get ready for Couples Bunco/Poker party
Time Permitting: Work on putting Eliptical machine together. I bought it for Melissa for Christmas. I finally got it out of the box on Monday night.
7:00 Couples Bunco/Poker Party.

SUNDAY
10:15 Church
Afternoon: Rest, Relax, Work on Eliptical machine and other honey-dos
5:30 Church - The Gathering at Woodbridge Community Church. I haven't been to WCC, other than for Mark's wedding, since 2002. I've only been a few times since my sophomore year in college. I was there from age 0-18 at least twice a week. It was my second home growing up. I'm looking forward to going!

MONDAY -
No official plans yet, but weather permitting (read: Not too hot) we might go to the Beach or Sea World or some other big fun event.

Bo Bice: American Idol?

After a very weak performance night on part one of the American Idol season finale, I think Bo's chances of winning have slimmed down. Neither performer really stole the show last night, thanks largely to two CRAP songs that were written for the finale. Carrie was better able to put a country flair on them, than Bo was able to put a southern-rock flair on them. Bo hit a grand slam with his third song "Vehicle" and Carrie was lackluster in her take on Independence Day, a song I love and a song she nailed the first night.

The clincher, I fear, is the simple fact that Simon told her she "did enough to win it" last night, and the legions of red-state voters will lean her way. Bo will get the blue state vote for the most part, but I fear Carrie will win and it won't be as close as everyone assumes.

Don't get me wrong, I love Carrie and I think she is the perfect mold for an American Idol, and will be a HUGE country music star. I just LOVE Bo and want to see the southern rocker win this show, just to see to see it turn the audition process on it's ear for the next season.

They said last night that the vote was a 2% difference between them last night, meaning 51%-49% of those not voting for Vonzel. I figure Bo had the lead a week ago, but Vonzel's votes will mostly stay with the fairer gender and last night will swing some other votes her way. I figure it will be a larger margin in favor of Carrie, say near 55/45.

Interestingly, this will be the first time I am rooting for the loser. I wanted Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia to win, and they did.

Movie Season is Upon Us

It used to be that Memorial Weekend kicked-off the summer movie season, but this year we get an extra jump on things tonight at midnight. So here is my list of the top-15 most anticipated movies for 2005 (after Ep. III tonight).

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (7/15)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11/18)
3. Fun with Dick and Jane (12/21)
4. Winter Passing (TBA)
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (12/9)
6. The Longest Yard (5/27)
7. War of the Worlds (6/29)
8. Jarhead (11/4)
9. King Kong (12/14)
10. Batman Begins (6/15)
11. The Corpse Bride (9/23) - Why is this movie being dumped in September, instead of right before Halloween?
12. Walk the Line (10/18)
13. Wallace and Gromit (10/7)
14. Madagascar (5/27)
15. The Fantastic Four (7/8)

The End

On Wednesday night, Melissa and I will be heading to the Corona Crossings Regal to see Revenge of the Sith, keeping my streak alive of midnight showings. Back in the Biola days, we camped with all the table-nine Star Wars nerds for the rereleases and for Episode I in the middle of Finals week. Episode II was a last-minute decision and we ended up seeing it at the Ghetto Main Place 5. Now, we have one last chance to pretend we're young and irresponsible on Wednesday. Might be the last midnight showing I ever do. I've only done it one other time, for Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

Hutchins Drool!

So every season, The Hutchins, Fords and Askew's do a Survivor Pool. With five players left in the game, the last Hutchins hope was eliminated which leaves:

Moe: 2
Mark: 2
Nick: 1

Interestingly, the Askew's have the three women and T-Boy has the two dudes.

Go Katie (my last hope, above), Caryn or Jen!

Stinking Bush!

The Bad News: Since The O.C. got preempted on the East Coast for Bush's speech, we didn't get it on the left coast either.


The Good News: We'll get back-to-back episodes next Thursday night!

And did I mention that this guy:

Is going to be on the May 12th episode?

Great Question...

On his blog, Chris asked a very important question:

You know in the Meatloaf song, when he sings: "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that"?

Well, what is "That"?!?!?

Thank you TiVo: Top 12 Shows on Television

When I first started this blog, I set out to do a bunch of stupid lists of stuff I like and I guess it's time to get back to that. Here are the top 15 shows I'm watching right now.

1. 24
2. American Idol
3. Survivor
4. The O.C.
5. The Amazing Race
6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
7. Joan of Arcadia
8. Viva La Bam
9. Robot Chicken
10. Without a Trace
11. CSI
12. Saturday Night Live
13. The Bachelor
14. Numbers
15. Punk'd

Muerta Las Vegas

Ticketbastard couldn't get us into the Vegas show on Melissa's birthday (Nov. 5th). We'll have to try and get a few tix cheap through a broker close to the show date. What a bummer.

Concert Marathon Continues

Yeah, so this time it wasn't U2, but it was still pretty darn fun. Melissa and I took Abby to see the Wiggles live at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday. It's a pretty well put together production. Abby was excited all day, knowing we were going to see the Wiggles, but I don't think she quite got it. NOTHING will ever compare to the wonderful beautiful excited look on her face when she saw Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog on stage and finally 'figured it out'. Except for her being REALLY tired, she had a great time.

They even keep try and keep it somewhat fun for the adults, having Captain Feathersword sing a song in different "adult" styles like Mick Jagger, Barry White, Britney Spears, etc...and then one of the Wiggle guys starts playing his guitar with Stairway to Heavan and I Can't Get No (Satisfaction).

The other cool thing at the concert was John C. McGinley from Scrubs sitting right near us. The guy looked like he had just gotten out of rehab. Shaggy hair, scruffy face. He was there with his son and his wife. He was singing along with all the songs (just like I was).

It was really cool to see so many dads there.

Long Week

Haven't updated in a while. Work is crazy and Melissa's grandma is in the hospital, not a lot of time left. Please keep her and the entire family in your prayers!

The Fodgers

Opening Day

Here's to another AL West Championship!

Rest In Peace

Last night, Bono dedicated "40" to the Holy Father, mentioning that he was a great supporter towards the cause of human equality in Africa and around the world and "He looked great in my shades"

Vertigo//Night Three//Anaheim

Time will only tell how the boys switch things up over the course of the tour, but for a U2 fan that has been to all three shows so far, It was a breath of fresh air (and a genius move) to completely rearrange the show. From the first moment to the last, this was by far the best show of the three.

The boys opened up by walking around the catwalk in a darkened arena, all carrying the traditional spot-lights. The "war protest" part of the show will be right off the bat?!?! Sweet, since that's the highlight of the show. They open with "Love and Peace" the best live song so far this tour. They move directly into "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" and I'm just floored that these two songs are being played early. Followed as on the first two nights by a beautiful Running to Stand Still.

The Boy segment has been abandoned for the better on this night. Nothing wrong with the songs or the performance, it just brought the entire show to a stand still in San Diego. Instead, they skip past is and move into .... I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For! 60% of the show has been Joshua Tree!!! Great performance of a great song. They've gone back, but not as far back, and that's ok. Next up is New Years Day, followed by the Miracle Drug/Sometimes combo. Then Beautiful Day. Everything is just fitting into place in perfect fashion.

Now it's time for the next major change to the set list. The standard encore opening combo of Pride/Streets and One will close the regular set on this night. It works well. Bono has a much better introduction to the One campaign. New media elements are included (Where they saving them or had they not been fine tuned yet?). The band is now projected on the backdrop during Pride.

The best new element was during One. The front screens and divided into three, with each focused on Bono. The middle one turns into a pixellation and you just say, "wow that looks neat". Then, the camera zooms in to reveal that the pixellations are all make up of crowd shots. It's a moving version of one of those pictures where a million little pictures make up the bigger one. The camera zooms in and out twice, ending with a close up of crowd shots. So cool.

The encore (which, apparently judging by the crowd reaction at the end, most people didn't realize already began) opened with the Zoo TV/Fly combo and moved into Elevation, just as on the first two nights. From here I'm expecting to close the night out with Vertigo, All Because of You, Yahweh and 40. Nope, we get another song not yet played, Mysterious Ways. A very sexy performance, almost too sexy. On the backdrop comes a cartoon similar to the one representing Bono's dad during Sometimes. Only now, it's a nekkid woman. Bikini bottom, but no top. Boobies hangin' out. Not neccesarry! There are kids in the audience for goodness sake. The sexiness countinues as he pulls a woman out of the audience who dances the entire trip around the catwalk with him.

From there they boys play City of Blinding Lights. I didn't like the placement of the song. Same effects with the confetti. I like it better either opening the show or perhaps opening the encore. The show moves from there into the closing set that I mentioned above. Vertigo was great. All Because of You powerful as always, Yahweh and 40, just as good, but not as worshipful as opening night.

Best night of the tour so far. Makes me wish i could "pull a Craig" and go again tonight. I just can't believe I have to miss two straight shows. Maybe there's a small chance we'll be able to hit the just-announced Las Vegas Show (MGM Grand Garden Arena) on November 4th....

Night//Two

Thank God for a second night to see the band in San Diego. Thank God for seats. Thank God for the INCREDIBLE lighting they produced for the stage. Melissa doesn't have a blog, so I will post her review of the show. She hits the nail on the head:

"Well, we experienced our boys second show last night. I have to say it was better over all than opening night. For any of those who don't want to know anything about the set list, skip down. Un Cat Dub was mercifully taken out and replaced by Gloria! This helped things to flow much better. We were also blessed with a bonus song, With or Without You! Nothing was taken out in it's place. Bono pulled a Spanish speaking guy onto the stage to translate to the fans that had come up from Mexico that, "Dublin is full of love. Love is a drug." Then they played miracle drug.

The best Bono quote of the night came when the boys came back onto stage for the second encore when he asked the people in the inside of the "Egg" how the people in the "Bomb Shelter" were doing. What a great name for the pace that most of us GA ticket holders will never see! Bono had also said toward the beginning of the concert that "they had a great night the night before, it was called practice! He went on to say that they are trying to become familiar to the new music and each other again on the stage. This got much applause from the audience who attended opening night that was full of songs Bono couldn't seem to remember the lyrics too. As last night's show went on Bono forgot major lyrics to Elevation, the Fly, and 40. During 40 he asked the Lord for forgiveness as he messed up the psalm! Larry was laughing at Bono and shaking his head as he messed up on Elevation. But over all Bono's energy seemed to be up from Monday night and the show flowed much better. It is still obvious that he is not his normal self due to the back issues he has been having.

Love and peace was still by far my favorite song and performance of the night. Having seen the show on Monday night I knew what was coming but I was still SO excited to see Love and Peace again. All of you who aren't a fan of the song must be smoking some bad crack. Hopefully seeing it live will bring you into the light. I still can't seem to get over City of Blinding Lights opening the show. Nick thinks it works but I still feel that it's not pumped up enough. It feels like the show doesn't begin until Vertigo is played. It was such a different experience to see the show from the seats than from the floor. When we were on the floor we could not see the lights that ran along the stage and cat walk. This element really energized the show, especially Vertigo. Vertigo sounded much better last night too.

The worship section of Yahweh and 40 that closes the concert was broken up last night by Bono making sure the audience noticed that Adam was playing the Edge's guitar and that the Edge was playing the bass. He make a joke by going over the Adam and showing him how to play the right A chord for the song during 40 . This broke up the feeling of the song making it not quite the worship song it was Monday night. Bono seemed to not know what to say to transition into this section of the night. It was a bit awkward. They did solved the problem of the show ending and the audience continuing to sing on and on only to be left out in the cold by running "credits" on the big screens. Who the people are and what their names were doing up there was never clear. They said thank you a few times during the song that really made the audience know the show was coming to a final end.

The show was so much fun and improved from opening night. I am looking forward to seeing them a few more times on the tour to see things really take shape. I can't wait to hear what you guys think as you see them the end of this week and next week. "

Here's hoping that Anaheim can live up to San Diego. Our seats are further away and the Pond is so much bigger than the San Diego Sports Arena that my expectations aren't great. Maybe we'll get some minor diversion from the set list...

Opening//Night

Now that I'm back in the office for a day and have my head above water with work, I have time to review the two shows of the tour so far. Opening night was a mixed bag. I'm not sure how much of it was situational, but I walked away with a bad taste in my mouth from the show. We didn't get into the Bomb Shelter and we were about seven people deep on the outside of the egg, despite getting there at 6:45 am. We only lasted about 20 minutes before my poor pregnant wife needed air. Getting smushed and not being able to see anything didn't make for a good show. We went to the back and enjoyed the rest of the show from there.

The boys truly didn't seem ready to begin to me. Bono screwed up lyrics in a number of songs, including Elevation and Yahweh. I did, of course, enjoy most of the show. The opening works well to me, with City of Blinding Lights. I know that others disagree, saying it isn't fast enough to get th energy going. I think it's a perfect musical intro for a show, similar to how I imagine the J-Tree tour might have been with "Where the Streets Have No Name" opening a show. Going into Vertigo right away was the right choice to pump things up. On opening night, the show stalled after that with the "Boy" segment. With AnCatDunh the show was nearly boring. The highlights of the night were "Love and Peace" and the Worship to close the show. The six-song Encore was the best I've ever seen. I also enjoyed the new 'version' of Bullet the Blue Sky, throwing in some unspoken protest and some spoken protest "Johnnie comes marching home again, hurrah, hurrah"..."These are the hands that built America".

Vertigo//Tour//Countdown// <48 Hours!!!!!!!

My final post before we leave Sunday night for San Diego. I still can't believe that I'll be on the floor for the first night of the world tour of the greatest freaking band in the world. Here's my proposed set list. It probably sucks and I am probably no where NEAR accurate, but I have to try!

1. Vertigo - (Not where I'd put it, but it's the "Virtigo Tour" after all)
2. Original of the Species (Two new album cuts to open)
3. Beautiful Day
4. City of Blinding Lights
5. Electric Co. (Or another old song, this was in rehearsals, and I think it'll fit well)
6. Miracle Drug (slowing it down a bit)
7. Love and Peace (I think this will be one of the best live songs...)
8. Sometimes You Can't... (..followed by this, the breakin'-it-down section)
9. 40 (why not, it's the worship portion of the night)
10. Yahweh (worship continues)
11. Where the Streets have No Name (speeding things up with a little J-Tree)
12. Running to Stand Still (More J-Tree, because this album truly propeled them to their recent HOF induction)
13. One (Because it isn't perfect to open the encore this time around, and it HAS to be played)
14. Stuck in a Moment - (Awkward placement, I just gotta hear it, though)
15. Crumbs from Your Table
16. All Because of You (if it won't open the show, it should close the regular set)
ENCORE
17. Elevation (Great to open the encore)
18. I Will Follow (after SNL, this is the new "With or Without you", i.e. the older song in the middle of the encore)
19. Walk On (I'm probably livin in the past, but I want this song to continue to close their shows. If not, it'll be perfect in the middle, spritual/emotional section. Truly, a song from this album belongs in the encore. If All Because of you doesn't close the regular set, maybe it'll be in the encore?).

Also might be played:

* With or Without you ( I hope it is, I just don't know where I'd fit it in)
* One Step Closer (lul of the album, would be lul on the tour)
* Man and a Woman (could be good and sexy live)
* Sunday Bloody Sunday (they revived it last tour and might keep it alive)
* Bullet the Blue Sky (A live staple I would LOVE to hear, I just have a hunch it's taking a breather this go round

Other notes:

>>Maybe opening night will see an extended set? Why not?!?!
>>They'll probably sandwich City of Blinding Lights with New York when I go see 'em in Madison Square Garden. That'll be pretty sweet.

The Bob Dylan Show

I took a break last night from sitting around wetting my pants in anticipation of Monday night, long enough to go the Pantages with my dad for The Bob Dylan Show. The opening act was Amos Lee. He's signed to Blue Note Records (home to Norah Jones) and the comparisons to her are pretty accurate. He's got a voice very similar to that of the Train lead singer and musically, he fuses jazz, blues, folk and a little bit of country into a very cool sound. He's sort of in the same category as Jack Johnson and John Meyer. I REALLY liked him.

Next on the bill was Merle Haggard. Yup. I sat through 50 minutes of redneck country. Amazingly, though, it was probably the highlight of the evening. Merle is a very good song writer. He had some sweet war protest songs back in the day and he has a new one called "That's the news" which was pretty cool. He also covered Nat King Cole's Unforgettable and apparently it's on a new standards album he's put out, ala Willie Nelson's Stardust album.

Don't get me wrong, here, I love Dylan. It is amazing just to be in his presence. He IS the history of Rock and Roll (along with a few others of course). I've now seen him perform four times, all with my dad, and this was probably only the third best show. The first time I saw him has to rank on top, simply for senimental reasons. Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison opened for him and I got to taste a true slice of American Music History. Next would be when we saw him at the Grove in Anaheim. We were much closer to him and could be a much better part of the concert. The worst was the show with Paul Simon at the Pond. Our seats were terrible (at the back of the floor) the sound was terrible and it was just a miserable experience compared with the other three.

Last night was very interesting, to say the least. Dylan diverted greatly from his standard set list that he's used on the 12 previous shows on this tour and the songs he chose were new to me and some, new to my dad, who's been a Dylan fan since he was an 18-year old draft-eligible hippie. Dylan hid behind his piano for the entire 14-song set, with a perfectly good acoustic guitar sitting right next to him. Dylan was also very distant. His only interaction with the crowd was saying thank you towards the end of the regular set and introducing the band. He played five or so songs off the newest album, Love and Theft (A fantastic piece of music). But he left out Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, probably the biggest "hit" off the album, for the first time of the tour. With a 40-album (400+ song) catalog, it's hard to hear all of your favorites, but the ones we did get were all "alternate" versions. I understand the need for him to do this after 40 years, but I would have loved to hear an original version of All Along the Watchtower, his closing song. For years when he's been performing this song it's been Dylan-Doing-Hendrix-Doing-Dylan. On this night he took it a step further and was almost doing an out-of-body imitation of himself. Very Strange.

It wasn't terrible by any means, It just wasn't as great as I expected. The band was awesome. His fiddler is INCREDIBLE. The musicianship has never been at a higher level. Most of the songs were well known, and appreciated. I enjoyed hearing classics such as Mr. Tamborine Man, Forever Young and Highway 61 Revisited, even if they weren't in their original forms. If nothing else, it set me up for an even better concert experience on Monday night!

AND, we got a great dinner, too. I've always wanted to go to The Stinking Rose, a garlic restaurant on Restaurant Row in Beverly Hills. It's across the street from where Ed Debevics (RIP) was once housed. We had this appetizer spread for their garlic rolls, which was basically full garlic cloves bathed in olive oil. Then I had a neon ravioli pasta dish, stuffed with cheese, garlic, potato and carmelized onions, topped with a creamy basil sauce. Then for dessert, Garlic Ice Cream.

Vertigo//Countdown//Six Days to Go

Opening Night of the tour is just six days away. Melissa and I will be leaving our children in the care of her sister and our babysitter on Sunday night to drive down to S.D. Monday morning, we will be waiting in line bright and early for our General Admission spot on the floor. First night of the tour. On the Floor. HOLY CRAP! I can't wait. There just aren't words for the anticipation of this first night of the tour. I'm seeing Bob Dylan tommorow night and I'm pretty stoked about that, but I'm almost looking past it.

Here's our Dead-Head like itinerary for the first leg of the tour:

3/28 - San Diego, opening night
3/30 - Back to San Diego
4/1 - Anaheim
4/6 - Staples Center

The one thing I keep thinking about is the fact that they haven't released the stage set up for the tour. We still don't know if they'll be any sort of inner circle on the floor (ala the inside-the-heart area on Elevation). My gut feelings all along have been that the stage will basically be set up in the round with the bullseye theme so that there aren't any bad seats. I just don't know what this will mean on opening night on the floor. It's just odd to me that they haven't come out with any design stuff just six days before the show opens.

Hey, Remember the 90's?

I just found out that the Supertones are hanging up the horns. Just last week I bought the new O.C. Supertones greatest hits album (and Roland rolls his eyes at me) but I hadn't checked out the website until today. I'm sure that the timing is right, since they have faded in recent years, it's just sad. I'm sure that they will be having a major final show in Orange County in the fall and I will make sure I am there.

Listening to the greatest hits CD, it's really cool to hear all the old stuff again. While it wasn't the best quality music out there by any means, it was fun. It was also always a powerful worship experience at those concerts that I can never forget. I have nothing but great memories wrapped around that band.

I first heard about them when they were called "Saved" and I was one of maybe three dozen fans. I even owned their C.D. One of my favorite songs of theirs was on that album called "The Race". I was at the Saved concert at Red Hill Lutheran Church back in 1995, when they played with Plain Jane, inspiring the line from Adonai - Makes my heart beat all fast like the girl from Plain Jane (Now they sing it ...beat all fast like Rebecca St. James). I remember them climbing the rafters, stage diving off of large amps and basically having a great old time. I also saw them a few other times in south O.C. and once at my home church WCC.

I saw the Supertones perform COUNTLESS times, a few shows at the Bren Events Center, once at Irvine Valley College at some all-day festival in the middle of the summer. Saw them out in San Bernadino. Saw them at the O.C. Fair. It was a such a great time, dancing like a moron, jumping up and down in unison with 1000 other people, worshipping Christ, singing "There's no life away from You" and "God look at me I'm just a man. But you tell me I'm not just a man, so hard to understand, after all I'm just a man. God you tell me not to doubt, but I'm always plagued by doubt but you always help me out I'm so ashamed and I say, who can be against me?"

When I worked for KBBK, the Biola radio station, we got a pre-release copy of Chase the Sun. For me at that time, it was heavan. I was able to write a review of the album for The Chimes. I was in Foundations of Youth Ministry that semester, so I gave a copy of the article to Jason Carson's (the drummer) close friend and our teacher Daniel Hahn to give to Jason. I also took my pre-release copy of the CD and a copy of the article to an album signing party the night before the album was release. Jason and Matt new me from other places in the past (my youth pastor Frank Winans was also close to Jason) and they had been on "The Attic" on KBBK with Daryl and Hutch. Anyway, they already had read the article so that was cool. Just regular guys, but I got all star struck around 'em, it was wierd. AND, Matt Morginsky is only like two years older than me which is really wierd.

Anyhoo, hopefully I'll get to see them once or twice this year. They play at Wild Rivers on June 3rd and then, as I mentioned, I think they'll be back around in the fall.

What Happened

I go to check out my blog, and it looks to have been hijacked. WTF?!?!

draggin' the past out into the light.

Congrats to the boys from Dublin on thier 2005 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction.

I don't understand it, but I like it.

Episode III Trailer to premiere March 10th during the O.C.