Oh, For the Love of Mike...

Come Soon, Sweet Meteor O'Death!

Like any rational human being, I do not wish for my own demise. Even on days like today, when I'm struggling with health issues, and loneliness, and the weather is crummy, I can still find things that bring a smile to my face. For instance, I always enjoy watching the customers at my Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast, and listening as well as they serenade me...

"It's the least we can do. You run a class joint."

Thanks...

Anyway, the part of me that still cares about politics is down in the dumps today because attention whore and world-class asshat Donald Trump has announced that he'll be running for President as a Republican.

"Waaaaaaah! Pay attention to me, damn it!"

I'm not worried that he'll be the nominee, or even that he'll last very long in the race. My problem is that the press will treat every idiotic thing that comes out of his stupid face (and there will be a LOT of them) as the Official Position of the Republican Party. The brand is tarnished enough as it is, without this Armani-wearing nitwit making things worse...

For a splendid defenestration of this clown, please read this piece by the estimable Kevin D. Williamson. The headline alone is worth the price of admission.



In the meantime, the way the world is trending right now I think backing Sweet Meteor O'Death (SMOD) in 2016 makes all kinds of sense...

(Note: I'm sure the language mavens among my readers will recognize today's post title as an idiom. My grandmother on my mother's side used it every time something exasperated her, and I use it in her honor today to express my own exasperation.)

Things That Make Me Happy: Game of Kings Edition

"Watch me smoke this fool."

The top American chess player is Grandmaster (GM) Hikaru Nakumura. As I write today's entry, GM Nakamura is currently ranked No. 2 in the world according to the  Live Chess Ratings website. He has already qualified to participate in next year's Candidates Tournament, in which 8 elite players will play to determine the challenger to reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

At the moment GM Nakamura is participating in the strong Norway Chess 2015 tournament in Stavenger, Norway. He won his Round 1 game yesterday, and today I'm looking forward to watching him play GM Veselin Topalov, currently ranked No. 4 in the world. Thanks to the wonder that is the internet, I will be able to follow the game's moves in real time, even though I'm half a world away from the playing site. I love being able to do that...

Say "Hello" to Marsha

"Yes, I do go to 11. Thanks for asking."

The very first amplifier I purchased when I got back into playing guitar back in 2010 was a Vox AC15C1. She's a wonderful amp, and you'll meet her some other time. But she's really LOUD, and as an apartment dweller I needed something less loud for practicing. Enter the 5-watt Marshall Class 5, to which I was attracted in part because of my hero Joe Bonamassa's fondness for Marshall amps. Marshall actually got Joe to play at the launch of the Class 5!


I named mine Marsha, and I enjoy her quite a bit, especially since she works well with almost all of my effects pedals. Alas, despite her small size and modest wattage, she is also rather LOUD (Marshall is famous for this), and that's what led to my acquisition of the Vox VT20+ practice amp you met here...

So, what does Marsha sound like? Well, here's a cool demo video by Andy Martin from Pro Guitar Shop:

Things That Make Me Feel Old: Sports Flashback Edition

So last night Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors brought the NBA season to a close by winning the title over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, prevailing 105-97 in Game Six in Cleveland. The Warriors won the Finals 4 games to 2.

I don't follow professional basketball all that closely these days, but in almost all of the coverage of last night's game it was mentioned that the last time the Warriors were NBA champions was the 1974-1975 season. I followed professional basketball VERY closely in those days, because I still played the game myself with my younger brother and others, at the local civic center, or sometimes on an outdoor court if the weather wasn't too hot.

I had gotten married on August 10, 1974, not long before the NBA season began. My bride-to-be and her girlfriends actually watched Richard Nixon's resignation speech on TV during her bridal shower on August 8.  It all seemed surreal. Two days later, she and I exchanged vows in the Rose Garden at Loose Park, in Kansas City.

And before our first wedding anniversary, the Warriors won the NBA title in a shocking four-game sweep over the heavily-favored Washington Bullets, who were led by future Hall-of-Famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. As it happened, though, the Warriors had a couple of future Hall-of-Famers of their own, in Nate Thurmond and my hero Rick Barry.

It is difficult to explain to younger basketball fans just how great the players of that era were. Barry was my favorite because he was the best passing forward I had ever seen, as well as a brilliant scorer in his own right. He was the MVP of that season's Finals...

"You wore low-cut Adidas Superstars just like I did, didn't you?"

I absolutely did, yes...

"I'm trying to imagine you playing basketball."

And I'm trying to imagine you keeping your snarky opinions to yourself...

Why You Don't Let Non-Sports Types Write Headlines

Doesn't anyone use editors anymore? Sheesh...

One of Life's Unfathomable Mysteries

Why do people do stuff like this? Makes my head explode...

I was overdue...

Until Next Time...

The archaeologists of my life, when they look over my music collection, will have a difficult time piecing together a coherent sense of what I liked and why, so here's a Big Hint: In terms of most musical genres it is voices I am attracted to first, really distinctive, powerful voices. If an artist or group writes good songs, they'll likely make a fan out of me, but it is the voices that rope me in to begin with. It was certainly that way with today's send-off artists, Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs. I was already a fan (and had a HUGE crush on Natalie) when their legendary performance on MTV's Unplugged show was first broadcast in April of 1993. I was too busy directing a play to catch that initial broadcast. By the time I finally got to see it, in early June, rumors were already flying that the band was breaking up, so there was a wistful quality to the show for me. But that aside, these performances have lost none of their original charm or power. And Natalie's voice...well, even at my age, I'm allowed to have crushes, right? Enjoy...