Sunday Potpourri No. 21

Iowa Autumn

Have I mentioned lately just how much I love autumn?

Since red and gold are the colors for Iowa State University, where this picture was taken, it is only fitting that the fall foliage on the campus reflects school pride...

College Pigskin Blues

It has been a pretty grim few days for me with regard to college football. My beloved Missouri Tigers lost at home to No. 20 Mississippi State on Thursday, and yesterday saw mostly unhappy outcomes. Iowa State got stomped by No. 15 Oklahoma, my best friend's Penn State Nittany Lions lost to No. 21 Northwestern on a last-second field goal, and Nebraska pulled off an unlikely upset against undefeated No. 7 Michigan State. The Nebraska result, coupled with undefeated No. 8 Iowa's victory over Indiana, means the annoying fan bases of the Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes will be in full flower where I live for the next week or so, at least. Ugh.

The only positives for me were No. 5 Notre Dame's victory over Pitt, and the winless Kansas Jayhawks getting drubbed by Texas.

"At least the Chiefs have a bye this week, so you'll be spared that misery today."

A fair point...

Unrequited Love

From the delightful comic strip FoxTrot, by Bill Amend, which you should read every Sunday, as I do.

Until Next Time...

Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born on November 8, 1949 in Burbank, California. The child of musically talented parents, Bonnie gravitated toward the guitar at a young age, and by age 22 had released her first album, to critical acclaim. In part because blues and blues-rock aren't the most commercially viable genres, and in part because being a guitar slinger is widely regarded as a man's game, Bonnie's career has had its ups and downs. Despite the struggles, though, she has received ten Grammy Awards for her work, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Over the course of a few days in July 1995, Bonnie recorded a series of concerts at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California for the express purpose of producing a "live" album. The song selections spanned her entire career to that point, and in addition to her regular touring band she was joined on several songs by a variety of guest stars including Bryan Adams, Jackson Browne, and Bruce Hornsby.

The album which resulted, Road Tested, was released on November 7, 1995, the day before Bonnie's birthday. Its commercial success helped bolster Bonnie's reputation as both a singer and a guitar slinger. Partly due to the variety of material, but mostly due to the energy of the live performances, I think it is her best album to date.

Today's send-off is one of my favorite moments from the album, Bonnie's rollicking duet with Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds on Wilson's "I Believe I'm In Love With You," which features some of Bonnie's signature slide guitar playing. Enjoy...