I Used To Be Carried In The Arms of Cheerleaders.......

So last night was the night.
The Phillies finally won the World Championship of Baseball.
I still can't get over it. I know it hasn't fully sunk in but I still can't think about it without welling up.
It was a pretty subdued scene at the house last night. The four of us sat in the bedroom and watched on the small TV. Kristen held Kyle on the bed while Brodie and I were lounging on the floor. I wore my '83 St Pats Jersey, '08 National League Champs shirt and my ever lucky Bunker Hat. This is the first time all year that I had to break out the bunker hat but I felt it needed to be done. (A quick explanation: The bunker hat was purchased three years ago on Opening Day. Its a retro hat and it is really the only hat that doesn't make me look like a fool. Anyway it is really beat up and the sun has rendered it a redish white so I only break it out when absolutely necessary....or when I go fishing. Thats how it got the name 'Bunker Hat'. Every summer my father-in-law, brother-in-law and myself pile into a ridiculously small boat to consume lots of 'greenies' and do some killer crabbing. We usually catch next to nothing, end up way too intoxicated, make some obscene jokes and show up to the beach house only to find disappointed looks awaiting us. We also use frozen bunker as the bait in our traps. After one of these trips I was informed that my hat would spend the duration of the vacation on the porch because it stunk like these awful fish. Hence Bunker Hat) It really was a perfect night. I had enough beers to make me really excited and just a little bit out of control so that my wife got to calm the baby down after an occasional shout or scream. We also turned down the suck that is Buck and synced up 1210 so I could hear Harry make the final call.
I cried really hard. Really hard. I got to hold my baby while watching Manuel accept the trophy. Thats something I'll never forget.
We popped some Champagne and just laid in bed crying and watching. It was really special.
A lot of people called me immediately following the game. I only answered the ones who had people on the line that would understand why I was hysterically crying. Sorry Dad, Mom, Dan the Surfer, Frank and Noah (the first time).
I also took off work tomorrow and have two tickets to watch the parade celebration inside CBP. It is going to be absolutely outrageous.

Well right before my wife fell asleep she asked me if this was the greatest day in my life. I can't say that it was. I gave it some thought and came up with the greatest day ever. Its a very short description but I think the simplicity of it is what makes it so special.

My wife and I were in Baltimore once. We were staying at the Inner Harbor but took the Water Taxi over to Fell's Point. We had lunch at a really small sushi place. Next we headed of to Max's (which that day had 96 beers on tap) and enjoyed quite a few drinks while chatting baseball with some Orioles fans. We then took the Water Taxi back to the Inner Harbor to watch the Orioles play the Devil Rays. I bought a retro Orioles hat and was given a Rafael Palmeiro bobble head. After the game (and some Rolling Rocks) we went to Max's Ballpark Bar and had some nachos. To end the evening we walked into a very questionable part of the city and got hot corned beef sandwiches at a sandwich shop called Shane's.

My heaven would be reliving that day over and over. I know most people would have chosen other days (wedding, birth of child, World series etc) but I can't choose a day where I was forced to take a generic anti-diahrrhtic.

Time to play the waiting game................. I'm sick of this game. Lets play Monopoly.

Last night was a complete bust. I am really disappointed in Bud Selig and MLB as a whole.
I had a huge rant planned out but I'll keep it to myself.
The game will eventually be played and I'll be watching. The Phillies have 3 more outs than the Rays to score one more run. I guess I'm OK with that.
Until then the two bottles of champagne will stay in the fridge.

The boy has some killer gas and it kills me to watch him struggle with it but at the same time I can't help but laugh. I mean here is this 6 week old baby grunting his way to some truly glorious gassers. It amazes me that these simple occurrences have taken the place of me going to the World Series or spending the evening at the bar. I guess that in and of itself isn't really too amazing but the fact that I'm fine with it is.

Working on a mix for my brother and its one great song away from being perfect.
Mental note:
I need to find everything released by Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers and Frightened Rabbit.

Halloween is coming up. There may be baseball in November. This is shaping up to be a pretty wild time.

There's No Crying In Baseball

So this is it.
Game 5. The Phils are up 3-1.

It may sound stupid to other people and frankly I don't care. I'm sitting at work in tears. Not the balling type but glossy eyed choked up tears. There are a thousand thoughts running through my head. I think back to my first Phillies game with my father, uncle and cousin. I remember wondering why my mild mannered father was booing Mike Schmidt. I remember spending lazy Sunday afternoons with my grandmother in the left field bleachers of the Vet. She used to make me promise that when I became a pro ball player I would buy her a Jaguar. I remember thinking it was a real possibility. I remember going to a game with my Aunt Carol and getting 100 years of Phillies history over the course nine innings. I remember attending the '93 World Series with my dad and being amazed at the look on his face as we walked up to the park. He had a look a I had never seen before or since. It was sheer excitement. I remember the strike of '94 and swearing off the sport because my hero's had now become something evil. I remember falling in love with the team again in '99 during a completely inconsequential Reds series. I remember staying up all night with Noah just to watch them blow that rat hole up. I remember going to the first night game at Citizen's Bank Park with my best friend and sitting through 2 hours of rain delays only to have him miss his train home. I remember hugging my wife after Thome belted #400 and how could I forget making her wait out that entire rain delay because Phillies fans stay until the game is official.
I take it back now...... that choked up tearing has officially gone to full blown tears. My coworkers must think I'm crazy.
I remember Kristen giving me season tickets as the greatest birthday gift any human has ever given another. I remember every single Opening Day that carries the anticipation of my birthday, Christmas and Halloween wrapped into one. I remember pushing back our honeymoon for one day because the Red Sox were in town and then getting share that game with some of the greatest people I've ever known. I remember Father's Days with my dad and guys nights with my Father-In-Law. I remember the greatest game I've ever attended. The last game of the 2007 season. I remember watching a four game sweep of the Brewers with my brand new baby boy.

I think of all of this and I can't help but be emotional. I love baseball. I love it as more than a sport.
I'll cry when they win tonight. Not only because this is the greatest season I've ever experienced but also because this miracle of a season will finally come to close.

Speakers Push Air?

Big night last night.
Baseball
Baby
Office
Awesome!

A few random thoughts as I drove to work this morning:

-Kristen and I go to my parents every 4th of July because they live by the shore and fireworks on the beach equal big fun. This year we were on the AC Expressway and we see a billboard advertising the Beach Boys playing a free show on July 4th. We spent the rest of the drive recalling our favorite Full House memories involving the Beach Boys with my favorite being my father-in-law cursing the TV when Uncle Jesse jumped on drums with them. We get to my parents and sorta forget the whole thing. So anyway, the 4th rolls around and I pick up the paper to find out exactly what time the fireworks are set for and then I see it....... John Stamos will be joining The Beach Boys. Now I have always been a casual Beach Boys fan. I mean Pet Sounds is cool and I think that God Only Knows is one of the best songs ever but beyond that I'm indifferent. I guess you could say that I'm a bigger Stamos fan than a Beach Boys fan. As pathetic as it sounds, Full House has had a more profound effect on my life than the Beach Boys. Especially a Brian Wilson-less Beach Boys. Although I'm not a Brian Wilson fan. Hmmm... this has been one wild tangent but I feel the need to take a moment to vent about the Brothers Wilson. I used to think that I like dBrian Wilson. I thought he was amazing. I was waiting with wild anticipation when Smile came out. Then I played it non-stop. I even bought Lucky Old Sun and bobbed my head along with it. Then I heard Pacific Ocean Blue and it hit me. Dennis Wilson was the heart and soul of the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson was nothing more than a fraud. He never surfed, he screwed the rest of the band and he was a horrible person to his family. Now he is putting out these god awful records with out dated harmonies and lyrics that rival the intelligenc eof a third grade love poem. Pacific Ocean Blue on the other hand has some soul. Anyway back to the story at hand. My wife and I ended up going to the show and sure enough Stamos was there. The band sounded tight and my 5th grade social studies teacher gave me a beer. Overall a good time was had by all

I had a few more stories to convey that related to music but the market is killing me and it took me all day just to write that story (I'm sure its obvious by the disjointed nature)

Weekend
Awesome

Long time coming

It has been quite some time since my last post. I guess I've been putting it off since I wasn't sure how to word everything.
Keep it simple and move on.

Kyle Patrick was born 9/13 at 12:02 AM
8 pounds 9 ounces
Labor was tough. Something I never want my wife to go through again. So bad in fact that I didn't even cry when he was born. Too concerned with her well being.

There it is.
I really can't say much more about the last few weeks so I'll just pick it up from there.

Tonight the Phillies play game 1 of the NLDS against the dreaded Dodgers.
Really? I never worried about the Dodgers but the media would have you believe that Jesus himself plays left field because the Fightin's don't have a chance.
We'll see.

I'm so excited to get home and engage in my new favorite activity. Doing absolutely nothing while holding by lil'boy. Hopefully he will be wearing his Phillies shirt over a long-sleeve onsie when I get home.
Then its dinner and off to the couch for a night of baseball with by main man on my lap, my puppy at my feet and my incredible wife next to me.
I tend to complain quite a bit (not here but in general) but after reading that last sentence I have to think that I'm a lucky guy.

3-2, bases loaded, down by 3, bottom of the ninth

I watched a fairly good movie last night called Sole Survivor. It took one of my favorite formulas in film and created something fantastically fresh. It told the story of a woman who was the lone survivor of a plane crash. The catch is that she wasn't meant to live and death comes stalking her to even the odds. It reminded me of Carnival of Souls and Night Tide which is never a bad thing. It also got me thinking. Are we the only people capable of making mistakes?
Do you have to have free will to ruin something and be forced to correct it?
I mean could something like life or fate or even death slip up and have to correct itself?
I think thats a topic that I'll dwell on once I'm out of the confines of my lovely cubicle.

Hamels threw a shutout! Yay!
The Mets won again. Boo!

Kristen went to the doctor yesterday and as expected they told her no more work. At first I was so happy for her but then the reality of the situation hit me. They are writing her out of work for a reason. They sent her to get blood work immediately and changed her next appointment to Monday. There is some genuine concern there which scares me a bit. I'm thinking that they may induce her on Monday which is a frightening prospect. I could be a Dad in less than a week.
My stomach just gurgled at the thought.

I really can't find the music that I need right now. Songs that used to do it for me aren't anymore. I've tried all the old stand bys but nothing!
I'll try some Cat Power tonight.

I gotta bad case of noise maker blues.

Today has all the makings of an awful day. I hate that. You are just setting yourself up for a bad weekend. Here are the chain of events that led me to right now.

-Last night I finally settled in to watch 'The Lost'. As I mentioned before I am uber excited for this movie since I just finished the novel a month ago. So I get past the tense beginning and just when the story is about to kick in the disc stops. I hate Netflix. There is scratch down the entire middle of the thing.

-I wake up this morning after falling asleep to a 4-1 Phillies lead to see that they blew the lead in the 8th again and lost the game.

-I had a ticket to see my favoritest band in the world tonight at the TLA. I ended up giving the ticket away because I knew I would have to spend tons of money on drinks and parking plus I can't leave an 8.5 month pregnant women at home and there is no way she would enjoy herself at a Hold Steady show.

-I pulled into work today and realized that I left my lunch sitting on the floor at home. At first this was only a minor inconvienence because I figures I would just go out to lunch but then the true horror hit me. In that Tupperware was Brats, Potatoes and RED CABBAGE. If Brodie got into that our disgusting turquoise rugs would be tie dyed a nice hue of violet. So I had to get back in the car and go home. This not only upset me but B-Man didn't appreciate being woken from his mid morning nap.

So there it is. All the makings of a bad Friday. How do I combat it you may ask? Well I'll tell you. We are going out to dinner with the in-laws where the ol' man will INSIST on me getting good food and even better drinks (in the 22 oz variety). I then plan to come home and hang out on the couch with my wife and watch her favorite (also one of my favorites but I'd never admit that) shows, The Soup. She'll pass out early which leaves me to have a Code Red DVD double feature of Sole Survivor and The Dead Pit. I can't imagine a better evening. Well maybe seeing Sonic Youth and the Hold Steady.

I used to write show reviews for an awful Pitchfork wannabe website. It was cool because once I got into a sold out Alkaline Trio/Pretty Girls Make Graves show based on my press credentials. Actually that was the only cool thing that happened. Anyway about 2 years ago I wrote a review for a Mogwai show and sent it in. They never responded or published it so I just stopped writing for them. Maybe I was a bad writer, maybe they were a bunch of elitist tool or maybe it was a bit of both. Either way I vowed that one day I would get the review published on the web so here it is. I love blogs! Everyone can be a critic.

Mogwai
(Club Sonar, Baltimore
MD)
3.07.2006
There are very few bands that I would make a 4 hour drive to see on a rainy Tuesday when I have to be up at 6:00 on Wednesday. Mogwai is one of those
bands. I loaded up on the NoDoz and Red Bull and made my way down I 95 to
Baltimore. I have seen Mogwai several times at various venues but Sonar was
definitely the most intimate. It was a great setting and the anticipation
was high.
Mogwai quietly took the stage to Cex induced chants of, "Mogwai, boma ye!"
and without hesitation blew the crowd away with “Mogwai Fear Satan”.
I never thought of this as an opener but it worked perfectly. “Mogwai Fear
Satan” set the tone of the evening by lulling the crowd to comfort and then
destroying them with the crushing guitars. People were seen running from the
speakers holding their ears. Truly amazing. The band then softened it up and
played “Acid Food” and “Friend of the Night” from their new album, Mr. Beast. I
couldn’t understand why Mogwai, a band who previously had never released a
single, chose to make “Friend of the Night” their first single. After
seeing it live I now understand. Mogwai played “Friend of the Night” with
such amazing energy that you couldn’t help but get wrapped up in it. The album
simply does not do it justice. The rest of the set did a fantastic job of
mixing older songs with some of the newer material. High points included a heavy
version of “Folk Death 95” and the always amazing “Stanley Kubrick” It made me
realize that, despite the claims that Mogwai has changed their sound, they are
the same band making the same type of music they have always made.
The highlight of the set was definitely the end. The intensity was unreal from
the first note of “Glasgow Mega Snake” to the last. This song is by far
the most punishing on Mr. Beast and it lives up to this live. My
sweatshirt was being pushed back by the sheer volume of the song. It was
by far the loudest musical moment I have ever experienced and the best way for
Mogwai to end their set.
When Mogwai returned to the stage for the encore the crowd was still recovering from “Glasgow Mega Snake”. They chose to completely slow it down by playing “Cody”. “Cody” is my favorite Mogwai song on my favorite Mogwai album, Come on Die Young. This version of “Cody” seemed to be a little slower than both the Come on Die Young and Government Comissions versions and it worked perfectly. It was the most emotionally moving song of the night and it really showed how versatile the band is. Despite pleas for “My Father, My King” the final song was “We’re No
Here” which was fine in my book. It was a little tough getting into it
after the amazing version “Cody”. After “We’re No Here” Mogwai left the stage in
a sea of feedback.
Overall this was the best I have seen Mogwai play. Everything was solid and crisp. There was more crowd interaction that previous shows and the set list was varied. What more could you want on a
rainy Tuesday
night?


Set List:
MOGWAI FEAR SATAN
ACID FOOD
FRIEND OF THE NIGHT
KIDS WILL BE SKELETONS
YOU DON’T KNOW JESUS
KILLING ALL THE FLIES
FOLK DEATH 95
NEW PATHS TO HELICON 2
I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I?
STANLEY KUBRICK
HUNTED BY A FREAK
GLASGOW MEGA SNAKE
Encore:
CODY
WE’RE NO HERE

Man I couldn't even read that without cringing. No wonder they never
published it or wrote me back. I stink!