Hey Kids!

New coloring pages added to Midnite Sun web page (www.midnitesun.org) - print 'em out! color 'em! trade 'em with your friends!

Nephew clearly has too much time on his hands during his vacation week.

Just checking out the new "add image" addition to Blogger. This is a picture of me backstage at the Elvis show in Monroe in 1974. The King and I got along quite well.

Today

I never blog about work but I'm going to make a quick exception, not go into much detail, and hope that I don't get "dooced."

Our office manager is retiring and her party is today. The entire office has been working hard to make it a memorable event. I've agreed to sing a song and I'm nervous about it -- I never get nervous when I sing! However, this is in front of my coworkers and invited guests and most of them don't know this side of me. For the occasion, I have a karaoke track of Sinatra's "New York, New York" and I have completely rewritten the words to suit the occasion and the person.

I have worked with this person on and off for as long as I've been an attorney (17 years!). This will be a bittersweet day. I am happy for her for reaching this milestone, but I will miss her terribly. She has always managed to be a "friend" first and a "boss" second without compromising her professionalism -- that's a skill that is hard to master; I struggle with it daily.

Nancy, here's to you -- I've learned so very much from you over the years. May you enjoy each and every day of your retirement!

Good News For Ginger

-from Yahoo! News:

Rocker Corgan to reform Smashing Pumpkins

Singer Billy Corgan said on Tuesday he plans to revive The Smashing Pumpkins, his Grammy-winning band which broke up in 2000 after more than a decade of blending alternative rock with the avant-garde.
In full-page advertisements in Chicago newspapers, the bald-headed Corgan said, "I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."
He did not say which if any of the band's former members would be involved in the revived group, which broke through with albums such as "Gish" and "Siamese Dream."
The Pumpkins' top selling album was "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" which came out in 1995, but as the 1990s progressed their work became increasingly obscure as tensions arose in the group.
They broke up over differences among its four members and Corgan has since jumped from project to project but failed to match his early success.
Corgan, based in Chicago, has just released a solo album, "TheFutureEmbrace" on Reprise Records.
He did not say when he would try to reform the Pumpkins but the new album "represents a new beginning, not an ending. It picks up the thread of the as-yet-unfinished work and charter of The Smashing Pumpkins," he said.

Sayeth Paul - Corgan was never my cup of tea (too whiny), but this should be welcome news for a lot of folks

Father's Day

I got the requested bicycle for Father's Day and it is a nice bike with shock absorbers, which I didn't know you could get on bicycles, but, in my case, it is a very welcome addition.

Without getting too delicate, the only drawback is that I forgot how...er....uncomfortable a bicycle can be for a male.

In any event, my son and I had a good day of intermittent bike riding, which I hope to make a daily event. My five year old daughter did a valiant job of keeping up with us for awhile on her Barbie bike with training wheels, but gave out about three quarters of the way around the block. Time to try it without training wheels, I guess....

Catching Up

Congratulations to my in-laws on their 25th wedding anniversary – we had a wonderful and well-attended celebration this weekend, and the music, if I may be completely immodest, was just right.

I’m not surprised by the Michael Jackson verdict, but I don’t really think it was a case of “Hollywood justice”, either. I didn’t follow the case closely, but from what I did see, the case had reasonable doubt written all over it -- and that’s all you need.

UrbanDictionary.com now defines "dooced" as losing your job for something you wrote on your online blog.

I'm not supposed to disclose the rock artist that will perform in Crossett in August yet, but at least it isn’t the Nuge (rc, you may or may not be mildly disappointed, depending on what particular songs you like.....)

“Shit” and “bananas” should never be used in the same sentence

“The Adventures of Shark Boy And Lava Girl In 3-D” was not nearly as dreadful as the reviews made it seem. The story was novel and my son was enthralled. If you want dreadful, try sitting through “Yu Gi Oh – The Movie” in a theater.

I shamefully must say that I’ve been watching “Beauty And The Geek”

Found a used copy of the “Ren & Stimpy” box set at Game Stop this weekend for $19.99 – excellent deal! What seemed risque’ for a kids’ show ten years ago is relatively tame now, but it is still funny.

The fact that the a/c in my vehicle is not working properly had not really bothered me until this week – now I’m looking for a repair shop….

The band played without me last weekend (due to my previous commitment with in-laws celebration) – from all accounts, the 40th class reunion of the Class of ’65 was not much fun and I’m glad I wasn’t there

I skipped all of the political components of the Pink Tomato Festival in Warren, but Arkansas politics seem to be really heating up again -- the Arkansas Times daily blog is becoming a must-read

I have discovered that if you Google the name of an arena and are patient enough to scroll through page after page of entries, you will occasionally find a site that will give the date of when a particular act played that venue. By doing that with Barton Coliseum, Pine Bluff Convention Center, Monroe Civic Center, etc., I have discovered some interesting sites. For instance, there is a site that obsessively details Eric Clapton tour dates; I learned that I actually saw Eric Clapton and Muddy Waters in Monroe in 1979, not 1980 – there was even a set list! Other interesting tidbits were that Alice Cooper played Monroe at the height of his shock rock popularity; Elvis played multiple nights in Monroe in 1974; and Ozzy and Randy Rhoads played Pine Bluff shortly before Randy’s death ( I saw them in Shreveport). I also don’t remember Marilyn Manson playing Barton, but apparently they did. Anyway, here is one that I have no recollection of at all: in 1993, Bob Dylan apparently played the Monroe Civic Center theater – I DID NOT KNOW THIS! I WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!

New Site

The News Observer seems to have discontinued its Message Board, but a new site is now available: http://www.crossettradio.com/. This is the newly designed site for KAGH and its sister rock and gospel stations. There is a message board at the site, so perhaps that can be a new outlet for those that miss the NO site.

The site also promises a major concert announcement on June 13th in conjunction with the August 20th Battle of the Bands at the Crossett Rodeo Arena. I've heard rumors already and all I can say is that I truly hope that the featured artist won't be a certain loudmouthed right wing guitarist. If so, the arena is about a block from my home and I'm not sure that he would even be worth the walk.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A recent article in "Entertainment Weekly" says that the success of current releases by System Of A Down and the Mars Volta indicates that the world may be ready for the return of "prog rock."

Prog rock -- Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; Yes; early Genesis; etc.

Just kill me now.

Poll

I've mentioned before that I want to change the name of our band (we already have an alias of "Screaming Electric Butt Monkeys", but we're tired of that)....

I haven't brought this up with other band members, but here are the three finalists I've selected:

A. No Jake Brakes
B. Frottage Cheese
C. The Sodomizing of Ned Beatty

Need feedback from blogging community.

the Eagles

I have gotten into many arguments over the years about the merits of the Eagles (the band, not the Crossett Eagles, although....). I don't outright hate them; they have had some decent songs, and the guitar solo at the end of "Hotel California" is a classic. My problem with them is that somehow over the years, they have gotten elevated to mythic status by many -- right up there with the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis, etc. They don't belong there!!! I like Joe Walsh but Henley and Frey seem pretentious and seem to have an overly inflated sense of self worth.

I caught a little of their NBC concert special last night. My argument got a lot of support. There were so many "supporting musicians" on stage, it looked like a Vegas revue instead of a rock concert. The performances were rote and without any soul whatsoever.

I had decided that if they came back to LR on their neverending farewell tour, I might go and see what the fuss is about.

I've changed my mind.