quarter23cd

Don't pack your bags just yet. I live just outside Columbus, Ohio (while hardly a cultural backwater, also not the most progressive place in the world), so I couldn't have been more surprised to walk in one day and see a sign that says "Friday is yoga day!" We just happen to have lucked out in finding a very cool place for our kids.

A bit premature. You're supposed to save that comment until later on when this doesn't stick.

The childcare center my kids go to offers different sorts of activities on Fridays and for a month or two recently on Fridays they brought in an instructor who was teaching the kids yoga and meditation...and I thought it was just about the greatest thing I've ever heard of. (plus, if anyone can get my 3 year old to sit still for more than 10 seconds, that's just awesome!)

An interesting thread and it kind of hits home for me right now. My sis in law has stirred up a rather interesting situation in my household lately by suddenly, out of nowhere, becoming a very active Catholic after years or agnosticism/atheism. We're all a bunch of lapsed Catholics in my family, to some degree. We all grew up with it, and I'm certainly the most "lapsed" of the bunch--I went through CCD and confirmation, too, but only to appease relatives who would otherwise have a coronary if I didn't. It certainly wasn't a genuine profession of faith on my part. But her unexpected conve

99 bottles of beer* on the wall... * - and/or luftballons

I have seen quite a few "legends", but not in their prime. (example, the Beach Boys sans Brian on the boardwalk of Ocean City, MD with special guests the Fat Boys--aka The Fat Beach Boys--is an example of "not in their prime") Here's what I want to know. Did anyone ever have the chance to see Duane Allman in any way, shape, or form? (ABB/Derek & the Dominoes/etc) Or primal-era Dead? (any lineup with Pigpen will do, really) Hendrix? The Stones when they were still The f'ing Stones, man? If so, I'd like to buy you a beer and hear about it.

Um, well I saw the Dave Matthews Band play a show in Charlottesville, VA before anybody probably outside of the state had heard of them. In retrospect, what I perceived as "up and coming" was, in actuality, "already peaking and about to go downhill". Who knew?

Thank you, you beat me to it. On emotional grounds, as a father, hell yes I'd want the bastard to fry. However, I would expect that a civilized and just society would be more levelheaded and try to dissuade my desire for vengeance rather than encourage it. Call me crazy. Even if you are a die-hard "an eye for an eye" person, this is more like "a head for an eye". As repulsive as the crime is, the punishment doesn't fit.

Maybe he just wants to dance! Is that so wrong?

I'm not really a Kot fan. He is equally annoying to me when he is putting down MMJ as when he salivates over everything Wilco does. Even though I agree with much of his assessment here--after weeks of sinking in, this album still feels decidedly lightweight to me--but there's something mean-spirited in Kot's take on it. Like he is personally offended or something. Dude, its just a record.

While they're at it, they should be protesting the cost of cable tv, too.

Well, on the bright side, if they are out and about pushing the strollers around, maybe it means they are at least taking an active role as parents. Whereas the teen moms I knew when I was that age tended to go one of two ways--a few worked their butts off to make a life for themselves, but the majority handed the kid off to their parents/grandparents and carried on as if they were still just another teenager with no responsibilities.

Definitely a worthwhile question. To put this in rock terms, I did not grow up with Dylan or the Beatles, but I did grow up aware of the mythology and hype surrounding them. When I finally got around to trying out the music, I found it nearly impossible to just hear the music. Is that what you're saying? Getting back to jazz, there's no doubt that Miles and Trane are the most common entry points for most rock fans. That's how it was for me, too. (along with Monk and Mingus) In my case I really hadn't read much didn't know that much about the music when I began.(pre-internet, I guess) I

Just overheard in the hallway at work: Me: I hope that the afterlife exists purely because I hope somehow he got a chance to hear that. Good stuff.

Funny, if those girls were a few years older, people would think this idea was kind of sweet. (really stretching to find a silver lining here) I was traveling with my family this weekend and we drove through a town in our state that is going through some very rough times, economically. And my wife and I were astounded, sitting at a stoplight and watching 3 or 4 girls who couldn't have been more than 15 pushing strollers across the street. I don't know how they do it. I mean, my wife and I have a rather large family at a young age (4 kids and we're in our early 30s) and we are both well e

Wow, I'm stunned. I can't remember the last time a celebrity death affected me, but this one hits home. RIP, George. And thanks.

We now have 4 little ones, ages 5, 3, 1, and 2 months. Life is insane on a daily basis, but I couldn't ask for anything better out of life. Much of our high-minded philosophizing and planning on how we would raise our children has largely been abandoned in favor of a make-it-up-as-you-go along approach, which pretty much suits the way I do everything in my life anyway. That's not entirely true, of course, we have a core set of principles we operate by, but the more kids we have, the more flexible the whole system has to become. It helps having a wife who has a master's degree in child dev

I'm listening to it right now and after the first several songs I was thinking "Meh, I really don't hear anything too special here--the Evil Urges material doesn't open up to me any moreso than it does on record." I was getting kind of bored, but then around the time "Hit It and Quit it > Tyrone" came up things started getting a lot more interesting. I'm only a few songs into the second set, but I'll say that its a great fun set for a festival with all the covers and stuff. I wonder how much of that kind of stuff will remain in their regular sets?

This is true. I purchased the Instant Live recording of the Ratdog show I attended last summer and I still listen occasionally, mostly because the sound quality is tremendous, but I don't know if this qualifies as "essential listening". The thing about the post-Dead bands is that they sound fantastic when you're there in the moment, but really, if I'm at home and in the mood to listen to GD songs, I go straight to the GD versions.

I've heard various recordings of Phil & Friends over the years and while its neat to hear the various "star" guest vocalists, it never struck me as being absolutely essential that I go see this band. And I had been on the fence, from what I'd heard, of how I felt about this newest lineup, until just the other day I listened to the recording of the show I passed up seeing last week when they were in town and I am kicking myself for skipping it. From the "YEAH!" that launches the opening "Minglewood" onward, I had a huge grin on my face. (the "Cumberland Blues" is something to behold)

I'm feeling lucky to have been in college before the digital camera era. If photo evidence of any stupid shit we did ever existed, chances are good that the film never even got developed.

I was wearing the Ramones-esque Wilco shirt once at another concert, which started up a conversation with the cute girl working the beer cart who happened to be a fan. When I finally returned with the beers, my wife gave me a good ribbing about my "new friend" and told me "Honey, she was obviously just hitting on you because nobody really listens to any of those bands you like."

Pure politics. Although leaving Iraq is increasingly popular, whomever is the president who pulls that trigger will bear a withering amount of criticism over whatever messes are bound to ensue in the aftermath. Its a situation that both parties are clearly salivating over tarring the other with. For the GOP, its their best shot at playing the blame-switcheroo game. Losing this election might be the best thing that could possibly happen to that party right now because staying in Iraq until the Dems take over is like handing them a live hand grenade. I fully expect the Dems to be operating

Nah, I spent the day spoiling them, as usual. My dad is out there in an RV somewhere headed for Alaska. Sounds like they're having a blast, but man, I hope somebody gave him a father's day discount on gas. Godspeed, dad.

My wife's friend from work is an artist and has offered to paint murals in our kids' bedrooms. We're trying to figure out what to paint, but it should be pretty cool! Those on that link there look pretty cool--I guess they're like big posters and/or wallpaper, then? I have to admit that it reminds me a bit of my father-in-law's den that has one wall wallpapered with a photo of the surface of the moon. Its cool, but kind of dated-looking. And it makes me feel like the only thing missing is a couple blacklights and a bong, which I doubt was his intention when he decorated it that way...or