The Olympics

We are well into the first week of the Olympics.  I like most things about the Olympics.  I like all the oddball sports you only see on TV every four years---like archery and air rifle shooting and sword fighting.  I like the back stories they always provide.  The people who have overcome hardships in their lives or moved on from underdog status to favorite or the real old guy who you can't believe is in the Olympics to the young girl who you can't believe does the things she does.  I like the pageantry of the opening ceremonies.  And I like how the teamwork plays out, not only for an athletes particular sport, but for the entire team.  It's cool to see athletes from one sport supporting those in other sports.  I like how NBC tries to tell us who the big breakout stars are going to be--and that sometimes they are wrong....

There are a few things I am not really that fond of as well.  Some of these announcers seem to think they are bigger than the event.  Quite down already.  I'm not wild about the professionals in the Olympics either.  They just played Wimbledon a couple of weeks ago---it's like watching a replay.  The NBA has so many foreign players now that the Olympics is like watching the exhibition schedule--you know some of the guys, others you never heard of, but the stars will take over,  Except for the All-Stars, er I mean the USA team.  I like all the coverage that is provided, but I do find it difficult at times to figure out what is on where.
I still don't like the eastern bloc countries.  Nothing against their athletes, but I grew up watching the Olympics in the iron curtain era.  I remember the (seemingly?) questionable refereeing and judging of the past.  Suppose they see it differently from their prospective.  Still like to beat them.  I miss softball, baseball not so much. 

As I sit here on Tuesday we are tied with China in the medal count, although they lead in gold.  There is a heck of a lot of Olympics left to go.  Still lots of swimming and volleyball and biking.  And of course we have probably the most exciting and watched events, Athletics----that would be track and field for those of you not in the know. 

I enjoy watching all the different events and the athletes representing their countries.  I hope that their are no controversies with judging and scoring, that nothing like what happened in Munich happens again, and that all the competitors have abstained from the banned substances. I hope all the competitors and spectators get the Olympic Spirit, and that there are all kinds of wonderful stories from these games.  I am certain that I will revisit this subject again (maybe more than once!!), and next time I will have some fun facts to share!

Happy Birthday Aleah

I find it hard to believe that it has been 19 years since my daughter was born.  I find it even more difficult to believe that I had to help with the delivery.  The way I remember it......

Unlike the birth of the first child, we pretty much had the delivery date and other birthing matters planned out for child number two.  We arrived at the hospital at the appointed time, checked in, got all situated.  Dr. Clyde (OB/GYN) introduced us to the nurse and a "kid" who was a med student  who was going to observe and "help out".  Whatever.  They got the Mrs. all ready, hooked up the Pitocin, and Dr. Clyde said he'd be back in awhile, he had to go to his clinic across the street.  Then the fun started.

The Mrs. let me know in the way that only women giving birth can that it was time.  Seemed pretty quick to me, but I hit the buzzer to call the nurse and told them it was go time.  The first person to enter the room was our new friend the med student.  He took one look and hit the floor.  He did not look good, looked really ill actually, but now I was worried.  I started hitting the nurse call button again--quite rapidly and repeatedly this time.  When our nurse arrived she said there was no time to wait for Dr. Clyde.  Then she told me to get some gloves on.  Huh?  I can find some tree branches to set your broken limb, and I can apply pressure to stop the blood flow from the gaping wound you sustained, but I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no baby.  Luckily for me our nurse was quite skilled and knowledgeable on the subject, and I was able to follow her instructions with ease (turns out I really didn't do that much at all).  Dr. Clyde finally showed up to make sure everything was good (it was), and the rest of our visit was typical.  Don't know whatever happened to the med student, never saw him again.

So I sit here today the proud father of a beautiful, intelligent, funny and insightful young woman.  She has been a pleasure to be around and to watch grow.  She has never made any decisions that have made me question her in any way.  I enjoy being around her, and miss her when she is not here.  I realize this is going to be happening more, and I accept it, but I don't have to like it.  And no matter what she thinks, she will always be my little girl.  So happy birthday Aleah, I love you very much.

Good News

Around 25 years ago or so, I had a friend who worked for the local newspaper.  I asked him why he never had any good news to write about.  He told me that if I found any good news to let him know and he would print it.  I did, and he did, and it was kind of nice to read.  So in this day and age of war and drought and shootings and economic hardship, I have decided to find some good news.

And where better to start than by Googling good news.  What I find is mostly religious news, businesses that have good news in their name, and the local Dairy Queen--don't get that one.  I also find a web site for the Today Show.  What I find here are are human interest stories about military homecomings, oddball stories (woman lost memory, earns college degree), and other stories of the like.  I suppose it may be intersting, but a lot of this stuff is old news. I also find little happy notes about all the Today Show personalities, but I don't find this to be good news.  I need to dig deeper. 

I decide to check the local paper.  Lots of not so good news, but that is not what I am looking for.  I see some dog saved a woman's life, a missing girl is found safe, and some 92 year old guy finally has his bar mitzvah.  I decide to check on the community news.

I see the birth announcements and the college news, which is certainly good news for those involved.  I note that Kohl's Department stores are keeping their headquarters here in Menomonee Falls, which is great news for those of us here.  I also see the Piggly Wiggly is coming to town and that the Falls Fest is this weekend.  Weee...........

It is very apparent to me that good news is had to find.  The national news seems to be all about doom and gloom.  Maybe that's what we've come to, I don't know.  It seems the closer to home you look you can find some good things going on, but I guess a lot of it is how you perceive things.  Perhaps it's familiarity.  I know I'd like to pick up the paper someday and not see any news about war and poverty and senseless killings and people struggling to get by.  Guess those days are gone for good.  I suppose good news is how you perceive things, and you have to get it wherever you can.

Aurora, Colorado

I am in a very sour mood.  What kind of a SOB goes into a movie theater and just randomly starts shooting people?  What kind of mind does such a person have?  Then they talk to his mother and she says "You have the right person", and "I need to call the police".  They talk to some guy who met him in a bar and he says he seemed like a smart guy to me.  He seemed normal, never would have thought this from him.  So we have 71  people shot, and 12 of those are dead.  Some are in critical condition.  Now what do we do?

They say the guy (I know his name, refuse to use it) bought all the guns legally in the last few months.  Now I'm as much for the right to own firearms as anyone, but I fail to see the need for a civilian to be using an A 15 assault rifle.  The thing was designed for military use.  Common sense tells me it is a weapon of destruction.  Why are they allowed to be sold at a gun show?  Suppose the gun companies need to make money...  Others will argue that this was a time that if a few of the movie goers were armed they could have "taken down" the shooter.  Well, most people don't go around with body armor and gas masks.  I wonder how many people would have gone down in the crossfire of that scene. 

Do we start having metal detectors  in every pubic place we go?  Armed guards?  Ever thought about the damage some nut could do at a sold out sporting event?  Do we not go out at night anymore?  Do we not go anywhere where there might be a lot of people?  Or do we just continue living our lives and hope such tragedies don't happen to us?  Any input will be greatly appreciated.

My daughter went to the premier of the Batman movie last night with some of her friends.  Other neighbors and friends went and saw it too.  Nothing happened to any of them.  My deepest sympathies to those in Aurora Colorado who are unable to say the same.  God help us all.....

Newsweek

I read a few interesting articles in the July23-30 issue of Newsweek.  Don't know of many folks who still read magazines, but I try to take a look every once in awhile.  The first article I read talked about a new exhibit  at the Museum of Modern Art.  The exhibit is all about toys that I or my kids grew up with.  The jist of the article is that kids are actually play less with toys and spending more time on the computer with video games.  This saddened me.  I liked toys when I was a kid, and am pretty sure my kids liked their toys.  I do remember the first computer games and what not--they do change lives.

The next article I read had to do with the up coming presidential election.  Many people don't realize they are not actually voting for president, but for an elector to the Electoral College.  I don't have the time or patience to get into what the Electoral College is, but ever since I learned about it in high school I though we should go to direct election.  Anyhow, the author, Paul Begala, figures that the entire election will be decided by six states, Florida, Ohio,  New Mexico, Colorado, Virgina, and Iowa.  He figures about 916,000 votes will decide the whole thing.  95.4 million of the rest of us? Elect College is basically figured out already.  He figures that $2 billion  will be spent trying to sway roughly the population of San Jose---a little over $2000 per vote.  I found this interesting--maybe it's time to do away with the Electoral College?  I don't know...

The third and final article I read really concerned me.  We've heard of the Baby Boomers, and of Gen X and what not.  They are beginning to call the new generation Generation Screwed.  They were basically writing about the current 18-35 year olds.  It talked about the debt they are facing, both personal and for the public.  They talked about how they are over educated--16% of parking attendants and bar tenders have bachelor degrees.  They have degrees, but there is no jobs for their degrees.  About how the 18-29 year old group has 12% unemployment, which is twice the  national average.  About how high school kids now have to compete with college grads for simple service jobs.  About how there likely will be downward mobility.  About how 58% of college grads don't think they will be better off than their parents.  About how instead of buying homes (can't afford them), it will be a generation of renters.  About how some economists are saying this generation has to have lower expectations.  About how nearly 1/3 of 18 to 34 year old people have put off marriage or having children.  I found this article a little ironic because just the other day I had a short discussion with one of Stew's friends strangely about this same kind of thing.  I worry about these next generations.  I want them to have successful and fulfilling careers.  I want them to be able to buy homes, and to have families.   I want them to be better off than I have been.  I don't want them to have lower expectations.  I hope we haven't screwed them over so much that they are in too deep and are never able to get out.

Quick Questions and Notes

We are officially in a drought.  Really.  Brace yourself for the price of everything to go up.  Don't know if you believe in global warming or not, but obviously weather patterns are changing.  This just may be the new normal.

Glad to see we are back to the political tv commercials and robo calls.  There has to be a heck of a lot of money in politics.  Rich people trying to get jobs that pay a pittance of their net worth?  I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but jeez.....

Just a couple of weeks until the start of the Olympics....I like winning as much as anyone, but I think I liked it better when we sent amateurs instead of the pros.  Of course it's all about the medal count, right???

Been paying attention to the Tour de France?  Yeah me either...

I have had enough of the "Penn State Scandal".  People should have done more.   If they knew they should have confronted Sandusky.  Parents need to communicate with their kids.  Be suspicious!  Sandusky is guilty, stick him in with the general prison population and be done with it.  I don't care for child abusers....

Read an interesting article in Sports Illustrated  about a football player at University of Virgina.  Went on a hunger strike trying to bring attention to people needing a living wage.  The thing I found interesting was about how colleges and universities basically "own" their athletes.  How some observers said the athletes are often smarter kids, but that they see them passing up classes that meet on Friday afternoons and missing out on other things in the college experience.  I know college athletes, from having a D1 track kid here to a D3 baseball player.  I hope they aren't missing out on things-----and hope they are able to stand up for others and issues they may believe in.

Saw a thing on the local news where they have Biking in Briefs here on a monthly basis.  Some folks need more clothes, not less.

So who's next with the "Call Me Maybe" video?  Cookie Monster good, Dolphin cheerleaders better.....

Hope you enjoy your Friday the Thirteenth--three of them this year.  Happy Bastille Day as well......

Summerfest Day 11

Yesterday (Sunday) was the last day of Summerfest 2012.  I bagged days 9 and 10 (fatigue, lack of interest) but was all excited for for the big finale.

The Misses and I got to the grounds about 4:30ish after diner at the Wicked Hop in the Third Ward.  The beer is much less expensive there, and te food is good. There was a pretty good sized crowd at the Fest, probably because the weather was finally really nice.  We walked around a bit, then went to the BMO and watched Bobby Way and the Way Outs for awhile.  They are pretty much a church festival band, and not much to get excited about.  They try hard though.  Next we headed over to the Big Backyard to watch Slumpbuster.  They are basically a cover band who like to mess with the songs.  Seemed somewhat disorganized, but they were okay.

After a little more walking around, it was time for our last act of the year, Neil Diamond at the Marcus Amphitheater.  The place was nearly full, with a very large varriation in age group.  Geez some of these folks were OLD.  Who opens for Neil Diamond?  Why Neil Diamond of course---they played his new record.  After a couple of announcements about safety matters and how Neil is going to do the whole show without an intermission, he hits the stage at 8:10 and the place goes nuts.  Fourteen piece band, all sparkly and well choreographed.  And of course Neil sings nothing but hits--that's all he has!  He plays the crowd, drops in little tidbits ("First played Milwaukee in 1971--I looked it up--it was cold".), just a really tight act.  It was fantastic!  A solid two hours, and everyone--everyone loves Neil.  We had a great time and are certainly glad we went.  Who knows if he'll be back around.....

So who did I miss that I wanted to see this year?  Gary Allen, FUN., Chicago, B-52's, probably a few others.  I learned that Summerfest is a young man's game.  No way I could keep up the hectic pace I had originally planned for myself.  But I had a great time, from the music and the food to running into old friends to my little tour.  I tried to be understanding of the young fools, because I realize I was once myself.  Now I'm just an old one---looking to get back to normal around here, because it's only three and a half weeks until State Fair....

Summerfest Day 8

Thankfully it has finally warmed up (that be sarcasm....).  I don't know if it has ever been hotter at Summerfest, but there was cloud cover every now and then and a breeze once in awhile, and it is summer, so.....

We went to the Fest with our neighbors Jim and Laura on Thursday.  Jim won a nice prize at a golf outing raffle, so we got to the grounds at 10:45 to begin our private tour.  Our tour guide was a little late, but it was well worth the wait when we found out it was Bob Babisch, the man who has been booking the acts for Summerfest for the last 35 years.  Bob took us around to all the various stages, showed us how things get set up, took us backstage to meet various people, told us stories of different bands and performers.  After a long tour of the Marcus Amphitheater, we had lunch at the private dining area behind the new BMO stage.  Beautiful views of the city, more stories, Bob answered questions for us, it was a really neat experience.  We learned a few things about the grounds and the acts and how they book them, and had a real good time.  Bob Babish is a great guy. 

After our tour ended we rambled around the grounds for awhile taking in the heat until it was time to catch our first band of the day, Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys.They are a blues band out of Chicago, and they put on a good show.  We watched from the Captain's Deck, which overlooks the stage (another perk from Jim's golf outing), so there was beer and food, but more important a breeze and cover from the sun.  We spent a couple of hours up there enjoying the music and the food/beer and the people watching. 

After some more walking around the grounds, we found ourselves watching a country artist named Glen Templeton.  He's a new guy, I guess he has a couple of tunes out on the radio, and he seemed likeable enough.  We probably got more enjoyment watching the people in the audience.  Next we had to make a big decision.  To Zac Brown or not Zac Brown?  There were obstructed view seats available all day, and we had checked periodically to see if anything else had been released. Laura really wanted to go, Jim would like to go, I could go either way (not that big a fan), Cathie didn't want to go.  One final check of the box office and Jim and Laura had good seats for the show, the Misses and I were set to check out other things on the grounds.  Think we all were happy.

While Jim and Laura were at the main stage, Cath and I found some other friends to visit with for awhile, found some things to eat, had a couple of beers, and sampled some different music.  We stopped at the Dueling Piano bar for awhile (too loud), saw a bit of the Wheeler Brothers (kinda mellow), a little Young The Giant (big crowd), and Death Cab For Cutie, another alt rock type group that wasn't up our alley.  After awhile we headed over to our meeting place to wait for the neighbors and do some more people watching.  We had a good spot for listening to Mat Kearney (not bad), and after he was done the rocking of Burton Cummings of Guess Who fame (nice crowd but hot under cover).  The neighbors said Zac Brown put on a great show, they enjoyed it.

I could tell we were going to have a long wait getting home.  When your the first ones there you get to (have to?) park close, but when you leave you have to wait for everyone else.  Worse than leaving a Packer game.  It's like there is no plan, like the cops have never seen this before.  Whatever.  We got to the car at 12:40 and made it home at 1:40--and made good time once we got out of downtown.  Longest day ever at Summerfest.  I enjoyed it, but don't think I could do it again.  Definitely skipping the Fest today, tomorrow is real iffy (I hear Aerosmith might have to cancel), and we'll make a decision on Sunday on Sunday.  Neil Diamond awaits....

Summerfest Day 6

Summerfest day 6 turns out to be the hottest day of the year.  Heat advisories and the like all over the place.  The Misses and I decide that it is too hot to head to the Fest in the afternoon, so we change plans and instead head to the Brewers/Marlins games.  Hotter than Hades in the stands, attendance is kind of sparse, I was actually wondering what I was doing there.  It was really a pretty entertaining game.  Lots of offense, just enough pitching, felt so confident after the 7th (Crew up 11-5) that we left to get out of the heat and get a bite to eat.  Can't believe they had to come back and win in extra innings.  I guess that's just the way things are going to go ths season.

We (I) actually thought about heading over to the Fest grounds, but not even Robert Randolph or the great Joe Walsh could swing me.  I must really be old.  I would have actually liked to have gone, but the heat and the thought 500,000 people watching fireworks and making it difficult for me to get myself home at a decent hour persuaded me to just skip it.   Decided it was best to just head home and live to Fest another day. 

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and I almost never go to Summerfest because I am at Super Dave's July 4th party, and that is not going to change this year.  The lineup doesn't really present anything  consider must see--Alice Cooper?...Fountains of Wayne?.....There are big plans for the 5th----a unique experience for myself, something nobody I know has done, so we're going to just hold off until then.  Wishing all you Americans a safe and happy Independence Day, the rest have a good day.....

Summerfest Day 5

Day 5 fell on a Sunday, and since I couldn't get anyone to go with me......I went alone!  Surprise surprise....I had planned for quite awhile to see Brantly Gilbert and that's what I did. I hit the grounds about 7:15, after everyone that was heading to the Beach Boys should have been at that concert.  I found the grounds somewhat crowded, but still plenty of room to get around.  Learning my lesson from earlier in the Fest when I couldn't get a seat, I decided to stake out my spot early.  In doing so I got to see a band named the DB Bryant Band.  They seemed to be a typical southern rock band, nothing special.  I do know they were from South Carolina though, because they must have told the audience half a dozen times.

At 10 Brantly Gilbert hit the stage.  The bleachers and stage area were packed by this time.  Gilbert came on loud and strong.  He is a country artist, but with an edge to him.  He writes most of his own stuff, as well as for others, which he also played this evening.  The crowd loved him. The band was real good, and I am glad I made the trek down.  I don't think you're going to have the chance to see this act at a free stage again.  To me this guy seems a lot like Toby Keith.  I remember seeing him at Stat Fair a long time ago, two shows in one night, maybe 200 people there.   I can see Brantly Gilbert on the same arc.

While the concert was great, unfortunately the audience was not.  I try to not get upset at the drunks because I've been there, but these guys were out of hand.  When you can't stand up, time to go home.  Saw a number of underage drinkers apprehended (after they became "ill" and were checked out by the paramedics, they were arrested for their efforts), but the cops don't seem to mind the pot smokers.  Maybe they're good for the food vendors.  Just wish there wasn't so much pushing and shoving  and stepping on people and rudeness.

No Summerfest today, they are waiting until tomorrow when the weather finally warms up......

Summerfest Day 3 and 4

There was no Summerfest day 3 for me with it being my anniversary and all, but my daughter was there and she said FUN. was fun.  And crowded.  I will take her word for it.  I would have liked to have seen the band before them though.  Daughter says the drummer and lead guitarist missed the flight.  Would have been interesting to see how they got around that.

The Misses and I hit the Fest on Saturday at about 4.  We wondered around a bit collecting free samples and what not, then decided to check out the new BMO Harris stage.  We watched Animation, which is a Rush tribute band.  I think some of the music must have been prerecorded, because it was a lot of noise coming from three guys.  They were very good, but you gotta' like Rush.  We were done after three songs, but the stage is great and it is loud.

Next we went over to the Big Backyard for a band named Alter Ego.  This is a 70's / 80's cover group.  They were playing Journey, Foreigner, this type of stuff.  They were okay, had a good sax player.  Plenty of places to sit and listen, so we did until they finished their set.  We then walked around the grounds some, and although there were more people than on my previous visits, I didn't think it was crowded by any means.

By now it was time for the Marcus Amphitheater.  It has been a number of years since I've been in the place, and I was surprised at the condition.  I think they need to upgrade the chair seats, especially with the nice seats at the BMO.  However, we weren't there to sit, but to enjoy the music.  We were joined at the concert by our neighbors Jim and Laura.  I think the place has great sound, and they sure had it turned up.  The first act of the evening was Thompson Square.  They started promptly at 7, and most of the crowd was still filing in.  They sang their few hit songs, a couple of covers and were done.  Very enjoyable.  Next up was Darius Rucker.  The place was about as full as it was going to get by now, and they went wild for him.  Very good set, sang all his hit songs, even threw in a couple of Hootie songs.  It was a fun show, but I wish these guys didn't think they have to invoke the Packers all the time.  We know who we are...

Finally the headliner, Lady Antebellum.  The crowd was very fired up when they hit the stage, and they did not disappoint.  They may have sung every song they've ever had airplay on.  Great harmonies, good interaction with the crowd, I thought it was a great show.  At one point they brought a 7 year old up on stage to "help" with a song (American Honey).  She seemed good to go until they asked her where she was from.  She said Minneapolis and the crowd really booed.  Felt sorry for her, and she looked scared--but once the music started she really belted it out-- band seemed impressed, and so was I. Turns out this was the final show of the tour for this threesome of acts.  There were some shenanigans amongst the  groups, but I think it added to the show.  It was an excellent time, and I'm happy we went.


Got a chance to catch a few tunes on the way out by a couple of groups.  Watched a little bit of Three Dog Night while eating a gyro (gyro still tastes the same).  These guys are like 70 now, but they're in pretty good shape and they sounded good.  Good size audience as well.  We had to get to the north end to leave the grounds, and it was slow going, but that let us hear some ZZ Top at the Harley stage.  The place was packed, couldn't get close if you had to.  They sounded great, and I imagine they still look the same, but have no way of knowing.

Great day at the Summerfest.  I would definitely recommend the turkey at the Water Street Brewing pavilion--go around back on the lake side, good service and real good food.  And the Coors Light at the Potawatomi is the coldest beer on the grounds.