Horse Manure Park

For any other act, selling out a 17,000 seat venue is an accomplishment. For Paul McCartney, it's a "cozy evening with a few friends." I can scarcely believe it, but I am going to see my all-time favorite artist again.  This time in Fargo, North Dakota... of all places! Frame of reference:  Paul McCartney holds the Guiness Book of World Records for largest paying audience to see a solo artist:  184,000 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 21, 1990. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, the population of Fargo is 109,000. Think about that. The last (and only time) the Wife and I saw Paul McCartney was on a crisp Monday night in September 2002.  And I have to admit it was the only time I've truly been star struck. In fact, I vividly remember thinking to myself, as McCartney took the stage, "Holy sh*t!  He looks just like  him !" (Sounded just like him, too.) McCartney in Verona, Italy.  That crowd is pretty much the population of Fargo. ...

I've never been an Elvis Presley fan, so it is more than a little surprising that I've just spent more than two months and 1,600+ pages reading about The King of Rock and Roll. I've just closed the cover of Peter Guralnick's two volume series detailing the explosive rise ( Last Train to Memphis ), and tragic disintergration ( Careless Love ) of Elvis Presley.  It took Guralnick more than 11 years to research and write this terrific biography, which I found easy to read and kept me turning pages from beginning to end. You could say with complete accuracy that this is the War and Peace of Elvis biographies. But since I wasn't a fan, what on earth made me want to read about Elvis Presley?  After all, I've always maintained he was a rip-off artist with a pretty face who stole black music, whitewashed it, shook his ass, made the girls squeal and made millions doing it. (Yes, I have a tendency to have rather strong opinions.) However, a part of me f...

We've been busy around these parts lately and once again I am slagging behind on my blog.  I've got the day off today, a rainy Monday which "promises" to soon turn to snow, so it's a good time to catch up. The Boy is watching Wall-E on DVD, the boxer is passed out on his rug and the dingo is stretched out under the kitchen table. And all I can think of is where the hell is spring?  It's certainly not coming in the next 48 hours. We got back yesterday afternoon after a fun, whirlwind trip to Duluth, where we hung out with our great friends, Brian and Lindsey and their kids.  We stayed at the Edgewater where the tax deductions exhausted themselves at the water park (which is never a bad thing).  Saturday night we hit Canal Park Brewery for cocktails. My review of the joint is two words:  Hell, yeah. The Wife and I are going back to Duluth in early April and we are staying right next to the brewery.  Between this place, Fitger's and Grandma'...

Albert Einstein once said something like, "The world can't be changed without changing our thinking."  Like most stuff Einstein said, he was spot on.  You could say he was kind of an Einstein. I've heard an unconfirmed rumor that cursive writing, "adult writing," as the Girl calls it, will no longer be taught in elementary.  I don't know if this is true; however, the fact that no lessons have been included in her curriculum up to this point makes me think it is so. This is disappointing, although I do understand the rationale. We are in a technological age.  Computers, tablets, smart phones... these gadgets are not a fad.  They are not going away.  Considering the pressure teachers are under with the "no child left behind" act, it does seem a massive waste of time to be teaching students something they have no practical use for; cursive handwriting is no longer considered essential. Yes, it is a dying art form.  I can see a day when cur...

For the first time since 1952 (so it seemed), it was not painful to go outside this weekend.  As a result, we spent Sunday doing absolutely nothing but sipping on hot chocolate and Bailey's (well, at least for the adults) while sitting around a makeshift fire in the backyard (our fire pit is buried in two feet of snow and I'm far too lazy to do that much digging). Our chairs sunk deep into the snowpack (making sitting somewhat uncomfortable) and we had to endure an occasional stray snowball thrown by the Boy, but it had been five months since we sat around the fire and we enjoyed it immensely. Of course the ashes have now made our pristine white backyard look like someone spilled a large bottle of India ink in the middle of it - a big black stain on a bed of white.  But I honestly couldn't care less. The snow was perfect for snowman building... "Olaf" the Snowman.  His life was joyous, but brief. The Boy and the Girl look happy in the picture...

Why is it that we don't really know that much about a person or their accomplishments until after they've passed away?  I'm not sure why it works that way, but it seems to be one of life's truths. Perhaps it is our natural inclination to be modest about ourselves.  Most of us simply have a tendency to minimize what we've done in life, no matter how big or small, and it isn't until we pass that others celebrate our life that was. You could say it's one of the tragedies of life. I'm thinking of this today for a number of reasons.  First, my uncle and aunt recently passed away (in September and February, respectively).  At both of their funerals, in place of a eulogy, the minister asked the congregation to share a stories and memories. It was an opportunity to laugh, cry and reflect on a life well lived. In a short time, many stories were told - most of which I had never heard - and I found myself thinking, "I wish I had known that before....

I guess I'm not the only one who wishes it was still football season... A little reminder of the old saying, "If you first don't succeed..."  (Mr. P. Hewson is better know as Bono.) Just because it's cool... How the opening crawl of The Empire Strikes Back (and Star Wars and The Return of the Jedi ) was actually filmed... Testing football helmets in 1912.  There must be an easier way... It never made it past the "idea stage," Apple McCartney, John Lemon, George Pearrison, Mango Starr: Beatle Juice!... And now you know.