…and read me like an open book…

when i started this blog in november of 2003 i was working as a project manager for a graphic design firm. this blog originally started as soup with a smile and talked about friends the television show, and the counting crows, to name a few things. life was good, i made good money, i was a quirky twenty-something with a positive outlook on life and no worries. for a long time i wrote passionately on here, things shifted from television shows to religion and politics, and then back again. i had written for a now defunct music review blog called spinning hosted by a guy named joshua. when spinning went the way of the slap bracelet i collected all of my thoughts on music and moved my blog here, to songs in the key of west. somewhere along the road, life got in the way. i made choices i regret, depression ruled my life and my free-spirited attitude changed.

then i had the two most wonderful daughters any mother and father could have, and they began to rule my life. in 2009 i decided to do the things that i had longed to do the most. i finally grabbed the bull by the horns and started classes for a bachelors degree in history. i was terrified not having taken organized classes in years, and worried that between family and a full time job, i wouldn’t have the time, or the energy to be successful in school. for my first semester, i got a 4.0 and made the dean’s list. while it was difficult, it was interesting and fun too. having done well i decided to be aggressive and pursue other things as well. this home, which we’ve lived in for nearly 7 years has accumulated junk here and there, and i’ve finally decided to purge it. so we’re cleaning out our closets, so to speak. it is not a new year’s resolution. it is just a decision to be free of the junk that has bogged us down over the years. i am throwing out the clutter to grow closer to god, because it is the things of this life that have kept me the furthest from him over the years.

a little over six years later and this blog has aged, and had its ups and downs, but we are not going anywhere just yet. element is still out there, though it is a one man show now, and much like myself, john has given up more trivial things for the widows and orphans of the world. i am not going anywhere any time soon (in the figurative sense), so stick around, we all might learn a thing or two.

 

fruitcakes

mca/margaritaville records 1994

i don’t have a cousin in miami, but i’ve got one in tampa.
after a very successful box set in 1993 jimmy buffett took 1993 off of playing music to venture into the world of production. in 1993 buffett released the mca/margaritaville records album before the beach that contained extended and remastered versions of both down to earth and high cumberland jubilee. buffett also produced the margaritaville records album margaritaville cafe; late night menu, on which his sang three songs including another saturday night. buffett also began working on the musical adaptation of herman wouk’s novel don’t stop the carnival. in his “time off” buffett lent his vocals to four albums; more songs for sleepless nights on which he sings stars fell on alabama, the film sountrack to the firm, singing stars on the water, frank sinatra’s duets 2 on which he sings mac the knife with sinatra, and kermit unpigged, singing mr. spaceman. jimmy also appeard in the film cobb. the year ended with the buffett’s preparing to adopt their son cameron marley.

1994 gave us one of jimmy buffett’s wildest albums with the release of fruitcakes. opening with the rocking tune everybody’s got a cousin in miami and the title track fruitcakes the album starts out on the right foot and takes off running. tracks three and four, lone palm and six string music are slower tracks, but both great songs. track five, a cover of the grateful dead’s uncle john’s band takes the album to a new level. following it up is the slow love in the library and the tropical beats of quietly making noise. track eight, frenchman for the night is remenisent of a cruise ship lounge act. sunny afternoon is a decent song but the album hits a speed bump with vampires, mummies and the holy ghost. track eleven she’s got you is a remake of a hank cochran country song. the album closes out with delany talks to statues, a track about buffett’s then two year old daughter, and finally the smooth sounding apocalypso. a rocking album, fruitcakes is worth checking out.

 

Slice of Life

Slice Of Life

rounder records 2009

Like a nice pinot, and a thick slice of Butterkase cheese on a wheat cracker, Bruce Cockburn is somewhat of an acquired taste. His latest release would go great with both the former and latter. Slice of Life is Cockburn’s latest release in a long line of modest albums. A two disc, solo acoustic album, Slice of Life is a simple collection of some of Cockburn’s best work including Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Pacing the Cage, Wondering Where the Lions Are, and smooth, jazzy version of Mama Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long.

While Bruce Cockburn has always been known for his musical ability, it clearly shines on Slice of Life, with his haunting acoustic guitar and lyrics meant to make you ponder life’s deepest questions. Slice of Life is a cool, intimate album meant to be shared, just like that cheese and wine.

 

She came down from Cincinnati…

Jimmy Buffett, 62 years old, can rock an ampitheather like no one else. Last night Jenefer and I along with our friend Scott, drove down to Riverbend for Buffett’s 22nd straight sold out tour (42nd show) at the venue. My seventh show, Jenefer’s third and Scott’s second. We left early, did some shopping in Jeffersonville, passed plenty of Parrotheads along the way and got to Riverbend around 4 o’clock. Never would I have expected such a wild night…

Our tailgating neighbors brought their five year old son for his first show. Within the hour he had befriended Scott and the two of them teamed up to stop traffic in the isle just so everyone could do the limbo. Ladies weren’t safe. Scott used the little guy like a classic wingman. He taught the boy to say “Hey pretty lady, Limbo!”, and of course, it worked. Who would turn down the limbo from a cute five year old hitting on women. After Scott had gotten his drink on and tried to pick-up the Landshark girls, and gotten “Laied”, we headed in to the show.

Into the ampitheater and onto the lawn Scott quickly befriended the two groups of people sitting near us. First the young group of football fans and then the group of older couples sharing pirate stories.

Buffett rocked once again, as always, some of the more notable songs were Summerzcool, A Lot To Drink About and Feel Like Surfing In a Hurricane. All of which have been recorded for Buffett’s album coming out in November, Buffet Hotel. Some other notables were a few Beatles tracks Buffett has been covering on tour this year, this time Rocky Raccoon and Yellow Submarine. Joining Buffett on stage for part of the show was Ilo Ferriria and Greg Morrow. Ilo, who joined Jimmy earlier this year at Bonnaroo and will be showing up on Buffett’s album as well, sang the sweet sounding Home Again.

Only at a Buffett concert can you have a Steeler’s fan whip it out right beside you and start peeing on the lawn, which in turn causes you to tell your friend and wife to move which in turn caused Scott to tell another woman to move, who thanked him by making out with him, right there on the lawn. Only at a Buffett concert can you get a contact buzz from the skunk weed being blown in your face by the seven foot man with the four foot girlfriend. After nearly forty years, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band still know how to rock and entertain a packed house. Here’s hoping for many more years to come.

~For you concert traders and collectors, you can get your copy of last night’s show right here. Just follow the directions.

 

A Princess and Her Curls

It’s hard to believe that two years ago at this hour I was sitting and watching a baby monitor go up and down and trying to stay awake for the hours to come by watching a Deadliest Catch marathon. Jimmy Buffett was wrapping up his concert in Cincinnati, and Jenefer was confined to a bed at St. Ann’s and Miss Lily Grace was hours away from the world. When she finally came she had a head full of black hair and bright blue eyes. As the nurses cleaned her I said “hello Lily Grace” and she looked right at me with a twinkle in her eye. I knew right then she would be trouble.

Soon she was sitting up and singing, by 9 months walking and gabbering. By 22 months she was potty trained and in her big girl bed. Now on the brink of 2, she’s finally a full fledged princess.

On Friday morning, while I got the house ready for her party, Lily asked me repeatedly, “Er-ella? Er-ella? I knew what she wanted, but was trying to hold off the ineveitable. So, she went to the her movie shelf and got it down, went to the table and got the remote, and handed them both to me. Time to watch Cinderella, again. Lily proceeded to stand in front of the t.v. and watch the entire movie and I’m not sure if you know this, but Cinderella is a long movie. She gets so excited anytime her favorite princess come on screen and laughs so hard at the bibbidy-bobbidy-boo scene, it can only make you smile. In all she watched Cinderella 3 times on Friday, but she didn’t care, she loves it.

Her party, originally monkey themed, (I drew the monkeys jumping on the bed for her invitation) turned into a Cinderella party. Saturday morning it was off to get balloons and they didn’t just have a princess balloon, they had the princess. Our princess got plenty of Cinderella gifts along with a little toddler bike which she rode around all afternoon.

Exausted, our little girl is out awaiting her birthday in the morning.
Happy Birthday Lily Grace, I love my little princess.

 

When Your Mind’s Made Up

It’s been a long week, reflective, tiring, sleepless. The Zone Summer Program has been amazing, but stressful. Throughout the schoolyear people asked me, “how can you stand what you do?” Getting bitten, hit, kicked, spit on and everything else isn’t fun, but I love my job. If I can make a difference in one child’s life then it’s been worth it. I don’t do what I do for some kind of credit.

The boys that I am working with now don’t bite or kick, but my days can be just as taxing. I do it for the same reason though. To make a difference in their lives.

It’s been a week of emotional ups and downs on a personal level. They say music sets the mood. Here’s my playlist:

Rain Down ~ Rita Springer
Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love ~ Coldplay
It’ll All Work Out ~ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Don’t I Hold You ~ Wheat
When Your Mind’s Made Up ~ Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Johnny and June ~ Heidi Newfield
Goodnight Tonight ~ The Damnwells
Shattered ~ O.A.R.
Sweet and Low ~ Augustana
Kylie From Conneticut ~ Ben Folds
Morning Yearning ~ Ben Harper
Life In Technicolor II ~ Coldplay
Funny the Way It Is ~ Davve Matthews Band
Ride ~ Cary Brothers
Car Crash ~ Matt Nathanson
Gotta Stay High ~ New Radicals
Suitcase ~ Over The Rhine
Last Train Home ~ Ryan Star

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

 

Why I love my wife…

1. she puts up with every single one of my quirks.

2. she laughs at my jokes

3. she is beautiful, both inside and out.

4. she understands me in ways that no one else can.

5. at my lowest points, she has always been there to pick me up.

6. she doesn’t think so, but she’s a great cook.

7. she leaves me little notes, they make my day brighter.

8. she listens to me talk about the most boring things, and acts interested.

9. she is an amazing mother.

10. she lets me take naps, even when I know she doesn’t want to.

11. she brings me coffee and coke to work when I am having rough days.

12. she still lets me open her car door.

13. she still wants the little things, like kisses and cuddles.

14. she takes care of me when I don’t feel great.

15. she lets me be me.

16. she is the hardest worker I know.

17. she’s smart, and she knows it.

18. she sticks to her values and her morals.

19. she is so caring, she would take care of all the widows and orphans if she could.

20. she reads my comic books, and asks me about them.

21. she lets me play video games.

22. she doesn’t judge me.

23. she is so forgiving.

24. she is an amazing artist and photographer.

25. she is outstanding at anything she does.

26. she actually enjoys spending time with me.

27. she can read a giant book in a minute flat, her brain is like a super computer.

28. she uses my catch phrases, even though I know that they are dorky.

29. she hates being touched when she’s sleeping, but she still lets me cuddle.

30. she lets me pick out her clothes, and she actually likes what I get her!

31. she loves me.

 

One lone man in a house of girls…

I was strolling through Target the other day with both of my daughters in tow. Lily and I go there a lot. So much in fact, that when she sees it, she get’s excitited and and claps. I haven’t really taken Bella there except for with Jenefer. The other day was the first time I took both girls out by myself. I’m sure people laugh at me too, holding a two year old on one hip and a carseat on the other trying to get in and out of the car. I think I’ve mastered the art though.

When we were in Target as I passed by the toy section I realized one thing. Jenefer and I aren’t planning on having anymore children. We are pretty set with two. So, as I looked at My Little Ponies and baby dolls with Lily I realized I won’t ever get to buy boy toys for a little guy. Of course that didn’t stop me from looking. Of course those of you that are reading this and have known me forever would know that having a boy or not, would never stop me from buying toys. While I don’t decorate my desk with G.I. Joes anymore and my office isn’t a museum of Star Wars (more like Jimmy Buffett), I do still have cases of toys buried throughout the house. I’ve got G.I. Joes sitting in the basement. The Star Wars figures are in my office closet. Lily actually plays with some of my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and my yellow Voltron cat. The realization was that, now, I’m stuck in a Barbie dream house. Pretty Pink Princesses and Care Bears all around. At that I struck a deal with Jenefer. I told her every now and then, she’s going to have to let me buy some toys of my own…

I bought Snake Eyes, Lily got little Barbies, Bella snored through the whole store. I guess I am a Toys ‘R’ Us kid at heart.

 

Daddy Day Care…

On Monday night I slept in a Princess bed. No, I didn’t say a Princess’ bed, I said a Princess bed. A toddler’s Disney Princess bed to be exact. Complete with a heart shaped pillow and pretty pink sheets. One can say that I’ve taken the next step in fatherhood. I’d say I took it at 11:45 on Saturday night while I fell into the cloudy dreams filled with cotton candy and bubble gum only to have my wife yell “Luke, wake up we ‘gotta go.” Water was everywhere, her water that is, as it broke in bed. I think I was dressed and at the door in 55 seconds flat. Jenefer thought it’d be fun to take a quick shower. I was terrified that the little one would pop out if she stood up. With our first one we never experienced the water torture, they broke it for us in the hospital. I had no idea what to expect, or what would happen. Unfortunately nothing did happen for almost 12 more hours, but Isabella came out safe and sound around 11:00 a.m. and with plenty of time to spare for me to sleep through the Miami Dolphins getting mopped across their home turf. 

Being a father of one little princess has been a learning experince, albeit an experence that I have loved. Being a father of two little princess’ will prove to be taxing, but I love my girls. How did I end up in a princess bed you might ask? Well, considering the other alternative was sleeping on the floor of a princess castle surrounded by Curious George and company, the toddler bed was the better option. Lil’ decided she couldn’t sleep in her room on the first night her new sister was home, so she lay in bed with us poking her little fingers up my nose and repeatedly kicking me. That’s when Bella cried for the first time. Lily shot up like a flare, wide eyed and pointing at the bassinet… “OOOOO… What ‘DAT? I no do ‘dat…” I don’t think she’d realized we actually kept the baby that she saw in the hospital. Five days later and she’s starting to warm up to the fact that this baby is staying. She’s helping throw away diapers and handing us bottles and clothes, but she’s still a little surprised when Bella moves or squeaks, giving that look that says “What the hell was that?” Kind of like what I thought when I heard a pop on Saturday night and rolled into the wet spot on the bed…

 

Lucky Old Sun

bna records 2008

Kenny Chesney 2007 studio album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates left a lot to be desired. As I pointed out in an earlier review Poets & Pirates was Chesney recycled, a studio filler if you will. Chesney’s newest album Lucky Old Sun is just what the beach bums were calling for. Laid back with a with salt on the rim.

Kicking off with the surprising track I’m Alive, Lucky Old Sun picks up where Chesney’s 2005 release Be As You Are left off. The track is surprising because it features Dave Matthews and is probably on of the smoothest tracks on the album. Way Down Here and Boats keep the island feel going, but the album picks up with the reggae feel with Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven. Mac McAnally (of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band) lends his vocals to the track Down the Road. Spirt of a Storm brings an acoustic feel to wrestling emotions of reality and fantasy.

No Chesney album would be complete without a song about being drunk or drinking, so Chesney follows his never failing formula with the rocking Ten With A Two. Chesney also borrows heavily from Jimmy Buffett’s stylings with Keys in the Conch Shell, Nowhere To Go,Nowhere To Be and The Life. The album wraps up with Willie Nelson joining Chesney on the track That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day). 

Lucky Old Sun is Chesney upping the ante, the album’s laid back feel is like a vacation down island without the price tag, so honey, pack your bags.

 

The Incredible Hulk

Do not confuse this film with the Abomination that was Ang Lee’s 2003 release Hulk. Edward Norton, like Robert Downey Jr. plays a surprisingly good “superhero”.  I have to say I got chills at the end of the film when Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) walks into the bar to chat with Ross. This, if you haven’t heard all leads up to the culmination of the 2011 release of Marvel’s Avenger’s. That is if everything pans out.

This film, like Iron man, was excellent, and again, in my opinion better than Christoper Nolan’s Dark Knight. Not to say that I didn’t like The Dark Knight, but by the time I saw it I was over sensitized with Heath Ledger and his “Oscar worthy” performance. The film was good, and Ledger was excellent, but Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were cast and woven so perfectly I think they’re both superb films.

On a seprate note… The original Avengers consisted of Ant-Man (2010), Wasp (no film adaptation as of yet), Thor (2010), Iron Man and Hulk. Soon after it’s inception Captain America joined it’s ranks.

 

Iron Man

First, let me preface this by saying that I was never a huge Iron Man fan. The X-Men were more my thing so I didn’t know a whole lot about Iron Man and Tony Stark before seeing this film other than the basics. 

It’s crazy, I know I’ll catch hell for it, but this film was, in my opinion far better than The Dark Knight. Robert Downey Jr. has obviously drawn from experience to play a philandering alcoholic womanizer. Jeff Bridges played a surprizingly good (and bald) villan, and Jon Farveau directed one of the best comics-to-film  adaptations I’ve ever seen.

My one complaint is that Iron Man 2 won’t be released until 2010, but that does lead into my next review… The Incredible Hulk.

 

I resolve to…

Write a lot more in 2009 than I did in 2008. So I’ll start a few days earlier.

We got a handful of movies for Christmas so it’s review time…

 

they’ve been thunderstruck…

 

I got to go to The Game today. My first Ohio State – Michigan game. Now I’ve seen every Big Ten team play the Buckeyes except Northwestern. It was awesome. One thing though, that the ESPN and ABC didn’t show was the announcement of the seniors. As they called out each one they would run the length of the field into the arms of Coach Tressel and then their waiting parents. The last senior called out was Tyson Gentry, who rolled down the field to Tressel in his wheelchair. I cried like a baby.

Gentry was partially paralized in 2006 in a spring practice when he fractured his neck. Coach Tressel has made it a point to continue to honor Gentry by not only having his number put on the Buckeyes helmets, but by allowing him to continue to be a part of the team. The Toledo Blade featured an excellent article on Gentry in October, you can read it here.

 

Holidays On Ice

It’s been a little while since I’ve written anything substancial on here. Almost three months to be exact. Since then, many of my blogging friends have either dissappeared or blocked their blogs from the masses. I assume you were all wondering what had happened to me. “Did he lose his fingers or the ability to type?” You may have wondered. Nope, I just lost track of the time I guess.

Things are good, the baby is developing wonderfully, but Jenefer has had a few problems. She pulled a muscle in her back, coughing, of all things. So she hasn’t been able to lift much.

I on the other hand have been working as a developmental coach at a local school. I help children who have fallen behind. I love it, I couldn’t have a better job. I’m also pursuing my degree in education. I just wish that it could go faster.