I didn't catch too much of the Michael Jackson memorial service today but what I did catch I enjoyed. It could have easily become a dysfunctional spectacle, not unlike the final years of the pop superstar and icon's life. But what I caught was moving and the short address by his daughter struck a nerve and stayed with me all day. It was she that made me truly want to hear his music again. And so, while in the "J" section of Best Buy (in search of a different CD, a Jayhawks anthology) today I grabbed the double-disc Essential Michael Jackson and when I got home we listened to Disc One.

There is still something so magical about those early Jackson 5 singles and this particular CD has a handful of them ("ABC", "I Want You Back", but it's missing "I'll Be There"), along with a very thorough selection of the best material from Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous. For years I have not been able to separate Jackson the exceptional musical talent from Jackson the person; the person who in recent years has grown ever more bizarre and, in my view, a rather tragic figure.

I am sure that in the days, weeks, and even years to come we'll find out that his death at the age of 50 was extremely preventable. We'll unearth more skeletons, more rumors, more allegations, and God knows what else. We'll have more anthologies, box sets, unfinished tracks finished off by producers with good intentions and a record label with dollar signs. There will the documentaries, the countless books, the interviews, the biographical feature film... it'll all happen. And some of it will be interesting and insightful but most of it will be exploitative and cheap, with an aim to make money instead of a clearer picture of a true musical prodigy that was all too human in his flaws.

As I listened to some of those truly classic songs again today -- many of them for the first time in years -- I was able to get back to just being a fan, especially of the Off The Wall and Thriller cuts. Those two albums remain utter pop classics, and Jackson deserves all the praise in the world for them along with man behind the mixing board, Quincy Jones. They don't sound dated and the production and creativity in a still-analog age is remarkable. When one listens to songs pre-Bad you hear the joy of a performer who, over time, realizes the depths of his own talent and gifts, is confident in them, and truly wants to share his talent with the world. It was with Bad that he went into the studio as the mega-star and, with that, came songs that at times were more defensive and scarred. Still, you can't help but dig "Smooth Criminal" and "The Way You Make Me Feel". He still had it in spades.

So as I'm writing here tonight I am thinking of his daughter and what she said today and I have but one wish that I know will never come true but I wish it anyway: Let today's reflection on Jackson's best angels and talents be what we cling to and remember most. Nothing else we could ever write, produce, or unearth is very likely to help those who loved him most and it certainly won't give his kids the kind of "normalcy" that Jackson himself so clearly needed more of in his life. Let them remember whatever personal memories they have and, I hope, let them listen as so many of us have in recent days at his very best. Let there be some simplicity in the memories of a person who was extremely complex.

I put on Jackson's take on "Rockin' Robin" and what I got was my 9 year-old dancing around the living room, singing along, and listening to talented kid sing... full of life and fun. That talented kid turned into a talented adult who, later, saw so much of that talent tainted by his own actions and by our own societal reactions to this larger-than-life figure we helped create.

I have a picture in my mind of how I want to remember Michael Jackson and it isn't creepy and it isn't controversial. It is how I plan to remember him every time I enjoy his music. I hope his children can do the same and that we, as a society, give them the space and respect to do it.

J

One of my absolute favorite hockey players is expected to announce his retirement on Thursday. After 20 seasons in the NHL, Colorado Avalanche forward Joe Sakic is likely to hang up the skates.

The hard thing about being a hockey fan and enthusiast in a post-Gretzky world is that is hard to explain to non-fans how much a great player not wearing #99 truly is. Sakic is an instant Hall of Fame player, one of the all-time scoring leaders, and has a league MVP award, a playoff MVP award, two Stanley Cup rings, and an Olympic gold medal on his resume. And he is one of the classiest athletes to ever compete in any sport.

Sakic has been marred by injury the past two seasons and just turned 40 today. I'm sure the temptation to go another season is strong. The Avalanche are a team in re-build mode and even just one season of having Sakic as a teammate could give young players so many lessons in how to play on the ice and how to conduct one's self off of it. I'm sure Sakic would also love to be a 2010 Olympian, given that the games are being played in his home city of Vancouver, BC. On the other hand, his humility is so well established that I'm sure he knows the only franchise he's ever played for (Quebec/Colorado) will be better served by going with young guns and/or brining in younger players with the money they would have paid him this season. And while a roster spot with Team Canada would be all but assured, Sakic is not the type of guy to take a spot based on his reputation. I'm sure he'd rather a younger Canadian get their shot.

I am sure Joe Sakic isn't done with hockey. I have a feeling he will be to Colorado what Steve Yzerman is now for Detroit. They are both players cut from the same mold and same style. And it's ironic that they spent the best years of their careers on rival teams.

No one else will ever wear #19 for the Avalanche and whoever the next captain is has massive skates to fill.

J

Working a holiday is good for the pocketbook but bad for mental stimulation. But at least I have a few relaxing moments to check in.

Seriously... it is so unusual for me to be this inactive with LJ. Long time online amigos know that I usually update a lot more than I have been lately.

I blame the economy.

And my commute.

And shiny things that distract me easily.

And NHL free agency. (Seriously... God bless the Canadians... they don't celebrate this holiday weekend and therefore the free agent signings don't stop!)

This week is a little frustrating because if things hadn't gone south with our house sale we'd have actually been moving next week. And that would have been... nice. But things happen for a reason and I know that our house will sell when it's meant to and we'll end up moving to a new place/city where we truly belong. Impatience and worry are the enemies of faith sometimes but I still believe that, in the end, this whole work/life relocation is going to be a positive experience or, at the very least, something to gain some wisdom and perspective from.

After today I only have 5 more work days until I take a week's vacation. It's a Staycation mostly but I will be traveling down to see my parents and my brother and his family. It has been too long since I've seen my nephews, who I adore and miss tremendously. My brother and I were born 3 years and 1 day apart, so all through our youths we had parties back to back or together, etc. But it has been a long time since we "shared" our festivities, so it'll be nice to converge on my parents' place, play with the kiddos in their pool, and BBQ up some really good ribs.

Like a lot of people these days, our holiday weekend is going to be done on a budget. My wife and I agreed that with the exception of maybe a few sparklers we're skipping buying fireworks, in favor of hitting the grocery store and getting some tasty stuff to cook up. Instead of blowing cash on fireworks we're going attend tonight's local minor league baseball game (dirt cheap tickets) which will have a fireworks display afterward. We did that last year and their fireworks turned out to be a better show than the one the city put on, and this year the city's show is expected to be even smaller in scale. In a way, I think a recession can be good for this holiday. Less fireworks in the sky and maybe more neighborhood potlucks and other events. I'm actually quite happy with the situation.

And there will be music! I'm digging the new Wilco album, titled Wilco (The Album), quite a bit and, to me, they are the reigning holders to the titled of "Best American Band". Seriously... who else from U.S. is making better music than Jeff Tweedy & Co.?

Have a happy and safe holiday, gang. :)

J

I spent the weekend with the house all to myself. And I really didn't do much of anything. It was almost too quiet.

My wife, the monkeys, and the mutt all went camping beginning Friday morning and are set to return today. Aside from having to work Friday I am also not that huge of a camping fan. And this is especially true when you add "... with the in-laws and extended family" to that last sentence.

To give you some kind of an idea what a lazy weekend in the House of J is like, these would be the highlights:

- I beat "School's Out" by Alice Cooper on Expert on Guitar Hero III, I still can't beat "Hangar 18" by Megadeth on GH II on Hard, and I am pretty sure the programmers behind Extreme's "Play With Me" on the 80's edition of the franchise are, in fact, agents of Satan.

- I watched the NHL Draft on Friday. The annual draft of any sport is a great measuring stick for what separates "fans" from "fanatics" or, put another way, sane fans from insane dork fans. If you watch the draft you fall into the latter categories. My Colorado Avalanche, by the way, had a solid draft and Philly way, way overpaid for Chris Pronger.

- I finally saw "The Hangover". My wife had no interest in it and it's completely inappropriate for the kids, so I had to see it as a solo act. I laughed my ass off and, given the heat this weekend, it was nice to sit in A/C for a few hours.

- Bad Chinese food. `Nuff said.

- Every record store and/or box store in my city is sold out of Michael Jackson albums. I was looking for a good anthology of some sort (and there are a lot to choose from) and everywhere -- from Borders to Fred Meyer to my favorite indie store -- were all out of Jacko. I'm glad they were out though because my search for MJ music had "impulse buy" written all over it.

- We only had one house showing all weekend long. Ugh. On both the positive and negative side, a home similar to ours in my neighborhood now has a "Sale Pending" sign up. It's negative in the sense that I wish those buyers looking for a house of that size would have picked ours (our prices are the same) but, on the positive front, it is one less house of similar size in our very nice neighborhood that we're "competing" with. I'm going to think positive and believe the dominos will fall and that the other house was just the first domino. :)

Finally...

This just in: Michael Jackson is still dead.

J

I have had a very full weekend.

This was my first year participating fully in a Relay For The Cure event, which lasted from 10AM yesterday until 10AM today. Many of you are familiar with how this works but the nuts and bolts of it is this: As part of a coordinated fundraiser, teams of walkers go for 24 hours and one member of the team must always be walking -- even in the wee small hours. In addition to the walking there are stories, memories, celebrations of illness overcome, and tributes to and refelctions on those lost. And the broader goal is both simple and complex: End cancer in our lifetime. That sentiment is ever present in both the forefront and the back of the minds of those who take part, but in the mix is a great deal of fun, spirit, hope, and community. I got a taste of it last year when I helped our my aunt (who puts an insane amount of energy into helping to organize the event) and this year I went in for the whole shebang. Last year's experience changed me for the better. This year enriched me just the same... and has drained me down to "E". But I will recover. I knew there was a reason I arranged to have tomorrow off from work.

One of the things I loved about this year is that the Relay took place in the west suburbs of Portland, which is where we're now leaning toward eventually buying once our home sold. In between my turns at walking I got to meet a lot of people and pick a lot of brains about the pros and cons of living in that neck of the woods while working in the city. And in terms of location and of a community "vibe", I can tell you that I am absolutely sold.

I had prepared a LOT of music for this event but, as fate would have it, none of it was used. The organizers had a professional DJ, complete with sound system for playing thousands of tunes (I merely had hundreds *laugh*) and, more importantly, for the various bands and musical acts that played the event. It truly didn't even upset me that my 18 different CDR mixes didn't go to use because 1) I hadn't been able to attend any of the organizing meetings to let the various folks know I could supply such a thing and 2) A lot of what the DJ played was similar in spirit to what I'd selected. I was grateful to not have to help with PA announcements or play music; I could just visit with new people, strap on my MP3 player, walk, and enjoy the weather (in the upper 60s, lower 70s with just a few showers).

I pretty much didn't sleep. It was actually pretty funny how I got what little sleep I did. I started under some cover, in some wood chip flooring outdoors (quite soft actually) in my sleeping bag because a number of lights around the venue (county fairgrounds) had been turned off. It was about 11PM and I wanted to catch a solid nap before my 1:30AM to 3AM walking shift. I had just drifted off into "near sleep" -- that wonderful place where you feel yourself drifting off and your concious thoughts are like when you got the happy gas at the dentist -- when all of the sudden the lights above me went back on and the DJ fill the area with 80's music. And some of the music was truly God awful. I managed to drift back to sleep the lights and the music and the teenagers playing games near by, but then my cell phone alarm went off and I awoke not only to the same bright lights but Milli Vanilli's "Blame It On The Rain". I saw my cousin who was waiting to walk with me on my shift (bless his heart) and I uttered my best comedy line of the 24 hours: "Sleep deprivation... bright lights... and Milli Vanilli... why do I feel like I'm at Guantanamo?" :)

I had a great middle of the night walk with my "baby" cousin (he's 26 now!) and we laughed and joked about the economy, about the plight of workers ranging from costume actors at Disneyland to wing de-icers at Denver International Airport in winter, and talked some basketball and hockey. Around 3:30AM I attempted another, more successful stab at sleep. I dragged my sleeping bag across the grass like I was Linus hallucinating from lack of rest and found my way to my car. Fun Fact: Even if you're 5ft 10 you can, in fact, arrange the front reclining passenger side seat of a 2-door Toyota Tercel into a makeshift bed... provided you are totally exhausted and don't mind waking slightly sore. I got a few more hours of rest and then found breakfast. The last few hours were a combination of more walking and helping to take some things down and get people's stuff to their cars and trucks, etc.

Driving the 90 minutes from there back to home was a bit scary. I was solo and I literally had to pep talk myself out of falling asleep at the wheel. But I was okay and got home safe. I've barely napped since because it's Father's Day and I wanted Guitar Hero: Metallica to mark the occasion. So we picked up a copy and later the boys and I had Subway for dinner. Soon I will crash and crash hard... peaceful in the knowledge that I am blessed, that I did something truly unique and magical this weekend, and that our humanity, our grace, and our ability to love are what makes it possible to enjoy a good sub, rock out with a plastic guitar, and -- through science, prayer and a collective spirit -- rid this world of a disease that has taken too many and afflicted far too many others.

J

I'm participating in a Relay For Life event this weekend on a couple of fronts. For starters, I'm walking in it and I hope to get in miles upon miles of walking and lose a few pounds. Second, I'm going to be doing some MC-ing (think Host, not Hammer or Young). And I've also been assembling some music. A LOT of music.

My goal on the music front has been tremendous: 24 hours worth of music with no repeat songs. And that even includes no covers of the same song. That means The Corrs and Bono's version of "When The Stars Go Blue" won't be heard on the "Night Time" mix because Ryan Adams' original version is already in there! I have rules... many, many rules.

This has been a fun thing to put together because I've had to think of a very broad range of people who will be taking part in this event. Moms, Dads, aunts, uncles, kids, grandmas, grandpas... young people, tweeners, teenagers, 20 and 30 somethings, late age Gen Xers, boomers, etc. People who like Top 40 pop, people who grew up on 60's, 70's, and 80's rock, people who pre-date rock and roll... people who like country, people who just love Motown... I've had to step outside my own musical universe. And I've made some fun discoveries along the way.

Like this one: If I was a young kid and I knew someone who'd been touched by cancer and I was walking in their honor and I heard Mile Cyrus' "The Climb" I'd be inspired.

Or this one: You can, on an 80 minute CDR mix, get from All-American Rejects' "Move Along" to Dolly Parton's "9 To 5" in a few easy 'steps', giving an eclectic mix but never jarring things too much from song to song.

Or try this one: The discography of UB40 is actually really great for events like this one.

I have 14 mixes completed, at an approximate time total of 17.5 hours. I want to get to 24. But, despite a folder on my Desktop with over 500 songs, I still need more material. Especially in the following categories:

- Female singers and/or female fronted bands

- Country

- Contemporary R&B/Pop

- Inspirational/Religious songs that are not super, super overt

- Anything referencing "walking", "surviving", "fighting", "friendship", or "strength"

So... like Pat Benetar said... "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and suggest some songs for me so I can ge get to 24 with no sweat!

(Note to self: Add that Pat Benetar song!)

Thanks!

J

I am really proud of my wife and I for how well we've rebounded emotionally and philosophically from the disappointment of our home sale and subsequent home purchase falling apart late last week. We both took a personal day on Friday, both to absorb the bad news and also to find out what exactly happened.

The only resolution for bad news of this or any other variety is to try and find a lesson or some kind of silver lining within the shades of black or gray. And we've found a few...

First, these things happen. It's unfortunate and it's a little underhanded of our former buyers to essentially take our house off the market while they looked at other options. That would be akin to us accepting other offers or opening it to competitive bidding after we'd reached an agreement, which is not legal. They didn't break any laws but it's petty. But life has a way of eventually kicking people like that in the ass.

Second, because our house had seemingly sold so fast and we'd done quite well on the price we had to jump pretty fast to buy a new place. And it may have been too fast. We were stretching our resources -- something we'd said we wouldn't do -- to get the house we wanted and as all our figures came in (monthly payment with insurance, high property taxes, etc.) we realized we were on a road to "house poor". This has given us a chance to re-evaluate and broaden our future search in terms of size, location, and age. We love the community we were all set to buy in but, upon further reflection, it may be pricier than we can really take on. Its not that we can't afford it so much as it is being able to afford and enjoy all the other things life has to offer.

So we've done some more research and added a few suburbs of Portland to our radar. We did school comparisons and demographic breakdowns and had some wonderful discussions about tying our future home and neighborhood to who are truly are, as opposed to what we may aspire to be. We still want to give our kids something familiar and comfortable and we won't compromise on that one iota, even if it means being house poor. But we think we can find something more comfortable on the next go around. And that will happen for us... its just going to take a little more time.

Things happen for a reason. They always do. We don't always like the reasons or the events as they occur but they take us where we're supposed to go. So maybe our buyers pulled out because we weren't mean to buy the house we'd selected. Maybe the best community for our kids lies in a different zip code?

We'll find out. Life has its own way of picking when we will.

J

I am going to be torn tomorrow between two pretty big sports events.

The first is the Game 7, winner take the Stanley Cup match-up between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Hats off to the Penguins for their impressive win in Game 6 after being embarrassed in Game 5. Home ice is always a plus in a Game 7, so the history of this series and the history of Game 7's in general favors the Wings repeating as champions. But this is also a great chance to see which team truly wants it more. I think this one tilts either one of two ways: A lopsided win for Detroit or a close game with the Penguins besting them on their ice. I can't see a tight Red Wings win. They'll either win it handily or they will lose a 1 goal game and spend the next several months wondering how they let a 3-2 series go the other way. I feel like Pittsburgh may be due, and that is why I geared and primed to watch. But...

Away from the TV and a few miles from home will be Round 3 of our older son's little league tournament to determine the champions. They finished with the best record in the group so they got a Round 1 bye. They showed a lot of spirit last night in a game that was tight until the 5th, when my son's team had a monster inning and took a healthy lead. Bailey and one his teammates were the catalysts of a rally, as they represented the last two batter in their order. Bailey was having a strong at bat and then got hit by the ball and went to first. His teammate drilled a great shot to left that rounded Bailey to third. The top of the order then went on a tear and they scored multiple runs. Bay also made a great play at 2nd base earlier in the game, making a dive to stop the ball from heading to the outfield, then calmly making the turn and getting the out at 1st. His coach awarded him one of the game balls, an honor he hasn't received before. It was cool to see him really step up with their season on the line. Their next game is tomorrow and it's a big one. They're facing a team that they went 1-2 against in the regular season; the only team that beat them twice.

I'm thinking of the episode of Sports Night involving Orlando Rojas, where Dan wants to see the game but has to tape it. He then informs the staff not to reveal the outcome in any way, shape, or form. That'll be me. I'm going to DVR the Stanley Cup Game 7, avoid any and all highlights or the internet and watch the outcome after Bailey's big game.

Universe, you win. The day has come where baseball trumps hockey.

J

It is really unlike me to go 4 to 5 days without any kind of update. But these are strange times all around. A lot of my longtime LJ amigos are updating less. Another seems to have fallen off the face of the planet (and I miss her and I'm actually worried, so I wish she would give me a sign!).

I think the economy and a general state of unease for even the most fortunate among us has us all either distracted or focused... take your pick. I feel blessed in a sense that there is a light at the end of the tunnel because things are moving along at a good pace with our home sale, our home purchase, and our pending move. But I also know that the light we'll reach at the end of the tracks is just a shiny thing before the rail switch. There is no getting off the tracks, just a shift to a different direction with different scenery and maybe, at best, a chance or two to slow down.

In the mean time we're just bracing for another crazy week. House drama, work drama, last days of school for our kids, and each of them trying to spend every waking moment they can with the good friends they will move away from next month. There are also little league playoffs, tons of packing to do, and... lest I forget... I'm still spending 3 hours a day in the car for my commute.

There is at least some rest for the wicked, though. We saw Up yesterday and it was as good or even better than most critics have said. I'm done waiting for Pixar to make a bad movie (the closest they've come is Cars and it's only "bad" in the sense that its not brilliant, just "good"). I still find the companies crowning achievement to be Finding Nemo but I'd easily rank Up among their best work. It contains perhaps the single best 5-minute (approx.) sequence in the history of their pictures and I can tell it will jerk my tears forever. Bottom line: Great movie. My only gripe is having to pay extra for the 3-D glasses. :P

Back to 5th gear.

J

Count me in as one of the hockey fans who actually likes that we're getting a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals.

As much I truly loath the Red Wings, it isn't the same deep-seeded kind of venomous (and delicious!) hatred I had for them in the late 90's and the early part of this decade. For example, I don't hate the family members of Detroit players anymore. I just hate the players. There's a difference, I promise.

The fact that the Finals start tomorrow and feature back-to-back games, with Game 2 on Sunday, is intriguing. Both games will be played in Detroit and for Pittsburgh to have any chance of winning the whole enchilada they need to at least split those games. Last year as a very young team with wider-than-average eyes they let the Wings get out to an early 2-0 series lead. The series ended in 6 and the Penguins played some splendid hockey in a very strong series, but giving a team like Detroit an early series advantage is a death knell. They're too good a team to lose 4 of the next 5 games.

Both teams made pretty easy work of their Conference Final opponents, though Detroit comes out of their series with Chicago a little banged up. Lidstrom and Datsyuk will return for Game 1 but the Wings enter the finals with more injuries and with less rest. Chicago only took them 5 games but 3 of them went to overtime and the Blackhawks played them physical. Pittsburgh swept Carolina and it was not a case of the Hurricanes playing poorly; it's that the Penguins are simply that good. Malkin and Crosby are on fire and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is having a great post-season. Simply put: This is a better Penguins team than last year's model, with more depth up front and a better-rounded defense. If Fleury holds up in net I like their chances. The additions of Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin are paying dividends. That said, Detroit -- while not looking drastically different than last year -- didn't need to make changes. They're the defending champs.

The Wings do have Marian Hossa this year. He played for the Penguins last year -- and that makes for some good drama. Hossa opted not to re-sign with Pittsburgh and took a small discount to sign a 1 year deal with Detroit, telling the press they offered his "best chance" to win a Cup. Don't think for a second that his former Penguins teammates have forgotten those comments. Skate with your head up, Marion.

How is this series going to play out? It's a very tough call so I'm going to hedge my prediction a bit. I'll say Penguins in 6 games, with victory coming on home ice. If they fail to do that, it'll be a 7-game series and Detroit will repeat. Either way, I can't see anyone winning this one easily. It's going to be a great series!

J

Following up on my post yesterday...

Our computer went to the fix-it shop inoperable and returned in solid working order... but devoid of our personal files! Thousands of MP3s, lots of video, pictures, sketches and complete stories in Word completely gone.

Needless to say, I have been fighting the strong desire to cap a Geek or a Nerd (the company who did this is called "Geeks n Nerds") for doing this. This morning they not only tried to blame me for it -- saying I had not emphasized the important of preserving our personal files (this is total bullshit, as I stressed to them when I took it in that saving our files was the whole reason we brought it to them) -- but also tried to get me to come in and get a "Recovery" scan, to the tune of another 75 dollars on top of the 150 I already paid them to "repair" our computer.

Upon further research I have discovered that it might be possible to recover some of this stuff on my own. Like a lot of people, I 'Googled' the problem and came across several demos and bits of freeware that claim they can recover deleted files from crashed drives and reformats. I haven't had a chance to try one of these out (I'm at work, away from my home PC) but am hoping to do so this evening.

So... does anyone have any experiencing in this area? A particular program that helped you out? An affordable piece of software? Home remedies?

I'm not terribly optimistic but anything I can recover would be awesome. If not, I've decided to view reacquiring various songs and videos as a challenge and an additional "clean slate" in my life (to run parallel to our housing adventures).

Lastly... lost in the "fire" of my computer were all of my MP3 copies of my podcast, Soundtrack. I've put the show on hiatus but I'm saddened that my copies of the shows are likely gone. So... anyone who has downloaded the shows and for any reason kept the MP3s around... you could become my new favorite person by dropping me an e-mail (starpush@comcast.net) and maybe we could work out something via Sendspace to get some of my shows back. Thanks!

J

I had today off from work and two pretty massive things happened:

1. We are now in ecscrow on our house. The buyers accepted our counter offer outright and the next step is this Saturday when my wife and I get to go house hunting. This is unbelievably awesome and I am so pleasantly surprised with not only how quickly our place sold but also that we only had to come down about 4 percent from our list price. It was shockingly easy!

2. I got my computer back from the repair shop today. I took it in Monday in hopes they could fix it from an apparent virus that killed my Windows operating system. They told me with confidence they could re-install the system and preserve our personal documents. They lied. So now our computer is devoid of, among other things...

... Thousands of MP3 files

... PDF files of our taxes

... Digital pictures

... My personal word documents, including a work-in-progress novel.

It's my own fault for not properly backing this stuff up but, at the same time, I am pissed as hell that these so-called "experts" took 2 days to wipe out my files and basically reformat the computer; a task I could have done myself and received the same result, with all our personal files lost. I paid them 150 bucks for this. I am so pissed off right now that I hate to even think about all that was lost. In particular I am angry about the project I had going for an upcoming Relay for Life event. I had hundreds of songs in a folder, all of them carefully selected, and now they're gone. Grrrr!

So I have a new thought: If we can trace people who create such viruses and catch them, can't we prosecute them just as we would someone who destroyed your property? There is a special place in hell for anyone who designs a virus that -- so far as we can tell -- was imbedded in an application popular with kids on Facebook. Seriously, what kind of a fucking waste of humanity do you have to be to intentionally create something that's only purpose is to destroy people's documents and systems?

Anyway... back to work tomorrow. I can't wait for Saturday! New houses to look at... a lot of them! It is almost hard to believe. :)

J

Some other people in my life have already made this decision but, as of last night, I am "all in" with them on it...

When the house sells (and it will sell) and we've relocated and we're all moved in and the boxes are (mostly) unpacked and the kids have made new friends and completed their simple 'lane change' on their respective roads to older and wiser awesomeness we are so going to Disneyland.

We've been there before and I know there are other places we could take the kids to broaden their horizons and enhance their curiosity and stimulate their intellect and blah, blah, blah blah blah... but they love it there, they smile whenever we mention it, and you never outgrow the joy of really fun, amazingly designed rides, overpriced food, and underpaid would-be actors executing Plan B (or C) as they frolic through the park dressed as Piglet.

You can't beat that. We won't even try. We're just going to go.

In December.

I've always wanted to see Disneyland at Christmas time so, yeah... that's the plan. Something to look forward to... down the line... when all this transition has, well, transitioned.

J

I'm tired with a little tired sprinkled on top today. Up too late, rose too early, long drive to work, and not enough coffee. Note to self: Have an afternoon cup before the drive home. :)

As for the rest of my world...

"Anything Traveling That Far, That Fast Ought To Have a Stewardess On Board"

Our older son's little league team is in a very competitive race in their age group. They were 10 and 2 before this weekend but are now 11-5 after playing 4 games in the course of 3 days. (They were making up rained out games from a few weeks ago.)

Bailey is really starting to gain some confidence and got bumped up in the batting order after going 3 for 3 in a game on Saturday. He's making better contact and he no longer looks 'scared' at the plate. The thing for me is that I don't truly care if either of my kids ever become super great at one of their sports; I just like seeing them improve and/or succeed at anything they put their time and energy into. It's like Bailey with his guitar... I don't secretly wish for him to become a rock star. I just like watching him learn and smile when he masters something new. That is always the coolest part of being a parent.

There is one kid on Bay's team though that has that "it" quality. He doesn't just hit home runs. He hits them farther over the fence than any 12 year-old kid should be able to. And he oozes confidence. Now the word is out on him. The other day he got intentionally walked. :)

"Predictable Predictions"

I am late in offering my NHL predictions for the Conference Finals, with both the East and West having already played Game 1.

In short, I think we are headed for a rematch from last year's Cup Finals. I'm thinking Detroit in 6 games and Pittsburgh in 7.

Chicago needs a strong effort tonight in Game 2. Even if they lose the series -- and I think they will -- they're a young team and they're going to be very good for a long time.

In other NHL news:

- I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Tampa Bay will trade Vincent Lacavalier before his no-trade clause kicks in on July 1st. Montreal or L.A. seem likely destinations.

- It may take a few weeks to shake out but Patrick Roy will be the next head coach of the Colorado Avalanche.

"And When I Say 'Who's House', Ya All Know What Time It Is!"

We're getting slow but steady traffic through our house. We have a showing today, we had a few over the weekend, and there will be another this week. It's a tough game to play but we're staying positive. The house looks good, we've got it priced fairly, and I'm sure that sooner or later someone will nibble.

"Helping a Senior With Technology"

My mother is coming to visit this weekend specifically to get some help shopping for an MP3 player. She is doing more walking (good for her!) and has decided she needs to upgrade her technology.

She doesn't want to spend $150 on a Nano so she is bringing me in to find a better deal. It shouldn't be too hard but, then again, this is my mother we're talking about. This means whatever we/she buys it needs a decent size screen and it needs to be super user-friendly. Seriously... this is a wonderful woman who is still mastering the functions of the cell phone she has had for years.

It's fun to be the son that can be helpful in this area. I don't think either of my siblings could be of equal help with such an endeavor.

Okay... tummy rumbling. I'm off, amigos!

J

Last night's dream: I was running for the U.S. Senate and, somewhere along the campaign trail, TV pundit and former Nixon White House staffer Pat Buchanan challenged me...

... to a round of golf?!

At the press conference I told Mr. Buchanan I would gladly play a round if he was willing to attend a Green Day concert and experience the youthful energy of the crowd.

Then some conservative woman in the crowd got on my case about being too young and too liberal and we had a verbal confrontation over my qualifications for high office.

I don't golf, I'm not a huge Green Day fan (but I like them), and I don't like to verbally spar with random people.

Oh, and I have no aspirations of high office.

All of this begs the question: Was this dream triggered by the Willie Nelson branded Ben & Jerry's Peach Cobbler ice cream I ate last night? Is Willie -- God bless him -- so permanently stoned that anything with his name on it gives other people a buzz and then fucks with their dreams?

Debate, discuss, interpret...

J

We saw Star Trek yesterday and I'll base my mini-review and what I saw through the eyes of my 9 year-old and 12 year-old sons.

Our two boys had no idea who Captain James T. Kirk is, who Spock is, who William Shatner is (aside from the commercials he does), who Leonard Nimoy is, etc. They do know who Captain Jean-Luc Picard is because I had to give them a brief explanation so they could understand The Refreshments song "Banditos" in full context. But, put simply, they have no previous relationship with the Star Trek franchise.

But now they dig it. Now they want more.

And since the goal of J.J. Abrams and his cast of largely unknowns was to re-vamp the franchise -- giving old school fans what they want and introducing these characters to a new generation -- then the movie succeeds in spades. It's fast, it's fun, and the newcomers simply own their characters. And that is pretty awesome in it's own right. Say what you will about any classic franchise but the fact that Chris Pine could make Kirk his own would be like someone being able to top Harrison Ford in a Star Wars remake, taking on the role of Han Solo. It's hard to imagine. And yet Pine pulls it off without a hitch.

I am not nor will I ever be a "Trekkie" but I'll gladly see Abrams next installment.

Bonus: We saw the big screen trailer for G.I. Joe, opening in August. It looks loud, silly, and totally awesome. More importantly... my boys are sold! I can't friggin wait!

J

Rest in peace, Dom DeLuise, who has died at the age of 75.

As someone who watched The Cannonball Run and Smokey & The Bandit II dozens of times as a kid, I thank him for the good laughs.

J

In June I'm going to be taking part (for the second time) in a "Relay For Life" event for cancer research.

The event is a 24 hour marathon with various teams raising awareness and money by walking around the clock. Each team must always have at least one member walking.

My aunt got me involved last year at the last minute when she needed someone with both sound/DJ-ing experience and public speaking. I went and I was just blown away by the event and everyone involved with it. I knew after less than an hour that I wanted to take part next year (this year!) and, hopefully, every year for the rest of my life.

This year I've been recruited as both a team participant and as DJ/music coordinator and a PA announcer, etc. I'm very, very excited.

Right now I'm gathering music for it and my plan is to make somewhere around 20 mixes (at 75 to 80 minutes a piece) and play them at various times of the day. I don't think I'll end up using all of them but I want to make sure I have more, rather than less.

I have a ton of music and I have access to even more but I'm just one person and there are some genres that I'm not personally fond of but that many other people involved in the event will want to hear. In the end I want it to be really eclectic, familiar music and, when it's not as familiar, to have a lyrical theme that fits the event.

So, dear friends, if you were taking part in such an event (or if you have, in fact, been at such an event) what songs would you want to hear? I'm particularly interested in R&B, Hip-Hop, and Country, as I think I know my rock and pop pretty well.

As you can guess, the songs should be upbeat for the most part, positive or reflective, etc. But I'm also planning to have some mellow mixes for after sundown and some for dinner time, early morning etc.

Suggest whatever strikes you and thanks in advance for the suggestions.

J

Round one of the NHL Playoffs is over and the good news is that I was 4 for 4 in my Eastern Conference predictions, in terms of series winners. I was off by the number of games but I made the right calls overall.

The West?

*Gulp*

I went 1 for 4. Oops. But I was right in both the winner (Chicago) and the number of games (6) for that one series I correctly called.

Now on to Round 2. I'm going to go with the following predictions:

East

Boston Bruins (1) over the Carolina Hurricanes (6) in 6 games

I loved what the Canes showed me in the first round and if Eric Staal can keep up the Conn Smyth-worthy performance of the 1st round then Carolina could very score the upset. But Boston look flat out awesome right now and despite the long layoff (they ousted Montreal handily in 4 games) I'm looking to the Bruins to advance.

Washington Capitals (2) over Pittsburgh Penguins (4) in 7 games

This is going to be a hell of a series and will give all NHL fans a playoff match-up we've all been dying for: Sidney Crosby and the Pens vs. Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps! In the end I see a long, brutal series, with the Caps edging them out in 7 games.

West

Detroit Red Wings (2) over Anaheim Ducks (8) in 7 games

Detroit ripped through the Blue Jackets without breaking a sweat in Round 1, while the Ducks were stretched to 6 games with San Jose but never really lost control of that series. The Red Wings will see a much, much tougher opponent this time and the Ducks will have to continue to elevate their game if they want to pull off another upset. This one could really go either way. If it goes less than 7 games I'd say it will be Anaheim's for the taking. But I suspect it will go 7 and Detroit will move on.

Chicago Blackhawks (4) over Vancouver Canucks (3) in 6 games

I love the way Chicago is playing right now and I simply believe they have more offensive punch than Vancouver. That said, Robert Luongo is capable of stealing an entire series on his own. I give the edge to Chicago because of their balanced scoring and their physical play. Plus, goalie Nikolia Khabibulin was excellent in Round 1, he's been all the way to a Cup before, and that experience will give the upstart Hawks the edge.

There ya go! Round 2 starts manana and I can't wait!

J

This is another in a series of 'memes'. This one is very cool cool though because you actually learn things about your LJ friends and get to ask them all kinds of fun questions.

The following are my responses to questions posed by my LJ friend iamsahm after I had given five questions to her.

1. Now that your kids (kid really...) is old enough to be on the 'net by himself, and now on FB, do you watch what you say?

Now that our oldest (age 12) is up on Facebook I might be a little more careful about things like my status updates or any comments he may see me leave his mother or things like that. But, at the same time, he's heard me cuss up a storm before so I doubt much could shock him.

One of the things I've noticed about having a kid who is very bright and very mature (for his age) is that he has a very good grasp on the concept of some things being okay for adults and not for kids, just as there are some things that kids do that adults can't (or shouldn't) get away with.

2. If you had a daughter, would you have encouraged her to play/watch/enjoy hockey like you do?

If I had a daughter I would certainly introduce her to hockey, just like I've done with our boys. And I love how strong a presence there is in the U.S. for Women's ice hockey. We're big believers in letting our kids try a lot of different things and finding the things they like most and, in turn, if we introduce them to something and they don't really like it then there is no "force feeding" it to them. So if I had a daughter I'd sure love it if she became a big hockey fan but if it didn't hold her interest I'd hope she finds other things that do. Kids are wonderful sponges and they always seem to love checking out new stuff... at least for a little while. :)

3. If you HAD to have a job that did not involve music in any way, what would it be?

Hmmm... well, my current job actually only dances around the edges of music but it is in media so that's pretty close.

The only other jobs that have ever held much interest to me are advertising or law. I never pursued law because my undergraduate work (Communications) didn't lean in that direction and advertising always seemed like something I could be good at but never really pursued. Still, I suspect if I was a lawyer or an ad executive I'd be playing music around the office. :)

4. Do you keep a routine to your day, or do you let the wind take you where it may?

I think like a lot of people with kids my (our) life can be very routinized because so many our days involve the structure of work and school and various activities that occur annually (soccer, baseball, etc). One of my "zen"-like feelings about my recent job transfer is that maybe Life knew we were too locked into one thing (same city for 12 years) and needed a shake-up in order to see a broader scope.

When we're older and the kids have up and moved away I hope my wife and I can be like my grandparents on my mother's side have been. In retirement they have traveled like crazy and let life take them in fun directions.

5. Cleveland... thoughts?

My oldest son and I share the same goal: We each want to visit all 50 states before we die. So Ohio is definitely on my list, though probably not as high as Alaska, Florida, Texas, and a few others. Still, Cleveland holds some serious appeal for a rather silly reason: It was at the center of Major League and I love that movie!

My only other thought on Cleveland at this very moment is a bit of curiosity: Is the heart of rock and roll still beating there? ;)

Thanks for the cool questions Lori!

If anyone else wants me to give them 5 (and then probably have me come asking for 5 too) just say "Interview Me" in the comments.

J