Let me go on record right up front that I hate Notre Dame. I always have and always will.
Why?
No real reason. It’s just one of those irrational hatreds like hating garden gnomes, pink flamingos and the French.
So, every Saturday during football season, my eyes scan the ticker at the bottom of the screen in hopes of seeing the Irish lose another game. Everyone needs a hobby I guess.
But….
Today, they fired Charlie Weis as their football coach. Sports Illustrated has a good article on the issues with Notre Dame. In the end I feel a bit sorry for ol’ Charlie, but not to bad. After all money may not buy happiness but having a ton of it when you lose your job sure helps with the transition.
Notre Dame job is death trap
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When they do, they’ll see a man who hit South Bend with all the bravado of a man at the height of his profession — three Super Bowl rings in four years; universal reverence for his role in developing Tom Brady from sixth-round draft pick to future Hall of Famer — only to leave five years later sufficiently scorned and humbled, literally slinking away into the night after his last game against Stanford.
Netflix is rapidly becoming the America Online of the new century.
Seriously, it seems you can’t go to a website without getting a popup add for the darn thing. They even get around the popup blocker.
Full disclosure, we use the Netflix service and really enjoy the large DVD catalog and the convenience of having them mailed to my house. No late fees and the monthly cost is very reasonable.
This post has not been paid for by Netflix. Although, if they wanted to pay me, I would not be ashamed to take their money…
I have a little write up on the side bar called “Why WunderKraut” that gives the reason for the name of this website and how the name sort of stuck to me.
Basically, I made up the name for a computer game in the mid 1990’s, my buddies thought it was funny and the name stuck as my gaming handle and well…here we are.
I came across something the other day while digging through Christmas decorations that was a blast from the past. It was a box with a name and address on it. I looked at it a few times before it dawned on me why the box was significant.
After using the name “Wonder Krout” in a game, my buddy mailed me some computer parts and he addressed it to WunderKraut….I adopted the correct spelling after this….
I was sitting around watching TV the other night just spacing out when I had an idea for a series of posts.
I love music. I always have. Luckily, my Mom and Dad loved music too and from an early age, many of my memories revolve around the music that was playing in our house.
So, what I have decided to do is to write a series of posts covering various time periods of my life and what the musical influences were at that time.
The Beginning:
Dad had a very nice stereo system. Everywhere we moved, he always had it placed in a prominent spot so we could listen to some tunes. He and Mom would put on a record in the evenings to relax while my sister and I played with our toys. It was sort of a family night tradition. Dad had a great record collection and he would fastidiously clean each record prior to putting it on the turntable. In my mind I can see him pull out his cleaning kit and brush and carefully clean each one.
Even today, my taste in music is still closely linked to those early years. Basically we listened to Rock, Vocal Rock and Classical music. The Rock was defined by bands like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan. Vocal rock was defined by bands like Simon and Garfunkel; Peter, Paul and Mary; and The Mommas and the Poppas. We also had a slew of classical records by Mozart and Bach and any number of other great composers. Then there was Dad strange fascination with Tijuana Brass. Yeah, I don’t get it either.
A great memory I have as a child is of the 1812 Overture:
My sister and I would dance around to it and when it came time for the cannon shots, we would jump up like frogs. Even today when I hear it, I have a sudden urge to get down on all fours in preparation of leaping up when the cannons go off.
One of my favorite Classical records was a Mozart one that had Eine Kleine Nichtmusik on it. Such a great composition:
Another record that we listened to was the travesty against classical music that was and is Hooked On Classics:
I’m not sure what possessed someone to take timeless music and put it to a techno/disco beat…Anyway, back then, I loved it! It did serve the purpose of increasing my love of Classical music as I became acquainted with various composers. Albeit, the bastardized versions of their songs.
For whatever reason, it seemed to be mandatory that if you were white and living in the suburbs, you HAD to own this record.
This was the first record where I actually memorized EVERY song. I even did little “air guitar” concerts with a broom handle.
Funny thought, for some reason when I was young, say under 10, I thought that ALL older bands no longer existed because they were dead or something. So imagine my surprise when Fleetwood Mac made a mini-resurgence in the 80’s.
Another iconic record that was in constant rotation at our house was The Eagles Greatest Hits:
That record had some great songs on it.
When Mom was in charge of the turntable, we were sure to gets lots of Simon and Garfunkel and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also loved the Carpenters and would sing along to Karen Carpenter. Moms voice sounds just like hers.
So there it is, my musical foundation. It was a very good foundation because I was exposed to so many different types of music. I still love rock, vocals and classical music. My tastes would change throughout the years, but those early years are wonderful memories in my mind.
There are deer everywhere on the property, but we just can’t seem to peg when they are moving and where. I know they cross the road, so I set up there…nothing…I know they rip up the big food plot, so I set up there…nothing….
Stupid deer and their over developed sense of self-preservation!
I am taking Nate with me today, so maybe today will be the day and he can see his daddy shoot the big one!
We shall see.
Here are some aerials of the land. The first shows the basic layout. The access road coming in is on a ridge with planted pines on either side of the road. Just past where we park the trucks, the land falls off sharply until you get to the open field. Then it falls gradually to the creek which is the east boundary.
The open field looks deceptive. It was clear-cut last year, so yes, it is “open” but only in the sense that the trees are not standing.
In the second photo I have hatched out the areas we can’t even get to because its like a bomb went off. The brush is head high now with tons of briars and they left a bunch of timber on the ground. Plus, it’s pretty wet most of the year. In short…the accessible portion of the “open” area is not as you would imagine. Next year we will clear a path to the creek and work to open up access to some more of the area. As info, I will be hunting the ground blind today as shown in the second picture.
As info, it is one mile from the road at the western boundary to the creek at the eastern boundary. It’s about 3,000 feet from where we park down to where we hunt. Going downhill is easy…coming up…not so much. Remember, we don’t have hills here so 100′ of elevation change in 3,000 feet is a big hill to me
One of the things I was planning on purchasing was a guitar amp. I have a POS electric that was given to me many years ago. About 6 months ago I pulled it out, knocked the dust off and restrung it. The only thing missing was the amp.
So….I went to the music store looking for an amp last night. I found one that was ok, but not what I wanted. However, I did fall in love with a guitar…..
Its an Ibanez ART100. Its nothing to fancy, just a middle of the road priced electric…but it is so pretty and it played so nice.
Maybe it’s because I have been fretting on the old POS with a WIDE neck, but playing this guitar was just amazing. Felt good in my hands. It felt like my hands were faster. Kind of like when you were a kid and you got new shoes, you felt you could run faster.
Anyway, since this was a splurge purchase, I put it on layaway. Come January, this baby will be in my hands.
We moved back to Albany, Georgia in 1983 when I was 10 years old.
This was the first time in my life that we had cable TV. As a result, this was also the first time I ever saw a video on MTV.
True story, MTV once played these things called “videos” 24/7. These “videos” were mini-movies, if you will, set to the song . Sometimes these “videos” would be interpretive/semi-cerebral, showcasing the bands deep, deep lyrics. Other times these “videos” would be nothing more than concert footage of the band rocking the house. More often than not, these “videos” would be nothing more than soft core pr0n…
But I digress…
Anyway, with cable and more importantly MTV, my musical exposure widened. Having a sister who was two years older than me helped as well. The music she listened to became the music I listened to.
When I was around 13 years old, my parents bought me a portable cassette player. It was small compared to my sisters boom box, but I loved it anyway. I had desk next to my bed and it on sat there, playing tunes whenever I was in my room.
I would sit on my bed playing solitaire for hours and hours with Aerosmith blasting.
I think it was for my 15th birthday, Mom got me an actual stereo system. I had two BIG speakers and a good receiver. It was at this point when I discovered The Beastie Boys and their debut album Licensed to Ill:
Paul Revere was my favorite:
These songs had a TON of bass in them. When no one was home, I would turn the bass to 10 and crank the volume. You could feel the bass hitting you in the chest. Once I got a car, I transferred the bass to it…which is why I can’t hear very well today. Let that be a lesson to you kids.
I always wanted to play guitar. So, when I was alone, which happened often from age 14 on, I would grab my sisters Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet album, a broom handle and proceed to give the concert of my life! Man I was thrashing on that ax!!!!
Embarrassing, but true.
Around this same time (wow 1987 was a big year for me musically), one of my sisters friends tossed me a Pink Floyd tape. It was Wish You Were Here and immediately fell in love with Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Wow…to this day, I have a dream of learning to play that song.
Amazing guitar starts at minute 1:46. Click here for the rest of the song….silly YouTube 10 minute rule.
I know its not as fast or technical as some of the greats out there, but it is still an amazing song. You can feel the guitar. Almost like they are their own set of lyrics.
On a side note, I got to see Floyd live in 1994 during the Division Bell tour. What an amazing show. If you ever get a chance to see them live please do. See this post.
In addition to listening to rock music, Mozart was in constant rotation in my room. Mainly when I was doing my homework. My favorite being Piano Concerto No. 21
As the 80’s drew to a close, I was thoroughly into the 80’s hair band scene. Yes, it was cheesy, but you know what, it was fun. I know there are some purists out there who scoff at the 80’s hair band days, but I don’t care. I had a great time and I still love listening to the 80’s at 8 on our local classic rock station.
Times were a changin’ though and my musical tastes were about to change as well.
I received an Explanation of Benefits in the mail yesterday for Madi, our 5 year old daughter. That last part is important to remember. She is 5 years old.
Anyway, the EOB said the claim was denied because:
Our records indicate your health plan does not include benefits for services related to pregnancy. Detailed information can be found in the Limitations and Exclusion section of your certificate booklet.
Ummm…yeah….about that….see point above…
So I called the insurance company and contrary to my conspiracy theory, this was an error on the doctor’s part. I am sure if they want to get paid they will correct this as soon as possible.
Just for the record Madi is NOT, I repeat, NOT pregnant.
Sure Mister, I will let you kick me in the backside, if it hurts, you win…
Russia needs to develop “offensive strike systems” to preserve strategic balance with the United States, without producing its own missile defense, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
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“If we want to retain the balance, we have to establish an exchange of information: Let the U.S. partners provide us information on [their] missile defense while we will give them information on [our] offensive weapons,” Putin said.
“Since we are not developing [our own] missile defense, there is a threat that our [U.S.] partners would feel totally secure having created an umbrella against our offensive systems,” he added. “Then our partners might do whatever they want; the aggressiveness in real politics and economics would increase because of the broken balance.”
