Category: News

  • Thinking About 9th Grade

    For my group of friends back in 9th grade, we all stayed home the night NIRVANA played Saturday Night Live. I had to go look it up, but it was January 11th, 1992 – I was fifteen with a bad haircut. I remember thinking that I needed to see this because it was what all of my friends would be talking about on Monday morning. I also remember thinking how edgy and dangerous they looked. Not sure why I thought that, maybe it was the red hair.

  • Missed Out on all the Stuff

    I don’t know what happened to me this weekend, but all the stuff I normally pay attention to, I completely spaced out on.

    It started on Saturday, when Tottenham played Arsenal. You know, their top rival, the team they hate. These matches even have their own title, “North London Derby.” Since I started follow Tottenham, these games have been a big deal, usually both teams are in a “need to win” position, and the games are exciting and dramatic. This Saturday, totally spaced on it. Just forgot.

    Same thing happen on Sunday, when I spaced on the Cowboy game against the Saints. But to be honest, the Cowboys played so bad, it was better that I missed it.

    And because comedy and drama both follow the rule of three…

    Then Sunday night, I forgot about the Emmy’s. When my wife pointed out that they were on, even my kid was surprised that I wasn’t watching them. (I am a sucker for an awards show.) It was like the Emmy’s snuck up on me and then I ignored them. (Though I did get to see that very weird Johnny Walker backstage bar moment.) Oddly, I had watched most of the shows that were nominated this year, so I sort of did know what was happening.

    Not that any of this really matters in the big scheme of things, yet I still found it odd that I whiffed on three events that normally are rather important to me. Such as I make plans to watch them. But for some reason, I missed all the ads for these things, or I missed the conversations about these things. It left me feeling like I was running behind everybody else.

    Just odd is all.

  • Debate Thought

    I should have made snacks last night. The wine was good, but I needed something to eat. If only I had some popcorn…

    The spin has begun from what happened last night between Harris and Trump. Consensus is that Harris won the debate, and I have to agree with that. I won’t waste your time, as there are plenty of news outlets you can go to find out why and how this happened. I do find it odd that you would come here first, though I am flattered, as I do not believe that I am a solid or creditable news source.

    The one thing that I noticed last night with the spinning and analyst, and even in the paper this morning, is that the criticism, for both Harris and Trump, concerns that they didn’t go into detail about their plans. They didn’t give enough information.

    I’m sorry, but that’s not what televised political debates are about, and it has never been about information. Look, the first one, Nixon and Kennedy, what does everyone remember about it? Nixon sweating under the lights and Kennedy looking calm and in control. Does anyone remember the tax policy they discussed?

    What do people remember about these debates? Reagan’s “Four Years” line, or the “Not exploiting his opponents youth and inexperience.” How about, “You’re no Jack Kennedy,” or Bush looking at his watch, Gore loudly sighing, binders full of woman… I think you get the point.

    These debates are about creating and capturing emotional reactions. Logic has no place here; it’s window dressing. Besides, everyone is sitting at home with a smartphone in their hand, so when they want to find something out, like is that how tariffs work, or how does the child tax credit get paid for, they just look it up. Why would a candidate waste valuable screen time, getting all wonky on policy, when they can work to get voters comfortable with the idea of them being President? I believe Trump and Harris are of this thought.

    So please, political talking heads and hacks, please drop this crap about not learning about policy in these debates. You should know better.

  • Debate Night in America

    Are you throwing a Debate Night Party?

    I bought a bottle of wine which I plan on splitting with my wife, as we watch the debate and yell at our TV. But not too loud, as our kid will be sleeping in the next room.

    I thought about buying snack foods that are orange, but that seemed a little too silly.

    No, I will celebrate Debate Night, the way my forefather’s celebrated all the way back in 1960; slightly tipsy.

    To be honest, not looking forward to the debate. I didn’t watch the last one between Trump and Biden, as something told me it would be a train wreck. I mean, it was a train wreck, but not the way I thought it would be. There isn’t anything that will happen tonight that will make me change how I am planning on voting. I guess something could happen, it’s not impossible, but not probable either. No, Trump will try to act all normal, but will slip into “Trump” mode and say some weird shit. Harris has a bunch of canned one-liners, some focus group zingers, that she’ll try to land, but will come across as wooden. You know, like Chris Christie’s Donald Duck line…

    Sadly, these things, these “debates,” aren’t informative, just entertainment. It’s a tightrope walk, and we are only here to see who will fall off. There are such things as debate contests, which have rules, and allow people to stake positions, and have the other person question them, and rebuttals, and so forth. I mean, if we really wanted to know where these candidates stand, we could ask them to, you know, really debate.

    But we don’t.

    We like this form of competition. It gives both sides the ability to claim that they won. We’ll get a bunch of memes out of tonight. I will have Twitter on and follow the outcry/outrage, or general hilarity of people commenting on what is happening.

    It does make me wonder if any of this really matters?

  • OASIS Reunion: Take My Money

    Hey Everybody! OASIS is getting back together!!!

    This news was such a big deal that I got an alert on my phone from The New York Times.

    And when we all say that OASIS is getting back together, what they mean is that Noel and Liam Gallagher are getting back together. I am sure that Paul and Paul, Tony, Alan, Gem and Andy are wondering if this includes them.

    I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Noel and Liam would ever get back together. They just seemed like John Fogerty types. You know, complete assholes, but really talented assholes. The type of assholes that would refuse to reunite just to piss the other one off, even though deep down, they really wanted to get back together.

    I’ve already texted friends this morning, asking that if OASIS comes to the US, who would be interested in going to see them. I got one yes, so far.

    My first concert was OASIS; It was 1996 at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, TX. See, I have personal history with them.

    I had got their first album when it came out. I liked it, it wasn’t a classic or anything, but I played that album often. Then, and I don’t remember how, magazines or MTV News, but I started getting word that OASIS was recoding a new album, out in the Fall of 1996. I kept scanning the radio, and record stores trying to find out when this album was coming, and what the first single would be. Something about this time in my life, I was very locked into bands. One of the record stores I found had CD singles imported from England, and I gobbled up as many as I could get my hands on. Then, finally, the “Wonderwall” single came out, and I got the George Harrison reference. I bought (What’s the Story) Morning Glory the day it was available. I listened to that thing pretty much non-stop. I made my friends listen to it non-stop. I bought the CD singles so I could have the bonus B-side singles that were just as good as the album tracks, but these were songs that would never make it on any album.

    And then the concert tour was announced, and my best friend got us tickets. We sat on those tickets for like four months. I circled the date on my wall calendar, April 20th.  And I kept my ticket in a ziplock bag, which I kept in my dorm room desk drawer. I would look at that thing daily. Counting down until when I would be in the presence of one of my favorite bands.

    Then there was the fact that me and my best friend made a whole weekend out of it. I stayed with him in Dallas, we drank a little too much. The anticipation of the day of the concert. The waiting in line to get into the venue. Getting to our seats, but standing the whole time. Then the lights went down and everybody lit up; cigarettes and joints all over the place. And just being on this completely euphoric music high, present with 5,000 other people who loved this band, the songs, and their attitude.

    Now, I’m not stupid here. There is no way I will ever get that feeling back. It is a great memory that lives in my past, and it is great to reminisce with my best friend about going there, and doing that. It was a moment in time that is cherished, but ultimately just that; a moment.

    Besides, let’s see if the Gallagher brothers can make it through these shows in 2025 without killing each other. That’s the real question.