Tag: bobs

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Sitting cross-legged on the floor

Last weekend Thomas and Graham competed in the district pinewood derby races. Graham didn’t place, but Thomas came in 3rd in his division. He was actually disappointed at not doing better. There were also a number of other activities that we did in between races, including CO2 rockets. What fun those are!

Graham continues to get seriously into listening to music. Mostly he listens to They Might Be Giants and The Bobs, but he still asks me for a Song of the Day every few days. He’s proud that he has learned the words to many TMBG songs.

Thomas is still very interesting in learning how to program computers. He found a bug in one of the examples in the Logo book I got for him and has decided that fixing the bug will be his first test. He spends a lot of time in his room playing Runescape, an online role-playing game, with his friends. Occasionally, he’ll move over and play his bass for awhile. I love that he does it for enjoyment.

Tina and I have gone back to Phase I of the South Beach diet and have started losing weight again. Last week I lost 4 lbs. and feel confident that I’ll be up to 60 lbs. lost soon. Tina’s already there. We’ve decided we’re not celebrating until we get to 75 lbs.

This weekend Thomas and I were supposed to go camping with his Boy Scout troop, but somebody messed up on the reservations. Instead, they are having three consecutive day camps at a nearby park. The next weekend, Thomas and I are biking out to adjustable dumbbells Oxbow Park with the troop for another weekend of camping. It’s about a 14 mile ride, so it will be interesting to see how all the boys handle it. They’re young so they should be fine.

In a few weeks, Critical Path is moving offices. The new office is just across the street from us.

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Nothing can do me wrong

I burned MP3 CDs for Graham and Thomas shortly after Christmas so they both could have some new music. For some reason, Graham has latched onto a song called “Helmet” by a capella band The Bobs. He listens to it over and over and has committed the words to memory. A couple of weeks ago he started basketball practice and is playing in his first game today. His skills were raw to start, but Tina has been practicing dribbling and passing with him everyday and he’s getting much better.

Thomas has been engrossed with finishing The Legend of Zelda on Wii. They’re not allowed to play Wii during the week, so he’s been playing Runescape, a massively-multiplayer online role-playing (MMOR) game, after finishing his homework every day. He listens to cello music in bed at night while he’s reading. Sometimes he listens to science podcasts while he’s trying to get to sleep.

When Jan and Tom were here over the holidays, Tom mounted our dishwasher to the counter to keep it from tipping forward when the door is open. While working on it, he found what he described as mouse droppings under the dishwasher. Since we had never seen mice or any sign of mice in our house, we didn’t really believe it. Then last week came into the family room asking who had been eating his two pound Hershey Bar. We took a look and it had a very small tear in it and a perfect semi-circle eaten out of one corner. With tiny little teeth marks.

That night we bought a bunch of cheap mouse traps (Does Victor have a patent on that design? They look exactly the same as the ones we used 30 years ago.) and one “live” trap because Thomas asked. One went off the first night but had no mouse. Today as I was making eggs for myself I glanced over at the one on the counter and found that it had a tiny little mouse in it. Graham initially volunteered to be “in charge” of emptying the traps but when faced with an actual dead mouse, he begged off. Our success led us to check the four other traps and found a larger mouse under the dishwasher.

When I was a kid, I was “in charge” of emptying the traps in our house. I was the only boy in the house at the time, so I suppose that’s why I drew the duty. I really disliked it especially when the trap on the heat register caught one. By the time I would find it in the morning, it was half-cooked and pretty disgusting. I don’t know where I was supposed to put the mice, but I always dropped them into the two-foot space between the house and back porch. I remember always trying to open the traps without touching the mice.

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Best of 2006: Honorable Mention

If you haven’t read the introduction yet, go there now.

    Honorable Mention Albums for 2006   

  • Spirit Trail by Bruce Hornsby: I put this album on my purchasing list after reading a very favorable review in Stereo Review back in 1988. It remained there until this year because I couldn’t quite convince myself that I would enjoy a Bruce Hornsby album. Boy, was I wrong. Funky and soulful songs interspersed with pretty little piano instrumentals. But why didn’t it make the Top 10? Hornsby’s voice, I suppose. And two CDs makes it a little unwieldy.
  • Women and Children First/Diver Down by Van Halen: Both of these albums contain songs from the soundtrack of my hard-partying life during my teen years. Before the synthesizer virus infected Eddie Van Halen, he fronted a really hard rockin’ band and these two CDs prove it. “Everybody Wants Some”, “Take Your Whiskey Home”, “Pretty Woman” and “Happy Trails” are just a few of the great songs. If you love crunchy metal electric guitar, these are must-haves for your collection.
  • This Is The Moody Blues by The Moody Blues: Earlier I bought The Millennium Collection but was disappointed to find that it was overly polluted with their ELO-ish 80’s output. Thus, I was very happy when I picked up this hard-to-find two CD set. Even though it contains all the best songs from the seven quintessential albums that defined the Moodies’ sound, this is not just another greatest hits collection. The songs are obviously sequenced to flow just like it’s a real album. Even the now-trite “Nights in White Satin” sounds fresh in this context.
  • Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Very few things remind me of my brothers and sisters like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I’ve had this particular NGDB album in various forms for many, many years but, until recently, it was a rare find on CD. Although I am inclined to classify it as “country” or “bluegrass”, those particular pigeon-holes don’t do justice to this music. In the era that this album was made, this was ground-breaking, but nevermind that. Really great songs from start to finish are interspersed with the the charming conversations with Uncle Charlie. Standouts include “Mr. Bojangles” and an instrumental harmonica version of “Swanee River” that will leave you gasping.
  • Running On Empty by Jackson Browne: Even though Neil Young had created the idea several years before, Jackson Browne perfected the “road album” concept with this 1977 classic. Recorded in hotel rooms, rehearsal halls and concert venues, Browne contemplates life on the road including drugs, women and, of course, the music. This is another album where I enjoy every single track, even the title track which was horribly overplayed in my youth. Oh and don’t forget David Lindley’s lap steel guitar playing, which virtually defined Jackson Browne’s sound for years to come.
  • Rock and Roll by John Lennon: John Lennon virtually invented the roots revival album when he released this album in 1975. Covering such early influences as Chuck Berry, Ben E. King, Gene Vincent and Little Richard, you can hear the joy in Lennon’s voice as he sings the songs of all his heroes. Most notable are the covers of “Ain’t That A Shame,” “Stand By Me,” and “Do You Wanna Dance” which all received more successful cover treatments a few years later. And you have to love the album cover which was essentially a “photoshop” of an early Lennon photo.
  • Necktie Second by Pete Droge: Back when “alternative” rock was king, this album came my way via a borrowed CD from a friend. I committed it to cassette and it worked it’s way into heavy rotation. Although the photographs on the CD booklet are hilariously grungy, Portland musician Droge is anything but grunge. More like power pop with catchy hooks and thoughtful, high-quality songwriting. Throw in the occasional Portland name drop and I’m hooked. Pete Droge hooked me back in 1994 and then again this year.
  • My, I’m Large by The Bobs: Another tremendously influential album that I have owned in many formats over the years. I finally tracked down this rare CD this year and couldn’t be happier. The Bobs are an a capella group who use no additional instrumentation in their music. On this album, they do excellent covers of songs like “Little Red Riding Hood” and “You Really Got A Hold On Me” as well as amusing originals like “My Husband Was a Weatherman” and “Helmet”. Forget about the Nylons, this is where it’s at in the a capella world.
  • He’s Drunk/Plus Also Too by Scrawl: My friend Curt Nelson turned me on to Scrawl back in 1989 when he loaned me this CD, which I promptly recorded on to a cassette. After Rough Trade Records filed bankruptcy, this CD became virtually impossible to find. A couple of years ago I transferred my cassette recording to CD but kept it on my wishlist. What a delight to receive it in “trade” from LaLa.com this year when it was going for fifty dollars or more per copy on eBay. As for the music, Scrawl defined indie chick rock long before L7, Babes in Toyland, Hole or even Liz Phair. Raw, emotional vocals with extensive use of two-part harmonies with the emphasis on the message and a de-emphasis on production.
  • Especially For You by The Smithereens: This is the first and best album from the Smithereens. Although later efforts built upon the same successful formula they established here, those don’t feel as fresh and alive. Back in the late 80’s, songs like “Blood and Roses” and “Behind the Wall of Sleep” sounded like nothing I had ever heard. And the ballads, “In A Lonely Place” and “Cigarette”, check the e cigarette reviews feel honest and sincere. It’s all dark, mysterious and wonderful.