Our Yogi and Clinch!

On Friday, Johnny Pesky's number 6 will be retired at Fenway Park. He technically does not meet the requirements set in place a long time ago by former Red Sox owners for retirement, but his personality and his numbers do. Pesky is an important part of Red Sox history and team community today. He's kind of like Yogi Berra is to the Yankees: a part of the greater generation, a ballplayer with great numbers, and someone who has given everything for their team. Pesky has a foul pole named after him in Fenway Park and he is always at the games unless sidelined by illness. I am really happy for him and the Red Sox management for retiring his number.

Oh yeah, and the Red Sox clinched a playoff spot last night!! We'll just have to wait and see if Tampa starts losing and we win the rest of our games to see who takes the division. Go Sox!!

Happy Birthday!

To my friend, Aimee. I hope you have a great day and your kids weren't too obnoxious!

Out with the old, in with the new

Last night was the last home game for the Yankees at their beloved Yankee Stadium. The Yankees beat the Orioles and Mariano Rivera threw the final out of the game. He didn't get a save, since they won 7-4, but it was fitting none-the-less. I didn't watch most of the pre-game ceremonies, or much of the game for that matter, but I did get to listen to Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra in the booth for a while reminiscing about the old days and the best players they ever played with and against. Old clips were played from games of yore, perfect games, World Series wins, the Shot Heard Round the World, and famous speeches. We were also reminded that Yankee Stadium is not just a baseball park, boxing matches were played there, several different Popes came to perform Mass there, football games were held there, movies were filmed there, etc.

Apparently, in the 7th inning, a video of Bob Sheppard was played reading this poem:

“Farewell old Yankee Stadium, farewell
What a wonderful story you can tell
DiMaggio, Mantle, Gehrig and Ruth
A baseball cathedral in truth
Farewell.”

I don't know if he wrote it, but it certainly seemed fitting.

I have a few of my own memories from that stadium. One time a whole bunch of us went there for our friend's birthday and we sat up so high (I'm pretty sure it was the last row) that when it rained, we were covered. Another time, that same friend and I went to a Yanks-Sox game during which Manny hit a foul ball literally straight up in the air in front of us that seemed to hang in the air for 10 seconds. We couldn't see home plate, but we saw that ball hanging.

I know a few of you have many more memories than I do, but I just wanted to share my part of this historic stadium. I didn't get to see Jeter's speech at the end of the game, but it sounded like it was pretty classy, and I agree with the gist of it: share your memories of this stadium with friends and family and carry them with you to the new. I support all of you Yankee fans in this new endeavor. I hope you'll do the same for me if Fenway ever gets replaced.

Good thoughts

Today I am sending all my love and good thoughts out to our great friend LB. She is starting her exciting new job today! We miss you but wish you all the best. Yeah for new adventures!

Death Magnetic

The new Metallica CD was released today at midnight. Luckily, you can listen for free on MSN music. Here is my review if anyone cares:

Track 1: That Was Just Your Life - 7:05 - A very strong opener to the album. Fast, good guitar solos, upbeat. Makes you want to listen to the next song. A good riff, catchy but not lame. I immediately like this song. I think this should have been the first release.

Track 2: The End of the Line – 7:52 - This song is broken up into two parts. The first part is another strong, upbeat song. Good riff, different enough from track 1 to hold its own. Good strong chorus. Nice symmetry in the guitar work. Could do without the distortion. The second part is interesting and then breaks back into the first part like a coda.

Track 3: Broken, Beat & Scarred – 6:25 - What don't kill ya will make you more strong? Isn't that a line from an Usher song? Not really crazy about this song. Too much Lars.

Track 4: The Day That Never Comes – 7:56 - This was the first release from the album. I've heard it a lot on the radio. I like it but it feels confused to me, like the band doesn't really know who they are yet.

Track 5: All Nightmare Long – 7:57 - Reminiscent of some of the songs on Master. Very good. Hetfield's voice sounds great, especially on "luck runs out-ah." I love that. Nice guitar, not overdone, although sounds a little like video game music at one point. Fast.

Track 6: Cyanide – 6:39 - Catchy. Possibly the next release. Not a big fan. Not very cohesive. The middle drums try for some sort of transition. A little confusing - not in a good way. Pretty much all over the place.

Track 7: The Unforgiven III - 7:46 - I was wary of this song from the just the title. As it starts out though, I am afraid I may have judged a book by its cover. Another poor transition from the intro to the beginning of the song. The intro is beautiful. Strings are a nice addition. Nice bass work by Trujillo. Builds to a nice guitar solo. Baby seems to like this song the best so far. Weak ending.

Track 8: The Judas Kiss - 8:00 - I listened to this song yesterday and liked it the best of those I had heard so far. Nice intro. The instruments work well together unlike in some of the other songs where it sounds like they are fighting each other. Great chorus. A good song for a live video. Nice dual guitar work, solo sounds a little like it should be in the Twilight Zone and then Hammett ramps it up into overdrive.

Track 9: Suicide & Redemption - 9:57 - Great intro. Not old school though. Really great. Only orchestral track on the CD. Tempo changes keep it interesting. Fantastic despite another weak ending.

Track 10: My Apocalypse - 5:01 – The only song that mentions the title of the album. A strong song. Nice and fast. How does Hammett play like that? Strong ending to the album.

These are my 1st impressions of the album. I think I will go out and get it (yes, I still buy CDs). Hetfield's voice sounds great on all the tracks where he sings and overall the band sounds good. They still don't sound completely cohesive despite having been the same line up now for about 5 years. Some of the tracks sound weary of the listeners, with the feeling of "ooh, I hope they like this," causing confusion and lack of confidence in the song. All in all, Rick Rubin has yet again, helped create a great album.

Baby setlist

The place we are planning on giving birth is going to be a brand new hospital wing with private rooms with jacuzzis, a bed for Sean, a TV, a music player, etc. Some people suggest you bring music to listen to while you are laboring. I have been thinking about this for a while and am not sure if I will want music playing or if I will want it to be quiet, but I figure I should be prepared either way. I have been trying to think of stuff to put on the birthing setlist. This is what I have so far:

The Ode to Joy choral section of Beethoven's 9th.
Music for Royal Fireworks by Handel
Hallelujah chorus by Handel (if I could time it right, it would be awesome for this to be playing when Baby makes his debut - and yes, I know this is completely unrealistic unless I just have it on repeat)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart

I also like a lot of requiems, but that doesn't seem quite appropriate for a birth. I was trying to remember which Mass the Chorus sang that Bunky said was a Mass for the Living. Anyone have any ideas here? Bee. Mass in C? For some reason Gounod is sticking in my head, but I don't think that's correct. Google isn't helping me much in this matter.

I'm going for stuff that I am really familiar with since they say you should be able to distract your mind and let your body do the work it's supposed to do. This is going to be difficult for me, but I am just going to work on trusting my body and not being in control (insert laughs here). Since my brain will need something else to do, I guess it makes sense to have it concentrate on something else.

Any other suggestions? For you moms out there, what do you think about music playing? A good distraction or annoying? Do you wish you had music playing or glad you didn't?

OTH off the TiVO

**WARNING - SPOILER ALERT**

New shows have started for certain TV series. I started watching One Tree Hill last year and thought it was a decent show. After watching the first show of this season, it is now deleted from my season's pass manager. Too many crazy people on the show, certain people leaving the show, and a woman getting attacked are just not the things I want to be watching right now. Plus, Lucas picked Peyton who I have always found annoying from the beginning of the show.

On the other hand, Gossip Girl looks like it's off to a good start.