Any Given Sunday

Hello all,

Just got through watching the final game of the Dallas Cowboy's season. They lost to the two win (now 3 wins) Detroit Lions. Apparently the hole in Texas Stadium is there as a vent for the smell..because they stink! (sports humor...zing!)

There was a time that I was a huge Cowboy's fan. They were my first and only team. As a kid, I would wait every year to get the free McDonald's team poster, put it on my wall and memorize the players. My room was all football, NFL logo bedspread, pennants on the wall etc. My family lived and died with the cowboys, race home from church on Sunday, watch the game and then head out to the yard to pass the football with my brother..(I was always Roger Staubach). Later, as an adult, I had a pre-game ritual that consisted of sitting down to watch the game no later than 30 minutes prior to the game, while wearing a cowboy sweatshirt, t-shirt and..I kid you not..cowboy's boxers, (under a pair of pants of course). I had a authentic NFL football that I had to hold the entire time the game was on and I couldn't leave the room during the game..(Ladies, is any of this OCD behavior turning you on? The line forms to the left) Granted (we) won three super bowls in four years, so I felt it was worth it...I still feel I should get a ring..don't get me started.

But now I find the entire experience of watching football to be less than satisfying. I'll occasionally watch a game, but the passion has long since left. There are many reasons, the hyper-commercialized feel of the game, the massive amounts of media coverage, fantasy football overload etc...all of these have helped dull my intrest for the sport.

I did however, have the game on yesterday and from time to time would look up to see what was going on. That is until my latest annoyance, my kryptonite, came on the television..those life force draining spots for Chevy trucks..John Mellencamp's "This is our country" ad campaign. These 30 second spikes through the head are filled with the sentimental images of puppies, bald eagles, parades, apple pies cooling on the windowsill and of course flags, lots and lots of flags..American ones. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr Mellencamp's work, this Chevy song is very similar to his previous spelling song, "R-O-C-K in the -U-S-A...rockin' in the USA"....minus the complexity.

Oh well, football may have changed, but I'll always have my memories. Every once and a while, when I'm feeling nostalgic, I like to put on those old Dallas Cowboy's boxers and run out into the street, giggling like a child as I toss my old football high into the air. Eventually yes, the approaching sounds of the police siren, the inevitable sting of the pepper-spray will remind me that I do live in a heavily populated area and I maybe should have worn pants..but not now.. for now I am lost in the childhood memory of being the quarterback on another Super Bowl winning Cowboy team.

Happy New Year everyone.

s

All good things...

Look at these guys. Do you think they knew at the time of the photo that years later, within months of each other, one of them would resign in disgrace, the architect of what will be the biggest disaster in this nation's military history and the other would be hanged for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people? I'd like to believe they didn't. Here, they are just a couple of starry eyed kids swept up in their friendship. And what of the killing, the senseless slaughter of all those people? All in good time..this night was for them. You know, in many ways this reminds me of my prom picture...ugh..now that was a crime against humanity.

s

out of focus

Hello all,

So you have a blog and you need to make an entry..after all people are depending on you. You sit down and stare blankly at the screen and you ask yourself, "I wonder if that new online game where the purpose is to shoot zombies really lives up to the hype?..maybe one game". One game leads to two and so on until the sun has set and you wonder how did it all go so wrong? Now granted, if the city were to be attacked by roving hoards of zombies I feel comfortable in in the fact that I could handle myself, but how does my digital knowledge of firearms and explosives help the readers? How do I stay focused on the task at hand and give them (you) the daily chuckle that is Shane? Well today I figured it out..I tried to get organized.

It started out innocently enough, the rainy weather made it a perfect time to get some year-end paper work done. Here we go..alright..yes sir and...where is my credit card bill for the month of June? I know I filed it somewhere..check filing cabinet..remove family of possums..remember that I bought the filing cabinet the last time I went on a "that's it, I'm getting organized" faze. I never actually used it. Well today is going to be different, it's raining, perfect day to do it, start the year off fresh and in control of your life. Time to grow up and get serious Shane.

And just like that..another blog entry.

s

"Star Time"

Hello all,

As many of you know, James Brown died Christmas morning of heart failure. He was 73.

Not this James Brown.










This one:









I'm of course talking about "Mr. Dynamite", "The hardest working man in show business", "Soul Brother Number One", "The Minister of Super Heavy Funk", "The Godfather of Soul" or as I affectionately refer to him, "Mr. Nickname". The New York Times described his humble beginnings:

Mr. Brown was born May 3, 1933, in a one-room shack in Barnwell, S.C. As he would later tell it, midwives thought he was stillborn, but his body stayed warm, and he was revived. When his parents separated four years later, he was left in the care of his aunt Honey, who ran a brothel in Augusta, Ga. As a boy he earned pennies buck-dancing for soldiers; he also picked cotton and shined shoes. He was dismissed from school because his clothes were too ragged.

He went from that to a person who by the end of the 60's had his own publishing company, three radio stations and a Learjet...which he paid for by performing as many as 51 weeks a year. His music would be the foundation of Funk and later Hip-Hop. Any fan of early hip-hop can remember the drum breaks, the screeching horns, the JB yell that were sampled countless times..("Funky Drummer"). His performance style influenced the likes of Mick Jagger, Prince and Micheal Jackson.

Unfortunately, future generations only know Mr. Brown as the guy that did "Living in America" for Rocky 4 (Drago!)...or hearing "I feel good" during countless movie montages when the screenwriter had run dry on character development and wanted "something fun to happen here" in the movie. He would later become a punch line for every cheesy FM morning show, (who didn't do a James Brown impression?). Then again, James didn't make it easy on himself with his frequent scrapes with the law with everything from drugs to spousal problems.

All of that however was forgotten today when a horse drawn carriage carried his body through the streets of Harlem to the Apollo Theater, where thousands of people lined up to pay their respects. In 1963, James Brown's "Live at the Apollo" hit number one in the nation.

thanks James.

say it loud..

s

Sad news

Hello All,

Just saw on the AP that Former President Gerald Ford died Tuesday at the age of 93.



I have to be honest..for a moment when I first read the headline I thought "former president" was "current president" and that "Gerald" actually read "George" and that "Ford" was actually "B...oh forget it...You know, for once I'd like to get what I ask for on Christmas. Is that too much to ask?

I'm embarrassed to say that I really didn't know much about President Ford, other than the Nixon fiasco and being lampooned by Chevy Chase on SNL. Who knew then that President Ford would outlive them both?

s

Step One: Introduce yourself

Hello all,

Well, here we go...a little nervous. Really want to make a good first impression with my very first web-log or "blog" entry. As you may notice from time to time, I will be using this blog as a journal of sorts to note and track my experience of writing a blog. The following is a sample:

day one / entry one: After a rather clumsy introduction, I smoothly segued into the journal entry. This has bought me some time. What to do next?..think Shane think.

That is but a small "behind the scenes" (industry talk) glimpse into what this blog will entail. Now, will I have all the blog "standards"?..yes, but I plan to bring something different to this new and blossoming medium, things that everyone else glides right by like pop culture minutia, sports opinions and a seemingly endless string of personal thoughts and "wonderings". Sounds enticing doesn't it? Well stay tuned!

s