Later this morning, I’m heading back to Las Vegas for the first time in over a decade. Following 4 days at an IBM conference, I’ll be heading to Phoenix for some well deserved rest and relaxation. And spring training. Time to get back to a baseball field.
Author / admin
Book 8 (of 52) – How I Survived My Summer Vacation Vol. 1
How I Survived My Summer Vacation – Michelle West, Nancy Holder, Cameron Dokey, Yvonne Navarro, Paul Ruditis
This collection of 6 short stories, billed as Volume 1 though the only one released, takes place between seasons 1 & 2 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Buffy has gone to Los Angeles to spend the summer with her estranged father while Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel, and Jenny Calendar hold down the fort in Sunnydale.
It was nice to return to the old Scooby gang once again, but I think this would have worked better as a singular effort rather than as a collection from multiple writers. As is, it was a bit of a disjointed experience, with character personalities, especially Giles, shifting from story to story. But, as the last Buffy book left in my drawer of things to read, finishing it was a bittersweet experience. Maybe one day I’ll go searching for the novels I haven’t already read.
Dancing Days Are Here Again
It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this year; one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest. If it weren’t for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas, I’d likely be heading to Detroit this weekend to cheer on the Boilermakers.
A couple of upsets make up my first bracket, with the #2 seed, the Bearcats of Cincinnati, being my pick to advance to the Final Four.
After some late season stumbles, Purdue winds up as the #2 seed. Villanova is the early favorite to win the whole thing, and, using my head instead of my heart, I’m picking them to come out of the East.
FB4: Week 6
Another extremely disappointing week, where I came nowhere close to meeting my target. The week got off to a slow start, as Sunday finished a mere 4 steps shy of 4900. Monday had a nice bounce back, coming in with nearly 7100 steps. Tuesday was even better, with over 7700 steps. Wednesday was another down day, coming in 9 steps shy of 5200. Thursday was the week’s highlight, finishing with over 9200 steps. Friday was another successful day, with exactly 7050 steps. Saturday’s total fell off a cliff, coming in just over 2300 steps.
Total steps: 43,466
Daily average: 6209.4
Top 200 Albums – #129 – 140
Nearly 4 years ago, we first counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2018.
We continue things with the next batch of 10 albums that rank between #129 and 140, including 7 studio recordings and 3 soundtracks.
#140: Tegan and Sara – Sainthood
iTunes stats: 55 plays
Previous Ranking: 67
A big drop here, despite 11 of the 13 tracks on this album make up the total.
#136: Various Artists – Friends – Music From The T.V. Series
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous Ranking: 149
This soundtrack compilation, released following the smash first season of the television show, has 7 songs, from the likes of Joni Mitchell, The Pretenders, and, of course, The Rembrandts, to make up its total.
#136: Pearl Jam – Vitalogy
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous Ranking: 131
The 3rd studio album from the Seattle grunge band, and the last that I purchased, uses the totals from 4 different tracks.
#136: Various Artists – More Music From Romy And Michelle’s High School Reunion
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A
A strong debut, thanks to 6 80s hits from the likes of Tiffany and Rick Astley, for the second soundtrack album from the semi-hit film.
#136: Various Artists – Reality Bites
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous Ranking: 141
The soundtrack to the early 90s alternative movie hit uses 3 songs to make up this total.
FB4: Week 5
My worst total in nearly 2 months, with only 2 days over goal.
Total steps: 40,437
Daily average: 5776.7
Top 200 Albums – #140 – 147
Nearly 4 years ago, we first counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2018.
We continue things with the next batch of 10 albums that rank between #140 and 147, including 5 studio recordings, 2 compilations, 1 live performance, 1 CD single, and 1 comedy record.
#147: The Beatles – With The Beatles
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous Ranking: 158
This album, like all of the Beatles studio albums, would be much higher, but I lost all of the old counts for their albums when I upgraded to the remastered versions in 2009.
#147: Garbage – Shut Your Mouth EP
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous Ranking: 100
Live versions of Wild Horses and Only Happy When It Rains make up the total from the CD single for Shut Your Mouth.
#147: Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous Ranking: 87
The debut album for the alt rock band lands on this chart thanks to 4 different tunes.
#147: AC/DC – AC/DC Live
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A
9 tracks from this live album, helped somewhat by my seeing them in concert in Toronto a few years back, makes for a nice debut.
#143: Bangles – Bangles: Greatest Hits
iTunes stats: 54 plays
Previous Ranking: 172
5 of the Bangles biggest hits, which notched 30 additional listens, contribute to this total for their greatest hits album.
Trying To Get It Right This Year
As they finish polishing up the statues for Sunday’s awards ceremony, it’s time to finish up our predictions with the major categories. In a strange change of pace, I’ve actually seen one or two of these. So, without further ado, we begin with:
Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Unlike years past, I’ve actually seen 2 of these films. Sadly, I’m not picking either to win, but instead am going with The Shape Of Water.
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
With talk of his upcoming retirement from acting, my guess is that Daniel Day-Lewis will take home the prize.
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins, The Shape Of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
I’m guessing that Margot Robbie’s turn as disgraced skater Tonya Harding will earn the ultimate recognition.
Book 7 (of 52) – Not Taco Bell Material
Not Taco Bell Material – Adam Carolla
If you’re a fan of Adam Carolla’s long-running podcast, reading any of his books gives you a feeling of deja vu. And that’s because these are all stories that you’ve heard dozens of times before. Not Taco Bell Material was Carolla’s second effort, but the third book of his that I’ve read. There’s really nothing here that is new, as the Aceman is nothing if not a recycler of material. I got a few chuckles while reading the book, but, for the most part, it was a rehash of things I’ve already grown bored with.
March Madness
We come to the start of meteorological spring with a trip to zoo, as Danny poses with his favorite animal, the okapi, last Mother’s Day at Brookfield Zoo.