Author / admin

by admin

Book 35 (of 52) – Open Book

Open Book – Jessica Simpson

Open Book, Jessica Simpson’s memoir of her life as a teenage pop star, reality television goof, and fashion industry titan, is truly an open book.  She talks of her molestation at the hands of a family friend as a child, her failed attempts to break out with the Mickey Mouse Club, the pressures of being a teenager and trying to become a pop star, and, of course, her intention to remain a virgin until marriage.  Her fame exploded thanks to Newlyweds on MTV, but the show that truly made her a household name also contributed to the end of her marriage.  After years of drinking and John Mayer, she finally found her way, starting a family with a new husband and hoping to restart her music career.

I certainly did not know much about Jessica Simpson prior to reading this book.  I don’t know any of her music and haven’t seen any of her shows.  The only things I actually do know her from are her role as Daisy Duke in the Dukes of Hazzard movie and tabloid accounts of either her being shown as stupid on her show or gaffes from her social life.  She seems to finally have her personal life figured out, so I hope she can continue to be happy going forward.

by admin

FB10: Week 30

A slight drop-off this week, as I failed once again to cross the 30,000-step plateau.  The week got off to a slowish start on Sunday, finishing with 3700 steps.  Things fell off a bit more on Monday, as I needed 21 more steps to reach 3400.  Tuesday was even worse, barely surpassing 3100 steps.  Things started to improve on Wednesday, where 12 additional steps would have gotten me to 4000.  Another dip on Thursday dropped me back down to 19 steps shy of 3400.  A big improvement on Friday pushed me all the way up to 4700 steps.  A night out with friends put me up at 4900 steps on Saturday, ending the week on an upswing.

Total steps: 27,242

Daily average: 3891.7

by admin

Fifty Years Of Music – 2004

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2004, the year I celebrated my 30th birthday.  22 of these songs remain familiar to me today, with just nine of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#92: Avril Lavigne – Don’t Tell Me
iTunes stats: 17 plays

The lead single from her sophomore effort, it peaked at #22 on the Hot 100.

#88: The Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started
iTunes stats: 45 plays

The fourth and final single from the group’s third studio album, it reached #21.

#87: Chingy featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg – Holidae In
iTunes stats: 11 plays

Making the year-end chart for the second straight year, the track went to #3.

#76: Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl
iTunes stats: 24 plays

The Australian group’s debut single, it topped out at #29.

#71: Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell – Drop It Like It’s Hot
iTunes stats: 27 plays

Spending the final three weeks of the year at #1, it was the first chart topping hit for both artists.

#70: Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins – Get Low
iTunes stats: N/A

Ranked as the 99th greatest song of hip-hop by VH1, it peaked at #2.

#54: Avril Lavigne – My Happy Ending
iTunes stats: 23 plays

Spending four weeks at #9, it became her fourth top ten hit.

#48: Britney Spears – Toxic
iTunes stats: 44 plays

Giving Spears the lone Grammy of her career, the song reached #9, her first top ten hit since 2000.

#45: Ludacris featuring Shawnna – Stand Up
iTunes stats: 17 plays

Topping the Hot 100 for a week in December of 2003, it makes the year-end chart for the second straight year.

#41: Kelis – Milkshake
iTunes stats: N/A

Her highest-charting single to this day, it topped out at #3 in December of 2003.

#39: Ashlee Simpson – Pieces of Me
iTunes stats: 24 plays

The debut single from Jessica Simpson’s sister, it went to #5, becoming her lone top ten hit.

#38: No Doubt – It’s My Life
iTunes stats: N/A

Recorded for their greatest hits package, this cover of the Talk Talk hit from 1984 spent 28 weeks on the chart, peaking at #10.

#28: Sheryl Crow – The First Cut Is the Deepest
iTunes stats: N/A

Recorded for her greatest hits package, it reached #14 and remains her final hit to breach the top 20.

#10: Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy Ma – Lean Back
iTunes stats: 36 plays

It spent seven weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and three weeks on top of the Hot 100.

#8: Outkast – Hey Ya!
iTunes stats: 26 plays

First written in 2000 by Andre 3000, it spent nine weeks at #1 between 2003 and 2004.

#6: Hoobastank – The Reason
iTunes stats: N/A

The title track of the group’s sophomore effort, it reached #2 while spending 38 weeks on the chart.

#1: Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris – Yeah!
iTunes stats: 34 plays

The longest running #1 hit of 2004, it spent twelve weeks atop the Hot 100.

by admin

Book 34 (of 52) – The Broken Window

The Broken Window – Jeffery Deaver

When Lincoln Rhyme’s cousin is arrested for murder, the criminologist is able to link it to a number of crimes where the evidence appears airtight.  The investigation brings Rhyme, Sachs, and crew into the world of data mining, where they learn of the data collection companies that know almost everything about us, and their unsub who is using that data to commit his crimes and nearly perfectly frame someone else.  When computer manipulation starts putting the team and their loved ones in jeopardy, they need to find and stop the man they call 522, but can they do it in time?

In 2000, I read The Bone Collector, the first entry in Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme saga.  With The Broken Window, the eighth entry out of sixteen, I have now completed the entire collection.  I assume there will be books coming, as the latest entry set up a new nemesis for Rhyme, but since that just came out less than a year ago, so I may have some time to wait.

by admin

Fifty Years Of Music – 2003

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2003, the year I celebrated the completion of my 28th trip around the sun.  A mere 22 songs remain familiar to me today, with just 15 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#98: Eminem – Superman
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Peaking at #15, it was the third single from his fourth studio album.

#89: Eminem – Sing for the Moment
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Sampling Aerosmith’s Dream On, it reached #14 on the Hot 100.

#79: Christina Aguilera – Fighter
iTunes stats: 13 plays

Inspired by November Rain by Guns N’ Roses, it topped out at #20.

#76: Chingy featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg – Holidae In
iTunes stats: 11 plays

The second single from the rapper’s debut album, it went to #3 on the Hot 100.

#73: Jewel – Intuition
iTunes stats: 0 plays

Starting a shift to a more pop sound, the lead single from her fifth studio album peaked at #20.

#70: Puddle of Mudd – She Hates Me
iTunes stats: 21 plays

Originally written in 1993, it became the fourth and final single released from the band’s debut album, reaching #13.

#59: No Doubt featuring Lady Saw – Underneath It All
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Spending two weeks at #3, the song remains their highest charting single.

#55: Jennifer Lopez – Jenny from the Block
iTunes stats: N/A

Topping out at #3, it was the lead single from the actress/singer’s third studio album.

#51: Ludacris featuring Shawnna – Stand Up
iTunes stats: 33 plays

Spending a single week atop the Hot 100 in December of 2003, it spent 28 total weeks on the chart.

#36: Missy Elliot – Work it
iTunes stats: 21 plays

The rapper’s most successful single, it spent ten weeks at #2.

#35: Dixie Chicks – Landslide
iTunes stats: N/A

A cover of the Fleetwood Mac song, it went to #7 on the Hot 100 before its run was cut short by singer Natalie Maines’ criticisms of President George W. Bush triggered a boycott.

#30: Justin Timberlake – Cry Me a River
iTunes stats: N/A

Inspired by his relationship with Britney Spears, it peaked at #3.

#28: Eminem – Lose Yourself
iTunes stats: 55 plays

Spending 16 weeks in the top ten, it spent twelve of those weeks at #1 to wrap up 2002 and start 2003.

#18: Avril Lavigne – I’m with You
iTunes stats: 11 plays

Reaching #4, the singer’s third single was inspired by her feelings of loneliness over being single.

#16: Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
iTunes stats: 18 plays

Written and produced by Linda Perry, the song became Aguilera’s longest-charting solo hit, spending 27 weeks on the Hot 100 topping out at #2.

#13: Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee – Shake Ya Tailfeather
iTunes stats: N/A

Featured on the Bad Boys II soundtrack, it spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 in the fall of 2003.

#11: Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins – Get Low
iTunes stats: N/A

The debut single from Lil Jon and friends went to #2.

#10: Evanescence featuring Paul McCoy – Bring Me To Life
iTunes stats: 32 plays

The lead single from the group’s debut album, it topped the Modern Rock chard and reached #5 on the Hot 100.

#7: Chngy – Right Thurr
iTunes stats: 20 plays

The rapper’s debut single, it spent five non-consecutive weeks at #2.

#4: Beyonce featuring Jay-Z – Crazy in Love
iTunes stats: N/A

The lead single from Beyonce’s solo debut, it spent eight weeks at #1.

#2: R. Kelly – Ignition
iTunes stats: N/A

Parodied by Dave Chappelle on his Comedy Central show, it spent five weeks at #2.

#1: 50 Cent – In da Club
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The lead single from his debut album, it spent nine weeks atop the Hot 100.

by admin

FB10: Week 29

A bit of a bounce back week, though one with a poor ending.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, as I needed just 11 additional steps to reach 4300.  Things picked up slightly on Monday, as I jumped up to 4600 steps thanks to lunchtime trip to the new local Sbarro.  A lunch trip to Buona on Tuesday helped push me up ever further, to 4600 steps.  Wednesday saw a big drop-off, needing a single additional step to get to 3600.  Thursday fell even more, going down to 3200 steps.  The return of crosstown baseball on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field left me just 20 steps shy of 6300.  An upset stomach left me with only 2300 steps on Saturday, ending the week on a downturn.

Total steps: 29,182

Daily average: 4168.9

by admin

Book 33 (of 52) – Mr. Mercedes

Mr. Mercedes – Stephen King

A retired cop finds a new purpose when he is contacted by the perpetrator of one of his unsolved cases.  As his off-the-books investigation gets closer to finding its target, he finds himself, and those closest to him, in the crosshairs.  Can the cop and his collection of civilian helpers stop the perp before he turns a popular concert into a bloodbath?

Mr. Mercedes is the first entry in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy and introduces readers to the Holly Gibney character that also popped up here and here.  This was more of a thriller than the horror King is usually known for, but it was still a thrilling ride.  I’ll be getting to the remaining two entries sooner rather than later.

by admin

Your Latest Crosstown Pitching Leaders

cws-chiTwo months back, the 2024 Crosstown Cup series kicked off at Wrigley Field with the Cubs sweeping the two-game set as part of the first record-setting losing streak the White Sox posted this season.  With round two scheduled to get under way tonight across town at Guaranteed Rate Field, we look at the pitching leaders from the 90 contests I’ve attended in the annual match-up between the White Sox and the Cubs, starting with:

Wins

Name Total
Carlos Zambrano 4
Jon Lester 4
Mark Buehrle 3
Jon Lieber 3
15 tied with 2

Losses

Name Total
Kyle Hendricks 5
Carlos Zambrano 3
Mark Buehrle 3
Jon Garland 3
Jose Contreras 3

ERA (> 9 IP)

Name Total
Matt Thornton 0.00
Glendon Rusch 0.00
Reynaldo Lopez 0.00
Chris Sale 0.56
Ivan Nova 0.84

Strikeouts

Name Total
Carlos Zambrano 46
Kyle Hendricks 41
Continue reading →
by admin

It’s Over

The White Sox showed some mercy this morning, relieving manager Pedro Grifol of his job and relieving the fanbase of continuing to have to watch him poorly do his job.  He finishes his managerial career with a record of 89-190, easily the worst in franchise history and the third worst in Major League Baseball history. He shepherded the team through two franchise-record losing streaks in this season alone, tying the American League record for the longest losing streak just this week.

Personally, I was ready to turn the page on Grifol back on April 8th, when the White Sox found themselves in Cleveland the same day that path of totality of a solar eclipse would pass over Progressive Field.  “I’ll see videos of it, see what it looks like,” Grifol had said, “but there’s baseball. I probably shouldn’t say that, [but] family and baseball. People don’t believe it, but I live it. That’s all that matters.”  That lack of intellectual curiosity, to have any interests outside of your job and your family, makes you, in my opinion, a poor leader.  To look past a team building exercise that was handed to him on a silver platter was, to me, inexcusable and helps explain the two weeks-long losing streaks the team suffered.  When the baseball went south, he had nothing else to work with to try and pull the team out of their skids.

Bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar have also been relieved of their duties.  Grady Sizemore, who was on the staff with the ambiguous title of “major league coach” will be the interim manager for the remainder of 2024 and will be handing over the lineup card prior to tomorrow night’s game against the Cubs.  Doug Sisson will join the staff as bench coach, Triple A manager Justin Jirschele takes over as third base coach, and Mike Gellinger will finish out the year as the assistant hitting coach.