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Fitbit XI – Week 23

Yet another good week, as I managed to extend my 30,000-step weeks streak to seven. The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, garnering just 3300 steps. Monday saw a nice increase, needing just 18 additional steps to reach 3900.  An autograph session with Bo Jackson followed by an exciting White Sox baseball game on Tuesday pushed me up to 6300 steps.  A single step is all that stood between me and 3800 steps on Wednesday.  A nice bounce back on Thursday left me with 4100 steps.  Another increase on Friday pushed me up to 4400 steps.  A trip to the ballpark on Saturday ended the week on a high note with 6800 steps.

Total steps: 32,784

Daily average: 4683.4

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iTunes Top 200: #5

Music. It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions. It is the universal language that speaks to the soul. It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007. It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray. So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

Today, we move up to the fifth most listened to song in my library, with 182 plays since my stats began in late 2007. It is the top ranked instrumental and also the top ranked soundtrack entry.

#5: Klaus Badelt – He’s A Pirate
iTunes stats: 182 plays, most recently on 9/27/2024
Previous ranking: #4

Klaus Badelt was a relatively new composer when Hans Zimmer recommended him for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.  That score earned him the ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Film.  He’s A Pirate is the final track of the score, played at the beginning of the end credits.

Starting with the 2005 season, the White Sox incorporated the song into their game presentation, using it along with a string of highlights on the video board at the beginning of each game, leading into Thunderstruck as the team takes the field.  The song remained in use through the 2012 season, when it was replaced with a generic sound-a-like that never really caught on.  The song had a long run on my White Sox victory play lists, but has been removed in recent versions, which accounts for the drop seen here, from 4th place down to 5th.

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Finishing A Challenge

Every quarter, Kindle releases a reading challenge as a way to gamify reading on their platform.  The Spring 2025 challenge, which wraps up tomorrow, was the first one I’ve ever completed, finishing all fifteen achievements.  Those achievements were:

Days Read

  • Bronze Reader: read on any 15 days during the challenge
  • Silver Reader: read on any 40 days during the challenge
  • Gold Reader: read on any 75 days during the challenge

The Gold Reader is the one I usually have an issue with.  Either due to other commitments or reading actual physical books, I’ve always fell short of the 75 days out of the 90 or so within the quarter.

Books Completed

  • Bookish: read one book
  • Bookworm: read two books
  • Bibliophile: read three books

This one is always easy.  For reference, I wrapped this one up less than two weeks into April.

Streaks

  • Head Start: read one day during the month
  • Perfect Week: read 7 days in a row (Sunday through Saturday)
  • Perfect Month: read every day for a calendar month (ex. every day in February)

Again, the Perfect Month is where I usually fall short.  This time I was able to complete that particular achievement in April.

Mystery

  • Case Closed: complete a Kindle book.
  • Afterglow: read at least three days between April 29 and May 2
  • Smart Start: read on a Monday in May. Can level up with each additional Monday you read in May
  • Parasol: complete one of the Amazon editor’s Summer Reading picks
  • Weekend Warrior: read on both Saturday and Sunday during a weekend in June
  • Insider: Follow an author on Amazon

The mystery selections are usually rolled out throughout the quarter, leaving little opportunity to plan ahead for them.  I ended up following an author simply to complete the goal here, but the Parasol one I finished by accident, as Alex Finlay’s Parents Weekend happened to be on the list.

Having finally completed one of these challenges, I hope I won’t be as hooked to their games, as it has certainly seen me focus on Kindle books to try and finish a challenge rather than reading an actual book.

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Book 32 (of 52) – Pretend We’re Dead

Pretend We’re Dead: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the ’90s – Tanya Pearson

In Pretend We’re Dead: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the ’90s, Tanya Pearson dives into the evolution of women in the alternative rock music scenes of the 1990s, the commercialization and mainstream absorption of alternative rock, which led to the marginalization of many of these artists, and the resurgence of these female artists in the 2010s and ’20s, both for their own careers and as catalysts for the young artists emerging today.

The book chronicles the significant impact that female musicians and rock bands had in the ’90s, including Courtney Love of Hole, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Nina Gordon and Louise Post of Veruca Salt, and Tanya Donelly of Belly, alongside solo acts like Liz Phair and Tracy Bonham. These women not only dominated the airwaves but also challenged the traditional, often misogynistic, norms of the music industry, being outspoken, unapologetic, and helping to redefine the notion of femininity in rock.  At least until the shifting landscape of the music and radio industries left them behind, starting with the rise of nu-metal in 1997 and the inherent misogyny that entailed and, finally, in the backlash against non-conformity following the 9/11 attacks.

This era and these artists covered by Pearson were the soundtrack to my college experience.  There are the groups I listened to, the concerts I went to, and, in many cases, still do today.  I’ll need to do some homework to catch up on the newer releases and to see how their influence has spread amongst the artists of today.

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It Has Indeed Been A While

As we hit the halfway point of the 2025 season, I’ve seen fourteen teams already this year, just under half of the league.  Stretching back to the start of 2024, that number jumps to 25, which leaves a quarter of the teams I’ve not seen in quite some time.

Of the remaining five, the Nationals hold the top stop, as it has been over four years now since I have seen them live and in person.  The Twins are the biggest surprise, since going two plus seasons without seeing a division rival is pretty rare. I do have the opportunity to add each of these five teams to this season’s slate in the second half.  Anyway, here’s a look at each team and the last time I saw them play.

Most Recent Game By Team

Team Date
Washington Nationals 5/19/2021
New York Yankees 5/15/2022
Minnesota Twins 10/5/2022
Philadelphia Phillies 6/29/2023
San Francisco Giants 9/5/2023
Cincinnati Reds 4/13/2024
Tampa Bay Rays 4/28/2024
Cleveland Guardians 5/12/2024
Atlanta Braves 5/21/2024
Baltimore Orioles 5/25/2024
Toronto Blue Jays 5/28/2024
Los Angeles Dodgers 6/24/2024
Pittsburgh Pirates 7/14/2024
Detroit Tigers 8/25/2024
New York Mets 8/31/2024
Oakland Athletics 9/15/2024
Los Angeles Angels 3/27/2025
San Diego Padres 4/5/2025
Boston Red Sox 4/13/2025
Milwaukee Brewers 5/1/2025
Houston Astros 5/3/2025
Miami Marlins 5/10/2025
Seattle Mariners 5/20/2025
Texas Rangers 5/24/2025
Colorado Rockies 5/26/2025
Chicago Cubs 5/26/2025
Kansas City Royals 6/8/2025
St. Louis Cardinals 6/19/2025
Chicago White Sox 6/24/2025
Arizona Diamondbacks 6/24/2025
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Fitbit XI – Week 22

Another good week, as I extended my 30,000-step weeks streak to six and surpassed my daily step goal for the third time over that period.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, garnering 5100 steps.  Monday saw a slight decrease, needing just 3 additional steps to reach 4700.  Another 28 steps on Tuesday would have gotten me to 4400.  My work week ended on Wednesday with 4200 steps.  Off for the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, I took in a double header at Rate Field, leading to 7700 steps.  A big fall on Friday dropped me to 4100 steps.  A lazy Saturday wrapped up the week with 2700 steps.

Total steps: 32,971

Daily average: 4710.1

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iTunes Top 200: #6

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

We continue this week with the two tracks tied for sixth on this countdown with 152 plays apiece, both of which have ties to the local ballclub and neither of which would classify as a traditional song.

#7: sox05_montage
iTunes stats: 152 plays, most recently on 8/28/2024
Previous ranking: #6

In 2005, the White Sox won their first division title since 2000, their first ALDS and ALCS ever, and, finally, their first World Series championship since 1917.  This track contains radio highlights from John Rooney and Ed Farmer, courtesy of the team’s flagship ESPN 1000, of the entire 2005 season, starting with a 1-0 victory over Cleveland at US Cellular Field and culminating in a 1-0 victory against the Astros in Houston to give the White Sox their first championship in 88 years.  It featured on my White Sox victory playlists for the next decade, finally dropping off in 2015.

#6: Gordon Beckham Intro
iTunes stats: 152 plays, most recently on 6/27/2024
Previous ranking: #6

Drafted by the White Sox as the eighth overall pick in 2008, Gordon Beckham made a splash when he first broke into the Major Leagues in 2009.  He used The Outfield’s hit Your Love as his walkup song, which was not part of my collection at the time.  This recording, featuring Gene Honda introducing the former White Sox infielder as he came up to the plate, was a part of my White Sox victory playlist until I was able to track down a copy of the real thing.

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Book 31 (of 52) – Parents Weekend

Parents Weekend – Alex Finlay

When a group of students go missing during parents’ weekend, FBI agent Sarah Keller, newly relocated to the west coast, is called in to help the investigation.  After interviewing the parents, Keller leans on the locals, including the chief of campus police and a student intern, to help make sense of the clues.  Can she find the missing kids before their time runs out?

In Parents Weekend, Alex Finlay brings back Special Agent Keller, last seen in 2022’s The Night Shift.  This was a quick read, completed in just three days, and kept the action moving.  I will await his next installment next year.

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Book 30 (of 52) – I Was A Teenage Slasher

I Was A Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones

When Texas teen Tolly Driver gets infected during a massacre at a high school party, he turns into a slasher, compelled to exact revenge on the classmates who nearly killed him.  His new powers allow him to fulfill all of the tropes of the genre, but he runs into one problem: his “final girl” turns out to be his best friend.  Can he avoid his new nature long enough to keep her alive?

I Was a Teenage Slasher, by Stephen Graham Jones, was a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee last year for favorite horror.  It certainly took a new approach to the genre, where becoming a slasher was a physical disease and not something one chose to do.  I enjoyed it, but it never sucked me all the way in.