Danny turns the ripe old age of 23 today. To celebrate, we have this shot of him in Boston last May for Angelina’s graduation, walking outside of the Faneuil Hall marketplace.
Tag / DLM
2025 College Basketball Tipoff
The Purdue men’s basketball team kicks off the 2025-2026 regular season tonight against Evansville. With Danny out of school and losing my John Purdue Club pre-sale opportunities, it may be a while before I attend another regular season home game, but, like last year, I can look for road opportunities. So, with the 129th season in school history about to get underway, let’s take a look at the results of the now 25 men’s college basketball games I have attended in my lifetime, with the latest coming at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa.
All-Time Team Records – Men
| Team | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Hoosiers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| North Texas Mean Green | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Butler Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 17 | 7 | 0.708 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Gonzaga Bulldogs | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Houston Cougars | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Long Beach State 49ers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Vermont Catamounts | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Jacksonville Dolphins | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Thanks For The Memories
We are entering the home stretch of 2025, and, to celebrate Danny’s upcoming birthday, we have a picture of him being recognized as a graduating senior at his final band performance at the Elliot Hall of Music in the spring of 2024.
Back To School Time
With a lack of Michael pictures to choose from, we start September once again featuring all three kids posing prior to Danny’s graduation dinner at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana. This time, Danny is the only one in a caps and gowns, fighting the wind to keep himself presentable.
2025 College Football Kickoff
With a new coach and a revamped roster with nearly 60 transfers, the Purdue Boilermakers kick off their 2025 gridiron campaign today. With Danny having graduated last spring-ish, I did not make it to any games last fall, so my games attended total remains at 32, covering six different stadiums in a whopping three states, including one bowl game.
All-Time Team Records
| University | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Orange | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Wisconsin Badgers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Louisiana State Tigers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 4 | 1 | 0.800 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 19 | 11 | 0.633 |
| Northern Illinois Huskies | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 2 | 7 | 0.222 |
| Indiana Hoosiers | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Michigan Wolverines | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Michigan State Spartans | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Florida Atlantic Owls | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Western Michigan Broncos | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| North Carolina State Wolfpack | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Lay Back Cause It’s Summertime
We kick-off the second half of 2025 by returning back to the waning days of 2023, where Danny posed with Dopey at the Exhibition Hub Art Center for Disney 100: The Exhibition, celebrating the 100th anniversary of what would eventually become the Walt Disney Company.
iTunes Top 200: #11 – 19
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.
With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 19th place with 65 plays, breaking past the century mark, and finishing with the one track with 114 plays, good enough for 11th place since my stats began in late 2007.
#19: Metallica – Harvester of Sorrow
iTunes stats: 65 plays, most recently on 11/5/2024
Previous ranking: #19
Released as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, it was used as the at-bat music for former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the majority of his career and thus featured on most of my victory playlists leading up to his retirement.
#19: The Lonely Island – Natalie’s Rap (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 65 plays, most recently on 11/1/2022
Previous ranking: #17
A slight drop for the second digital short from The Lonely Island, which featured Natalie Portman playing against type as a lewd gangsta.
#18: Foo Fighters – My Hero
iTunes stats: 67 plays, most recently on 9/30/2024
Previous ranking: #19
The highest-ranking tune from the Foo Fighters, up one spot from five years ago, is this live version from their previously mentioned concert in London’s Hyde Park.
#16: P.O.D. – Boom
iTunes stats: 94 plays, most recently on 9/25/2022
Previous ranking: #12
The entrance song for former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, it made a number of appearances on my early victory playlists.
#16: Blues Brothers – Sweet Home Chicago
iTunes stats: 94 plays, most recently on 9/15/2024
Previous ranking: #170
Getting added to my White Sox victory playlist helped make this classic jump up the chart. Continue reading →
iTunes Top 200: #19 – 27
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.
With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 27th place with 56 plays up to those with 65 plays apiece, good enough for 19th place since my stats began in late 2007.
#27: Veruca Salt – Seether
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2024
Previous ranking: #29
The group’s debut single was ranked as the 10th greatest grunge song of all time by Paste magazine in 2014.
#27: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022
Previous ranking: #23
This lead track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.
#27: Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #36
The first single from the band’s second album, chronicling the disintegration of singer/song writer Dave Grohl’s four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood.
#27: Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #23
This live version of the song was recorded at Chicago’s own Metro theatre.
#26: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 57 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #22
A short interlude from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.
Graduating To The Real World
The calendar turns to May and we celebrate with a picture of Danny after his graduation from Purdue last spring.
No More Teenagers
Today, we celebrate Michael completing his 20th complete trip around the sun, using a photo of him surrounded by Angelina and Danny from last spring as we celebrated college graduations.