I have 8,103 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.
If you're old enough you will remember that Jack Bruce was the bass player for Cream. Although the term has been overused much since then, Cream was considered the first "supergroup", composed of Eric Clapton (guitars), Bruce (bass, vocals) and Ginger Baker (drums). All three had had considerable success with other bands prior to forming Cream in 1966. In 1968, Cream was the biggest grosing band in the world, playing a combination of rock and blues. But they broke up after their 1968 tour.
This song is from his first, and most successful solo album Songs For A Tailor which was released in 1969. In the 40 years since, Bruce, now 69 years old, continues to tour and make albums.
When the wagons leave the city
for the forest and further on
Painted wagons of the morning
dusty roads where they have gone
Sometimes travelling through the darkness
met the summer coming home
Fallen faces by the wayside
looked as if they might have known
O the sun was in their eyes
and the desert that dries
In the country town
where the laughter sounds
O the dancing and the singing
O the music when they played
O the fires that they started
O the girls with no regret
Sometimes they found it
Sometimes they kept it
Often lost it on the way
Fought each other to possess it
Sometimes died in sight of day
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Bonsai Saturday
I have been sadly neglecting my bonsai plants. The outdoor plants are doing well, as we've had a lot of rain recently. But the indoor plants need to be watered everyday and I've not been doing that. My wife got me a new juniper bonsai for my birthday this week so I'm taking this as an opportunity to get these indoor plants in shape. First, a photo of me with my new baby. Never in a million years could I make a bonsai plant that looks as nice as this.
In addition to not watering them enough, I've got aphids in my indoor plants. I'm not sure how that happened. I have had them outside on occasion so I guess one of them got infested. Aphids are nasty pests. They are so small you can barely see them, and they excrete this sticky stuff that gets on everything. Below is my willow ficus which appears in the banner photo above. Every leaf it still has is sticky. After this photo, I cut off the rest of the leaves, cleaned up the pot (the sticky stuff is at least water soluble) and sprayed it for bugs.
Next is my umbrella tree bonsai. This was was a Christmas gift from my wife in 2004 and is what started me on my bonsai hobby. It's now over 5 years old (who knows when it was actually planted?) and overdue to be re-potted. I'm going to spare you what it looked like before this photo but it didn't look good. So in addition to re-potting it I've decided to trim it back and start over. Here it is in the pot ready for soil.
It was severely root-bound, which is probably another reason it didn't look too good. In addition to trimming off all the branches, I also took several inches of roots off. I really like the above ground root structure so I got a little creative with the stone placement.
One idea of bonsai is to make the plant look like it's a miniature tree growing in nature. So I've tried to make it look like the roots are growing over rocks. I'll be pretty happy with the look if it gets new leaves. As long as I water it every day and fertilize it once in awhile it should look pretty good in about a year.
In addition to not watering them enough, I've got aphids in my indoor plants. I'm not sure how that happened. I have had them outside on occasion so I guess one of them got infested. Aphids are nasty pests. They are so small you can barely see them, and they excrete this sticky stuff that gets on everything. Below is my willow ficus which appears in the banner photo above. Every leaf it still has is sticky. After this photo, I cut off the rest of the leaves, cleaned up the pot (the sticky stuff is at least water soluble) and sprayed it for bugs.
Next is my umbrella tree bonsai. This was was a Christmas gift from my wife in 2004 and is what started me on my bonsai hobby. It's now over 5 years old (who knows when it was actually planted?) and overdue to be re-potted. I'm going to spare you what it looked like before this photo but it didn't look good. So in addition to re-potting it I've decided to trim it back and start over. Here it is in the pot ready for soil.
It was severely root-bound, which is probably another reason it didn't look too good. In addition to trimming off all the branches, I also took several inches of roots off. I really like the above ground root structure so I got a little creative with the stone placement.
One idea of bonsai is to make the plant look like it's a miniature tree growing in nature. So I've tried to make it look like the roots are growing over rocks. I'll be pretty happy with the look if it gets new leaves. As long as I water it every day and fertilize it once in awhile it should look pretty good in about a year.
Monday, October 26, 2009
1988 Score
In the box of baseball collectibles I got at the church bazaar a few weeks ago were 16 54-card rack packs of 1988 Score. That's 864 cards. I already had 200 so I thought, even though I don't care for this set that much, I should be able to assemble a complete set from this. No such luck. With three packs to go I only had 537 of the 660 cards in the set. The next two packs were dry, no new cards. Then I got 13 new ones from the last pack to end up at 550, 110 short. I don't think I'll be making any effort to complete the set. I got just about every player that I collect from the set.
Going through all these cards, however, made me appreciate this set a bit more. I started collecting in 1985 and I was pretty much a Topps snob in those days. 1988 was the first year from Score and I'm pretty sure I didn't buy any new packs. The cards I had came in repack boxes. I can't say that I like the borders too much. The set is arranged in 110-card blocks of color. The first 110 cards are purple, followed by blue, red, green and yellow (or mustard perhaps). The photography, however, is pretty good.
This George Brett card is probably my favorite card. I like cards featuring a swinging batter with a ball in the shot. This one is great because you can see George's face and his concentration.
Nothing special about the Mike Schmidt card, except that it's Mike Schmidt.
One thing I like about a lot of the photographs is how they are framed. This Dwight Evans card is an example. A full body shot with three points touching the border, his right foot, his hands and the top of the bat.
Here's a similar shot of a pitcher. I also like this one because the color in the frame goes well with the color of the frame.
Did Gary Carter use an especially long bat. Sure looks like it from this shot.
Another good job of framing. Ruffin's body leans to the right of the frame but his arm draws your attention across the photo to the ball on the left.
Here's Kirk Gibson running out of the frame, hopefully after getting a hit.
Another interestingly framed shot.
The set certainly has it's share of boring shots, but almost every card features an action shot, there are very few posed pictures. And in most cases, the photos are sharp and bright. The wrapper says "Photography Quality Printing".
Another thing that struck me was the number of future Hall Of Famers who were playing in 1988. I may not have got them all but here's who I saw in this set: Wade Boggs, George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson (in the set but actually retired in 1987), Jim Rice, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett, Ryan Sandberg, Dave Winfield, Dennis Eckersley, Robin Yount, Gary Carter, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, and Cal Ripken. And, perhaps still potential HOFers, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens.
Going through all these cards, however, made me appreciate this set a bit more. I started collecting in 1985 and I was pretty much a Topps snob in those days. 1988 was the first year from Score and I'm pretty sure I didn't buy any new packs. The cards I had came in repack boxes. I can't say that I like the borders too much. The set is arranged in 110-card blocks of color. The first 110 cards are purple, followed by blue, red, green and yellow (or mustard perhaps). The photography, however, is pretty good.
This George Brett card is probably my favorite card. I like cards featuring a swinging batter with a ball in the shot. This one is great because you can see George's face and his concentration.
Nothing special about the Mike Schmidt card, except that it's Mike Schmidt.
One thing I like about a lot of the photographs is how they are framed. This Dwight Evans card is an example. A full body shot with three points touching the border, his right foot, his hands and the top of the bat.
Here's a similar shot of a pitcher. I also like this one because the color in the frame goes well with the color of the frame.
Did Gary Carter use an especially long bat. Sure looks like it from this shot.
Another good job of framing. Ruffin's body leans to the right of the frame but his arm draws your attention across the photo to the ball on the left.
Here's Kirk Gibson running out of the frame, hopefully after getting a hit.
Another interestingly framed shot.The set certainly has it's share of boring shots, but almost every card features an action shot, there are very few posed pictures. And in most cases, the photos are sharp and bright. The wrapper says "Photography Quality Printing".
Another thing that struck me was the number of future Hall Of Famers who were playing in 1988. I may not have got them all but here's who I saw in this set: Wade Boggs, George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson (in the set but actually retired in 1987), Jim Rice, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett, Ryan Sandberg, Dave Winfield, Dennis Eckersley, Robin Yount, Gary Carter, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, and Cal Ripken. And, perhaps still potential HOFers, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Song of the Week - Bitter Heart by Zee Avi
I have 8,076 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.
I just got this song from the Minnesota Public Radio Song of the Day Podcast and fell in love with it. Zee is a Malaysian singer-songwriter who (according to Wikipedia) got her start on You Tube. You can read her story here. As I've mentioned before, I like women singers with quirky voices and she fits the bill. There is an official music video of this song on You Tube but is's not available for embedding. This appearance on Carson Daly's show is pretty good however.
Sun rays come down as seen when they hit the ground,
Children spinning around till they fall down down down.
I wait for you: it's been two hours now,
You're still somewhere in town,
Your dinners getting cold.
I rest my case you are always this late,
And you know how much I hate waiting around 'round 'round,
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside,
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is gettin' just a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine.
And then you come and tell me the same reason as you did yesterday,
So tell me what's her name.
Doo doo da dum, doo doo da dum, doo doo doo doo doo doo da da dum dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum.
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is just getting a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine.
I just got this song from the Minnesota Public Radio Song of the Day Podcast and fell in love with it. Zee is a Malaysian singer-songwriter who (according to Wikipedia) got her start on You Tube. You can read her story here. As I've mentioned before, I like women singers with quirky voices and she fits the bill. There is an official music video of this song on You Tube but is's not available for embedding. This appearance on Carson Daly's show is pretty good however.
Sun rays come down as seen when they hit the ground,
Children spinning around till they fall down down down.
I wait for you: it's been two hours now,
You're still somewhere in town,
Your dinners getting cold.
I rest my case you are always this late,
And you know how much I hate waiting around 'round 'round,
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside,
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is gettin' just a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine.
And then you come and tell me the same reason as you did yesterday,
So tell me what's her name.
Doo doo da dum, doo doo da dum, doo doo doo doo doo doo da da dum dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum.
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is just getting a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Soupy Sales - Dead at 83
Most of you who read my blog may not remember Soupy Sales but he had a TV show in the early 1960s aimed at kids called "The Soupy Sales Show". I used to love this show. It was full of loopy humor, music, puppets and pies-to-the-face, usually his face. I picked this little piece because it features White Fang. I was about 12 years old when this show was on.
The singing lion puppet was Pookie. The big white paw was White Fang. You rarely saw more of White Fang than his paw. I loved White Fang.
When look at this now, I am amazed at the similarity to Pee Wee's Playhouse.
The singing lion puppet was Pookie. The big white paw was White Fang. You rarely saw more of White Fang than his paw. I loved White Fang.
When look at this now, I am amazed at the similarity to Pee Wee's Playhouse.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Your 2009 National League Champion Phillies!
This will be like the post I made last year after the Phillies won the NL Championship. I could get used to doing this every year. I'm writing this on Tuesday night hoping, with a few edits, I can post it Wednesday night. Go Phillies!
Jimmy Rollins - Shortstop: I noted last year that Jimmy didn't have as good a year in 2008 as he did in his 2007 MVP season. I hate to report that 2009 wasn't as good as 2008. His BA dropped from .277 to .250 and his on-base percentage dropped from .344 to .296. Neither good trends for a lead-off hitter. In fact, he was dropped from the lead-off spot for part of the season. His home runs increased from 11 to 21, but you're not paying Rollins to hit home runs. Defensively he had a great year. But he was in the lead-off spot in all the games of the playoffs. And he had that huge hit in Game 4 of the NLCS to win the game.
Shane Victorino - Outfield: Shane had another fine regular season and another great post season. As usual he was in the thick of all the action.
Chase Utley - 2nd Base: Chase had a typical Chase Utley regular season, appearing in his 4th straight All-Star Game. In the NLDS, he hit .429. He did have costly errors in both series which factored into both games the Phillies lost. He's still the premier 2nd baseman in the National League.
Ryan Howard - 1st Base: I don't know what more can be said about Ryan Howard. His performance in this post-season has been phenomenal, with 2 HR, 14 RBIs and a .380 BA. He has surpassed Mike Schmidt for most RBIs by a Phillie in the post-season. If they named an MVP for the NLDS it would have to been him. And he was named the MVP of the NLCS!
Jayson Werth - Outfield: Jayson hit 36 home runs in the regular season, a career high for him, 12 more than he had in 2008. He had some big hits in the NLDS although he was pretty cool in the NLCS, except for 2 big home runs in Game 5.
Rual Ibanez - Outfield: Rual was a free agent signing by the Phillies to replace Pat Burrell. For the first part of the regular season he was terrific. He got hurt and didn't come back as strong but still finished the season with 34 home runs. The fans love him, shouting "Ruaaaaaaal" when he comes up to bat.
Pedro Feliz - 3rd base: Pedro is probably the least heralded Phillie. He had a solid year at 3rd base. He hasn't been outstanding in the post season, but hasn't embarrassed himself either. A big home run in Game 5.
Carlos Ruiz - Catcher: Carlos is the surprise favorite this post season. While he shared the starting catcher with others in the regular season he was the starter for every post season game. He calls a great game and really performs offensively in the post season.
Cole Hamels - Pitcher: Cole was the darling of the post season last year but had a pretty disappointing 2009, going only 10-11. He hasn't been much of a factor in the post season either.
Cliff Lee - Pitcher: The Phillies acquired Lee from the Indians on August 1 for 4 prospects. This acquisition made the Phillies virtually a lock for the post season. Lee, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner was 7-4 with the Phillies. He is 2-0 in the post season with an ERA of 0.74.
Pedro Martinez - Pitcher: The Phillies signed Pedro on July 15, for a million bucks. This was a few weeks before they signed Lee and I think folks were pretty disappointed that Martinez was the best they could get. "I might surprise you, I might not," Martinez said. "It's going to be really fun to go find out." And it has been fun. He was 5-1 for the Phillies down the stretch and pitched a great 7 innings in Game 2 of the NLCS. He didn't get the win (in fact the Phillies lost 2-1) but that wasn't his fault.
Jamie Moyer - Pitcher: After going 16-7 in 2008 (one of the best years of his career) he was only 12-10 in 2009. And he was hurt for part of the season. And he got demoted to the bullpen when the Phillies acquired Lee. And he hasn't been much of a factor in the post-season. But he's still everybody's favorite 46-year-old pitcher.
Ryan Madson - Relief Pitcher: Madson was 5-5 for the Phillies this year with 10 saves. He had more oppotunities for wins and saves this year because of Brad Lidge's troubles. He hasn't been real effective in the post season, giving up 3 earned runs in 5 innings of work.
Brad Lidge - Closer: Much has been made of Brad's troubles in 2009. After a perfect season in 2008, almost anything would have been a disappointment in 2009. He only had 31 saves compared to 41 in 2008. But even more alarming he blew something like 11 saves and had an ERA of 7.21. But in the post season he has 3 saves and 1 win. Here's hoping he can carry on through the World Series.
Charlie Manual - Manager: If Charlie can hang around with the Phillies for a few more years (and with this team he should) he will go down as the best Phillies manager ever. He has a 447-363 record in 5 years with the Phillies. He is 4th on the all time win list for Phillies managers. Only Gene Mauch (1960-1968), Harry Wright (1884-1993) and Danny Ozark (1973-1979) have more wins. Only Ozark had a team comparable to today's Phillies. Charlie's team has won 89.4 games a year with him as manager, while Ozark's teams won 84.8. He's been looking like a genius so far in the post season. 2009 Manager of the Year?
Jimmy Rollins - Shortstop: I noted last year that Jimmy didn't have as good a year in 2008 as he did in his 2007 MVP season. I hate to report that 2009 wasn't as good as 2008. His BA dropped from .277 to .250 and his on-base percentage dropped from .344 to .296. Neither good trends for a lead-off hitter. In fact, he was dropped from the lead-off spot for part of the season. His home runs increased from 11 to 21, but you're not paying Rollins to hit home runs. Defensively he had a great year. But he was in the lead-off spot in all the games of the playoffs. And he had that huge hit in Game 4 of the NLCS to win the game.
Shane Victorino - Outfield: Shane had another fine regular season and another great post season. As usual he was in the thick of all the action.
Chase Utley - 2nd Base: Chase had a typical Chase Utley regular season, appearing in his 4th straight All-Star Game. In the NLDS, he hit .429. He did have costly errors in both series which factored into both games the Phillies lost. He's still the premier 2nd baseman in the National League.
Ryan Howard - 1st Base: I don't know what more can be said about Ryan Howard. His performance in this post-season has been phenomenal, with 2 HR, 14 RBIs and a .380 BA. He has surpassed Mike Schmidt for most RBIs by a Phillie in the post-season. If they named an MVP for the NLDS it would have to been him. And he was named the MVP of the NLCS!
Jayson Werth - Outfield: Jayson hit 36 home runs in the regular season, a career high for him, 12 more than he had in 2008. He had some big hits in the NLDS although he was pretty cool in the NLCS, except for 2 big home runs in Game 5.
Rual Ibanez - Outfield: Rual was a free agent signing by the Phillies to replace Pat Burrell. For the first part of the regular season he was terrific. He got hurt and didn't come back as strong but still finished the season with 34 home runs. The fans love him, shouting "Ruaaaaaaal" when he comes up to bat.
Pedro Feliz - 3rd base: Pedro is probably the least heralded Phillie. He had a solid year at 3rd base. He hasn't been outstanding in the post season, but hasn't embarrassed himself either. A big home run in Game 5.
Carlos Ruiz - Catcher: Carlos is the surprise favorite this post season. While he shared the starting catcher with others in the regular season he was the starter for every post season game. He calls a great game and really performs offensively in the post season.
Cole Hamels - Pitcher: Cole was the darling of the post season last year but had a pretty disappointing 2009, going only 10-11. He hasn't been much of a factor in the post season either.
Cliff Lee - Pitcher: The Phillies acquired Lee from the Indians on August 1 for 4 prospects. This acquisition made the Phillies virtually a lock for the post season. Lee, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner was 7-4 with the Phillies. He is 2-0 in the post season with an ERA of 0.74.
Pedro Martinez - Pitcher: The Phillies signed Pedro on July 15, for a million bucks. This was a few weeks before they signed Lee and I think folks were pretty disappointed that Martinez was the best they could get. "I might surprise you, I might not," Martinez said. "It's going to be really fun to go find out." And it has been fun. He was 5-1 for the Phillies down the stretch and pitched a great 7 innings in Game 2 of the NLCS. He didn't get the win (in fact the Phillies lost 2-1) but that wasn't his fault.
Jamie Moyer - Pitcher: After going 16-7 in 2008 (one of the best years of his career) he was only 12-10 in 2009. And he was hurt for part of the season. And he got demoted to the bullpen when the Phillies acquired Lee. And he hasn't been much of a factor in the post-season. But he's still everybody's favorite 46-year-old pitcher.
Ryan Madson - Relief Pitcher: Madson was 5-5 for the Phillies this year with 10 saves. He had more oppotunities for wins and saves this year because of Brad Lidge's troubles. He hasn't been real effective in the post season, giving up 3 earned runs in 5 innings of work.
Brad Lidge - Closer: Much has been made of Brad's troubles in 2009. After a perfect season in 2008, almost anything would have been a disappointment in 2009. He only had 31 saves compared to 41 in 2008. But even more alarming he blew something like 11 saves and had an ERA of 7.21. But in the post season he has 3 saves and 1 win. Here's hoping he can carry on through the World Series.
Charlie Manual - Manager: If Charlie can hang around with the Phillies for a few more years (and with this team he should) he will go down as the best Phillies manager ever. He has a 447-363 record in 5 years with the Phillies. He is 4th on the all time win list for Phillies managers. Only Gene Mauch (1960-1968), Harry Wright (1884-1993) and Danny Ozark (1973-1979) have more wins. Only Ozark had a team comparable to today's Phillies. Charlie's team has won 89.4 games a year with him as manager, while Ozark's teams won 84.8. He's been looking like a genius so far in the post season. 2009 Manager of the Year?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Jim Palmer cards
I got this Jim Palmer rookie card in the great church bazaar box from a few weeks ago. Certainly not a mint condition card but not in bad shape for a 43 year-old piece of cardboard. Beckett lists this card at the ridiculous price of $100. As of when I wrote this post, there were about 25 of these cards going on eBay. Only two had bids, both in better shape than my card and the bidding was in the $5-$10 range. This card has not too sharp corners, a couple of light creases and a little stain on the upper right corner. The back is spotless.
This is the only card from Palmer's career that I own. I had these two post-career cards. This next card is a 2004 Diamond Kings Hall of Fame Heroes numbered 65 of 1,000. I pulled this from the box of 2004 Diamond Kings I had bought that year.
This card is a 2006 Topps Turkey Red. I pulled this from a pack of Turkey Red.
Jim Palmer had some great accomplishments in his Hall Of Fame career. He was a 6-time All-Star, a 3-time Cy Young Award winner and has 3 World Series rings. And he was also a famous underwear model.
This ad was on sale on eBay for about $4.00.
This is the only card from Palmer's career that I own. I had these two post-career cards. This next card is a 2004 Diamond Kings Hall of Fame Heroes numbered 65 of 1,000. I pulled this from the box of 2004 Diamond Kings I had bought that year.
This card is a 2006 Topps Turkey Red. I pulled this from a pack of Turkey Red.
Jim Palmer had some great accomplishments in his Hall Of Fame career. He was a 6-time All-Star, a 3-time Cy Young Award winner and has 3 World Series rings. And he was also a famous underwear model.
This ad was on sale on eBay for about $4.00.
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