SOTU

Tonight, President Obama delivered a speech to a special session of Congress which essentially served as his State of the Union address. In sparing the details here, I saw a president planning his vision to a Congress which is bitterly divided in policy. There is a portion of Congress that wishes to try to fix the economic crisis the nation is in while another wishes to recycle stale cliches about failed government. One group is attempting to ease the fears of the common American while sending a message to those responsible for billions in irresponsible gambling debts that the buck must stop there while another group wishes to allow free-market (i.e., welfare capitalism) policies run the show. The president tonight delivered a speech, partisanship aside, that seemed full of hope and trust. His manner and eloquence are traits sorely needed and missed in former presidents. And the support from the American public (not manipulated by lies and fear) is there. I hope that the Obama stimulus package is successful. If not, the future of this nation will be bleak.
I can imagine the balleyhooing at Fox Noise though I would love to see John Stewart's response by LA Gov. Bobby Jindal, who delivered the most flaccid and tired retort I've heard in a long while. Any elected official from Louisiana who says that the federal government has no role in helping states must suffer from amnesia. Jindal claimed that New Orleans and the state had successfully rebuilt itself since the devasting storm hit in 2005. That's news to me, especially on the ironic day of Mardi Gras, when I wonder about the hundreds of thousands of displaced Orleanians living in other cities or states, the racial bias by national insurance companies and the leadership by a Republican president and Congress that fiddled while the city drowned. Shame on Jindal for saying this in private, much less a nationally televised speech.

President Obama will hopefully continue the successful start to his presidency.

The Oscars

After looking at the awards this morning in the Chronicle, I can't really think of much to say. Except for Mickey Rourke and what his career just may do. Also, a story on NPR reported that Sean Penn was picketed as he drove into the awards ceremony last night. Do these people realize that actors essentially play dress up and have imaginary friends? Sean Penn was PRETENDING to be Harvey Milk. Ironically, no one picketed Kate Winslet as she drove in. Notice she was nominated for playing a NAZI, one of those people responsible for murdering twelve million people during World War II. Harvey Milk pushed for civil rights; the Nazis pushed to eradicate 'undesirables' and yet certain Americans protest Sean Penn's character. Typical

Hey, Mr. DJ

What's been spinning today:

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis - Two Men With the Blues - an absolutely beautiful record that deserves more play than I've been giving it.
Paul Simon - epon.
Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark
Richie Havens - Mixed Bad - e-mailed him in a fit of insomnia last night. Am having to pass, unfortunately, on his Bay Area visit in a couple of weeks. My loss.
Tift Merritt - Tambourine. Tift; rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!
Willie - Stardust - started, though lost to nightly t.v. In a Willie mode, as:
Willie - Whiskey River - promotional live disc through his own whiskey label. Given to me with a guitar autographed by the red headed stranger himself. One hell of a Christmas present a couple of years ago. Thanks, Pop!
Willie Nile - Streets of New York. One of the best records no one's ever heard.
Pink Floyd - Meddle. Finished. Great record; made me really miss Rick Wright.

Forced to Confess

The GOP continues to paint itself in a corner as an irrelevant and unwilling participant in an overall success plan for the nation. News leaks such as this and this and this make me want to take the entire organization and put it into a museum next to the Know-Nothings and Constitutional Union parties. And while you're at it, and I don't care what what your favorite show is, you should vote for Obama over ratings after this atrocious story broke.

Now that Obama's done his part in attempting to cross the aisle, I hope the GOP sees the writing on the wall and fears for its political life.

While you're at it, shoot over to my Congressman's webpage. Representative Jerry McNerney not only has served my district and our nation well (liberal and progressive positions on our foreign affairs, the budget as well as Brentwood's future), he is one heck of a nice man. I've had the pleasure to meet him several times and I helped campaign for him in the fall. Thank you, Jerry!

And the Winner Is...

Tonight's Academy Awards were a bit underwhelming. Hugh Jackman started off comedic but for some reason, the whole kit and kaboodle felt rushed. The sound was horrible (that, or the music director didn't realize that when people are presenting, the orchestra is supposed to stfu) and impersonal. The tribute portion of the show, which is always the most moving and favorite portions of mine, was just an absolute shame, with moving cameras that made for a struggle to read the names of the departed. That's what I want at my send-off; someone squinting at the program asking what my name is. Touching.

Forgot about what I've been spinning. This week's been pretty busy, though some good music has continued to air throughout the house and classroom.

Tift Merritt - Another Country
Pink Floyd - Meddle, side 1
The Bristol Sessions, RCA Records, 1927-1928
Easy Rider Sdtk
Forrest Gump Sdtk
Born On the Fourth of July Sdtk
Almost Famous (my phenomenal home made three discer) Sdtk (all to get in Oscar mode)
Bruce - 11/22/05 Devils & Dust tour finale, along with a three disc compilation
Waylon Jennings - Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
Bruce - The River
Fleet Foxes
Derek Trucks - Already Free
Joe Lovano - Joyous Encounter
Tom Petty - Anthology disc one
John Mellencamp - The Best That I Could Do
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
REM - Green

I thought about tearing into the latest Victor D. Hanson article but it's getting late and old doing this. I guess that I have to writhe on the ground knowing that people with different beliefs get free press and I don't. It's not the level of education or social position. It's the oft-idiotic statements that influence others that steer our nation into disastrous and failed policies like the last eight years. I'm not sure what to really think of the last month but anything's better than what Bush left. I do think that Bush failed so badly that Obama's successes will have to be great in order to break even.

C-Span's semi-annual ranking of the presidents placed Bush at 36th. Not sure whether William Henry Harrison is included in the overall rankings here but I believe it's a bit too high. However, let's assess:

Obama's 44; he's not on the list. Down to 43.
Grover Cleveland was both 22 and 24. Down to 42.
Presidents 37-41 are all 19th century "caretakers" and maybe Warren Harding, another Republican. He died in office (the best move he could have made for himself) and did not carry out his policies. Should he count? Yes. With a big *.

In all fairness, it is accurate to say that historians have already declared George W. Bush the greatest presidential failure since the Gilded Age. For anyone to start out so low, it makes one wonder whether Bush will notch up a tad or sink even further. I don't know my ratings history enough to know whether Truman initially ranked low or not but he's 5th. Bush'll never reach even 25th. I honestly believe that 36th, therefore, is a bit too high. Look out, Hayes, Grant and Johnson. And tell Buchanan the news.

Oscar wraps tomorrow night!

Anniversaries

Tomorrow is a nice day. Not only Friday but the one-month mark of President Obama's tenure. I've slept better and have cringed less in the last thirty days than the previous eight years. It's also my parents' forty-third wedding anniversary. Way to go, Mom and Dad.

I've been busy and swamped with school. Bought my first cd in almost a month and weirdly enough, it's Born in the U.S.A. Last winter, I accidentally burned a hole through my cd, using the case to temporarily blind my lcd projector light in my classroom. Within a brief time, the high powered light burned a hole through the case, the booklet and through the disc. While my lp has served me well at home, I need the disc elsewhere, like work. The packaging is slightly different, so I'm hoping that Columbia borrowed the Japanese remasters and brought them here. The record would sound fantastic redone. Nearly bought Charles Mingus' Ah- Um and need to pick it up soon. Sampling this, I was floored at the great post-bop jamming on the album.

Currently reading Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s, edited by Bruce Schulman. Great essays on what helped bring the rise of Reagan and the people who steered the nation for too long in a poor direction. Odd to think of how people, with well-intentioned actions, can end up on the wrong end of history. Here's an entire tome on this.

Whistle While We Work

Listening to the title track of WOAD, I got to wondering: what other (great) rock and roll songs incorporate whistling? Odd topic, I know, but the more I began thinking, the more I thought of. I'd also love to hear of other songs I've omitted:

WOAD
Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard - Paul Simon
The Stranger - Billy Joel
Winds of Change - Scorpions
Jealous Guy - John Lennon
Bridge Over River Kwai - Alec Guinness et al
Angel Is a Centerfold - I Forget
Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding

Valentine's Day

A disastrous dinner from a restaurant downtown, which will be the last time we frequent that establishment. Three hours and nearly $100 wasted with nothing to show but two styrofoam boxes and animosity. And the waiter even chalked it up to Friday the 13th. Thanks, dude.

If this doesn't make you tear up, nothing will. What an amazing performance from a true national treasure. And I'm not talking the Boss.

In recognition of the fifth anniversary of my one and only magical trip to Mendocino, here's the link to possibly the world's COOLEST radio station. And you can listen to it on-line. Not sure if I've recorded my memories of my weekend, but I spent nearly the entire three-day weekend sitting in a second-hand garage sale parlour chair reading a fantastic novel and looking at the rain-soaked beach town of Mendocino while listening to The Coast. My wife spent the entire weekend in the bathroom throwing up, experiencing her first bout with morning sickness as my unborn first son was busy making life fun for her.

This has had me thinking the last couple of days. 1974 was surely a weird year. Yeah, Nixon quit and The Godfather II was released and my wife was born but musically, quite an odd year. I've said that the best five-year stint of pop music ran from 1968 to 1973. While I know I'm right, I haven't come to fully understand why. Here are some great essays to further complicate and also cement my beliefs. Either rate, if we all go spend some more money discovering some of the great music of 1974, we're all better off.

Now Is the Time

To celebrate great men. Two hundred years ago on this date, Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, on two different continents, both entered this world. Both would leave it a very changed place. Two individuals, two magnificent and influential men. My attention is drawn today towards the Rail Splitter and his impact. While I've been to D.C. and seen the places - Ford's, the Patterson House, the memorial, the statues, what really touched me was a trip seven years ago with my brother. We drove him to Chicago to begin his doctoral work at Northwestern University. The last night of our trip, we stopped in Springfield. While the city was closed up as we had arrived on an early Sunday evening, we still walked the historic neighborhood where Lincoln spent his early adulthood. We took pictures of his house, where he practiced law and the famous courthouse where he debated Stephen Douglas and issued his prophetic description of the United States. The next morning, we drove to Oak Ridge cemetery to see Lincoln's tomb, an amazing display of Reconstruction-era of memory molding and apotheosis. We saw Lincoln and his family, entombed in the earth and the enormous obelisk rising from his remains. At the souvenir stand outside the cemetery gates, I purchased a small bust of Lincoln that I keep on my classroom desk. Occasionally, I ask him what a good leader should do, either in a classroom or in the White House. Springfield resident and poet Vachel Lindsay penned this about our nation's greatest leader which made me search for the man's ghost as we walked the streets of Springfield that hot August night:

In Springfield, Illinois

IT is portentious, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house, pacing up and down.

Or by his homestead, or by shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat, and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint, great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:--as in times before!
And we who toss or lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.

The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.

He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come:--the shining hope of Europe free:
The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.

It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?

Where the Bands Are

Listening over the last couple of days. A bit of a change of pace, though very nice. Some times the lack of words speaks more profoundly:

Don Friedman Trio - A Day in the City
Jackie McLean - Destination Out!
Clark Terry - Serenade to a Bus Seat
Miles Davis Quintet - Workin'
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
Thelonious Monk - Genius of Modern Music, Vol. I
Louis Armstrong - Plays W.C. Handy

jazz at its greatest. Two discs from the '60s, the rest from the '50s, which has become my true favorite decade of jazz (except Monk, which was so ahead of its time, 1947(!). Satchmo's album shows the signs of an elder statesman past his prime but still relevant; Miles is just beginning to warm up; Sonny's blowing perfectly. This music is locked into time forever as most artists are dead and live material is not as accesible as the bootlegs of rock bands are. This was a true golden era for this music.

Tomorrow: Neil Young, Tonight's the Night and On the Beach. Not jazz.

Bring On the Night

After heeding the advice of a fellow Backstreets poster, I called TicketB*****d to see what I could find. I was able to find a single lower level seat for the San Jose gig. More of a relief than excitement, I can now rest assured that I'm at least in the venue the first night of the tour. I know this sounds completely greedy, but I'd still like to trade up for a GA ticket, though I'm counting my blessings for just snagging a ticket. I'm also extremely thrilled at the $19 in service fees for the stupid purchase.

I'm shocked, dismayed and saddened about the news of my friend that broke last night. Chris, how could you? Beating up another like you? Chris Brown was arrested for assaulting a singer I'm not even familiar with. I'm just wondering what he was doing in L.A. and not Fresno, where he should have been.

Threw on A Blessing and a Curse by the DBT. They are quickly becoming one of my favorite modern bands though I do know I need to pick up The Dirty South and some acoustic stuff. The three records I have I love. I wish I could listen to them around the kiddies but with sunnier weather, these guys will sound fantastic in the back yard with a beer and a book on the patio.

Short post tonight. Off to grading papers and maybe a little reading. You owe it to yourself, though, to keep this site in your favorites. Sal, who blogged about music at Eric Alterman's site, has his own blog. It's going to drive me broke but for a good cause. Check him out.

Growing Up

Today was grown ups' day in every way. Tunage:

Patti Scialfa - Play Is As It Lays. Isn't it great when adults can make adult music for adults and it hits the spot? Great music. Not for the young at heart.
Bruce - WOAD, The River.
Marvin Gaye - I Want You. This is more of a dj's sampler record with Let's Get It On in mind. Lyrically void but sonically rich and deep, this is a good mood record. Some records need as little lyrical flourishes as possible as to not step on the toes of the music. Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here is one of those records, especially side two of that amazing record. This is another. Keep the kids out of the room but pour a drink, set your mind to something and let the band take you to a nice and mellow groovy place. Fantastic.

President Obama (man, I never get tired of saying that) gave his first press conference tonight, shocking people that never knew that a job of the world's most powerful human is to possess the ability to use two-syllable words. Not only did the president take fifty minutes' worth of questions, he gave detailed and poignant answers. Of course, every president needs to hold his cards close and even sometimes bluff; while doing so tonight, Obama still showed the courtesy of a thoughtful answer all the while not embarassing himself tripping over English as his second language. Loquaciousness and intelligence need not accompany one another I know; however, in this case they do. In Obama's predecessor's case, neither existed. As an educator, I could tell that Obama is still a professor and lawyer at heart; he could talk all night if given the chance, explaining things to minute and maybe even petty detail. He reminded me of Woodrow Wilson, this nation's most classicially educated president, in his desire to keep politics and legislation an academic exercise and not petty excuse to slap his opponents in the family jewels. If anything else, Obama's opponents can not say that he has ridden the rails of divisiveness into town. If anything, the president has helped toned down the rancor and division in the city and nation which need his presence just at the right time. God knows had B__h still been at 1600 PA, how much dawdling and cheap gossip would still be dished out.

And God bless Helen Thomas. Great seeing her and her press credentials back in the White House.

Screwed

I posted an 'ad' looking for a general admission ticket for Bruce's 4/1 show in San Jose. Yesterday, I guy on the Backstreets board said he'd sell me an extra; all I needed to do was e-mail him. I did. Twice. Then once this morning. Then, this afternoon, I find the guy re-posts an offer to sell what should have been the ticket I offered to buy. I e-mailed him asking what the deal was and he never answered me. As for now, I guess I'm going to be watching a DVD of his that night. I'm beginning to panic.

My listening habit:
Bill Evans - Portraits in Jazz - just splendid, though nearly ignored as his Village Vanguard recordings are among the most stunning jazz recordings I own.
Bruce - Tunnel of Love
Queen - GH. My oldest child is just loving making the sound effects of the boom-boom clap! intro to We Will Rock You. Too cute. I introduced him to Bicycle Race on the way to church this morning and he nearly fell out of his car seat with the bells and guitar riffs.
Willie Nelson - Songbird. One of his sleeper classics of late. Truly incredible from stem to stern.
Bee Gees - Greatest. That's right.
Aretha Franklin - Rare and Unreleased...
Miles Davis - disc one of Bitches Brew

Watched Laurel Canyon last night. Have been wanting to see this one since its release with Frances McDormand being a favorite of mine. The movie was a bomb; while the performances were well done, something about the script kept the character relationships from being fully developed and the plot from resolving its issues. While Kate Beckingsdale is absolutely stunning to look at, the film just throws her into a bizarre love triangle with Christian Bale and his mother, FD. Sure.

Pixar certainly owes me a thank-you card for all the money I've thrown at it. Probably, pound per pound the most reliable movie studio, Pixar has my sons in love with Cars again. Check this out, this is cute. Visit the connected links if you're really interested in the inspirations for Radiator Springs.

Weekly Filler

I'd like to get back to logging all of my artistic habits, simply to journal what I'm consuming in my spare time. I finished Extremely Loud and this novel left an indelible impression on me. Next up, Doctorow's Billy Bathgate and Angel In My Pocket by Beth Blachman Decker, a colleague of mine. A good friend and fellow teacher, Beth has written a piece of "historical fiction" in that she's taken stories of her family and conjured up semi-fictional bodies to carry out these stories. The first five pages are thought provoking and hysterical. Beth's even talked about making a movie of the book, which would be great. I told her that as long as Scarlet Johansson's in it, I'm cool with it.

The stereo's been in full tilt boogie this weekend. I'm not buying any new music but revisiting many of my old faves. Here's what's been spinning:

Joe Henderson - In 'N Out
Southside Johnny's first three records
Aretha - This Girl's In Love With You
Otis Redding - Dock of the Bay
Clarence Carter - Best of
The Commitments soundtrack
Sgt. Pepper
Hitsville - disc three
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

I think I'm going to begin including my movie habit as well. If anyone has any recommendations on good films, please send them my way.

Dewey Martin, the drummer of Buffalo Springfield, died this week. He follows Bruce Palmer, the bassist, who died in 2004. That leaves the songwriting trio of Stills, Young and Furay, the more famous of the band. I'm not sure I've really written about the BS. They're one of my favorite late 60s American bands. The band's box set which includes everything the band recorded is a pretty nice time capsule of where American rock and roll was mid-decade. While the band's members were young, musicially impressionable and nowhere near their songwriting prowess, to listen to the BS is to listen to a country embracing so much cultural change. The band's music reflected rock, blues, country, psychedelic, British and rockabilly roots. I've really come to love the band and its music. To hear of Martin's passing is sad. Another from another historically important group.

What the Dream Means

I'm beginning to appreciate and love WOAD for what it is. I've also understood that the record is a good one for what it isn't.

This is a record by Bruce for Bruce. It's his Tunnel of Love without the midlife crisis. It's Sheryl Crow's Wildflower, a beautiful and deeply rewarding record that only diehard fans will love. The songs do not resonate with the listener. They are rich and melodic and in many of my listenings, I have found the desire to repeat the record after its completion. In many ways, it's a fantastic album by any artist at any point in one's career.

And yet, it's not a great BRUCE record. Lacking anthems, we fans are denied the big MESSAGE. No fist pumping. No references to the American masses, the down on their lucks, the scappy fighters. No characters to identify with. A personal record, WOAD seems to be Bruce making a record and forcing his fans to accept the fact that not every statement needs to be THE statement. That our heroes and gods sometimes have mundane thoughts. That our great leaders who inspire us by their words also like to just talk. WOAD is not a great record not for its own faults or strengths but in our own short-sided apotheosis of the man as musician. Bruce is Moses to so many but for this portion of the trip, we've got to simply keep walking through the desert without any guidance. Moses isn't in the mood to prophesy; he just wants to sing. Maybe if we let him, we'll find that we enjoy the songs.

When You're Alone

Still waiting on finding a ticket. While there's plenty of time before the show, I'm growing increasingly nervous. Any extras?

The trip to the Steinbeck Center and Monterey Bay Aquarium was wonderful. The trip through the heartland of California's central coast brought back the memories of traveling to college. The rain made the hillsides a deep, rich green and the warm sunlight through the bus windows made for a relaxing trip. I had a dozen teenage girls in my charge and as we walked through the tourist shops of the downtown and along the waterfront, I told them that I wanted to ditch the trip and wander along the city streets towards the end of the streets in search of the ghosts of the characters that frequented Cannery Row. The ladies of the flophouse, Doc, the men who lived in the abandoned house. One could probably still find them if one looked hard enough.

That discussion was all the girls needed; they began discussing East of Eden and how great of an impact the book made on their lives. Their English 3 teacher assigned the novel last Spring; since, one of the girls was half-way through her fourth time reading it. The girls discussed Kate and relationship between the brothers. All the while, we were supposed to be thinking about sea life, we were champing at the bit to head to Salinas. When we finally did, we absorbed the exhibits in all their greatness. To walk into the barn from Eden, the bunkhouse from Of Mice and Men and the labor camp of Grapes made one grasp the humanity of the characters. That Steinbeck captured people in their most real - sad, drunk, hopeful, incurious, philosophical, educated and ignorant - more so than any American writer of his time is what makes the man's work so profound. The girls hit the bookstore and couldn't decide what to read for their book club that they decided to buy several titles, each girl with a different one in order to pass them around as they finished them. As a teacher and an adult, it was thrilling to see these young adults so excited about literature and the stories Steinbeck told. These young individuals were not blind to the myths and models that these stories told about their own lives. Neither was I.

A Long, Long Time Ago

I can still remember when that music used to make me smile. Last night/this morning marked the fiftieth anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of three young musicians and cemented into the culture of American music an ending that brought about an incredible rebirth. The impact and influence left by Richie Valens and especially Buddy Holly on that particular generation of musicians was incalculable. Where would the Mersey Beat sound be without the man from Lubbock, Texas? "That'll Be the Day" was the Beatles' first recorded single. The marriage of rockabilly with the blues, western swing, Top of the Hits pop and Holly's own talent helped push rock music out of the '50s teeny-bopper hell-raisin' toddling years into a wider berth of Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison, and early Motown, and that's just this side of the pond. Valens' singing in Spanish alone helped pave the way for artists a decade later like Santana. On that cold night, the tragic fate of Buddy Holly's plane, along with Elvis' induction into the Army and Chuck Berry's conviction of violating the Mann Act created the artistic vacuum to be filled by the popular and creative artists that did arise. While no one can know what any of the musicians would have gone on to do, their mythic ending only helped elevate rock and roll to a higher level of cool.

On a horrible note, I, along with countless thousands of others nationwide, were shut out of scoring Springsteen tickets yesterday. I experienced difficulty trying to find any sort of seats and then the site took twelve minutes to tell me that the only available seats were full-priced second deck and behind the stage. Of course, Ticketmaster conveniently told me that I could find overpriced seats on TicketsNow, its bounty hunter sister site. So many people complained that a Congressman from New Jersey is investigating as to whether or not Ticketmaster's actions violate fair business practices. Who knows? Maybe Congress will bail out TM as well. Until then, I'm in search of either a lower level or GA ticket. I won't pay above face and fees, though, as no one should.

The Night In Tampa

Well, I think we can all agree that we caught one of the coolest Super Bowls in history. What a nail biter, eh? I really expected the Cards to pull it out at the end, but...

Bruce opened with a bubbling Tenth Avenue, catching me honestly off guard. Great opener. Lots of energy and the band looked great. Right into BTR, which, while very short, worked well. Working came off quite well, making me excited for a full live rendition. Glory Days was also a great closer with all of the clock flirting and the 'Boss Time' reference. My parents were floored, my wife danced and my kids bounced on the couch. Was it perfect? No, Bruce blew his voice out early. He powerslid right into the camera. He struggled to jump up on the piano. And yet, the energy and power the band delivered (wonderfully helped by the Asbury Jukes' horn section) will make getting tickets tomorrow a struggle. A great night, indeed.

Pre-Game Jitters

The Super Bowl is almost ready begin. I was at the grocery store earlier this afternoon purchasing my family's weekly food needs and there were more people at the store buying junk for the game than any other day except for maybe Thanksgiving. I'm glad the game's on Sunday in order for people to be able to worship freely.

Anywho, I'm thrilled for the Boss and the gang to fire off a 12-minute mini-concert. When asked what the performance would be like, Bruce said to imagine getting lost on the way to a regular gig and arriving two hours and forty-eight minutes into the show. What we're getting is the LAST TWELVE MINUTES!!!! Having caught this band five times in the same number of years, that's going to be quite a little gig. We're expected to hear the abbreviation of four songs. I'm guessing two new ones, Born To Run and Glory Days. Shan't be disappointing.

Until then, peruse this from today's NY Times.

Post-game report to come.