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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Point Blank- Bruce Springsteen

Do you still say your prayers little darlin'
Do you go to bed at night
Prayin' that tomorrow, everything will be alright
But tomorrow's fall in number
In number one by one
You wake up and you're dying
You don't even know what from

Well they shot you point blank
You been shot in the back
Baby point blank you been fooled this time
Little girl that's a fact
Right between the eyes, baby, point blank
Right between the pretty lies that they tell
Little girl you fell

You grew up where young girls they grow up fast
You took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
But what they asked baby wasn't right
You didn't have to live that life
I was gonna be your Romeo you were gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait on Romeo's you wait on that welfare check
And on all the pretty things that you can't ever have
And on all the promises

That always end up point blank, shot between the eyes
Point blank like little white lies you tell to ease the pain
You're walkin' in the sights, girl of point blank
And it's one false move and baby the lights go out

Once I dreamed we were together again
Baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we used to be
We were standin' at the bar
It was hard to hear
The band was playin' loud and you were shoutin' somethin' in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four
You grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then you started dancin' slow
And as I pulled you tighter I swore I'd never let you go
Well I saw you last night down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you
You were standin' in the doorway out of the rain
You didn't answer when I called out your name
You just turned, and then you looked away
Like just another stranger waitin' to get blown away

Point blank, right between the eyes
Point blank, right between the pretty lies you fell
Point blank, shot right through the heart

Yeah point blank, you've been twisted up till you've become just another part of it
Point blank, you're walkin' in the sights
Point blank, livin' one false move just one false move away
Point blank, they caught you in their sights
Point blank, did you forget how to love
Girl, did you forget how to fight.
Point blank they must have shot you in the head
'Cause point blank
Bang bang baby you're dead.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Smart ass comeback...

A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. "Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!"

A smart-ass guy in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, "What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?" The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering.

When silence is restored, the teacher smiles knowingly at the student, shakes her head and sweetly says, "Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand."

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Tournament update...

Heading into next weekend's NCAA Final Four, I picked all four teams making it to the Final Four- Florida, UCLA, Georgetown, and Ohio State. And I'm currently in fir$t place in my bracket pool as well- woohoo! And of the ones I liked, I'm ahead AT$, too. (For those interested- I have Ohio St. beating Florida in the championship game- shhhhhhhh!)

I think it may have started way back in the 80's with Pat Riley, but just what is it with- almost all- basketball coaches having to dress to the nines?! And it's not just the NBA, or even top-flight division 1 college coaches; I've seen guys in division 2, even division 3, wearing snazzy suits that probably cost half a season's salary! And more- even now, I usually take in a few high school games over the course of the season, and even some of those coaches are dressed- almost- like they're primping for GQ. A suit and tie can't be all that comfy to wear while pacing the sidelines in a hot gym for 2+ hours... and if you're a sweat machine like, for instance, Maryland's Gary Williams, the cleaning bills must be a fortune! I'm not saying they hafta wear a grungy, cut-off sweatshirt and windpants ala Bill Belichick, but... Love or loathe Bob Knight, but he has the right idea- he wears a sweater with the school logo and a polo shirt underneath. It's neat enough, it looks comfortable, and it says "I'm here to coach basketball, not model men's fashion." Don't get me wrong- a well-dressed man is attractive; but just as a lawyer or a CEO wouldn't wear sweats to a board meeting, neither must hoops coaches have to wear their Sunday best to coach a game.

One last hoops thought- these days, it seems every college has to name their court after seemingly any coach who had a cup of coffee and a winning record at the school! Some obviously are deserved- John Wooden. Dean Smith (he gets an entire arena!) Coach K (no, I'm not going to spell it!) And several others. But the specialness of the concept wears off if every college court in America is named after any former coach who had a winning record (and now, some schools name the court after the coach...and the coach's wife!)

One non-hoops observation... there are a lot of shallow people in this world. But they do serve one purpose; they help you to recognize- and appreciate- those folks who are not shallow.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Sippin' on a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale... (packs a punch, too!)

Soon to be released on DVD:
Hawaii Five-0 - The Complete First Season
I luved this show! Admittedly, most of my viewing of it was after it went to syndication, but a great show! Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett...Zulu, as Kono...Dan-O, Chin-Ho, all the rest... I've always been a sucker for those cheesy crime dramas and cop shows from that time; Five-O, Adam-12, SWAT, Streets of San Francisco, Police Woman, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPS, T.J. Hooker...the private eye shows, too: Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Vega$, Spenser: For Hire... In this age of cable narrow-casting, my #2 great idea in life has been an all-cop/crime show and movie network: all of the above, plus many more (Police Story, Walking Tall, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, many more...and of course, Cops! Maybe even Reno-911... and soooo many movies, too.) This network would sell itself! (I won't elaborate on my #1 great idea in life, except to say that it involves a certain ice sport...)

My favorite local college basketball team has had it's best season in years- they've done really well... about time! A solid, up-and-coming young coach, a nice mix of talent, success this season that should help in recruiting... I speak of course of my UMass Minutemen! Tournament time is approaching, hopefully the men from Amherst will return to the NCAAs... (and not too soon to start thinking about those "for entertainment purposes only" brackets!)

While I can't complain- much!- about the winter here this year, I've always said- and I'll stand by it- that March is truly the worst month of the year in here. Almost invariably it never gets as spring-like as everyone hopes; it almost always seems to be much more blustery and gray and cold, and even snowy, certainly damp, than anyone wants or expects after December, and January, and February, raised expectations of spring almost always dashed, its 31 days feeling more like 50. Maybe this year will be different, but it's still a long crawl to April.

Some people really seem to manage their time better than me. I have one friend, she has a pretty demanding job, as well as two kids, side business, yet still finds time to engage in considerable charitable/community work and an active social life! I'll be the first to admit- I budget my time very poorly; I don't know why. I try to work on it, I try to prioritize as best I can, and yet it still seems as if time just gets away from me. I can't believe that I'm all that much busier, all that much more pressed for time and committments, than anyone else I know. And clearly I'm not. But damn, sometimes it sure seems that way...

No lyrics, just this: ... (click on it!)