English Beat - Rotating Heads

Before Bloc Party came English Beat. This is one of my favorites by them:

Riddle of Steel - Aquiline

Some songs just transcend expectations or explanations. This track is from an okay record by a decent band, but it’s so much better (and different) than anything else on the record. It’s that lush, pulsing groove that gets me.

Bull and Bear

Forget them - the Hawks are undefeated. 6-0 is their best start yet. I'm a fair weather fan when it comes to hockey, so when the Blackhawks have been good, I've been there. This year, I've been slow to get on board, and apparently I'm missing some outstanding hockey. I'm a little reticent to start now; if they lose, I'll have to stay away indefinitely.

I have a way of killing off things by liking them too much. I've worked at two companies (my favorite jobs) that have either ceased to exist or have gone on life support while I was there, despite looking strong when I started with them.

My track record with computer software is nearly as damning. Lala.com was my favorite music service (now folded into iTunes - disappeared, if you will) and MusicMatch (bought by Yahoo! - also disappeared) are some prime examples. There are plenty of others.

Back to sports - I cite the Chicago Bears. I can't even complain about the last ten years under Lovie Smith. Every year, there were a reasonable amount of wins and the defense was always good or great. It wasn't enough to win a Super Bowl, but it was respectable. On the other hand, I only barely remember the 1985 season and I would love to see a current Bears team go the distance.

Sadly, my interest in the Bears is also the thing most likely keeping them from getting over the top again. Well, it might have also been Lovie's inability to adjust to Peyton Manning's adjustments at half time. He'd have a restaurant in the loop by now had he been able to adapt and overcome. C'est la vie.

He's gone, but I'm locked in, as I share initials with the Chicago Bears. Sorry, Bears. I will point out, however, that Michael Jordan won six titles with me watching. So, maybe just step it up, Bears. Overcome the me factor.

This is the End...

...only of 2012. Sorry to be dramatic, friends, but this year sucked. Even my sister's wedding (which went even better than I expected) was marred by the fact that I could barely emit sounds from my flu-ridden throat. I have become very familiar with the concept of an upper-respiratory infection and I can tell you that whiskey does not fix it.

For the rest of the year, besides having been sick more than any other single year I can remember, ground I had thought to be solid (or at least had had no trouble standing on in the past) turned to quicksand. Luckily, my foot ended up touching a rail, and I could sort of work my way out, albeit slowly and unsteadily. (Doggone near lost a $400 hand cart!)

My focus for the coming year will be again on being a better me. That missive got lost by the end of January last year, and then the me that had been cruising along, avoiding grief, took a line drive to the nuts. I continued to get shelled until the bitter end of the year, when the New Year's Eve party we've enjoyed for the past few was cancelled due to yet another illness.

I should point out that all of the family and close friends who were sick have recovered, or are at least stable by now, so there is that silver lining. Two people I knew did not survive the year, and both cases were incredibly sad. They were also not much older than me, which is probably what triggered an existential crisis (midlife?) at some point this year. I'm not young and this is when I start noticing it, I guess.

Anyhow, it's just a few minutes into 2013 and nothing bad has happened yet. Oh wait, our internet seems to be crapping out. Perhaps nobody will ever see this. If you do, I'm glad we survived the end of times. Perhaps, if this does publish, you'll see that I'd enjoy getting together with you for a beer or two this year. You'll have to be a little understanding that my schedule is somewhat tricky, but my intent is to reconnect.

There may be a move in our future, I have rough plans for both a blog and a brewery, and as I just mentioned, I plan to be a friend you actually see once in a while. Not sure which of these endeavors will fall away first, but I'm hoping it's the blog and/or brewery. I probably miss you.

Here's to a 2013 of better luck and happier times.