A Bitter Bears End

Well, the Cubs and Hawks have been able to revitalize their franchises. I'm very much hoping that they Bears can do the same. Everyone (myself included) thought they had enough talent on the roster to be competitive this year. I still think that's true on the offense.

I'm a little surprised that they got rid of the GM. I had trepidation about the head coach, but there were pieces that needed to be put into place and the GM got them, mostly. I guess there was never as meteoric a shift in the defense, though. That was a difficult position, with all of the aging pro-bowl players trying to play out their contracts under a new defensive scheme.

I think they have to hold Cutler (and anyone else) until there's a new GM and head coach - especially since they're on the hook for so much guaranteed money - but draft a future QB.

Regarding Cutler, it's hard to ignore his numbers - he's the best QB for stats in my lifetime, but this is the worst Bears team I can remember. That might become Cutler's legacy. He performed well individually in Denver, but almost never got to the playoffs. The intangibles (leadership) are missing, and could be the difference between a Jay Cutler and a Brett Favre.

When Lovie got fired, the goal was to put the staff in place to give Cutler the chance to succeed he hadn't yet gotten since choosing to come to Chicago. It sure looked like they did that. The expected attrition in the defense also occurred, but when the offense floundered, there was essentially nothing left on which to hang a hat.

When the search for a head coach to replace Lovie was underway, I really hoped they would talk to Dave Toub to fill his shoes. I still believe that moving Toub to HC and somehow holding on to Rod Marinelli would have meant that Urlacher could have played another year and retired on his own terms. I think there wouldn't have been the drop off in defensive play that we saw last year, and then Toub and a new OC could have focused on updating the line and the overall offensive scheme.

In fact, with Toub as HC, they still could have hired Joe DeCamillis and there probably wouldn't have been as much of a drop in production. Instead, Toub has continued his thorough coaching style in Kansas City. Just a thought - Mike Ditka was a special teams coordinator before taking the reigns with the Bears.

One more thought - the Bears might want to find a GM, coach, or coordinator from Boston. Tom Thibodeau and Theo Epstein seem to be working so far...

The Cherry on the Poop Sundae

An interesting postulate was posed on the radio this morning - if you swapped Cutler for Rodgers, would the Packers suck and would the Bears be elevated? Seems like a pretty obvious answer (yes to both), but it's predicated on other stuff, like the connection with coaches, management, and fans, for example. And really, it's a moot point now.

This was the "no excuses" year for Cutler, but if that's how it was presented, and we already know him to be a little sensitive and hot-headed (that's why he's in Chicago in the first place), then I can see why maybe having all of the tools he needed still didn't pan out as expected.

And so this morning, they announced that Cutler would not be the starting QB this week. I had already benched him in my fantasy league, because he was a liability last week, and not for lack of ability. This has become a mental issue.

Shame on the Bears for letting it get to this point, too. I don't doubt that Aaron Kromer was right in what he leaked to the NFL Network reporter. And if that's true, shame on him for not taking action instead of whining about it to the press. That stuff should have been weeded out in the pre-season.

Worse, Cutler is the highest-paid QB in the league right now. His numbers have been good - impressive, even - but the big one that keeps evading him is playoff wins. Instead of rewarding him, make him earn the money with playoff wins. Make him gamble on himself - especially since the Bears rigged the deck in his favor.

Now, you have a highly-touted and respected coach making a roster change for garbage games. Some possible reasons:

1. They are genuinely interested in seeing what Clausen can do. I find this to be the least likely scenario. If they were truly interested, there were blowout games where he could have seen a few minutes during the season. Plus, the rest of the team has already checked out, so his supporting cast will be limited in effort.
2. Deferred punishment. Possible - there is conjecture that they planned to bench him last week but the Kromer debacle put that on the shelf so as not to appear to pile on. As I said above - the timing on the Kromer thing could not have been worse. This option makes sense based on Jay's play and demeanor during this past game.
3. Indictment of Emery. I have been amazed at the pieces Emery has put together on the offense. There are few weak spots, but they're not gaping holes, and they've even withstood injury this year. This was done to give Cutler the tools he needed, but the cost was neglect on the defensive side of the ball, but more importantly, at backup QB. With all those things in place, what happens if Cutler gets hurt? There's a placeholder at best, not his successor, in the wings.

If Clausen comes out swinging and looks good in some garbage time, there is the possibility that he plays himself into a supporting role next year. If they ultimately part ways with Cutler (or he takes a walk), Clausen's suddenly the de facto starter. And then we're back to the dumpster fire of an offense from previous years, but no defense to mop up the mess.

From a macro perspective, what head coaching candidate would want to stick his neck out and take a shot at running this team in the current state it's in? What pro-bowl safety would want to come in and call plays and align players in a scheme that has no personality, and mostly broken personnel? I'm averse to change, but I am having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here.

Pre-Post Mortem on the Bears

As if losing wasn't enough to manage, now there's internal strife, with the OC taking shots at the QB to an NFL journalist. Sure, he may not have meant things in the way that they were taken ("buyer's remorse" only makes sense - I'm sure that even Jay Cutler has it to a degree), but Aaron Kromer should know better. Especially after witnessing bounty-gate first hand.

But, Doug Baffone (former Bears teammate to Butkus and Sayers) said what we all know is true, but hate to admit: the grand tradition of Bears football is a sham. The team has been nearer to the bottom of the pile than the top for most of my life. We've had great players - sometimes a few at a time - but only one great team. And even that team underachieved considering the talent it had on board. Hell, even the year they did go all the way, they didn't give Walter the ball at the goal line.

I realize that that last point is just an emotional gripe, but maybe that's my issue with the team (perhaps the game) in general. It's a business now, and the emotional connection is obscured by the opportunity to earn lottery-level money. When an under-performing Jay Cutler is the highest-paid quarterback in the league, that is troublesome on a number of levels.

1. He's not the best QB in the league, but he's the highest paid. Other players would then naturally assume that they should be paid more than they're worth, but they're not, because all the money is going to Jay. A fertile field for resentment - especially once games start slipping away on QB miscues.&
2. On his radio show, in the year before his contract extension, Jay talked about taking a "home town discount" to be here and ensure that the proper pieces were around him. Weeks later, on his show, he backed off of that notion. I'm guessing his agent got to him and corrected that, but that's the issue. I don't think Jay sought the biggest QB contract in the league, but if it was offered, why would he not take it? He might not want that extra pressure and scrutiny, but he's where he wanted to be and that's a boat load of money.
3. Paying him so much means that other areas of the team are neglected. They drafted Kyle Fuller, but that was clearly not enough to overcome serious deficiencies in the rest of the defense. No pass rush leads to shaky linebacking, which means that even if the secondary was average, they'd look horrible on this squad. I have my suspicions that they're not average in the first place, however.
4. I've not met a person who thinks Josh McCown was a long-term answer at QB for the Bears, but he showed flashes of being as good as Jay, and he was a significant bargain in comparison. If I remember my history correctly, he was more of the reclamation project material that Trestman was known for (Rich Gannon, for example) than Jay Cutler. It could be the difference between someone giving themselves over to the system vs. someone thinking they know better than the system (with the paycheck to back up the bravado).

I'm not a Jay hater, but he's got protection and receivers and still makes bad decisions. When I watch Aaron Rodgers, I see confidence and accuracy. When I watch Cutler, I see fear and mistrust. Again, an assessment of emotions, which are pretty difficult to quantify.

Radio listeners tend to focus on Jay's facial expressions (or lack of) and demeanor. They don't like Trestman's seeming lack of concern or Marshall's outbursts in the locker room. On paper, everything pointed to a deep run into the playoffs at a minimum. In reality, it seems like there's none of the camaraderie or trust that was discussed in the off season. Trestman might be helping to turn the players into better men, but he's certainly not showing his work on the football field.

Phil Emery is taking some of the heat because his draft picks are performing at around 50% (some good, some very bad) and his choice of coaches seems to be an abject failure. The team went from a 10-6 record to 8-8, and now they're looking at 8-8 as a best case scenario with some record-breaking losses on the books. Baffone thinks the issue starts higher than Emery.

It's possible that the grand tradition of the Bears during my lifetime is actually to underachieve and squander the talent they are able to acquire. Sometimes, fixing a football issue doesn't require the guy with the best stats, but the guy with the biggest heart. Again, that's hard to quantify, and risky. The less risky move is to go with the stats, but then they've built a paper team, not a real one. To paraphrase Buffone, they're not supposed to be playing chess, they're playing football. It's possible that the McCaskey family is better at chess.

Bye Bye Briggs (Redux)

I won't lose any sleep over the departure of Lance Briggs. He was a great individual player, but benefited from playing next to one of the all-time greats in Brian Urlacher. He was fast, nimble, and a sure tackler, but also pretty selfish. And that's not new: http://fledglingtimes.blogspot.com/2007/03/bye-bye-lbriggs.html
In a nutshell, he was a rookie phenom and held his own next to Urlacher in what was probably the best linebacker tandem in the NFL for quite a while. He existed in a system that was focused on the defense, so aside from Ulacher, he also had pro bowl-quality support on the line and in the secondary. His play spoke for him, which became an issue when Urlacher retired and the coaching staff he had been with for many years was ousted.

As a fan, I expected him to be the de facto leader and take the reigns in the locker room. Even if his play or ability to stay healthy was diminished, he could still lead. Turns out he had no interest in that. He had enough interest in starting a restaurant in California that he missed time with his team to attend the opening. This is not new for him; in 2007, he announced that he would not play another snap for the Chicago Bears because he didn't like the offer they gave him on a new contract. He demanded to be traded. The illusion of any kind of allegiance to the Bears or their fans was out the window way back then. (For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Briggs)

In the meantime, his agent couldn't find him a better deal anywhere else (surprise, surprise) so he came back to the table more amenable to nearly the same offer he got the previous year. So, $33 million over 7 years, if I recall correctly. Nothing to sneeze at, but I think his ingratitude toward the Bears was not only ill-conceived, but also helped to cement a reputation that the organization was cheap and didn't value its players. In the case of Lance, I side with the organization. He was good, but Urlacher was the great one.

A quick aside: don't forget that the first thing Lance did when he finally got the big contract was to buy a Lamborghini and wrap it around a telephone pole, leave the scene of the accident, then call police and make up a story about his new car being stolen. What a colossal waste of money and resources. Read this article to see the kind of sway the Chicago Bears had over city infrastructure, too: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bears/2007-08-27-briggs-car_N.htm

In 2011, he asked to be traded again, and again was offered an extension. That runs out at the end of this season, and on top of all the other negativity this year has brought, if management re-signs him or extends him again, it better only be ceremonial (so he can retire as a Bear) or fans will respond.

All told, I'm glad Briggs was a Bear. I wish he would have been more of a team guy and a leader - especially once Urlacher left the building. The Bears are the oldest team in the league right now and it's time to start correcting that stat. My hope is that they draft more players like Urlacher and less like Briggs.

Back to the Past (The Future is Here)

In the past few weeks, I've had multiple projects hitting deadlines, and then a long weekend in the Wisconsin Dells, where I was able to unwind most of the accumulated stress. In that time, I basically lost track of what was happening around me, and this little nugget of information got past my filters: THERE'S AN INTERNET ARCADE.
I've had a version of MAME and lots of ROMs for quite some time now (I saved the first versions on floppy disks and a Zip drive!) but I've had difficulty making it portable. Truth is, I end up playing a few favorite games for a week or two, then burn out and forget about it, but today, I'm excited again.

The Internet Archive already has a number of insanely cool projects (legal bootleg music, old program emulation, the wayback machine, etc.) but this might be my favorite. It's all of the arcade games I grew up with (and hundreds more) with some background information, cabinet art, and playable in a browser. Insane. This is my payback for all those quarters all those years ago.

Here's the link to the Internet Arcade: https://archive.org/details/internetarcade
And here's a link to a very helpful troubleshooting article: http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4423

It's hard to imagine what other stuff I only imagined in the 80s will be available for free or very little cost in the next decade. I already have a camera that doesn't require film in the same computer that also plays video games and music (and fits in my pocket). Oh yeah, and I can use it to call anyone, anywhere, too. And now I have an entire arcade with no lines, no smoking, and no jerky employees.

Amazing!

Whipped and Gassed (2014 Bears)

This past summer, I bought a new Bears cap and shirt. Last year, I put the shirt that lasted through most of the Lovie Smith era out to pasture (too many holes) and was excited to see the promise from last year's inaugural season in the Trestman era take the next step. My assumption was that the newly contracted QB and the hand-selected offense around him would put the Bears into the playoffs for the first time in a while, and they'd have a shot at advancing for a change.

What I got for my investment was two embarrassing games against the rival Packers. They were not only terrible games on the field, but a very clear display of two different methods of running a football organization. I'm not convinced the Bears can win another game this season, and worse, they're locked in with a number of components. Rebuild is not an option, so we'll see the same futile micro-adjustments (Mel Tucker as sacrificial lamb, for instance) that don't address the fundamental organizational issue. 

I'm not sure what the core issue is, honestly, because in the off-season, I thought they made some decent acquisitions again. It wasn't a total transformation like the offense in 2013, but they got a good corner and brought in a number of safeties. One or two of them should have converted into good players. I believe they still could be, but I think the biggest issue is a lack of clear leadership on the team. 

It's exacerbated by the lack of a permanent captain. The Bears rotate the "C" on the jerseys; they say it's to show how many leaders they have, but I get the impression that it's more about a dearth of actual leadership. In the past, it was pretty clear who the leaders were. Not now. And that extends to the coaching staff. 

Defensively, I've never seen a Bears unit less prepared. There's talent on the roster, but also some significant deadwood. At two very important positions lie failed experiments. Chris Conte runs very quickly, but it's always late and he can't finish a tackle. He's the safety - his job is to make sure nothing bad happens, but everything bad happens. Then there's Shea McClellan: another "looks good on paper" player who either doesn't have the drive or the smarts to be either a defensive end or a linebacker. Athletic? Sure - so is Conte. Running fast is like doing all your homework. You ultimately get graded on your tests, though, and these two are consistently failing on Sundays. 

I want to like Phil Emery, but he might be a big part of the problem. I can't blame him - I was excited about most everything he's done, except for the extension of Cutler, where even Cutler seemed nonplussed by it on his radio show. I still think the players he's amassed represents a lot of talent and upside. What he might have missed is the killer instinct. It's more than just leadership - it's a fearlessness and a willingness to do anything to win, including holding people accountable. Brandon Marshall has it, but his history and position marginalize his leadership potential, whether that's fair or not. 

Even if the Bears win out this season, there's virtually no way they could make it into the playoffs now. 2014 is a disappointment after so much excitement. The pundits shared fan enthusiasm and ranked them pretty highly before the first regular season game. Going into week 11, at least one outlet ranks them at 28 of 33. I think that's generous at this point.

The worst part of it is wearing my new Bears cap in Wisconsin and being pitied instead of jibed. Painful stuff.

TCB (Those Craptacular Bears)

What I didn't see coming was the defense playing better than the offense this year. I was so used to that under Lovie Smith, and when the new management team took over the Bears front office, the word on the street was that they were going to build around Jay Cutler and become more of an offensive-minded system.

They brought in a coach with a killer pedigree (for quarterbacks, anyhow - not sure how he became the head coach), then did a pretty amazing job of getting top-flight receivers and solidifying the offensive line with an odd mix of rejuvenated castoffs and newcomers. On paper, this offense should be scoring on every drive. There should be a much better mix of plays available. It's not like it's everyone's first year together anymore, either.

I used to joke around about Lovie's "Prevent Offense" which would come into play the second they got a lead. It wasn't politeness or sportsmanship, it was a fear of failure. And when you focus that much effort on something (failure), you set up blockades for yourself. Then the other team shows up.

There's been wishy-washy coaching decisions, play calling meant to keep Jay Cutler upright (interspersed with plays meant to gain yards), and a defense that's gassed by the end of the 3rd quarter. I'm not sure where Matt Forte ranks with rushing yards, but as of this morning, he led the league in passing receptions. He's the running back, but this is nothing new for Bears fans.

There's the possibility that the issue is the turf, but opposing teams seem to be able to adjust. What I'm more concerned about is that we're stuck with another coach that would have been better off as a coordinator under someone with a more killer instinct. We didn't get the inverse Lovie Smith - we got another Lovie Smith. The scores end up being pretty much the same despite the shift of emphasis to offense.

After the game today, the twitterverse and sports media machine churned up some dirt about the Bears locker room, saying guys were sniping at other guys, and turning on the fans. I'm not sure it's fair to make headlines out of the stuff being said in semi-private after a loss like that; I'm not surprised the players weren't singing Pharrell songs, either.

I do wish that when they have 8 minutes to score 21 points, they'd go into some kind of "hurry up" offense. I've never seen a team (the Bears or otherwise) with such a lax approach to crunch time. Forget controlling the clock. You can worry about that once you're in the lead by a few scores (although the Dolphins didn't relent for 60 minutes).

Maybe it's time for Trestman to stop worrying about his team being better men and start focusing on getting them to be better at football. Maybe he needs to get a little Ditka crazy. Maybe yelling would help. Hugging hasn't.

Shave and a Haircut - 40 Bits

I remember being in high school when my mustache finally made an appearance. I was fully into the soccer rocker, rode BMX, wore a hip pack, etc. The 'stache was icing on the suburban dirt bag cake. In high school, there was no reason to shave.

In college, I started looking like a mountain man. I didn't cut off the mullet, but I did let the rest of the hair catch up until it was all about shoulder length. I hadn't shaved, and while I did have a beard, it was closer to peach fuzz than a wire brush. It wouldn't take long before I was retiring razors at an astonishing pace.

There are many distinct zones on my face:

1. Cheeks: these are easy to shave. I can pull down (with the grain) or up (against it) without causing trouble.
2. Upper lip: always shave down here, but you can feel the stubble if you run your finger low to high right after I shave. I nearly always forget the corners of my mouth, too, and a single hair there can drive me nuts.
3. Lower lip: for the entirety of my 30s (and a little beyond), I had what people who like to label everything call a "soul patch". I never referred to it as that, myself. It was there for a little something extra, style-wise, but mostly because I hate shaving that spot.
4. Under the chin: on my right side, I have to pull the razor from back to front, not up/down or down/up, or else I might as well not shave. Long whiskers are preferable to the stubble in that spot if I miss it.
5. Neck: right at the adam's apple, I have to shave up to down here, or I get bumps like crazy.

My facial hair is pretty sturdy. I go through razors pretty quickly. My current setup has been serving me well for nearly a year, and I believe it bridges the gap between longevity and frugality (for my tastes, anyhow).

These are the shaving tools I use:

1. Harry's orange handle, refill cartridges every six months or more. They're much cheaper than the Mach3 refills I used in the past. I have friends who vouch for Dollar Shave Club (and I love their ads), but I took a shot at Harry's and have been very happy with the experience.

2. Kiss My Face shave gel. It's not foamy, but it works better than any other shaving cream/gel I've tried. I gave Harry's shave stuff a shot, and it was not bad, but it's too expensive. Likewise for Alba and Burt's Bees. They're natural and different, but prohibitively expensive. Kiss My Face offers more stuff per container, it works better, and it costs a bit less, too.

3. Suction mirror on the tub wall. It's a little excessive, but I like to shave in the shower. I have a fog-free mirror at my face level.

That's basically it. Harry's site (liked above) has lots of thoughts on shaving if this little primer didn't get through to you, or if the images of the Kentucky Waterfall stopped you from getting into the subtle nuances of my chin hair.

What do you use?

State of the Bears - Four Games In

Here's the problem - I have no idea what to expect going in to week five. I have a pretty strong feeling that Jay Cutler will bounce back, and if Brandon Marshall is able to recover at all, he'll have some touchdown catches. I'm also sure that Matt Forte will run a solid ground game and Martellus Bennett will make some tough catches in traffic.

On the defensive side, I can predict that we will not get a sack, our high-end draft pick might get an interception or he might not, and that's about it. Oh, the other team will score basically at will. I guess it was a little less humiliating when I could rest easy knowing that the defense would hold a team down; there weren't such lopsided scores, usually. But now, if the opposing team has a decent defense, the game can get out of control pretty quickly, as evidenced last Sunday.

I don't know what Mel Tucker has done that would warrant another year of questionable preparation and poor execution. His squad is inconsistent at best. Losing Tillman and Allen sucks, but they can't play forever. If there's no depth, that's hard to fathom considering all the movement in the off-season.

The common thought going into this season was that the defense didn't have to be great, just good. They have to be able to stop some drives cold. So far, we've only really seen that in one game. Willie Young and Kyle Fuller show flashes of great, but they remind me of the wide receivers we had before Marshall and Jeffery - good, but not great. Level two players.

Unfortunately, upgrading to great doesn't guarantee wins. My biggest concern in bringing in Marc Trestman was that we'd have an inverse Lovie. Even then, I thought it would be nice to be able to score touchdowns and possibly get into a shootout and win.

I was reminded that Trestman was an offensive coordinator candidate while Lovie was here, but we ended up with Mike Martz instead. Talk about a night and day difference in styles. The idea of Smith and Trestman together is interesting, but there was also the old GM in play, and he had been misfiring on draft picks and free agents for years. I think Trestman and Marinelli would have been even more intriguing, especially since that might have changed the negotiations with Brian Urlacher.

No sense crying over spilled milk, though. Can't let the ghost of Urlacher affect the present. The defense is still in flux - no identity and depleted. The offense has equal or better upside than any other team in the league, but no real rhythm yet, and so the outlook for the rest of the year remains the same - the defense needs to be serviceable, and the offense needs to become automatic.

The Panthers are a similar team with lots of upside but lots of obstacles. The Bears have plenty of tools to stop them, but if they let a broken QB (or his backup) walk all over them, then my hope for the remaining 11 games will be dashed. However, if they contain the Panthers and start scoring, I'm already on the bandwagon - just need to adjust my seat.

GO BEARS!

Little Dragon - Klapp Klapp

I'm not sure what I'll think of this song or band in a year, but for right now, it's in hot rotation on all the music sources I use. I've watched the concert video 3 or 4 times by now, too.

I first became aware of Little Dragon as part of the Gorillaz track called Empire Ants. The music could be attributed to Gorillaz, but with the context I now have, it certainly sounds like a bigger Little Dragon influence. There's no mistaking Yukimi's vocals here, and I remember thinking that she could probably hold down a record of her own.



And sure enough, a few years later I got a notice on Spotify that Little Dragon had a new album on their service. I had heard a few earlier tracks on the Hiatus Kaiyote-based Spotify station, but none had piqued my interest. Then I heard Klapp Klapp.

There's a musical device where a song starts with limited instrumentation and establishes the theme, then the rest of the band kicks in later to great effect. This song has that build and catharsis in a big way, and every time it arrives, I want to crank whatever speakers I'm listening through at the time. Beyond that, I'm not sure I can explain exactly why this song grabs me - it's funky, it's melodic, it's bad ass.



Dig in, friends. Turns out they have lots of music to discover and it'll get your toes a-tappin'.

High On Fire - Devilution

I've always liked heavy music. The Who were the start of it, I think, and later on the Jesus Lizard and Melvins kind of took over my attention. Clutch was there all along, too, but I think there was a lull in the early aughts. Then, B-rad played me some High On Fire. This was the first song I heard by them, and you can maybe see why I was smitten:



The album version is better than the live versions or even the chopped up official video version. The extended intro is pretty crucial. And it's worth noting that at a live show, he plays drums like that the whole time. I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about it.

Felt Pilotes - Never Satisfied

This took me by surprise, although I'm not sure why I didn't look for it before - Bandcamp is awesome for this exact purpose.

This EP represents the first trip I ever made to a recording studio. The Felt Pilotes were a band helmed by John Porcellino, normally featuring legit drummer Don Ogilvie (forgive me if the spelling is off - it's been a few years). For this EP, I had the feeling that John needed to get it out and done but didn't have the resources to connect with Don in Colorado.

It was a short project from beginning to end, but pretty magical. The studio was in a well-traveled section of Schaumburg, but cloaked in trees. Even in the leafless winter, it wasn't easy to find. Once inside, it was like a flophouse, but the whole main floor was wired up as a studio. No real furniture to speak of, but I'm not sure the engineers lived there.

We did a few takes of each song, mostly burning off my nervousness. John was not interested in perfection, but rather in capturing the essence of each song, which was perfect for me. Not too much pressure. I learned a lot that day.

Anyhow, I will always remember this record fondly. Check it out for yourself:

Taking Applications for a Backup Team

The Chicago Bears might end up being what I hoped they would not be after all. Maybe they are what the pundits thought they were. I've been letting them off the hook. I've been crowning them. But, that hopefulness was as on paper as the upside of the 2014 Chicago Bears.

I expected to see some excellence, or at least improvement, during training camp. They say that they don't play those games to win, but rather to determine the ultimate composition of the team. They might try a few new plays, but they go vanilla and worry more about avoiding injury. That said, they were 2 for 4 in the pre-season and only scored more than 20 points once.

Yesterday against the Bills, they came out strong in the very first drive, and I thought it was going to be a quick, decisive win where the biggest concern was how much the defense could keep the Bills from scoring. Turned out to be a struggle through the end of regulation. From there, it was the opposite of the Lovie Smith era, where he'd defer on the coin toss and let his defense get the ball back in OT. Mentally, that had to be crushing for the opponent when it worked.

Unfortunately, when the Marc Trestman offense gets the ball, it's less of a sure thing that they'll drive enough to hit a field goal. And even if that was the outcome, the new rule would allow the Bills a chance to match. Based on what we saw yesterday, I'm fairly certain they would have scored.

Lovie's old coaching philosophy seemed to be "don't let their offense beat us" and the new Trestman philosophy appears to be: "we're playing to not lose". This has to become more mercenary if the Bears are going to get into the playoffs at all. The offense has to be able to score at will. There need to be more plays like the first drive. If it worked once, they should keep doing it until the other team can stop it.

Overall, I know it's just the first game and probably a little early to panic, but the next seven games should be more difficult than the one they just lost at home, at noon. They fly to SF for a Sunday night game this week, to NY for a Monday night game the following week, then they face the Packers, Panthers, and Falcons before facing the Dolphins (the next game they should be able to win). Then back to NE to face the Pats before the bye. Tough stuff.

Just to leave on a positive note, I saw some great stuff from Willie Young on defense and the replacements on the o-line. No real drop in production there after the starters went out with injuries. And, as usual, Matt Forte was consistent and excellent.

Bands You May Have Missed

In the 90s, during my 20s, I lived music - listening, making, and discovering it with a fervor. There wasn't an internet like there is now, so learning about new stuff hinged upon your network: what you read, who you talked to, and whether someone surprised you as an opening band.

Some excellent bands got through the cracks and didn't become the national treasures that they deserve to be. Here are a few:

1. Hum - These guys made it to the national level, but are still mostly forgotten (except for the incessant Cadillac commercials featuring their biggest song a few years back). Pity, because they were both an excellent band, but also really nice guys. I met them on one of their first tours (I think) at Otto's (my stomping ground back then) supporting their first release - a cassette called Filet Show. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Their songs undulated like waves. They didn't follow typical song structure, but even with odd time signatures, there was something comfortable about the music. And the heavy was awesome.

A year or two later, I got to open for them (and Shiner) at an outdoor festival. I stood with the drummer from Hum (Bryan St. Pere) through the entire Shiner set, talking gear, music, and what a beast Tim Dow was. ("Dude's a weapon!") By then, they were locally huge, getting national attention. Hell, I saw them on MTV playing live in studio. I'm not sure what happened, but after their last record in 1998, they disappeared.



2. Shiner - Similar to Hum, they made music that spoke directly to me. I'm not sure if it was some kind of communal lexicon of local source material that spawned this Midwest wave of post-punk (not grunge), but whatever it was, I loved it. Where Hum seemed to have 10 guitarists on the stage, Shiner was a power trio that exemplified the term, although eventually they added another guitarist. Out of Kansas City and contemporaries with Hum, they never really got the exposure they were due. Two of their records are two of my all-time favorites. This is a pretty inventive, solid band that also basically dissolved, but apparently they went out on tour a couple years back:



3. Riddle of Steel - I'm late to the game on these guys. Too late, it seems. But they made a record that I have recently discovered based on some mix somewhere that contained the song Aquiline. There's still something transcendent about the way that song hits my ears. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it doesn't really sound like the rest of the album, and it casts some sort of spell on me. After finding a few other songs, I realized that I should just buy the whole thing. That wasn't so easy. Not only did they not become a household name, but their excellent record (Got This Feelin') was nowhere to be found. I bought the CD used from an online seller and it turned out to be in nearly perfect condition. Then I found the Riddle of Steel bandcamp page. Seriously, check them out.



4. Clockhammer - This is kind of an anomaly, even by the standards of this post. I accidentally discovered this band while moving LP racks in the record store I worked for in the very early 90s. It was a demo CD sent by First Warning (part of BMG) that literally slipped through the cracks. I picked the disk up off the floor and had no idea who they were, but gave it a spin in the store stereo. I was stunned. It was beautiful. How had I never even heard their name before? Why were these not flying off the shelf? (Did we even have it in stock?) They seem to have suffered the fate of many bands who didn't have a strong, built-in following before signing with a major.

They were another power trio, getting maximum sound from minimal instrumentation. (This is probably a concept worthy of its own post.) The music is also melodic and interesting - maybe that's the common thread here, but I don't understand how that doesn't translate to "popular" somehow. Try to see past the quality of this video and dig what they're doing musically:



5. Jawbox - this is one that got through my radar field undetected. I've known about them since the 90s but had been ignoring them. Possibly, I heard a song or two that didn't inspire me to research further, and now I'm catching up. These guys might not be such a revelation as they got some notoriety along the lines and level of Hum. Still, though - not a household name, and there's really no good reason for it.




P.S. - Metroschifter.

Cutting the Cord on Wireless (Not Really)

Since June of last year, I've had three Motorola Droid Razr M phones. The first one had some odd manufacturing troubles, although I already can't remember what they were. The replacement had a shudder that affected the entire phone. The display would shift when it happened (randomly - couldn't detect a pattern) and I once captured it in a double-exposed photo. Very odd.

The replacement for that phone was a refurbished one which came to me with a limp on/off button and scratches on all the corners. Not only had it been used before, but it was pretty worn out. On the other hand, it's a device that runs faster than the first three or four computers I owned, loads things from the Internet quicker than our home DSL, takes better photos than our first few digital cameras, plays every song under the sun, shows feature films from every era, and fits in my pocket.

So, in keeping perspective, as long as it would turn on and off and do the basics (phone calls, texts, camera), then I could live with some of the other stuff. Then they updated the software, which broke wi-fi and bluetooth. It's a tricky issue because there are layers of culpability.

Layer 1: Android. Owned by Google, this is the operating system that rivals Apple's iOS. The major difference between the two is that iOS only appears on Apple devices, where Android appears on many manufacturers' phones. So, when Android updates their kernel (base software), the OEMs need to retrofit the changes in the software to the hardware they've developed.

Layer 2: Motorola. I jumped in with Motorola (now also owned by Google) with my first smartphone, which I loved. That was a giant leap from a flip phone to the world of smartphones. From that first smartphone to the Razr M, it was more of a refinement in what I wanted, and the Razr M covered everything. Small form factor, minimal bloatware, solid performance across the board. However, there must have been manufacturing issues, or maybe the size/performance ratio was too good to be true. Either way, I have had three already with a fourth on the way.

Layer 3: Verizon. The juggernaut. We'd been on AT&T and T-Mobile in the past and neither came close to the coverage that Verizon has. We figured that since the cost was so similar, we might as well be on the best network, and we've been with them for quite a few years now. The Razr M would have been my choice on any network, but as luck had it, they were very inexpensive coupled with a 2-year contract on Verizon. And, when the first two went awry, Vz was very good about issuing replacements (although they also had defects).

Earlier this year, Android put out an update to their kernel to address a security issue they had discovered. In the meantime, they also tidied up some other things, including their bluetooth implementation. After having some work done on my car where the power was disconnected for a while, I could no longer pair my phone to the car anymore. Worse yet, wi-fi barely worked, and if an app didn't have the directive to only use wi-fi, it would revert to network data. I first noticed the difference when our bill arrived the month after the update.

There were clearly numerous issues, but it was hard to pin down who would be responsible. My first point of contact is Verizon, since I got the phone through them. Since my warranty was up, their primary directive was to sell me an extended warranty, but really, a warranty would only cause them to send me a new phone with the same software, and thus the same issue. (Until there's an update to the car stereo or the phone's OS bluetooth implementation, nothing will change.) So, I'd be spending more money to not have a phone that would be constantly in transit.

Second contact was to Motorola, who seemed to be much more contrite and offered to send me another replacement "just in case" it works. My hopes are low, but I figured I might as well get a newer phone in the short term. However, since it's out of warranty, they're not taking any chances with me; my options are to send out my phone and wait for the replacement to arrive, or let them hold $100 on my credit card and ship the replacement first.

I opted to send my phone out first and take a few days off from smartphones. It's a little startling how embedded it has become in my daily routine. I can't check the traffic en route to work. I can't quickly access the weather. I can't dictate a quick message to Jennie.

On the other hand, I read a whole article in Wired (the paper version) this morning, was able to call my folks from the car on my old flip phone (battery lasts forever!), and I looked up the weather when I got to work. Maybe I need to be more conscientious about when and where I'm using it when I get it back. I feel like I had been using it less, but not having it in my pocket leaves me feeling exposed. I can't call up an answer at any given moment.

Maybe that's not the worst thing. I've toyed with the idea of going back to a standard phone (man, that sounds like an addict talking, doesn't it?) but I think I get enough value out of the smartphone on a regular basis that I'll keep it. It's changed how I get places, find my car, track my fitness, and other things I didn't have options for in the past. Mostly, though, I think I had an inclination that this day would eventually come when I was selling modem attachments for Palm Pilots around Y2K. The utility of a smartphone is everything I had hoped for back then and much more, but it's the coolness factor that will probably keep me hooked. 

Mark Lanegan Band - 4AD Sessions

This dude is the real life analogue to Tom Waits and his persona. That grindy voice? It's earned. That growl? It's fair warning. I've been a fan of the guy since my friend Bill played Orange Airplane for me back in the day. Got to see the Screaming Trees live in the tiny Eagles Club and then was pretty excited to recognize his voice as part of Queens of the Stone Age years later. And now this:



He's been mostly off the mainstream radar, but making music that I love all along. Thanks for the tip, Brad!

Doctor Werewolf - Trololo Man Remix (Doctor Werewolf Troll Face Mix)

This is at once everything that's wrong with music these days and also something I can listen to for days on end. It's a Youtube-generated meme coupled with dubstep, but then there's that basic, simple beat appended - totally makes the song. I don't really go for the idea of "guilty pleasure" because if I like it, I like it. This song stretches my boundaries - I feel a little guilty.

Decide for yourself:

Auto This World

Yesterday, I dropped off my 2013 Subaru Outback at the dealership for what I hope is the last time. It consumes oil and fits the profile of a small group of cars built that year that have this issue. Luckily, I've stuck to the manual and done all the appropriate service stuff so that this will be handled under warranty. Since the issue started, I've gotten to know the service staff at my local Subaru shop pretty well. First name basis, and regular checks on each others' kids have become the norm.
I bought this car in 2012 after 3 or 4 years of tracking the new body style and the declining health of my previous car (a 2001 Saturn Vue). In researching the Outback, I thought back on the history of cars I've owned so far, and it was a little surprising how many there were in retrospect. Some met with calamity, some died of old age, and some were just no longer useful. I'm not particularly hard on vehicles, but maybe I just have bad motor karma.

Here's the list of cars, along with my memory of why I got them and why I got rid of them:

1981 Volkswagen Rabbit (tan): My first car. 5-speed, so learned to shift just after learning to drive. This thing had lots of miles on it, but there was also something wrong with the motor from the start. I had been saving up money to get a car and it was all I could afford, so it never got the attention it probably needed. Struts were shot very quickly after buying it, but that didn't stop me from driving it to the quarry for some off-roading. Overall, this was a great car for learning about how engines and suspension are supposed to work. A cautionary tale, if you will. I also learned how to do reverse FWD cookies in this car, drag raced it against another Rabbit in the high school parking lot, and ultimately crashed it after the rear end got loose on a massive sheet of ice. Bad conditions + bald tires = calamity. Interestingly, the Chevy Suburban who hit me (I ended up in his lane - he had no options) had to be towed (broken radiator) but I was able to drive the rest of the way home.

1981 Volkswagen Rabbit (green): Having pity on me for the numerous issues with the first car, my folks chipped in for this one. I needed a way to get back and forth. I don't remember much about this one - can't even remember why I got rid of it, but I assume it had worse motor troubles. Our neighbor behind us just happened to be selling his 1980-something Datsun/Nissan (Sentra?) and gave me a deal.

198x Datsun/Nissan Sentra (silver): This was my first experience with getting scammed. Interesting that it was our neighbor who perpetrated the bad deal. This car had lots of hard miles on it, but the price was right, so I lived with it for a few years. I don't think I was ever able to rid the interior of the after shave smell our neighbor left on the stick shift or the steering wheel. At a point, I realized why he got rid of it when it started having trouble delivering gas to the motor. A new carb for this P.O.S. was $700, and since it was an import, there was no skirting it. A used one was $500. I think I paid $900 for the car. Sold it while it didn't even run.

 (<< my actual car!)

1966 Chevy II Nova (navy blue): My favorite car by a long shot. Found it in one of the car magazines at the front of a grocery store. Bought it from a nursing student near Comiskey Park who was having trouble parking it all the time (no power steering). It was a 4-door, 2-speed, straight-6 utilitarian commuter with bench seats. I could fit my drums in the trunk and back seat with ease, plus two people. My dream was to eventually clean it up and add a trailer hitch and a nice stereo. But then I left the color-matched, fitted gas cap at Bockman's (when they were still a gas station), the rear quarter panel got smashed in while parallel parked in downtown DeKalb*, and ultimately, the entire rear end of the car got totaled by a drunk driver, mid-afternoon, while the car was parked off the shoulder, awaiting a tow (fuel pump died). The officer on the scene said it was a 55 MPH collision, and yet all four doors still opened. That was the final straw, and after talking to my insurance agent about what the car was worth before and after that last wreck, I sold it cheap to a friend who was building a similar car. Before all the accidents and other stuff, it was easily the coolest car I have owned.

1991 S10 Pickup, Ext. Cab (white): Another great Chevy in my past. This truck was small, but with the extended cab and full-sized bed with a cap, was the perfect vehicle. It also had a V6, but smaller and more fuel efficient. And in the peak of my rock star halcyon days, it was the perfect cover. Where I had been pulled over just for having long hair in the Nova, I never once caught a second glance in the retiree-mobile. Plus, I could fit a twin mattress between the wheel wells in the back, so after a show, I always had a backup plan if I was too drinky to drive. All that came to a sudden end when I hit an icy patch (again) and slid into the open tailgate of a pickup hauling sand (and not going at a green light), thereby shearing into the motor and totaling the car. It's possible that had I not crushed it, I could still be driving that car today.

1993 S10 Blazer (dark green): This is still my second favorite car. On the heels of the pickup, I wanted something similar, but with a back seat. The Blazer was very similar to a larger, 4x4 version of the pickup, so there was no learning curve. Also, it had a killer motor (4.3L V6) and the stock stereo worked great. For my new job, which took me all over the Chicago area, it was impractical but ideal. There was never a time where I felt trapped in traffic, and weather was no longer a hindrance to travel. On the other hand, it was not built to be a commuter car, and eventually, the heater core died, all the oil fell out, the PCV valve crippled it, and the price of gas came onto everyone's radar. When the price of fixes outweighed the thought of a car payment, we decided to trade it in.

2001 Honda Civic (black): This car, while very nice and well-appointed for the price, was not a good transition from the Blazer. It missed everything I liked about the Blazer and couldn't fit me with three other average-sized adult men comfortably. I don't remember what my plan was for hauling drums, but it was clearly short-sighted. Having seen the new-ish BMW X5 launch event, and also having visited a Saturn dealership with a friend, I was more open-minded about the brand new Vue they were about to launch. In fact, I talked to a salesman and learned that not only were they very roomy inside, but also quite affordable. So, we were able to trade the Civic in on what ultimately became my most practical car.

 (<< not my actual car)

2002 Saturn Vue (silver): Technically, this was my second brand new car, but I don't really count the Civic. The Vue was engineered differently than other cars at the time. It was the first iteration of a platform that GM would eventually use for the Equinox, the SRX, and a slew of others. It rode like a car - center of gravity felt low - but had the interior space of a utility vehicle. The back seat was comfortable and also folded down flat - plenty of room for all the drums. More than once, I was able to fit a full sheet of plywood inside the car to drive it home. That's impressive. FWD meant it typically got 28 MPG in general, so it was practical. Also, I didn't have a major issue with the car for 10 years, which seems unheard of these days. 5 years without payments or significant repairs. Near the end, though, while closing in on 150K miles, a cylinder dropped out and while it was repaired (but never quite the same), it had done damage to the already old catalytic converter. Based on any car buying guide, a replacement catalytic converter (parts alone) would be more expensive than the retail price of the car. Plus, we had a new baby, and I didn't want to take chances.

2013 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium (graphite gray): I had been looking at the Outback since Subaru updated the look in 2009. They made it more roomy in the back seat and I liked the overall aesthetic of the car. I also wanted something that would handle like the Blazer in adverse conditions. There was an option for an upgraded stereo, but the standard one sounded great in the showroom. I could save $2000 by getting a manual transmission. I saved more by not bothering with a sun roof. Ultimately, after an afternoon in the dealership, I got the price and payment I wanted with an extended warranty to boot. So far, barring the oil consumption issue (not insignificant), it's my dream car. Without the oil issue, it might have already landed in my number 2 spot. I'll need to drive the Outback 8 more years to beat the reliability of the Vue, and retrofit a turbo to rival the speed and ass-kicking factor of the Blazer. The Nova is nearly mythical in my mind; it'd be hard to beat for the number 1 spot.

Jennie will get the next new car, so I hope the Outback can be what I originally expected it to be after the motor is replaced. At the end of this run, though, I'd really like to get a 1970 Monte Carlo - assuming gas engines are still legal by then.

[Aside: There's a Dodge Omni somewhere in there, too, but I didn't count it because it never ran. An erstwhile former roommate left it behind and sent me the title rather than getting it running and moving it himself. Then, I started getting tickets for the non-running car, so it wasn't much of a gift, and it didn't come close to covering what he owed me 9and quite a few others). Got $35 for it at a bone yard down the street.]

* = While I was inside a restaurant, the car was parked on the street, 3rd in a line of 5 cars. Somehow, someone twitched or lost control for enough time to pick my car out of the lineup and smash into it. They took off, too, but a guy on the sidewalk left me a note with the license plate number and his phone number (he said he was a lawyer, would be willing to witness in court). I presented it to the police, and the cop came back and told me it was a young woman living in student/parent housing. He said she was very apologetic. I dropped it. I was broke, too, but didn't have a kid to feed. Just a few months later, the car was destroyed, anyhow. I feel like the Nova was doomed, but offered the chance for some good karma more than once.

So Tell Me Who The F**k Are You?

Since as far back as I can remember, I've enjoyed writing. I don't know who you are, dear reader, but I realistically expect that you're someone I already know and have a reasonable expectation of what it is I might write. You'll likely have an impression of who I am as a person, and having read this far, you're likely either family or a friend.
In high school, I used to write with my grandmother as my intended audience. It put all kinds of filters in place and forced my brain to re-think my grammar, but also my explanations of things. I wrote as though it was a letter to be sent to her.

Now, I write with my wife in mind. She's a peer, fairly tech-savvy, knows me well, and is tired of my old, stale jokes. The filters are a little different, obviously. All of that is anecdotal and came into my consciousness as I was thinking about how great it is to be a music fan right now. I know - it's some leap.

This morning, the USB drive I had left in my work PC overnight was ready. I started a process that analyzed all 2200 songs on it and leveled the volume on each and every track. My wife, I imagine, has already rolled her eyes. (This seemed like it was heading somewhere interesting, but now it's about software. Ugh.)

The USB drive has a distillation of roughly 200 favorite albums on it and I leave it in my car. I got a new car a couple years ago with a USB port connected to the stereo. I've been listening to the music on the drive since I got the car, and have had to adjust the volume with each song, almost every day. This might not seem like a big deal, but it's a lot of adjusting.

A few years earlier, I did an informal poll of friends of mine who care about this kind of stuff (as well as MP3 tagging, ripping CDs, etc.) and was turned on to MediaMonkey. I used it a lot right away - so much so that I plunked down $25 for a lifetime upgrade license.

Fast-forward to yesterday. I plugged the drive into my work PC and let it process the volume leveling function in the background while I worked. It finished up over night, and this morning it is done. I'm listening to the music on the drive and Bad Brains is even with Mute Math! Even better, there's an "auto DJ" algorithm that's choosing what might sound good next to other things and fading in/out from song to song.

Rarely do I spend money on software and think "I got more than I expected here" but that's certainly the case for MediaMonkey. If you listen to music regularly and have acquired files from various different sources in the past (including ripping them yourself), I highly recommend MediaMonkey. Lifehacker agrees, mostly. (Their biggest gripe can be addressed here: http://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/index.php/DreadM's_Skins)The Gold license is also worth it if you plan to do any manual cleanup of files or tags. For me, the volume leveling feature was worth the price.

And so, to wrap up, I will now be able to drive around with my music blaring and without having to adjust the volume each time the song changes. Well, until I take it in to have the motor replaced, but that's a post for a different day.

Net Dreams

Update - 7/14/14: Well, that was uneventful. I guess everyone who follows the NBA knows where Carmelo's loyalty lies (and I'm not talking about NYC). Now I hope that Gasol and his championship experience (along with McBuckets and Mirotic) can still overtake the Cavs. (I'm not worried about the Knicks as a threat. For a while, anyhow.)

Here’s my take on Derrick Rose and the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes. If Derrick throws his hat in the ring and recruits, and Carmelo doesn’t end up here, then Rose loses. There are so many factors beyond whether the two stars can get along that it seems silly that it’s an issue whether he is involved in the pitch or not.

I don’t remember Carmelo Anthony being voted MVP of the league, so it’s even more odd to think that a former MVP would need to plea with another player to help him. LeBron didn’t exactly do that – he worked with Wade, Bosh, and the Heat to get what he wanted. I’m not sure why there’s this expectation of Rose to do a song and dance. His presence at a pitch meeting seems pretty low on the list of reasons why Carmelo might come here. 

Further, there’s a reasonable chance that Rose recruits heavily but then never plays another game in the NBA. His health is probably the biggest unknown in this entire situation. If he doesn't come back at elite player status, then the Bulls are saddled with his salary and another huge contract with Melo, relinquishing any hope of adding or changing other good players. They'd be stuck for a few years. *

The simple take, in my eyes, is whether Carmelo Anthony is more driven by long-term financial security or his legacy as a player. Neither Los Angeles nor New York seem like they're on the verge of a championship; Chicago offers him the best opportunity to win in the 2014/2015 season. If it's even somewhat about the money, then he might as well stay in NY and help the Knicks try to get his hometown a championship. 

While most people would take that cash grab and try to rebuild, I think he's already done that when he left the Nuggets in the past. He's got the money already (and he's not looking at playing for free, either), so I could see him being enticed to try to win a title at this stage in his career. Besides, if he wins a title in Chicago, his endorsements could make up for any contract deficit, and probably exceed it.

I hope he gets to the Bulls without turning them into the Knicks (trading away too much talent to get him) and being hamstrung by his contract for years to come.

* - I don't think Rose is soft, but I definitely think he's accident/injury-prone. One of the first stories I remember hearing about him when he was a rookie was an accident with a knife, where he couldn't practice and almost severed tendons. (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/Roses-Thorn-is-a-Knife.html)

Drumming Influence - Rey Washam

Beyond my circle of musically active friends, I think there are probably very few folks who are not drummers who know the name Rey Washam. Hell, even within the circle, I’d be impressed to find out more than 20% know who he is.

At a point, I could tell who he was by his playing alone. When the Didjits put out an EP after I thought they had disbanded, I jumped on it. They were one of my favorite live bands in the 80s, and I was hopeful for anything new. The songs were okay, but not up to Didjits snuff in my opinion, but the drumming was fantastic.

Clearly human despite the rock-solid time; aggressive and fresh like I hadn’t heard before. Or had I? I didn’t put it all together until much later, but Washam had played on lots of stuff I liked, and I gravitated toward that stuff mainly because of the drumming. Like Helios Creed, for example:

Before I ever heard Helios Creed, I had a Touch and Go compilation record called “God’s Favorite Dog” that featured a couple of songs I couldn’t get out of my head by a band called Scratch Acid.  Eventually, I’d get a copy of The Greatest Gift, which has since become one of my all-time favorite records. Here’s a song from both compilations:

Rather non-traditional, but where sometimes jazzy drumming becomes disorienting or off-putting, this insanity seems to always be grounded. The best example of this is Steve Albini’s project called Rapeman. The first time I heard it, I was stymied by the drumming. It’s both brutal and delicate; basic and yet insanely difficult.

If you’ve made it through each of those videos, you’ll likely hear a bit of a connection. Washam has always had a very distinct snare sound, dripping with reverb and echo. He’s also so mechanically on time, it’s hard to believe he’s not being helped out in the studio. The last video is of Scratch Acid tearing up the Touch and Go 25th anniversary party at the Hideout in Chicago. He’s still got it…

Rey Washam playing For Crying Out Loud from David Yow on Vimeo.

On Basketball and Ownership

[6/11/14 Edit: More drama - Sterling opted to go quietly and the NBA found a suitor in Steve "DEVELOPERS" Ballmer. A week went by without a peep, then we got word yesterday that Sterling will now retain his team and sue the NBA for a lot of money. In a statement loaded with veiled threats, he basically said that the NBA bullied him, his private discussions are his own and shouldn't be grounds for anything, and that his rights were violated. I've heard more than one radio personality question what his lawyers are doing, but I'd submit that Sterling is a lawyer, himself. Clearly, he's used to being the autocrat and possibly there's some dementia mixed in as well. But, this move is just dumb. Playing cooperative and then springing back to action once things have settled, only to reaffirm in everyones' minds just what a jerk he is - if it's not dementia, it's megalomania in its worst form. I hope his wife has actual proof that can finalize this mess and get Donald out of the spotlight again, as quickly as he got into it.]

[5/19/14 Edit: Donald Sterling was not only banned, but is also being forced to sell the team. He was fined $2.5 million as well, and he has decided to fight that. The league has rules, and to be an owner, he must have agreed to be bound to those rules. At the same time, losing the franchise and being banned from the NBA for life seems like a punishment to fit the crime. The fine seems like he's being charged for his views, and this was a private conversation in his home. Not that I have any actual sympathy for the man, but it seems like he should be able to say what he wants. Again, no longer being able to profit from or even attend NBA functions seems like an appropriate punishment for damage done to the league. I'm quite surprised he didn't deny things, claim the tape was altered, mention some new medication, or anything. In fact, maybe the fine is fit punishment for his subsequent and idiotic interviews since the initial episode.]

[Editor's note: I forgot to actually publish this, but I wrote it before NBA commissioner Silver passed his verdict to ban Donald Sterling for life, and before Sterling further imploded in front of Anderson Cooper on national television. Glad to see the NBA take such a stance, but I'm wary of the "contrite" Sterling, and I expect he'll have a reality show before long.]

I'm not sure of the best way to approach this conundrum of an NBA owner having such racist beliefs. It's hard to parse. On the one hand, he's clearly the worst kind of insulated, rich asshole, where having money is proof that his way is the right way. On the other hand, he is rich and he has a right to be a bigoted, racist asshole if he so chooses.

We're back into the Chik-fil-a/Komen/Mozilla mire, where an entire organization doesn't necessarily reflect the thoughts and insanity of the owner/CEO/management. In each of these cases, there was some major disconnect or hypocrisy that made the exclusions egregious. In this case, Sterling makes the case of a slave owner, talking about how he gives his players food and shelter. He says he knows Magic Johnson well and he's a person deserving of admiration, but he doesn't want a black guy like that going to his basketball games. Not sure how the spin team will fix that outright racism, but I'm looking forward to hearing the explanation. *

I heard Mike Greenberg on ESPN radio talking about getting Magic Johnson to sit court-side at a Clippers game if Donald Sterling is suspended or sanctioned. I think Magic's original plan of never going to a Clippers game as long as Sterling is the owner is a better plan. Rubbing his nose in it is petty. Boycotting his business is appropriate; but this is where it gets sticky.

Like the similar cases I mentioned earlier, the players, the support team, the arena workers, and even the fans who have bought Clippers gear should not have to be penalized for one man's ideology. But, like the other cases, he's not just a customer service representative, he's the owner of the team.

So, what's the appropriate action in a case like this? It's hard to imagine someone so ingrained in the NBA (he's the most tenured owner) would simply retire and hand over the business to someone else - especially when they have the best Clippers team in the history of the organization.

Boycotting hurts everyone down the line, but I think in this day and age, that it's the only real way to get a message across that the belief system he's relied on is no longer one that works for his business. I love chicken sandwiches, Firefox, and fighting against cancer, but there are alternatives for each of those businesses, so I could switch pretty easily. I never cared about the Clippers, and now I wish they'd change ownership.

* My bet is on "new medication" that has had him out of sorts.

Audiotool is Audiocool

I'm not sure how this has remained free to use for this long, and actually continually updated, but this is one of the coolest things ever: www.audiotool.com

Now, if you've never touched a musical instrument, this might not be for you. But, if you have some experience (even just a little), and some interest in how electronic music is made, then this will blow your mind.

Audiotool runs in a browser, and the UI is intuitive (if you find Google Maps to be intuitive, for example) so there's no special gear or software downloads necessary. It also has an excellent wiki resource: http://wiki.audiotool.com/doku.php

I fit in the "have been around music for a long time but only kind of understand how stuff works" camp. After playing with Audiotool for a bit, I've been able to corral some chunks of disparate knowledge and make is useful, finally. That's saying something - this bit of free  software has taught me stuff I've always wanted to learn.

3.5 Years In

What I think I'm seeing in Eli is the push and pull of the urge to control things (be independent) and the urge to acquiesce (be comforted) working in opposition of each other. The clearest example of this was when he was not happy with an answer I gave him, so he said "GET OUT OF HERE!". Calmly, I said "Okay - I'll be in the house." Of course, if I'm in the house, then we can't continue playing outside, so he called back "WAIT - DON'T GO" and ran over for a hug. I wonder if this is his superego finally being installed. I'd probably be a better dad if I read up on this instead of ruminating about it, but I'm not sure what I'd change regardless of what I might discover. At the nursing home where my wife works (in the dementia unit), they placate and redirect. There's no attempt to correct or rationalize - they're not in their right minds. Eli is similar, but at the other end of the cycle (his mind is just developing). The other day, I overheard our day care teacher talking with another parent about disruptive behavior in class and how to avoid it or steer around it. This morning, yet another parent talking to a manager there about the same thing. I wanted to high-five both parents, or hug them, because I want to imagine my child being a model student and role model for behavior, but I'm sure he has moments of conflict. The core issue is that they're 3. Right or wrong depends on the variables they're willing to accept, and reality only has a small part in it. Consequences are just barely on the radar. Eli and I talk about all kinds of things being possible or not possible, like monsters or airplanes or tornadoes. I can't imagine how confusing it must be to arbitrarily assign "real" or "pretend" to things. The zoo, fireworks, the real-life version of Radiator Springs and the street Lightning McQueen was forced to pave in Cars - he's seen amazing things. To him, it's all real, because he can see it and process it. Even his imaginary friends are real to him, although he will concede that they're pretend if asked. The toughest explanation for me, so far, was how to approach the passing of our dog. I wanted him to understand the finality of it, but without freaking him out. For a few weeks, even after lengthy discussions, he'd still ask "is Nina coming home soon?" It must be wonderful to have no existential fears, but I suppose he can't understand how wonderful it is without context, and that context is the thing I'm trying to help him avoid for as long as possible. And so, it's gratifying to hear him repeat things I've told him a million times. I keep thinking he isn't listening, but he actually hasn't missed a thing. Maybe he'll go a little slower down the hill on the bike path next time...

Drumming Influence - Matt Johnson

Here's a swarthy lad, nonplussed with his current environment (JBTV studios, Chicago, 1995-ish), unwittingly having an effect on me and countless other musically-aspiring fans:



There's nothing flashy going on. Minimal kit, very few fills, no stick-twirling antics - just clean, professional drumming. Matt Johnson played his part perfectly behind Jeff Buckley, and he's at it again with Annie Clark, AKA St. Vincent.

After seeing him play live with St. Vincent for the second time, my best description of his style is the Shaolin master, who uses minimal movement to exert maximum force. He reverts the argument back from Fruity Loops to human touch despite having seemingly redundant analog and digital equipment. While his setup still looks minimal, but it's anything but, and whether it's connected to a computer or a stretched skin, he's hitting it with precision.

Fills are still minimal, but when they appear, they are staggering. And then, the doubled hi-hat on Birth in Reverse with the funky pulse to boot - just awesome. See for yourself:



He looks more like Christoph Waltz than Neil from the Young Ones these days, but he seems to have only gotten stronger. I'm certain I'm missing tons of information on him from the gap between Buckley and Clark, but that's what Google is for, eh?

House of Vibe All-Stars

I was looking for live video of Philip (Fish) Fisher playing drums. I have seen him a few times with Fishbone (way back in the day) and he was seriously amazing. He eventually was the touring drummer for Justin Timberlake, so that gives you an idea of how he's revered within the pop music. With Fishbone, there was an insane stage show happening in front of him, so I imagine people didn't notice him much. They would have been moving, though, and the motor driving the entire building was Fish.

First time I saw him live, I assumed there was some kind of drum trigger trickery happening. Didn't seem like a human could be playing some of that stuff with only two arms and two legs. On the Beastie Boys tour, he had a small electronic set (to fit on the huge Beasties set) and it was set up sideways, so every stick and pedal hit was visible. It was all real. Amazing.

There are some Fishbone live videos, but Angelo and the antics take the frame, so you don't get to see Fish much. I happened across this rooftop jam session in the search, and while it's pretty tame music, you can easily see why he was such a huge influence on me:



Rock solid. Oh, and Chali 2na in the mix as well.

Rodan - Before The Train (Peel Sessions)

I was knee-deep in the Jesus Lizard, Slint, and a ton of other stuff when a pal of mine from Record Revolution asked me if I had ever heard Rodan. I hadn't. There wasn't much to hear (only one full record, I think), but once I got my hands on the album, I listened to it over and over and over again.

There are only a handful of bands that have completely caught me off guard upon first listen, and Rodan was definitely one of those. The intro to Rusty is a languid, intertwined string arrangement (played on guitars). It's not really what I expected given the pedigree of the members of the band, but it went on for a few minutes and lulled me into a confused state just as the first wrecking ball hit.

Holy cow.

I remember hearing the Jesus Lizard for the first time, and the first Fugazi song I heard was Waiting Room. Those were both transcendent music moments for me. When Bible Silver Corner ended and that first snare hit initiated the angular, rolling assault of Shiner, I was hooked. Have been since.

Anyhow, in researching them, I found very little outside of Rusty (or the various projects of the members post-Rodan) to further scratch the itch they started. There were, however, the Peel sessions. This is one of my all-time favorite songs for a lot of reasons. It's somewhat symmetrical. It has a certain comfortable feel to it despite the myriad parts and starts and stops. There are no words. It's marvelously long, but never gets boring. It seems like we're all on a musical trip together.

See what you think:

Nina Stories - Early Signs of Super Smarts

In the first few weeks with Nina, she was so cute and so young that it was hard to determine what kind of dog she would eventually be, but we were inclined to believe that she would be attentive at the very least. Border collies are known to be slightly high-maintenance dogs, requiring constant exercise to stave off the obsessive, destructive behavior. Terriers are mostly psycho. Those were her two most prominent breeds.

Since we would be gone during the day, we initially thought we should train her to stay in a crate. This experiment was an abject failure; every time we left her alone in the crate and left the house (for any length of time), she'd relieve herself in the crate, but then had no place to go to escape it. There were lots of baths. In retrospect, we just hadn't learned about how sensitive she was to isolation.

When it finally became clear to us (me, really) that she was not going to be swayed, we decided to try to block her into the kitchen and dining room area where the floors were all vinyl. There were two entrances to that space. On one side, we backed a chair the width of the doorway into it with a card table on top of it (more of a visual deterrent). For the other entrance, we put a baby gate between the walls, then a second one above the first. So, stacked baby gates, because even as a pup, she had an impressive vertical leap.

We used a dinner date as an opportunity to test this setup. We got her to play outside and tire herself out a little before we left, then we put her in the newly penned-in area. At this point, it's probably worth it to mention that she had been spayed earlier in the week, and due to excessive licking, was wearing a cone around her neck.

I think the anticipation was that we would come home to find some kind of mess in the kitchen, but when we opened the door, there was Nina! She seemed very happy to see us (or very proud of her conquest). The strange thing was that the gates were still up and the furniture stack in the other doorway was undisturbed. It took some investigation, but I eventually figured out that she had pulled on the lower corner of the lower baby gate and found that it wasn't a tight fit. So, she shimmied out, cone and all. That one still amazes me, but it's not her most amazing feat. That comes in a future installment.

So, at this point it was getting pretty obvious that she wasn't going to rest while we were gone, and she didn't have an accident, so we tried leaving her home alone without any barriers. We prepped it by letting her out just before we left, and sure enough, she was good. House broken/potty trained without much work at all.

The next hurdle was a longer day. We were going to visit my folks at their new house and didn't think it would be fair to leave Nina home alone for that long, so we decided to take her, but leave her outside (they had white carpet and we were not 100% convinced of her ability to hold it). She was quite used to the tie-out off of our deck and they have a similar deck, so it seemed like she would be fine. When we got there, dinner was ready, so we sat at the table in the kitchen, which happens to be right next to the sliding glass door. We figured that if she could see us, she wouldn't be agitated, but we were exactly wrong. She jumped up and down at the door (solid 2-3 foot vertical leaps) for what seemed like 10 or 15 minutes, without taking a break.

I started to worry about her little her body, plus, she was crying the whole time. It was quite sad. So, I let her in to give her a little food or something and she just plopped down under the table where she stayed for the rest of the meal. I think that was the last time we had her cordoned off anywhere, actually. She was a great listener and really needed to be with everyone. Even a pane of glass was too much separation. She always preferred being part of the group.

An addendum:

When we got her, we decided to take her to some sort of obedience training. We has spent lots of time (and money!) at PetSmart already, so that seemed like the path of least resistance for the training. We had already been working on "sit" and "wait" and a few other things, and she was naturally a good walker, so we went in figuring she'd be good at it. She was.

Aside from her attention drifting away from us when another pet owner brought actual turkey chunks as a reward, she was aces. The stuff we hadn't already taught her she picked up very quickly. She seemed to be proud of the job she was doing. In fact, when the lady with the turkey would give her dog commands, Nina would do those, too.

On the last day of obedience training, we had an obstacle course to navigate, and she graduated with flying colors. There were tons of treats there, more treats when we got home, and so much excitement! That night, a smell woke me. Then I heard whimpering. Our obedience school graduate had gotten sick, hid in the closet, and then pooped on our shoes. It was an emergency, I'm certain, and an anomaly. I could count her accidents on one hand over the 13 years she was with us. Just amazing. 

Pissed Jeans - Ugly Twin (I've Got)

Do you remember the 90s? I do, I suppose. There were long stretches of musical drought after a strong start in 1991. So much seminal music released in 1991: Nevermind, the Black Album, Loveless, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, and so much more. Genres were being defined and experimentation was becoming the norm instead of the "alternative".

Punk rock, in my mind, had already come and gone. In its wake, bands that described themselves as "punk" went down one of two paths; they either followed the "rules" or followed the ethos of punk. The bands that followed the rules ended up being, essentially, fast-playing pop bands with a smart-ass message. These bands became very popular, and eventually quite mainstream.

The bands that maintained the ethos were mostly referred to as "post punk" bands, and there were entire labels that fed the genre - most notably Amphetamine Reptile and Touch and Go. In the new millennium, there are heavy bands, and bands that follow the ethos as well, but very few really capture the mood of the early 90s like Pissed Jeans.



It's interesting that a video by The Birthday Party was the genesis for Pissed Jeans. Makes sense, as they were probably what influenced so many other bands in the late 80s and early 90s. Here's an interview talking about the ethos of Pissed Jeans - tell me if it sounds familiar.



And here's the Birthday Party video he references:

Nina Stories - Dog Parks

Last post, I mentioned that we had a park just outside the sliding glass doors of our end unit townhouse. That was convenient, but also not officially sanctioned by the association or the village. We did lots of walking up and down the bike path, and into town on occasion, but we had an active dog. Part border collie and part terrier, she had an insatiable interest in searching and sniffing, and nearly limitless energy.

All that considered, dog parks were Nina's Disneyland. We just happened to live in an area with excellent dog parks, and at a time when the best one was still free. That was Pratt's Wayne Woods, where the off-leash section was 23 acres with at least one water bog. We went there so much, that if it hasn't been altered, I could tell you the nuances of every step 13 years later.

Nina knew we were near when she heard me turn on the directional signal at a specific intersection, and would proceed to howl and caterwaul until we got there. (Always amused me to hear other dogs losing their minds entering the parking area, too.) We'd park the car, then walk to the entrance where there was a large shrub that must have thrived on uric acid. The beaten path was a giant loop around the perimeter, but there were also bisecting paths, which crossed in the middle.

Usually, we'd start out by heading left (clockwise) so we'd hit the mud pit first, then dry off as we walked the rest of the path. The mud pit/bog/pond was the big social spot for the dogs, and by proxy, the owners. The veterans were wearing old sweatpants or other unimportant clothes, knowing there was no way to avoid the mess. The dogs would run in and out, wrestle, chase, play king of the hill with toys someone left behind, and they all seemed to be super excited. In fact, I think it was this particular spot that caused them to wail when the blinkers went on.

When Nina was a puppy, all of this insanity was a little hard to take in, but she certainly enjoyed the rough play. If another dog was making a run for a toy, she'd take a shot, too. She was not aggressive, though, so if the other dog got there first, she wouldn't fight for it, she'd just come back out and wait for another opportunity. And there were endless opportunities.

The rest of the park was just prairie with a worn in path through it. The entire area was fenced, and the south and west borders had a trail on the other side of the fence where folks on horses would trot on by. I can't remember if Nina ever didn't take exception to the horses. For the majority of encounters, she'd run 30-yard sprints, back and forth along the fence, barking and yelping the whole time. When the horses were finally out of sight, she'd go back to sniffing and walking like nothing happened. (She'd sleep really well when we got home, though. The sleep of the righteous!)


As with the park by our house, the other dog owners were pretty astute, and while there were some rules posted, common sense still seemed to prevail. As such, with very few exceptions, the dogs were also pretty well mannered. To my memory, the dog Nina got along with best in her entire life was named Pebbles.

We only saw Pebbles and her people at the dog park but it was just as well - they would just run the whole time. Pebbles and Nina looked very different, but they must have had similar thought patterns. It was almost comical - they'd trade off chasing and being chased, using awesome speed bursts and athletic cuts and jukes - and then they'd both stop on a dime to research a new smell. Sometimes, we'd lose them in the tall grass, but we could still hear one of them yelping, in pursuit and so close to tagging the other. They both always came back and sniffed the periphery around us as we continued to walk.

Pebbles and her people moved to North Carolina, but it was around that time that we started hearing (and finding bloody evidence) of dog attacks at the park. New people were bringing bad dogs, and the word on the picnic tables was that they didn't care about the damage they were doing. Shortly after that, we heard about a child getting hurt by a dog and decided it was time to find a new spot.

Kane County has an awesome forest preserve system. We tried a number of other dog parks (including one in Naperville where Nina got backed down by a miniature pinscher) but the next best one was only a few miles from the original spot. Fox River Bluff had acre after acre of prairie, but sloped down to the shore of the Fox River. She could stay up top and stay dry, or traverse the hill and get sloppy in the muddy banks. Not only was it superb fun for Nina, but I can't imagine a more beautiful landscape for us to hike. Oddly, there were far fewer dogs there. If we ran into one or two it was a busy day.

Most other dog parks we encountered in those early years were okay or not much fun at all. Typically, it'd be an acre or two of flat, fenced-in land where dogs could socialize, but not really useful for exercise or exploring. 

Eventually, after we moved to Sugar Grove, we found a new dog park that was almost as nice as the first one, but those are stories for another day.