Boomerang ... (Bing, Bong, Bang ... it's ...)

Boomerang ... (Bing, Bong, Bang ... it's ...)

Boomerang is the first novel I ever finished.

It is not the first novel I ever attempted.

I wrote it in 1992 and 1993, mostly on the bus. It was originally published in short story form in 1995 and later serialized completely in 1996 and 1997 in the same publication.

Attempts to convert it to a screenplay and produce it as a film have not progressed well.

Not my story to tell ...

I did not know Andy Wood.

I enjoyed the music he made. I wish he had made more. Andy Wood died 17 years ago this week.

When Andy died I was dealing with my first issue as the Editor in Chief of City Heat Magazine. A writer/editor for the magazine had the opportunity to interview Andy shortly before his death. The issue was facing a rapid deadline. Due to the nature of Andy's death being from a drug overdose I made the decision not to bump the cover story from the cover, but to add a tribute to Andy. In retrospect, I still do not know if that was the right thing to do, but I did it and it has never felt like the wrong thing to do, so I have to assume that if given the same circumstances I would make the same choice again.

That week I witnessed a lot of things in the Seattle music scene of the time. I had the opportunity to attend a fairly private gathering of many of Andy's friends. I remember it vividly, especially the feeling of being an outsider.

That experience led me to think about what it would be like to be in that situation since I was so close to it, but to have something more than an interview on tape. I wrote the beginnings of a script of a man who interviews and records two songs with a famous rock star just before he dies. The choices the writer has to make about what to do with the music he owns the only copy of felt like a natural script.

We writers all draw upon our experiences when we write ... it is normal, expected even. We draw upon news items, historical events, personal happenings, and observations of the people around us. I remember a critique of Chasing Amy was that it was not Kevin Smith's movie to make since he was not a lesbian. In Kevin's defense, the movie is more about a guy falling in love with a lesbian than being about the lesbian, but I digress.

Yes, I was a witness to events. But, in this instance, I felt like I was truly stealing someone else's story and that it wasn't mine to tell. I have shelved that story.

So, I miss Andy Wood's music. I wish I could have witnessed a headline tour of Mother Love Bone. There never should have been a Pearl Jam. But, the world works the way it works and what should or should not happen do not really matter. What matters is what does happen.

As I said 17 years ago, my sincere condolences go out to Andy Wood's family and friends.

I wish I was a ...

I wish I was a ...

... hypochondriac.

The other day at taekwondo one of the younger students commented on my injuries. It is true, I have had a ridiculous number of injuries in my life.

I started to look at the breaks, tears, surgeries, scars, and sprains in the form of a list and it became a bit mind numbing.

I wish I hadn't broken my right ankle in 1993.

I wish I hadn't needed double hernia surgery in 2005.

I wish I hadn't broken my left wrist and thumb and needed titanium scres in 2002.

I wish I hadn't broken my right thumb in 1977.

I wish I hadn't broken my right wrist in 1986 and 1988.

I wish I hadn't separated my shoulder in 1990.

I will stop the list here ... other that to say ...

... I wish I was a hypocondriac instead.

The G's ...

The G's ...

When I was a college columnist I would not write about the "G" issues of the day unless I had to. In short, I felt that columns about Gays, God, Guns, Gorbachev, and the Greek System were essentially wastes of ink that really only served to polarize the campus and bring in a lot of new letters to the editor.

In another post today I touched on the issue of Gay Rights.

I am about to break another of the "G" rules.

The NRA. Gun control will not be an issue in 08 despite the best efforts of the Republican Party. Democratic candidates are unlikely to talk about it, unlikely to get baited into it, and ultimately, they know it is an issue more likely to hurt them than to help them nationally. The Democratic nominee will not spend time on this issue. Frankly, it is an issue that doesn't seem to generate a lot of support any more other than philosophical support since it is so clear that general gun control measures simply cannot ever win in the federal courts.

The best way to lower the influence of the NRA is to take away their fundraising myth, that the government will ever confiscate their guns.

Even if gun control measures are passed and get through the courts without being overturned there will never be a day where the us is able to confiscate hundreds of millions of guns door to door. But, ... It makes good drama. It riles up the NRA rank and file. It brings in a lot of money. It gets people to vote against their economic interests in order to vote for something emotional. And, it will never happen.

I hear, "Don't ever say never." They will argue, "What about Stalin or Hitler?" (etc ...) First of all, in a time or place where there were no guns, perhaps it would be possible to keep them out of hands, but in a huge nation with a culture of guns in a significant portion of the population and the willingness to fight back against their government I will actually say it, it will never happen. The people who would be asked to go around and collect the guns are generally part of the gun owning culture. The order to confiscate the guns of this country is not an order that they would follow ...

This nation is too vast and the military operation necessary to facilitate gun confiscation make it so that it would never be accomplished.

In this nation prohibitionary laws routinely fail. There needs to be a general cultural agreement and a willingness to address the problem in question for a prohibitionary law to really take hold. Also, there needs to be a lack of resistance to the enforcement of the law or else the subject changes to civil rights and government power. If any of these things happen, then the law will ultimately fail to do what it is professing to do and it basically becomes a case of politicians looking like they are trying to do something they don't have an actual solution to. Since all politicians really know how to do these days is talk and not actually lead, we get more bad laws on the books that do nothing to solve actual problems.

Most gun control advocates acknowledge most laws they propose will be struck down, that they are trying to keep an awareness out there and to exhaust NRA resources in order to alleviate their influence. But, the best way to alleviate NRA influence is to ignore them. Don't let the myth of gun confiscation take hold and watch their fundraising decrease. Watch people vote on economic issues instead of emotional ones. The last thing the NRA ever wants to admit is that they are guaranteed to win in the courts in the big picture, because that will actually diminish their power ...

Also, I am not a fan of the NRA because I find their political approach distasteful, especially in the way they label gun control advocates. I shoot trap on occasion with my father. I have taken gun safety classes. My kids will take gun safety. I enjoy shooting. I don't think the Second Amendment is vague.

But, I am not the NRA.

The Left is becoming ...

The Left is becoming ...

... as intolerant as the Right.

I say this in response to a trend I have felt in recent months. As the Bush Administration has continued to show just how corrupt it is and the Right has shown how intolerant it is the Left has taken on a gloating intolerance.

Part of being Liberal or Progressive is the belief in the free flow of information and ideas. There is supposed to be a strong current of protection of thoughts and opinions of others. However, when someone from the Right says virtually anything any more the Left issues knee jerk reactions and calls for apologies or censoring of the speaker.

General Peter Pace recently commented on his opinions on morality and homosexuality. I do not agree with him on this matter. However, there is no reason on earth for the man to be forced to repudiate his feelings or apologize for answering a question he was posed in an honest manner.

People are allowed to have their own views on morality. Sexuality and homosexuality are legitimate matters to be discussed under this umbrella. A disagreement on this issue is clearly possible and likely in modern America. General Pace is not the devil for having a belief in this manner.

However, it is also reasonable for people to hold him accountable for those views when his role in the military has an impact on public policy. The personal views a person has should not get in the way of decisions which influence the rights of others. If General Pace's personal views are having such an impact, holding him accountable is different than the vilifying of him that I have been hearing and reading.

The Left needs to breathe in slowly sometimes and not become something as intolerant as it is supposed to be opposed to.

This stung a bit ...

Okay, so I was screwing around on the computer over at my folks while watching some NCAA hoops and there was an ad for eharmony dot com ... so I decided to take their little "free personality profile" test thing ... and I decided to take it seriously even though I shant be giving them any moolah ... well, I went through all the questions, and they have a lot, and when I was done I was told the following ... "No matches found" ...

Advance introduction to a book not yet completed by a good friend ...

Advance introduction to a book not yet completed by a good friend ...

I have had the good fortune and priviledge to have been in the loop on the various incarnations and evolution of (insert title).

For a long time I joked with (insert name) that (insert title) would never be complete, that he would be running after delivery trucks with manual typewriter written revisions. Yet, here I am with an advance copy to review and the introduction to write. It would often feel like a large chunk of time had passed without having seen anything new of this book and then something would emerge. (insert name) would get several hundred pages into the manuscript and ruthlessly gut it down to a smaller work and start buidling again with a different approach. It was actually interesting to watch. I cannot fault him for desiring to make it exactly what he wanted it to be. I also have had the good fortune to have read the majority of the hundreds of alternative pages written over the years. "The Party Scene," he would tell me, "The Party Scene." Despite all the alternative approaches it remains true to its original purpose, evolving ever more into something worth finally relinquishing to publication.

Good for you (insert name); you did it, and it was worth it.

Stadium list (Ephemera Project) ...

Stadium List (Ephemera project)

As part of my Ephemera research I compiled all of these depressingly detailed lists of events and started looking at the stadiums and arenas I have been to. The following is a fairly detailed list that has some gaps but is pretty darn close. It is also current as of today, so as I attend more events in coming weeks, months, and years, much of this will expand. This is just more for my "benefit" than anything else.

Stadium List:

Key Arena (22 since remodel) - USA 1 (W-indoor tour) - 1 Seadogs - 3 T-birds - 1 Def Leppard - 9 Storm - 2 Storm Events - 3 Sonics - 1 Sonic Open Practice - 1 WWF

Old SCC (pre-remodel) - 20ish Sonics - Whitesnake, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Dio, Kiss, Robert Plant, The Firm, Sting, Bryan Adams - Truck Drag and Tractor Pull

Mercer Arena - +/- 10 Tbirds/Breakers - 2 Seadogs - 2 Reign - Pearl Jam - Queensryche - Golgen Gloves Boxing - Marathon Finishes (3 or 4, they now use a different building), 4 Big Time Wrestling

/s\ Field (26) - 20 M's, Wrestlemania, Fanfest, Field of Lights, Open House, USA Men, USA Women

Qwest Field (41) - Open House, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Seattle Bowl, 2k4 Sounders Media Day, 3 USA Men, 29 Sounders, 3 Cougar Football (+2 Ex Hall events - Fanfest, Kratt's)

Everett Events Center (6)- Open House, 2 Silvertips, 2 Hawks, Duran Duran

Tacoma Dome (39) - 20 Stars, 4 Sounders, 1 Sounders Practice, WWE Smackdown, Boston, Bowie, America, Iron Maiden, Harlem Globetrotters, USA Women Indoor, 3 Teaching Fairs, AC/DC, Circus, 1 Tacoma Rockets, Bon Jovi (+1 Ex Hall Tacoma Stars wake)

Hec Ed - UW Hoops (approx 5), 2 Gymnastics, R Graduation

Convention Center - Wedding Fair, NAMA 2 days, Pokemon

Kingdome - 35+ Sounders NASL, Soccer Bowl 76, Rolling Stones 2x, Seahawks 6x, Monster Trucks, Van Halen MOR, Home Show, Sounders Indoor, Kingbowl 85, 2 NCAA Soccer Finals, 84 Final Four, Bacon Bowl, College Baseball Classic, Sonics 9ish

Spokane Old Coll- Chiefs 2, Metallica
Spokane New Arena - 2 Chiefs, Cougs UCLA, Reign v Lasers
Spokane Opera House - BOC, Stryper

Seattle Opera - Nutcracker, Hawking 2x
McCaw Hall - Nutcracker
The Paramount - The Phantom, Yngwie
The Moore - NAMA
REP - Musical
5th Avenue - White Christmas

Memorial Stadium - 20+ Sounders, 30ish Storm, 9 Marathons, Pearl Jam, Jerry Cantrell

BC Place - 2 86ers
Swangard - 2 86ers
GM Place - 1 Ravens
Exhibition Stadium - 1 Sounders

Reunion Arena (Dallas) - 1 Sidekicks
Ballpark in Arlington - 1 Tour
Angels Stadium - 1 M's
Shea - Mets v Marlins
Yankee Stadium - vs Rangers
Giants Stadium - Metrostars v Burn
Civic (Portland) - Soccer Bowl, 97 WCQ, 98 USA, 99 WWC, 03 WWC (after remodel)
Albi Stadium (Spokane)

Beasley Coll (Pullman) - umpteen Cougar basketball (men and women), 1 Cougar volleyball, Rose Bowl team singing, Bob Newhart, REM, Crimson Co., Nutcracker, Inouye, Greg Brady, Def Leppard, Jay Leno, My 2 graduations, Gary's graduation

Martin Stadium (Pullman) - I practiced and played on this field parts of 3 seasons for WSU, had PE on the field, and have attended a few dozen Cougar football games ...

Everyone is a matchmaker ...

Everyone is a matchmaker

I don't know what it is. Maybe I have a sign on my forehead that screams "NEEDS GIRLFRIEND" or something that I can't see but a lot of others can ...

Yes, everyone wants to be a matchmaker.

I have been single now for over two years and even though I have dated a bit it seems like too many of the people I know want to "help" me. The quotes are intentional.

For instance, a few weeks ago I went to a show with a couple of old friends and smack dab out of the blue this question pops out toward me, "Would you date and older woman?" Maybe. I don't know. But I certainly didn't want to think about it right then.

On the phone a few days later with another friend I hear this, "What do you think of my friend (left blank intentionally)?"

Also this Winter I had this conversation, "I know the perfect girl for you ...." I changed the subject.

Yes, it is nice that people I know seem to want to "help". And yes, their intentions are good ... but, these are only a couple of the examples from recent weeks and months and are not the only ones I could site.

So, thank you to my friends, I think.

Top Ten Arena Rock shows I have attended... (Ephemera Project)

Arena Rock (Ephemera Project)

The recent "Buttrock Suites Live!" show brought back the memories of the glory days of Arena Rock. Go ahead and Google that on The Internets, I can wait ... okay, I have been to way too many concerts, which explains my loss of hearing ...

The order is mostly due to the order I remembered them, so that seemed like good enough criteria for me ...

1 Iron Maiden / GNR (Seattle Center Coliseum) 6/1/88
- weeks later GNR would never open again ...

2 Iron Maiden / Queensryche / Halford (Tacoma Dome) 9/19/00
- Bruce, Geoff, and Rob under one roof ...

3 Ynqwie Malmsteen / Lita Ford (The Paramount) 5/23/88
- With Joe-Lynn Turner on vocals, Yngwie really kicked it and Lita was fun too ...

4 Bon Jovi / Skid Row (Tacoma Dome) 5/10/89
- They filmed the show for a video, I think it was "Lay Your Hands on Me" ...

5 David Bowie (Tacoma Dome) 5/21/90
- Bowie, a small band, no elaborate sets, and his greatest hits

6 Def Leppard /Tesla (Beasley Coliseum) 12/2/87
- In the Round and in the 4th row ...

7 Pearl Jam / Wallflowers / Sean Lennon (Memorial Stadium) 7/22/98
- Outdoors on a beautiful night ...

8 Sting (Seattle Center Coliseum) 5/3/93
- like the Bowie show, very stripped down ...

9 Metallica / Cult (Spokane Coliseum) 8/28/89
- over two hours of the Mighty Metallica when they only had four albums to choose from

10 Boston (Tacoma Dome) 7/31/87
- Sadly, Brad Delp recently passed

11 Duran Duran (Everett Events Center) 3/05
- I am still stunned how good a live band they were

12 Robert Plant / Georgia Sattelites (Seattle Center Coliseum) 6/19/88
- an amazing control of the stage, and he played "In The Evening" ...

13 AC/DC / White Lion (Tacoma Dome) 6/16/88
- the same weekend as the Robert Plant show

14 Queensryche / Metal Church (Mercer Arena) 12/31/88
- the first time they tried Mindcrime live

15 Queensryche (The Gorge) 5/26/95
- my only Gorge show ever ...

16 Dio / Yngwie Malmsteen (Seattle Center Coliseum) 12/31/85
- New Year's Eve with Dio, Soto (now with Journey) was with Yngwie

17 The Firm (Seattle Center Coliseum) 5/28/86
- I could reach out and touch Jimmy Page, then the wall broke

I did not include Ozzfests, Monsters of Rock, the Stones, McCartney, or a few others .... Whitesnake / Great White or Cinderella / Winger / Bulletboys or REM or Motley Crue for instance ...

(I could also include a worst of list, which would include Ratt and Kiss, but their opening acts (Poison and Anthrax, respectively) were amazing.)

Road Races (Ephemera Project) ...

Road Races (Ephemera Project) ...

While doing the Ephemera Project research I also made a list of all of the road races that I have participated in. I don't have all of the dates or results, but I do have a disturbing number of them. As a result, this list is not perfect, but pretty darn close.

I started running these races the year after I first graduated from Wazzu in order to give me (a goal oriented fella) a competetive reason to stay in shape. Eventually I did the triathlon and marathon thing. The marathons are a previous blog entry on their own. These races tend to be 5K, 8K, or 10K races. Bloomsday is a 12K. A few of the races are odd distances like 4 miles. I include the few walks and triathlons and half marathons here for the purpose of being thorough.

Race List:

85 Dribble On (walk)
5/90 Beat The Bridge 40:26 8k 1658/3964 (First ever timed race)
7/3/90 Firecracker 5000 5k
7/90 Seafair Torchlight Run 41:06 8k 2115/4762
4/27/91 Early Bloomers
5/5/91 Bloomsday 1:03:02 12k 4713/55496
7/3/91 Firecrcker 5000 5k
91 Tour de Lynnwood
91 Run of the Mill
91 Run for Shelter
91 Holiday Classic 383/691 32:32
91 Jingle Bell Run 25:04 #865
92 Valentine Duet Run 23:49 228/591
92 Big Climb 13:33 #510 (First Stair Climb)
92 Mercer Island 8k 38:55 139/439
5/3/92 Bloomsday 1:00:24 3260/53305
5/92 Beat the Bridge 8k 1107/5188 37:34
6/7/92 Sri Chinmoy 10k 48:32
92 Shore Run and Walk 51:13 516/1689
7/3/92 Firecracker 5000 5k (fastest per mile race ever ran)
7/12/92 Silver Lake Triathlon 2:34:13 (49:15 - 45:52 - 59:05) (First Triathlon)
92 CF Stair Climb 10:10
92 College Inn Stampede
92 Seafair Torchlight Run 37:24 916/3778
9/20/92 Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon 1:52:14 (First Half Marathon)
11/28/92 Seattle Half Marathon
93 Big Climb 14:30 #569
93 Mercer Island Half Marathon 1:56:45 670/943
93 Beat the Bridge 43:38 2047/3999
93 Seafair Torchlight Run 38:08 1019/3593
94 Beat the Bridge
94 Big Climb 15:18 #623
5/1/94 Bloomsday 1:10:10 7372/55193
95 Relay for Life (walk)
5/7/95 Bloomsday 1:13:47 8110/54154
5/5/96 Bloomsday (pre Bloomsday event)
5/13/96 Bloomsday 12k 1:10:47 6739/56156
98 Alzheimers Walk (walk)
5/17/98 Beath the Bridge 43:38 2047/3999
98 Seafair Torchlight Run 45:57 1472/2437
9/98 Super Jock & Jill Half Marathon
99 Seafair Torchlight Run
01 Beaver Lake Triathlon (dq in water, finished overall race)
04 Big Climb
05 Big Climb

Great Fake Sports Team Uniforms of Cinema ...

Great Fake Sports Team Uniforms of Cinema ...

There have been some fantastic sports movies made. Unfortunately, there have been many, many more horrific sports movies made. For the most part, my favorite sports movies have been based on real teams and players so the uniforms have been hardly worth mentioning. However, there are times when the uniforms are for fictional teams and those uniforms are worth noting and ranking.

For the purposes of this list I have decided to only include the originals and not the remakes. For instance, remakes of The Longest Yard, The Bad News Bears, and Rollerball are not included. These uniforms are noteworthy for the roles they played in making these movies memorable.

Go to imdb.com and check some of these out.

1 Bad News Bears - Bears
- A Little League team with a Bail Bonds sponsorship on the back. These are classic button up style uniforms and deserve praise for the comic touch of how they fit the kids.

2 Rollerball - Houston Energy
- These bright orange jerseys with black leather pants and fancy numbers stand out in a classic film from the 1970s.

3 Longest Yard - Mean Machine
- A great moment in American cinema is when the cons trot out wearing these very cool black jerseys.

4 Slapshot - Chiefs
- An actual minor league hockey team now wears these uniforms.

5 The Natural - NY Knights
- Classic old school baseball uniforms.

6 The Waterboy - SWCLSU
- Uniforms so ugly the XFL would have turned them down; brown, orange, and blue. The Cleveland Browns uniforms look stylish by comparison.

7 Dodgeball - Average Joe's
- A fake team uniform dream movie. The bright yellow jerseys of the Average Joe's lead the way.

8 The Fish that saved Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Pisces
- Old school basketball uniforms in a film that the NBA did not license their uniforms to be used.

9 One on One - Western University
- They look sort of like the uniforms in Hoosiers style wise, with Western in bold type plainly across the chest.

10 Shaolin Soccer - Martial Arts Soccer Uniforms
- The yellow martial arts style uniforms are actually quite cool.

*** The order here is as much the order I thought of them as anything else ...

My own version of Netflix ...

I have recently come up with my own version of Netflix ...

See ... I go to the library online system and plug in 20 movies I want to see and they email me when they come in. I get a couple a week, have to wait a bit for some new releases, etc ... but in the end I get to keep them for a week for free. And if they suck I am out nothing ...

So I have used this system the last few years to see virtually every Oscar nominated film in recent memory that looked remotely interesting, watch all but one Kurosawa film, catch a number of gems I would not have rented, and been able to see 9 of the Top Tem Blaxploitation Films of All Time ... and Scarecrow fills in the rest ...

Anger Management

I have been asked about this a lot. Older friends seem to know that I am a pretty mellow guy that tries very hard to keep things from getting out of control, that I can keep my cool.

But, the real question is how can I not be jaded and angry after going through the past several years.

And the answer is what it always was ... big picture.

Rhetoric ...

Rhetoric

A 1985 summer music project that was never finished ...

As a former NBA owner myself ... (Ephemera Project)

As a Former NBA Owner myself ... (Ephemera Project)

I used to own a piece of the Boston Celtics. Yep. I owned a couple shares of the 13 percent or so of the team that was publicly held until a few years ago when the new Celtics ownersbought us all out. I used to get financial statements and dividend checks and the whole thing. It was cool. I would go to the Celtics and Sonics and realize that I was rooting for a team I owned a sliver of. It was cool. When Reggie Lewis played his last game in Seattle I listened to the second half of the Copper Bowl while watching the game in the Kingdome. Now that the new ownership group bought back all of the shares I will admit to following things a lot less. It used to be a lot cooler.

But, the NBA used to be better. The 80s and into the early 90s was the glory days for the league. I got to see the Showtime Lakers and the 86 Celtics and the Jordan Bulls. I miss it. People cared. Now, when I turn on an NBA game I see fans talking on cell phones and barely watching, leaving no energy at all in the arena. The other night I tried an experiment where I flipped back and forth between an NBA and a college game, the energy levels were simply so different. I cannot bring myself to pay full price for an NBA game, even though they are clearly amazing athletes, it is simply not worth the money to shell out for decent seats to an NBA game.

The Sonics may be leaving. Other blog entries have dealt with how I simply don't believe that the new owners of the Sonics have credibility. Well, they could end up getting an arena in Renton (on land that is not currently for sale) that 15 years from now will need to be replaced by a downtown facility, but I still think that they are half-hearted in their claims that they want to keep the team here.

Back when the Sonics played in the Dome we would go to Sneakers first. I got to see my high school team play a pregame my senior year. I remember catching a game in Spokane at Jack and Dan's during the 96 playoffs and ending up being interviewed for the Spokeman-Review about being a Sonics fan in a Jazz bar. I remember dribbling a ball from the Dome to Seattle Center with the players to kick off the 85 season when they moved back to the Center. I took the kids to meet Desmond Mason in 02 at Albertson's and to an Open Practice during the pre-season the year Ewing was a Sonic.

I miss caring about the Sonics.

I have never seen an NBA game outside of Sonics games. It just has never happened. And, frankly, I haven't been to many Sonics game in recent years either when back in 85-86 I went to eight of them. This spring I intend to attend my first ever minor league basketball game. I have not seen a CBA, NBDL, or other minor league game, but with a team in Everett I will catch a game this Spring.


Sonics Games

02.16.05 GS Warriors - (L) 110-117
04.27.02 SA Spurs - (L) 75-102 NBA Playoffs
02.19.00 BOS Celtics - (W) 94-91 - (see picture here)
12.29.92 BOS Celtics - (W) 111-87 - KD 200
12.18.92 POR Trailblazers (W) 126-109
11.22.91 CHI Bulls - (L) 99-108 KD 300 - Michael Jordan
12.05.92 MN Timberolves - (W) 124-87
02.22.92 POR Trailblazers - (W) 113-104 KD 300
12.22.90 SAC Kings - (W) 121-93
12.27.89 PHI 76ers - (W) 110-106
05.05.88 DEN Nuggets - NBA Playoffs ???
01.02.88 PHI 76ers - (W) 116-114 - Kenny G did the Anthem
12.17.85 PHX Suns - (L) 99-104
04.10.86 DAL Mavericks - (L) 109-115
03.30.86 PHX Suns - (W) 103-89
03.29.86 LA Lakers - (W) 88-87
02.13.86 BOS Celtics - (L) 98-107
02.12.85 WA Bullets - (W) 109-94 - MTHS @KD
12.27.85 GS Warriors - W) 114-102
11.05.85 NY Knicks - (W) 84-80 - Ewing rookie
11.02.85 CHI Bulls - (W) 118-100 - Jordan DNP
11.27.84 KC Kings - (W) 104-96 - KD
11.29.83 SD Clippers - (W) 119-114 - KD
04.20.80 MIL Bucks - (W) 98-94 NBA Playoffs
04.15.80 MIL Bucks - (L) 95-108KD NBA Playoffs
04.06.80 POR Trailblazers - (W) 103-86 NBA Playoffs - KD

**** 75-76 era - Saw the Celtics and Suns for father son games through MTE
2002 Logo Unveiling at Seattle Center
2002 Desmond Mason Signing at Albertson's
2001 Open Practice @Key
1985 Dribble On event
Seattle PI quotes
Spokeman-Review 5/96 story

American Idol judges, refs, teachers, bosses ...

This is a bit of a rant.

You can't win.

The kids love American Idol. I watched a bit of the taping ans saw people arguing with the judges about their credibility as though it mattered, and they were wasting their 15 minutes to look like idiots and spoil sports. The show hired them so they are the judges and it doesn't matter if you like them, you have to impress them anyways.

In your life it won't work very often as there is no instant replay for judgement calls. Unless a boss or a ref or a teacher does something illegal you are stuck with it, get over it.

There is a time and a place for fighting the system and authority, but fighting refs or contest judges just isn't it. It is getting to the point where people call sports radio and complain about the refs when their teams win.

Enough.

The Flag (Oxymoron Project)

Story of the Czechoslovakian flag I own

Back in June 1990 I had the great good fortune of having tickets to the USA's first match in forty years in World Cup play. The game would be taking place in Florence.

The morning of the match my friend's mother awoke a still very jet lagged crazy haired American and got him to the train on time so that he could get from Modena to Florence. Even when two people do not speak the same language mothers still have the ability to get things done in the morning, don't they?

Well, I got to the church on time (so to speak) and took my seat for the game. I was jazzed for this game and can still close my eyes and feel everything. There was a small number of Americans in the end zone where I was sitting, more of a sideshow than anything really to the locals. How quaint, Americans at the World Cup ...

The guy sitting next to me was a fellow American, but despite his protests to the contrary, he obviously knew little, if anything, about the realities of European teams. He seemed very earnest in his belief that the Czechs and the Austrians should be easily winnable games for the USA and that advancing int he tournament seemed likely. I kid you not. By the end of the game he was stunned and depressed, having apparently truly believed the shite he was saying.

Anyways, as I mentioned above the game went poorly. The young Americans were pounded by a very good Czechoslovakian team 5-1. In the game Eric Wynalda got red carded, Paul Caligiuri did score a mercy goal, but it seemed very clear that the Czechs decided to be nice and not make it even worse.

I, however, still had the time of my life. I mean, it was the World Cup and the team I had grown up never expecting to see qualify for the tourney was in it and I was there. It was Florence freaking Italy and I was walking the streets with a giant US flag and never prouder to be an American in my life.

And then I felt the tug.

See, the Italian government was in a very good mood that month and not just because they were hosting the World Cup. Communist governments all across Eastern Europe were falling the year before and from what I recall the Czechs had actually voted in their first government the day earlier. It also seems that the Italian government decided in a goodwill gesture to allow any Czechs with game tickets free rail passage to the game. There were a lot of them. They were festive. They had just completely destroyed us. Vaclav Havel had been elected the day before.

There was a large group of Czechs suddenly all around me on the way back to the train station and a very old man had a grip on the flag draped over my shoulders. He offered me his. I had heard about the grand tradition of exchanging flags and shirts but this was my first real experience. I gladly exchanged it with him, wrapped the Czechoslovakian flag around my shoulders and joined their group screaming and yelling all the way back to the train station. I bid them farewell. My flag went back to Chechoslovakia.

The Italian flag I exchanged with a boy a few days later is cool too, but nothing compares to the experiene I had in Florence. That flag will always be a reminder of a great day, one of the greatest, in my life.

A long time getting my dancing boots repaired

A long time getting my dancing boots repaired.

I have been asked this question a lot lately, as I have not been going out much. To sum up ... After my accident this December I really didn't feel up to going out much so I didn't ... My dancing boots and my second pair of boots and my leather soled shoes all have to be resoled due to holes in the right foot (and one pair of boots both feet) ... I haven't the money these days to just drop forty on such things ... and really I just have to admit that dancing just doesn't do for me what it once did ... so I will still go from time to time, but regularly getting down into Seattle 2-3 nights a week or more just isn't going to be on the agenda any time soon ...