towards danger?

When I was around 18 I remember watching a documentary that interviewed war journalists. The part I recall was about a Central American conflict and an interview with a blondish, smiling Australian. They asked him what it was like to be in the middle of a gunfight and he happily remarked that he "felt very alive".

I think what's at play here is the need for adrenaline. Whether it's gambling, bungee jumping, or hunting crocodiles, people have long enjoyed the rush of nervious anticipation.

I'm not particularly one of this lot, but I do like to travel and see places that are unfamiliar. Next week I'll be taking a 10 day trip to Caracas, Venezuela and Bogota, Colombia. The other day I got a call from the Security department of my employer advising me not to visit Caracas unless necessary. He was just doing his job.

I never even considered asking out of the trip. I've been around a little bit. I've not been to the Middle East,Sudan or Afghanistan, but those are the places that would give me pause, not Caracas. Besides, I'm not looking for trouble, maybe just a nice meal, a drink, conversation, and some people-watching.

finding that elusive nugget - Steve Winwood

If you asked 100 teenagers today if they know who Steve Winwood is, you could probably count the ones that do on one hand and still have 4 or 5 fingers left over. Nevertheless, chances are excellent they've heard two of his biggest hits on the radio: While you see a Chance and Higher Love are both staples on light rock radio.

I've always thought of Winwood as sort of British equivalent of Joe Walsh. He was part of various groups before going solo, and then finally came back to others later, Walsh with the Eagles and Winwood with Eric Clapton. Both had hits sporadically over long careers. Walsh is known more as a great guitarist and Winwood a singer and arranger.

Here are some nuggets from Youtube about While You See a Chance. I sometimes enjoy finding a comment where a listener tries to interpret a song or shares some other interesting info:

1)@BrokenneckYgor it is foolish to build an aircraft that has no buyer, it would be the same to design An automobile that has A buyers list of one. in music in America, we get A vocalist together with A guitarist and A percussionist, and you all sit around perfecting each others shit. that's how it's done. the other way is the European way, the ONLY I am allowed to be wonderful, selfish snob, my shit doesn't stink way. we have A saying for folks like that here, "GET OUT"! don't blame Steve at all

I found that Winwood played all the instruments for the album Arc of a Diver, where this song is from.

2)I've finally taken this advice; after 20 years.

Come on! If you don't tell us more I doubt it's true.

From Higher Love
3)Chaka also arranged the vocals on Robert Palmer's number 1 hit "Addicted to Love"

I'm not sure if Chaka Khan was a vocalist on either of the songs but I'll find out at some point when I'm at work.

These are the fruits of how I sometimes while away evenings, neither reading, watching TV, nor socializing with my family or friends. It's not very productive but I enjoy it and sometimes find an opportune moment to share this useless information with like-minded individuals.

recommended reading for baseball fans

Baseball - America's pastime. Hot dogs and peanuts and lazy summer days. Sweet Lou and Alan Trammell turning another double play. From childhood I have fond memories of playing and watching baseball whether in person or on TV.

Somewhere along the way I've lost my connection to the game because I find it too slow to watch on TV and I've only been to two major league games since 1998. My days of playing are practically over, unless I join a beer and softball league again.

However I won't let it go away alltogether. I'm still connected in two ways. One, I have coached my two oldest children in softball and baseball. I actually enjoy the dugout chatter and the back and forth with the kids more than the games themselves since the skill levels are low. Second, I've read a couple of books by David Halberstam that are just about perfect. One is called October 1964, which chronicles the World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals. The second is Summer of '49, which recounts the Yankees/Red Sox pennant race.

I think the late Halberstam's greatest gift was weaving together the historical setting, the characters, and what happened on the field. If I were a literature professor I would ask aspiring history writers to read these books and ask them to report back to me in my messy office.

about movies

A couple of thoughts regarding two of my favorite movies and application to my life.

First, today my six year old son spilled water on himself today. He missed badly and got his shirt very wet. At that point I told him he had a drinking problem. He smiled. When I recounted this to the other two kids they both smirked too.
This was of course was a reference to the movie Airplane! None of them liked the movie when I showed it to them about a year ago. In fact the 6 year old was the only that stayed through the end only because of his aversion to going to bed. When I used the line in real life it was funnier than on film. This ties loosely to my next point.

Second, whenever I read the Life section of USA Today I'm reminded of the following dialogue from Sideways.

Jack and the Erganians surround Miles as he eats from a plate
with two pieces of CAKE -- one white, one dark.

MRS. ERGANIAN
Jack tells us you are publishing a
book. Congratulations.

MR. ERGANIAN
Yes, congratulations.

Miles shoots Jack a look. Mr. Erganian gets some ice cubes
from the refrigerator door.

MILES
Yeah, well, it's not exactly finalized
yet, but, um, there has been some
interest and --

MRS. ERGANIAN
(to Jack)
Your friend is modest.

JACK
Yeah, Miles, don't be so modest.
Indulge them. Don't make me out to
be a liar.

MR. ERGANIAN
What subject is your book? Non-
fiction?

MILES
No, it's a novel. Fiction. Although
there's a lot from my own life, so I
guess technically some of it is non-
fiction.

MR. ERGANIAN
Good, I like non-fiction. There is
so much to know about the world that
I think reading a story someone just
invented is kind of a waste of time.
MILES
That's an interesting perpective.

I tend to agree with Mr. Erganian. Sometimes I'll be in the Life section and will be reading an interview with and actor/actress about their made up character and I say to myself, "WTF?! Why am I wasting my time reading this?" And then I hear Mr. Egranian and close the paper and move on.