iPod and classic albums

I was a bit perplexed this evening when my tween daughter asked me to pull out some of my favorite albums so she could download some of it them onto her iPod. Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Joe Walsh in particular. I was pleased by her interest but perplexed by the word "some" in the preceding sentence.

I gave her the CDs assuming she'd download all of them only to see her first downloading Abbey Road and picking out about 8 of the 17 songs. Personally I'll usually only listen to it when on a road trip or doing a project in the yard because that's the only way I can listen to it all at once. I asked her how she could load Mean Mr. Mustard, not load Polythene Pam, and then load She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. It made no sense to me. I have other examples from other albums but I'll just stop there.

There are pros and cons to being part of the iPod generation. One pro is that they don't have to suffer through some of the bad songs on great albums. A major con is that they miss what it's like to know an album's time and place and how it was part of an artist or group's career. For now I'll try to get her download whole albums and there's nothing to lose because I already paid for them.

Mel Kiper Jr.

If you listen to sports radio even just a little bit you'll eventually hear Mel Kiper Jr. Mel is what is known as the "NFL Draft guru". He knows just about everything no correct that everything there is to know about every NFL team and every Division 1 college football prospect. This time of year leading up to the draft is Mel time and you'll see and hear him seemingly everywhere.

The little I've thought about him in the past is that he's slightly nutty but now I'm starting to think he's a genius. He is so specialized in his knowledge that I think he could translate to almost any medium. I could just hear Mel handicapping the Oscars, the midterms elections, or even the weather with the same passion he does with NFL draft. Joseph Campbell once said "Follow your bliss". Mel Kiper Jr. certainly has.

Here's a video of Mel talking about Tim Tebow. This is a three minute interview. Mel could do this for hours without coming up for air!

an apple a day

One of the first things kids learn about health is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." It is one of those phrases that becomes ingrained in the psyche. I've never paid much mind to it myself as I only eat them sporadically. I started to take another look at apples recently because of reading about their benefits to the teeth. According to ezinearticles.com,

"In addition to their basic health benefits, they have numerous dental benefits. Apples are a mildly acidic fruit. Because of their slightly astringent quality, they are an ideal food for cleansing and brightening teeth. The acidic nature of an apple is not enough to make a person's teeth pearly white. The acid needs the help of the fiber-rich flesh of the apple."

I've been eating one per day for 10 days and I think my teeth look whiter. I've been fanatical about my teeth since having braces as a teenager and hearing the horror stories about what effect poor habits would have on my teeth. I imagined myself with yellow teeth around the white square that was the brace on each tooth. The only thing I do knowingly that is harmful to my teeth is drink diet pop at lunch and dinner.

I'm planning to keep up the habit and will know for sure if anyone comments on my whiter smile. Even if that doesn't work they have other less vain benefits.

Napoleon Dynamite

For a time back in 2004 one could barely go anywhere without seeing some reference to Napoleon Dynamite or a Vote For Pedro t-shirt. My tendency is to resist being sucked into these trends and just let it ride out. I rarely get to see an "adult" movie and don't know much about modern music. And that's ok. Sooner or later if a movie is good enough I'll check it out. When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

Last night I viewed Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. I could tell within the first five minutes that it was going to be a gem. Like the best comedies, the movie keeps your attention despite a thin plot because you anticipate that something funny is coming often.
Without being a spoiler, I'll just share a list of the top five characters: Napoleon Dynamite, Uncle Rico, Kip Dynamite, Deb, and Pedro. If you enjoy slow-paced movies with nuanced, tongue-in-cheek humor, then check it out. Here's a look at Uncle Rico.

Bossa Nova acai juice

Anything containg the words antioxidants, superfruits, exotic tropical locations, and better health made easy will get my attention. Enter Bossa Nova acai juice.

Acai berries are purplish and come from the Amazon jungle in Brazil. People native to that area are allegedly healthier than most. Bossa Nova is a California-based company markets acai juice in a 10 oz. bottle for $2.99. I've been drinking 3-4 ounces every day and it tastes pretty good if you drink it like a shot.

There are several superfruit juice products like this. You may have seen juices with pomengranate, goji berry, or mangosteen. According to Consumer Reports none of them can really claim anything but that won't stop me from buying it. I guess it's just part of being human. People have been concocting elixirs, panaceas, and magic potions for centuries. If they at least make people think they feel better then perhaps they serve a purpose.

Daytona Beach, FL

This weekend I went to Daytona Beach for the first time. It's a well-known destination for spring breakers, NASCAR fans, and cars on beaches. The little I got to see of it made it seem like a slow-paced, sleepy beach town which didn't jibe with its reputation.

To begin with, the airport is small and easy to get in and out of. I had a friendly cabbie named Pierre that took me to the Hilton which is right on the beach. Pierre left Haiti in 1980 and spent 24 years in Miami. He speaks French, Creole, Spanish, and English (decently).

I'm definitely looking forward to going back there sometime in a non-Spring Break week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_Beach

St. Patrick's Day & being American

Today is the day when many people suddenly become proud of their Irish heritage whether they're Irish or not. Others use St. Patrick's Day as a reason to go drinking or to pull something hideously off-green out of the closet.

Over the years I've become a bit ambivalent identifying myself as Irish-American. Sure, I wore a green shirt to work today and said "probably" when people asked me if I was going to drink beer today (although I had no intention of doing so). My policy has been just to acknowledge it if asked. There are some people that make a big deal about it but who really cares if you consider yourself Italian, Irish, Polish, etc.

There are two things that caused me to think about this: one to do with Theodore Roosevelt and the other Christoper Walken. Interesting pair, eh? Roosevelt said:

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all."

"This is just as true of the man who puts “native” before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance."

"But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else."

Finally there was a scene in The Deer Hunter where Christopher Walken was being questioned by a doctor after being rescued as a POW in Vietnam. He was asked if his name was Russian and he said in an proud, certain tone that it was American.

Harrumph!