A New Month

Sooooo.... I have decide that February is the month of pain. My life having spun badly out of control over the last six months... or maybe a year... or maybe five years... or maybe it has always been out of control. Anyway I have a lot of problems... as some of you are well aware. So I have not done anything to improve myself in the new year and that being the case I feel some need to take some drastic actions. My wife is encouraging this by generally indicating that after 25 years I have become “not such a good deal” which I took poorly at first, looked at the facts and then was forced to agree with her.

That being the case in February I am going to:

1. Not drink unless it is an even with people who I like. Tuesdays with Kowert would not be such an “event”. Wednesdays with Sievers would not be such an event. It would have to people I do not see all the time. In addition to this I will not drink at home... before bed... or when alone...watching TV... or... well you get the idea.

2. I am fat. I am at my all time high weight. 201 LBs. I am not tall enough to carry 201 pounds unless of course I am playing tight end in the NFL and am working out every day (I am not). What this means is that I have to exercise 3 times a day during February. Hot yoga one day... and something the other two. I am thinking just doing as many sit up and push ups as I can do every night. That is week but it is something. I am also going to try and not eat like a hog. So exercise and diet.

3. No spending money. I know I am making the economy worse and should be out there running up credit cards and buying things but.... it is the month of cutting back.

4. Work really hard. The economy is bad. I am good at a bad economy and for the good of my firm need to bust my ass.

5. I will weigh myself every day.

6. I will not discuss my progress with other people or complain about it.

7. I will not quit.

The last two will likely be the hardest because, I am, above all else... a quitter. I think I should weigh in at about 203, my all time high weight. We will see. February is of course seasonal affective disorder month anyway as I have documented in the past. So if I am going to be unhappy in the month. Might as well be really, totally miserable... right?

Blago Blago BLAGO!

Soooo seriously...once again... I have oddly mum about the Obama Presidency. I think i am too scared he is going to fail to be too cynical or ironic about it. He needs to pull our country together to get something done that we have not seen in this country in my lifetime. So I continue to leave him alone and what he is trying to do. I think if certain Democrats and Republicans stand in the way of his programs that they will be vilified and crushed. I really do. The Republican Congressman proposing that the economic stimulus should all be tax cuts may be literally dragged out in the street and beaten like the truly craven and intellectual dishonest people that they are. Trying to huck votes in their conservative districts back home regardless of the consequences. To quote Animal House....”Nierdermeyer....DEAD!”.

I did hear an interesting discussion that piqued my interest regarding what to call what we are going through as a country. “The Greater Depression” was one suggestion. “The Great Comeuppance” was another. I am interested in the naming of this thing. my current thought, “The Deprecession”. Think on it. I do believe you can do better.

So lets talk about something fun....BLAGO, BLAGO,BLAGO, BLAGO! Where has he been hiding for the last 6 years? I know he was haunting the Illinois legislature. I know that he spent as much time in Springfield over the last 6 years as a prize hog at the State Fair (about 4 days before being judged.... and slaughtered). But who ever thought we in St. louis had this kind of crazy right next door. Not this guy. In another day without politically aggressive United States Attorneys, in an age without a 24 hour news cycle... this guy with the bad hair and the big attitude might have been the new Kingfish. There was a time when this was all just good political theatre and by telling the same lies to enough people you could sell it. By being bigger then life and by demagoguing about being a champion of the common people... you could convince people.

I mean he has great hair. That should count for something. I am watching him on FOX... interview number 32 or so... where he explains that all he wanted was to head to Springfield, put some witnesses on and defend himself but they will not let him. Of course he did not contest the rules they set up, until the start of the trial. I mean Illinois has been a crooked place for years, top to bottom but this Kabuki theatre, this low comedy is unbelievable. He goes on shows and talks about when he was arrested and compares himself to Gandhi, Martin Luther King... what about Elvis. I remember that time in the movie Gandhi when Ben Kingsley (playing Gandhi) says to the British about his hunger strike and imprisonment... “this is golden...I am not letting this go for nothing... I want money”. Great leaders one and all.

***

Now it is two days later. Blago appeared before the Illinois house today and made a long rambling defense of himself. It was.... more theatre. The guy is really just too much. So I was trying to think, if I was arrested... would I compare my suffering with all those great people that he identified himself with? If I was arrested for any reason i would identify with people similar to Gandhi, Mandela and martin Luther King. I would identify with.... first of all Otis from the Andy Griffith show, then maybe Sean Penn from Falcon and Snowman, and finally Ray Liotta’s character in “Goodfellas”. but that is just me. I tend to self aggrandize..... but seriously, watching this guy self destruct.... in prime time.... unbelievable.

Sweet Sixteen!

Soooooo....my daughter turned 16 today. My youngest. My only girl. My baby. You talk about feeling OLD and confused. Senile before my time. There is only one question. Why is it that God has allowed me to live this long? Why is it that you (as a father) care so much more about your daughter then your sons?

I guess those are two questions. The answer to the first one is easy. God is angry with me.... and the world. So God thought it would be funny to let me have a daughter grown to dating age and independance and dating and ohhhh shit. I wish we had a better day for it, but she went and got her license this morning and then drove to school. Then, after we had told her not to ride anyone in her call for a month.... she took her friend Hannah home. No one died.

But the second question is why daughters seem so special in comparison to sons. I love my sons. But my daughter just tends to make me smile all the time. I can drive around with her, run errands with her, go to dinner with her and.... I smile. She is just as difficult as the boys. She is just as annoying as the boys. Just as stupid as the boys (in her own way). Lazier (if that is possible) then the boys. So what is the deal.

Fortunately, I have the answer. My daughter Laura is simply that much better then anyone elses daughter.... ever. Smarter, cuter, funnier then any other girl...ever... other then maybe my mom, but I didn’t know her when she was 16. My wife (who I did know when she was 16) was close but only close.

We got her some presents, and 16 roses and...some LEGO kits (is that normal?). We went to dinner at Deweys (I talked her out of The Melting Pot because of the weather) and had some awesome pizza. Laura is of course hoping for a snow day tomorrow and as I sit here i could not think of a better day then laying on the couch and watching the food channel all day in the snow.
So here is Laura at 16. God have mercy on her boyfriend or husband. because I likely will not.

A Modest Proposal (CRAP)

I recently spent a long weekend in Hot Springs Arkansas. Why you might ask, and that would not be a bad question. Arkansas is one of the saddest, backwards ass States in the union. But Hot springs (Bill Clinton’s boyhood home) has a special place in my heart. We have been going down there for over 26 years to Oaklawn Race Track. Thoroughbreds. I got engaged in a liquor store parking lot there. I bonded with my wife’s family in ways that have lasted a life time. I learned to gamble there. For the last 23 or so years we have gone down for the opening weekend of the track every year. It used to be in late February but it crept up, and crept up and now it is in mid January. We go down with a group of men and now those men and their sons for an intergenerational weekend of drinking, gambling and copious consumption.

The group I go down with can best be described.... as nazis. not actual brown shirt, shaved head people but really, really conservative people. On the way home, discussing the possibilities of the Obama administration. in the Little Rock airport, in between NFL playoff games I had an epiphany.

We are all concerned about the government bail out program. Even congress is concerned about how to use the second half of the TARP funds. The idea was originally to buy the banks troubled (no called and trademarked as “TOXIC”) assets which seem to consist of derivatives related to sub-prime mortgage lending. This morphed into a plan to give the banks money to shore up balance sheets and perhaps have private banks who were healthy, better able to acquire their troubled brethren. Of course Congress claims they thought that this money was for the banks to lend, even though they put no such restrictions on the money.

The Banks have not resumed lending. The banks have not stopped their hemorrhaging losses and are going to ask for more money. Meanwhile the sub-prime housing bubble has morphed into an over all economic meltdown meaning that the banks will have... more losses. The logic was that the big “money-center” banks were “too big to fail”. Well guess what... they are going to fail. This should be a foregone conclusion. Bank of America and Citi Group will be gone or nationalized by year end. And they deserve to be. Along with the whole lot of them that turned banks into casinos.

A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON

When I grew up, banks lent money to people who did not need it. This was boring. Banks took in deposits and paid interest on them (say 3%) and made loans to people who had ample assets to repay at a higher rate (say 6%). the difference between what they paid on deposits and what they received in interest on loans was the spread. It was all boring and bankers made a living and were above all things safe.... and boring. But we decided we needed loser money to fuel economic growth. I don’t know who “we” is that decided this but banks started to get into speculative lending. First they started lending money to people who needed it, turning their “loans” into risk capital. Bankers were not trained in risk. This was stupid. Then the big banks, envious of their investment banking brethren started to “invest” in these complex derivatives and loan pools and trade them back and forth. This was great because it generated profits without really needing to deal with the public to make loans. It was kind of like... standing at the craps table with other people’s money. And when the economy turned.... it was like 7 coming up when they had all their bets placed. Ooops.

So... these guys bet all our money and lost and now they want more. They say that they have learned their lesson but I want to pose a modest suggestion that perhaps banks are not needed anymore. Even if they are perhaps these institutions are not worthy of being given another chance. If you or I would have done what was done with investor and depositor money, we would have gone to jail. Instead I propose the following.

If we want to fuel economic growth through risk taking with other peoples money... how about letting the pros do it. Casino and Race track owners have been doing this for years, very successfully. Why don’t we take the second have of the Tarp money and instead of wasting it on the banks let put in the hands of the pros. For this reason I propose The Casino and Racetrack Assistance Program (CRAP). Lets take 350 Billion dollars and give it to the race tracks and casinos. We will attach some strings to this money and their are going to have to be more then I put here but for starters:

1. Use the money to takeover (and shut down) the current banks
2. Bet the money on our behalf. If Charlie Cella from Oaklawn likes a horse called Neja in the 7th... why shouldn’t the US people be allowed to put 50 million or so on the horse, across the board of course.
3. Put small casinos in the shuddered banks.
4. Free up credit by establishing a national system of odds on borrowers and their proposed projects. Why should risk capital pay prime interest. Instead it could pay off at whatever the odds were, say even money for a fairly safe investment and longer odds the more speculative the risk is. The bookies (lenders) would set the original odds on a loan and then open it up for the market to evaluate the risk.

Right now we deposit our money and then let the bankers bet it for us. I would rather make my own bets or at least have professional oddsmakers working on it. Think Robert Di Nero in “Casino”. These guys know what they are doing. You would never catch these guys betting on a Bernie Madoff. You would never get one of the guys betting on a “credit rate default swap”. These guys would rather hedge a bet on a horse with a bet on a craps table. Think on this. This is a good idea. But ultimately if we are going to piss away another 350 billion dollars....this will be a lot more amusing. Lets have some fun. It is a new day in America.

Barack Obama's America

OK...so it is inauguration day. And it was a big day. I went to a place where I could watch and here and,,,eat. Eating is good. My over all impressions of the entire event are good, in fact very good. Since the election i have not had much to say. In my mind there has not been much to say. President Obama has done what he said he would do and out economy continued to devolve. i have a lot of opinions about that devolution but what I know is that all of my opinions come with so much baggage, and almost malice towards the Bush administration that i cannot write anything that is...”fair and balanced” like FOX would have it.

I am excited to have a new President. I am excited to have a President who can speak. Who can speak correctly, with authority and with a modicum of respect for the language because language is a powerful thing. His speech was not the iconic dream speech that a lot of people wanted but it was a really good speech. he hit on all the right spots and made all the right points. As i type this I am watching Bill O’Reilly tell me it was a good speech. I watch FOX. I watch it because I want to know what the other guys are thinking. They seem reasonably impressed despite their obvious dislike for any Democrat.

It was exciting to watch. The Warren opening was non-eventful other then his scandalous mention of Jesus. At least some people thought it was. I thought it was a nice opening albeit long. My personal high points are pointed and petty but it was as follows:

1. The instrumental played by Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman and some other people really made me tear up when played along with the scenes of those thousands standing in the mall. My son was there and I was so happy that he was. Who knows whether this guy will be transforming but God (big G) knows that he needs to be.

2. I was excited to see Bush get on a helicopter and fly off.

3. Sadly, and pettily I was pleased to see Cheney in a wheel chair. This is a very poor reflection on me as a person but my loathing of this man, who I once admired has run rampant over what I know is right which is sympathy and charity towards all, including those who you do not like.

4. The speech. The speech was good, even great. Not life changing.

5. Seeing all those people out on the mall. What a throng. It appears no one got hurt other then some frost bite.

The expectations of this speech were so high that they could not be met but he is such a good speaker. I could hear this guy read the phone book and it would be somewhat compelling. I do not know where this speech had any lines that will be remembered through time but quoting the Bible that it is time to put aside childhood things seemed compelling. What I know is that our nation needs a leader like we have never needed a leader before. I pray that he is the one.
The stock market tanked today. It is no longer a rational market.

Looking at the man and the way he handled himself through a stressful, long day... he looks like a leader. He comes in with confidence and a persona. he comes in with the hopes of America and the world on his back. He also has the good will of the world, and half of America. We have elected a very intelligent, well spoken man. He will work hard for us. I will pray for him. So should you.

I have always been proud to be an American. l always felt blessed to be here. Today... more so.

TOP TEN ALBUMS 2008 (GET OFF MY ASS!)

Best Albums of 08










So there has been a moderate amount of pressure for the best CD’s of 2008. Although my musical “tastes” have been thought of as somewhat eclectic, historically, if you pay attention there is a gem or two for a lot of different tastes. As important as the albums listed here are the albums that are not. I listened to a lot.
Unlisted CD’s:

Bon Iver Debut: Actually released in 2007
The Fleet Foxes: I don’t get it.
The Black Keys: Blues Rock? What a clever idea.
Panic At The Disco: Are you kidding me?
Cold Play: Didn’t they “save rock and roll” 3 years ago?
Deerhunter: Dreamy, Modest Mouse infected Indie Rock. Yawn.
Lil Wayne: Must confess I did not pay attention to his dad Big Wayne. My son tells me he is amusing.
Death Cab For Cutie: I have a personal, irrational, pretentious hate of this band
Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Brittney, Miley Cyrus.... you get the idea.

I don’t know why you people do not listen to more music. Ohhhhh...I guess you are busy with your wive’s and your children, your job and your family... While I do not know all of you, I know most of you and I can tell you, your wives are not that crazy about you, your kids are already screwed up... download the music and listen. Smile.

Number 10
She and Him: Volume 1
M. Ward is a continuing favorite of mine. His CD “The Transfiguation of Vincent” is a winner from start to finish and his covers of Creedence “Green River” and Bowies “Let’s Dance” eclipse the originals in ways that only a genius could manage. This CD joins him with Zooey Deschanel was an immediate critics darling and the CD is tuneful and cute. There is nothing on it that cannot be listened to and smiled over. Not a lot of substance and too limited an M. Ward influence for me but they made an impact in 2008.

Number 9
In Rainbows: Radiohead
Almost forgotten now, their January 2008 release on line was groundbreaking. The CD lacks a lot of the pretention of their recent efforts but still has a dream like quality, dense production and some great tunes. It is a little too drum machiny for me over all but “Body Snatchers”, “Weird Fishes”, “All I Need” and “Reckoning” are all just tight pop songs, perfectly performed and produced. Once again, the whole CD is quality.

Number 8.
Raphael Saadiq: The Way I see It
This is just Philadelphia soul at it’s best. He has an awesome soul full voice and the whole CD just has that crafted flowing feel. The whole think feels like a throwback. Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson... the works. This is good stuff. “Oh Girl”, “Love That Girl” and “Never Give You Up” rock and sway with great vocals and back ups. This is just very smooth and once again, makes me smile.

Number 7.
Harps & Angels: Randy Newman
Randy has been spending a majority of his time doing moview sound tracks and the like. You can tell from this CD. It is a really, really pretty CD with some of his most beautiful lyrics of all time. Newman is funny, bitter, hopeful and wistful all at the same time. This is his first album of original music since 1999 with Mitchell Froom’s perfect production. But he is scorching in the lyrics with the op-ed piece, “Let Me Say A Few Words, in Defense of Our Country”.

“A President once said,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
Now, we’re supposed to be afraid
It’s patriotic in fact and color-coded 
And what are we supposed to be afraid of?
Why of being afraid
That’s what terror means, doesn’t it?
That’s what it used to mean
You know it kind of pisses me off
That this Supreme Court is going to outlive me
A couple of young Italian fellas and a brother on the Court now, too
But I defy you, anywhere in the world,
To find me two Italians as tightassed as the two Italians we got 
And as for the brother, well
Pluto’s not a planet anymore either”

Number 6.
Hayes Carll: Trouble In Mind
Texas singer songwriter. Saw him open for my faves The Old 97s’ and he knocked my sox off. Clearly influenced by Steve Earle and out of the same south of Austin milieu he just brings it. Take for example “Drunken Poets Dream”.
Wine bottles scattered like last nights clothes
Cigarettes, papers, and dominoes
She laughs for a minute about the shape I'm in
Says, "You be the sinner honey, I'll be the sin."

Chorus:
I'm gonna holler and I'm gonna scream
I'm gonna get me some mescaline
She brings me roses and a place to lean
A drunken poets dream

That is good shit. And it gets better. “Bad Liver And A Broken Heart” is everyones best drinking and being love lost song. A classic. “Beaumont” is a pretty ode that idealizes bar romance. “Don't Let Me Fall” is as good of a country plea and lament as Hank could of ever done and he finishes with the funny “She Left Me For Jesus”.

Number 5.
Conor Oberst Conor Oberst
I take a lot of shit for this little shit. he is a whining, mopey bastard Catholic from Omaha but, as I have said before, he knows his way around a tune. This like his Bright Eyes work is a solo project but he brings in a new cast of characters and goes to Mexico to make the CD. Tomorrow I will post a lengthy review but screw Richard Doolings Omahacentric self hate, this is a good CD.

Number 4.
Okkervil River The Stand Ins
OK...Will Scheff.... I am just a shameless fan here. This CD was the follow up to “Stage Names” and was actually made at the same time. You would expect some drop off in quality from the the first CD. You would be wrong. “Left Coastlines” and “Calling and Not Calling My Ex” are just great songs and the rest are no worse. Once again this CD is a chance to catch an artist at the upper arc of his power. Perhaps he will wither and fade with the fat life of dating supermodels but perhaps this one could be the real thing. We could use another Neil Young.

Number 3.
Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
Awful name. I mean a really stupid name. But it happens. And they are too cute. And they are from Columbia. And they are smart. But DAMN this is a fine album. Several of you have already voiced your displeasure with the band but not liking this band is a sign that you are a hater. It is tunreful, it is fun, it is smart. It might lean a little to heavily on the West African/Carribean vibe that Paul Simon plumbed to so much aclaim 21 or so years ago. There is nothing wrong with the CD. I reviewed it earlier in the year and if you put it on, people will tap their toes, smile and ask you who it is. I have seen it happen 20 times.

Number 2.
Mountain Goats: Heretic Pride
I reviewed this one earlier in the year as well. John Darnielle.... another genius. What a surprise. This is probably the best evidence on the list of lyrical and musical talent that you might see. Darnielle is another Texas kid who has a lot to say and while his early, prolific history tended to be rough (think Springsteens “Nebraska”), this CD is a well produced, sweetened with strings tour de force. the cello on some of these songs will literally rip you soul out. This album is absorbing. The instrumentalism is spare in order to concentrate on the lyics. The great songs abound. “Lovecraft In Brooklyn”, “San Bernadino”, Autovlave”.

"I dreamt that I was perched atop a throne of human skulls
on a cliff above the ocean. Howling wind and shrieking seagulls.
And the dream went on forever, one single static frame.
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name."

Funny, smart and beautiful.... the one that got away.

Wait for it....

Wait for it....


Number 1.
The Felice Brothers The Felice Brothers:
I do not know what to tell you about why this CD is number one. You have to listen to it a lot. It is too good to listen to casually and form opinions. It is deep, textured and somewhat perfect. According to Wikipedia The Felice Brothers are actually three brothers, Ian, Simone and James, augmented by friends Christmas and Farley. Ian does the majority of the vocals and he sings in a distractingly Dylanesque manner that takes a little bit to get by but growws. It is Dylan from “Blood On The Tracks” or “Hurricane”. The lyrics are dark, complex and in the kindest light, “world weary”. Take the song “Don’t Wake The Scarecrow”.

"I'd find you there in the bath
We'd cook up your shit in a tin can
And you started calling me Tin Man
And we started making plans to begin again
Begin again
You saved a C note
Told me you felt like a seagull
Told me to meet at the depot
With the needle, then maybe we'd go
To Reno"
Funyy stuff. When Simone or James sing they take on more of a Decembrist feel but with the same lyricism and rhythm. They also sing a great country music, heartbeak and murder song which is one great way to judge a band. that is “Whiskey In My Whiskey”. The CD starts with “Frankies Gun” which is awesome, and hopeless, and funny.... and then it just rolls on. Buy it, listen to it. Change your life. I guaranty NO ONE else picked this as the best album of the year. But it was... or Hertic Pride was. It gets so confusing.

Honorable Mentions:
Alajendro Escovedo Real Amimal
The Dodos Visiter

Sado Massoyogachism?

Hot Box Yoga? Seriously.... who thinks this is a good idea? What kind of psycho nazis (small n) came up with this as an idea. The Guantanimo people could have learned quite a bit by spending... ohhhh.... I don’t know....90 minutes with the Bik Ram yoga people. Lets take a look at what they tell new students...

This is as friendly as it ever gets. It all deteriorates from there.

But why was I there? Two reasons...Tiemann and Kukla. These people are supposed to be my friends. Tiemann has been a pretentious yoga snob forever. Two years ago for my birthday he bought me and my wife certificates for sessions at Bik-Ram Yoga...trying to help. I did the right thing. I ignored him.... and the certificates... as did my wife.

As you will remmeber I tried boot camp last year and that almost killed me till I stopped around May. Then I stopped every form of exercised and focused on eating and drinking as exercise. My body continued to deteriorate. I would have been fine for that but for Kukla and more specifically his evil daughter Lauren.

Lauren got her dad to try this Bik Ram yoga. He was miserable. He sweated like a pig. He felt like a tired wet noodle. He loved it. Of course he told me all this in the midst of a full holiday of food and alcohol binging and i told him, “Don, I need you to make me do this”. I am... as I have well documented... an idiot.

So I go to hotbox yoga on a Tuesday at 3:00. I showed up at 2:30 and got checked in and was given an orientation which consisted of a 5 minute speech by a 5’3” 105 pound woman who admonished me that i would feel lightheaded and sick. She would not critique my style or form but....she expected that I would commit to staying in the room the entire 90 minutes. I glibly said I would do that....”No Problem” is what I think my exact words were.
Here are some of the rules:

First time students must arrive at least 15 minutes prior to class for orientation - this includes visiting Bikram Yoga students, regardless of previous experience. All other students please arrive prepared for class 10 minutes early to sign in and allow your body to adjust to the heat.

Latecomers will not be admitted into class. No exceptions.
No cell phones or pagers allowed in the yoga room at any time.
No talking in the yoga room.
No shoes in the yoga room.
No gum in the yoga room.
No watches or excessive jewelry in the yoga room.

I changed. I took my mat into the room and placed it in back by the door...as instructed. Everyone was laying on their mats quietly with their heads towards the back of the room (I later learned that this was so the remendous energy in the feet did not effect the insturctor). The instructor (the same lady who oriented me) came in and greeted everyone and then had us stand and started to take us through some standing stress positions.

I bent awkwardly and tried not to watch other people. “Keep you eyes in the mirror and focus” is what she said. I could do almost nothing that even looked close to right. But I tried. I think I was able to go about 30 minutes. I was drenched. Did I mention that room was heated to a comfortable 105 degrees? That did not sound liek that much to me. I was a guy who liked to steam so this could not be a big deal...right? Of course when I steam I have a towel. In vegas I sometimes even have a cold drink... or ice chips... or something. So I am soaked in sweat and trying to breathe through my nose because yogis do not breathe through their mouths evidently.

They also are not supposed to wipe sweat from their body because that is distracting. We ignore the sweat... we do not feel anything. We are centered. We are whole. We are.... full of shit. But I kept trying. They march through standing form s for 45 minutes.... before we move tot he floor and do the rest... for another 45 minutes. Then I started to want to die. Finally I started sitting out some of the forms and just laying on my back. But not just laying on my back. Laying on my back with arms at my side, palms facing upward, heals together, toes pointed out...breathing through my nose. Always breathing through my nose. Savasana. That is what they call the dead man’s pose. And I... I..... am the dead man.

90 Minutes this goes on. Occasionally I rise to try another one of the forms. I fail more often then anything. I sweat. I die. It ends with a minute full full of rapid...rabid breathing in and out, in and out.... until I croak. It ends. I walk out in the hall. It is cool. I begin to breathe again... through my mouth. I am drenched in sweat. My shorts are dranched. My boxers are drenched. I am thrilled to be done. I curse Kukla for bringing me here. I sign up and pay for ten more sessions.
http://www.yogastlouis.com/

The Annual Christmas Letter

So. Another year. The best wishes of the various Beckers are rained upon you and yours. After some lengthy consideration regarding sending out last years Christmas letter again and seeing if anyone noticed.... here we go. We do of course have a theme and that is a year of celebration for the Beckers...perhaps too much.

It was a great year when I think about it. The family celebrated Pat’s graduation from High School, Jon’s 21st birthday and Sandy and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. I should just end the letter there but you have to be on the edge of your seat wondering what goes on minutiae-wise over the year in a family in which the major form of showing one another affection is cooking bacon. The Becker children continue to celebrate their migration away from our smothering neglect (and our basement).

Jon celebrated the first semester on Valparaiso’s program abroad in Cambridge England. He was very brave as he was living in a house in Cambridge with two other boys and thirteen girls. Every Thursday class ended at noon and then they would travel until Sunday night or in some cases Monday morning. He has had an excellent time and although he is broke after working the summer at Arcadia I think he is grateful for the experience. He plans to go back to Arcadia as head server or wherever they tell him to work. We are also celebrating his relationship with the lovely Lydia Schaffenar.

While we worried about whether Pat would ever move out of our basemen, God has blessed him (and us) richly by taking him to Truman State in Kirksviville where he is celebrating college life and an independent life. He thinks he might major is Psychology and is also taking some drama classes. Pat made a trip to Spain and ate several things that were not officially “pizza” and I believe also bought a sword. Quite a trip. Seriously, he had a great time and it was an awesome experience for him.

Laura is celebrating still living with us although Sandy and I continue to insist that we are “empty nesters”. Although neighbors have called the Missouri Division of Children’s Services several times on neglect hotlines, she is still hanging tough. We are told that Laura is in her sophomore year at Lutheran South. She continues to play tennis and is busy with Student Council and trying not to get her cell phone taken away. Laura is frequently in love with several boys although the Arcadia boys seem to have the inside track. Laura is trying to fill up the vacuum in our basement in Pat’s absence. She turns 16 in January and has aged me significantly with practicing hitting curbs and smaller, un-tethered animals.

Sandy is working more and plans to work even more at Cummings & Ristow. She likes work and is generally smarter and more industrious then her husband. Her work is challenging but she is very diligent and focused so of course they love her. Sandy is celebrating that we bought a house in Michigan. I thought was for the whole family but was primarily it was purchased so that she would not be separated from her dogs. Sandy now has a Facebook status....”Married To Mike Becker (still)”. Although she continues to serve our Church and Community Bible Study her greatest act of Christian charity would have to be keeping the rest of the world safe from me.

Mike...Mike... what does Mike do? With the economic down turn I am busy at Hepler Broom trying to take care of his clients and not billing enough hours. The firm has been kind enough to let me stay there for another year. I have been taking a course this last year at Meramec and am considering getting a Masters Degree in something other then law. The highlight of the year for me had to be celebrating our 25th with a party and also with a trip to europe (where I had never been). We visited Jon in Cambridge (for about 20 minutes and some bad food) on our way to a week traveling around France and it was sweet. Sandy’s patience is great.

So once again, we look back, we take stock and with a couple of minor twinges... we smile gratefully at how God has blessed us. I know it is a recurring theme in these little missives but without all of you, we are poorer and sadder. So from the Beckers a big, fat, beautiful, perfect, warm and well loved Christmas, and thank you for another Blessed Year of your love and friendship.

ANOTHER YEAR!

Things I was wrong about in 2008. Well... their were quite a few of them but the big blog ones are as follows:






1. I was wrong about the troop surge. Though I still do not know what we accom plished with the whole debacle and still believe were dramatically damaged our selves economically, morally, emotionally and in every other way. History will judge Bush’s war of choice. But the surge, after 4 years of disaster, provided an exit strategy. I was wrong. Very wrong even. An idiot. there... I said it.
2. I said I would never have the opportunity to pay under $2.00 a gallon for gas again. Granted I was not predicting the worst economy since the great depres sion but still....$1.31 is what I think I paid last tank so once again... I was wrong...very, very wrong.
3. Although I did not publish it I figured my wife would finally leave me in 2008. Wrong.
4. I thought the Cubs would fold in the second half of the season. Instead they toyed with the hearts of Chicago into the post season....before folding like a cheap deck chair.
These are the big ones I am thinking of and that is not too, too bad for a humble diner reviewer. I was right about Obama being the nominee and the President. I called it hard and early.
2008 was not a particularly good year for me for some reasons which will be left unsaid. 2007 was not a banner year either so I am officially calling 2009 as the year of the diner reviewer. I am committing myself to the following things for 2009 in no particular order:
1. Having more fun.
2. Finding funny things in the year.
3. Taking slightly better care of myself.
4. Blogging consistently. (sadly the world needs The Diner Review)
5. Try and find something fulfilling to do.. or more fulfilling to do. This does not really mean a new job. In fact in this economy it definitely does not mean that.
6. Learn how to bake bread at home
7. Having more fun (did I say that?)
8. Not be wrong about anything big.
Disasters of the year in no particular order:
1. Tim Russerts Death
2. Kirkwood City Hall shootings.
3. Economic collapse
4. $4.00 a gallon gas...for a while.
That seems like plenty.
In the mean time I solicit your advice...Humbly. Do we want the focus of this thing to be on:
*Politics
*Commentary
*Diner reviews
*Book Reviews
*CD Reviews
*Concert Reviews
*Gossip
*Or What?
Help a brother out. In January we are going to be reviewing a couple of diner’s south of the border (the St. Louis County border) and doing the best of 2008 thing and then some Obama stuff. Should be a hoot. God’s Blessings in 09. Lets make it a funny, fulfilling year.