Musical talent can create a gem, and if the stars align, output number two can be just as great.   Maybe even change someone’s life.  Rarely does it all come together with three remarkable albums in a row?  Creative peaks often come about in such a brief time span, but producing three consecutive significant pieces of art is still uncommon.  Today I venture to this land of artists who accomplished this rare triple.  

Here are the guidelines I set for myself before embarking on the project.

•  No albums released prior to 1988 could be included. (I chose ’88 so that Surfer Rosa could make the cut.)
• The stretch of albums must show growth in the artist, possess a heavy influence on other artists, be considered significant game changers within the genre, and/or hold up through the test of time. 
• All three consecutive albums from the artist must possess the chops so  the musically sane fan would be hard pressed to counter my choice.
• Last thing, spend no more than 15 minutes creating the list.

I would like to add that the word subjective in the post’s title is by no means thrown in there by accident, it was truly intentional.  So for those who disagree, which is your right and what makes music discussion special, in lieu of your cynical comments about my selections I ask that you add to the list in the comment section for those I might have forgotten about and left out, or you think should be removed.  My absentmindedness can get the best of me at times, so make it productive and add to the list. 

The Triple Diamond Short List

(The order of the list is meaningless, just what I thought of first and went from there.)

Artist:  Beastie Boys

Creative Peak:  1989 – 1994

Triple Diamond Albums:  Paul’s Boutique->Check Your Head->Ill Communication

Streak Stopper:  Hello Nasty (I would be hard pressed to deny this album being another solid release in the Beastie catalogue.  I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was my official soundtrack to half the summer of ’98.  That being said, not a game changer by any means and definitely doesn’t belong in the conversation with the three prior releases.)

Artist:  A Tribe Called Quest

Creative Peak:  1990 – 1993

Triple Diamond Albums:  People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm->The Low End Theory->Midnight Marauders[i]

Streak Stopper:  Beats, Rhymes, and Life

Artist:  The Pixies

Creative Peak: 1988 – 1990

Triple Diamond Albums:  Surfer Rosa->Doolittle->Bossanova

Streak Stopper:  Trompe le Monde

Artist:  The Black Crowes

Creative Peak:  1992 – 1997

Triple Diamond Albums:  The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion->Amorica->Three Snakes and One Charm

Streak Stopper(s):  By Your Side, cocaine, the departure of Marc Ford, and Kevin Shirley.  Another contributing factor was Chris and Rich’s failures to listen to their gut and not release the album Band which would have succeeded Three Snakes.  They would have had the elusive four album streak if they had fucking released it.  Nothing has been the same since.

Artist:  Radiohead

Creative Peak:  1995 – 2000???  (I am quite certain they hit this with the three albums I list below but you never know with this band.)

Triple Diamond Albums:  The Bends->OK Computer->Kid A

Streak Stopper:    Amnesiac

Notables:   (Just shy of the making the cut)

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression->Still Feel Gone->March 16-20, 1992

Black Keys – Attack and Release->Brothers->El Camino

Elliott Smith – Elliott Smith->Either/Or->XO

Wilco – Being There->Summerteeth->Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted->Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain->Wowee Zowee

R.E.M. [ii]– Life’s Rich Pageant->Document->Green  or  Green->Out of Time->Automatic for the People 

I had very low expectations for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. I find Luhrmann’s style to either be distracting, turn hollow or both, and the thought of him at the helm of a 3D version of an elegant, classic American novel seemed, well, like a total fucking disaster. The first trailer added to this thought, with its beautiful scenery, anachronistic music, zebras partying in pools and stilted line deliveries all piling up together and preparing me for what was sure to be an epic disaster. Cut to movie night…

After passing through the title cards like they were an ornate gateway (instead of a red curtain), the movie opens on the green light, humming and strobing through the theater. It’s a quiet, subtle and impactful opening shot. Then the voice-over kicks in, and we’re introduced to Nick (Tobey Maguire) as he finds therapeutic solace writing about his adventures one summer in West Egg. Nick is recouping, from living life in the fast lane, in a sanitarium.  His doctor suggests writing his feelings, which end up being his observations, but ce la vie. That Luhrmann uses the same framing device he used in Moulin Rouge is completely unnecessary and fails the story a few times, especially when words leap from Nick’s pen and appear on screen, or—like in any flashback—the story is interrupted by the storyteller. What it does hit home though, is this is Luhrmann’s story and will be Luhrmann’s Gatsby using all of his Luhrmann tricks. After a quick introduction to Nick, we’re off again, this time to New York City, circa 1922.

The first 45 minutes of The Great Gatsby are breathlessly entertaining. Luhrmann’s style is perfect for the early scenes. The movie is fun (and funny!), where big style is matched with sets and scenes that need very little exposition or layering. Everything works marvelously, and you believe this adaptation will be a perfect match of source material and style. There’s even a point, when we first meet Gatsby, where it seems Luhrmann is self-consciously parodying his own style. This introduction is laughably awesome, and along with an earlier scene of Nick taking a breather from an afternoon rager, Luhrmann instills hope he’s in complete control of his vision and we’re in for a brilliant experience.

Sadly, we’re not (entirely).

If the beginning is a party, the latter half is the hangover. As the scenes get smaller, the dialogue lengthier and the mood darker, the hollowness creeps. For all the spectacular, the movie stumbles on leaving a mark because it’s constantly derailed by unnecessary excess in the quieter moments. A little ambiguity would have gone a long way, but instead we are told explicitly the billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg represents the eyes of God. Nick’s narration interrupts scenes to over-explain what’s happening. Gatsby’s final scene is heartbreaking (and DiCaprio’s acting spectacular), but then it’s undermined by forcing out a line of dialogue that’s completely unnecessary.

Still, I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby for the highs in the beginning and its faithfulness to a story I love. My initial fears turned out to be misplaced—New York, East and West Egg were captivating, the music evocative and on point, the zebras inflatable, and the acting strong (I especially liked Elizabeth Debicki’s Jordan). The Great Gatsby was not the disaster I was expecting, in fact it’s actually a pretty good movie.

In anticipation for Vampire Weekend’s upcoming May release, titled Modern Vampires of the City, I’ve had their album Contra on steady rotation for the past few weeks.  Plus it is now my unofficial soundtrack for spring.  What struck me most about Contra is not only is it a fun listen but it’s one of those rare albums I can sit through without ever wanting to skip a track.  As my car speakers pumped out the sounds of the opening track, Horchata, it got me thinking…..   

It’s an anomaly to come across albums like Contra.  Each song is likable and the tunes enjoyably flow from start to finish.  I consider it a stroke of luck to stumble upon such albums.  These instances of bliss might only occur a few times within a decade.  So rare in fact, it’s like attending a baseball game when a pitcher throws a no-hitter.  (Maybe that’s too strong a statement since I’ve never been in the stands for a no-hitter.  However, I did see Eric Davis hit for the cycle in 1989.)

I decided to compile a list of albums I enjoy from beginning to end with no impulse to skip tracks. (Not even one song – it narrows things down rather quickly)  I set a couple of rules to help guide me through the process.   

1.      The list will contain only records released from 1989 and forward.  Why 1989?  It was the year of my first summer job.  Every dollar I earned went towards the purchase of pizza buffets and music.  That was also the summer where a great deal of time was spent perusing bins of CD’s at my local record store.  I also made this rule to completely eliminate albums from previous decades to decrease the time actually spent compiling my list. 

2.      No greatest hits compilation albums.  I guess this rule is somewhat obvious but was needed to keep me on point with this exercise.

 I would like to note this: what  you see below is not necessarily a list of my favorite albums of all time.[i] Just a handful of solid albums that fall in this unique category for me. 

Artist:  Vampire Weekend

Album Title:  Contra

Release Date:  January 11, 2010

Track Listing:

1. “Horchata” – 3:26
2. “White Sky” – 2:58
3. “Holiday” – 2:18
4. “California English” – 2:30
5.  “Taxi Cab” – 3:55
6. “Run” – 3:52
7. “Cousins” – 2:25
8. “Giving Up the Gun” – 4:46
9. “Diplomat’s Son” – 6:01
10. “ I Think Ur a Contra” – 4:29

Artist:  Black Crowes

Album Title:  The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

Release Date:  May 11, 1992

Track Listing: 

1. “Sting Me” – 4:39
2. “Remedy” – 5:22
3. “Thorn in My Pride” – 6:03
4. “Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye” – 6:28
5. “Sometimes Salvation” – 4:44
6. “Hotel Illness” – 3:59
7. “Black Moon Creeping” – 4:54
8. “No Speak No Slave” – 4:01
9. “My Morning Song” – 6:15
10. “Time Will Tell”  – 4:08

Artist: Dr. Dre

Album Title:  The Chronic[ii]

Release Date:  December 15, 1992

Track Listing:

1. The Chronic (Intro)
2. Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)
3. Let Me Ride
4. The Day The Niggaz Took Over
5. Nothin’ But A ‘G’ Thang
6. Deeez Nuuuts
7. Lil’ Ghetto Boy
8. A Nigga Witta Gun
9. Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat
10. The $20 Sack Pyramid
11. Lyrical Gangbang
12. High Powered
13. The Doctor’s Office (Skit)
14. Stranded On Death Row
15. The Roach (The Chronic Outro)
16. Bitches Ain’t Shit!

Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel[iii]

Album Title:  In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Release Date:  February 10, 1998

Track Listing:

1. “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1” – 2:00
2. “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 & 3 – 3:06
3.  “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” – 3:22
4. “Two-Headed Boy” – 4:26
5. “The Fool” – 1:53
6. “Holland, 1945” – 3:15
7. “Communist Daughter” – 1:57
8. “Oh Comely” – 8:18
9. “Ghost” – 4:08
10. “Untitled” – 2:16
11. “Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2” – 5:13

Artist:  The Avett Brothers

Album Title:  Emotionalism

Release Date:  May 15, 2007

Track Listing:

1. “Die Die Die” – 2:50
2. “Shame” – 3:53
3. “Paranoia in B-Flat Major” – 3:37
4. “The Weight of Lies” – 4:29
5. “Will You Return?” – 2:46
6. “The Ballad of Love and Hate” – 5:20
7. “Salina” – 4:44
8. “Pretty Girl from Chile” – 5:42
9. “All My Mistakes” – 5:07
10. “Living of Love” – 4:31
11. “I Would Be Sad” – 3:44
12. “Pretty Girl from San Diego” – 3:50
13. “Go to Sleep” – 4:04
14. “Hand-Me-Down Tune” – 4:07
15. “In the Curve”  - 3:44
16. “Tales of Coming News”  - 5:20 [iv]

Artist:  Nirvana

Album Title:  Unplugged In New York[v]

Release Date:  November 1, 1994

Track Listing:

1. “About a Girl” – 3:37
2. “Come as You Are” – 4:13
3. “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” (Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee) – 4:37
4. “The Man Who Sold the World” (David Bowie) – 4:20
5. “Pennyroyal Tea” – 3:40
6. “Dumb” – 2:52
7. “Polly” – 3:16
8. “On a Plain” – 3:44
9. “Something in the Way” – 4:01
10. “Plateau” (Curt Kirkwood) – 3:37
11. “Oh, Me” (Kirkwood) – 3:26
12. “Lake of Fire” (Kirkwood) – 2:56
13. “All Apologies” – 4:23
14. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (Traditional; arranged by Lead Belly) – 5:08

Artist:  John Coltrane

Album Title:  Blue Train

Release Date:  1957[vi]

Track Listing:

1. “Blue Train” – 10:43
2.  “Moment’s Notice” – 9:10
3. “Locomotion” – 7:14
4.  “I’m Old Fashioned” – 7:58
5. “Lazy Bird” – 7:00

Album Title:  In Rainbows[vii]

Artist:  Radiohead

Release Date:  October 10, 2007

Track Listing:

1. “15 Step” – 3:58
2. “Bodysnatchers” – 4:02
3. “Nude” – 4:15
4. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – 5:18
5. “All I Need” – 3:48
6. “Faust Arp” – 2:09
7. “Reckoner” – 4:50
8. “House of Cards” – 5:28
9. “Jigsaw Falling into Place” – 4:09
10. “Videotape” – 4:42

Camp is representative for me of a group of pitchers in the late 70s and early 80s - nonathletic, long hair bearded dudes who couldn’t break a window with their fast ball, but somehow managed to be effective, at least for a little while - Lamar Hoyt, Rick Mahler and Rick Camp all fit the bill and could make anyone think they might be able to have a career in the major leagues.  You know they were fun to drink beer with anyway, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

R.I.P. Rick, your goofy grin will be missed.  Enjoy the Camper Van Beethoven song.  I chose it because “camp” is in the name so it seemed fitting and because it’s Friday, it’s gorgeous outside and if this were a just world, I’d be a cowboy on acid and not just another cubby monkey in corporate America.  But its not, and I am, so this is what I’ve got.  Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=51PP8TwXrxE

Ladies and gentlemen, once again the time of year when we get to watch those overpaid athletes run up and down the court in hopes of throwing that peach ball into the hole enough times to keep advancing is upon us.  The NBA Playoffs patiently waited their turn and allowed us to stay glued to our brackets in March, but now they deserve our full attention.  So many people complain the NBA this, the NBA that…if you are interested in watching the best basketball players in the world compete at BOTH ends of the floor then you need to tune into some playoff basketball.  

Below I have given my take on each playoff team broken down by conference.  I have personally ranked the teams from least likely to most likely to make the NBA Finals.  In parentheses is their actual seed – you will notice some vary from my rankings.

Eastbound and down for 7 teams

8 (8) Milwaukee Bucks 

Who’s going to win it? The Bucks, The Bucks!  My home state team takes down the Heat in the 1st round…what am I saying?  That’d be like North Korea taking down the U.S.  Either way I am headed with my family to game 3 of the series to see Lebron James, I mean my Milwaukee Bucks.  All jokes aside, playoff basketball is awesome and it’d be great to see the Bucks pull off a win that night.  Either way, odds are we will get to watch the 2013 NBA Champions as well.  I can’t wait to boo Lebron and then watch in awe at his greatness!  

7 (6) Atlanta Hawks 

Basically the same feelings here as last year’s article stated ”Same old story.  A bunch of B-list stars that are good but not great.  They’ll get you to the playoffs and maybe win one series at best.”   Maybe if Kyle Korver drains ten 3′s a game they could make a miracle run to the Finals, well maybe it’d have to be closer to 12 3′s a game then.  Sorry Atlanta, but hey your Braves are looking good these days!

6 (5) Chicago Bulls

All this city wants is one Rose!  No Rose, no chance.  If he shocked the world and played like the Rose of old they would jump my list from 6 to probably 2 or 3.  Chicago does play exceptional defense and can win ugly games.  This is one of the better “teams” in the NBA as they play unselfishly.  They have an outside chance to make a deep run but ultimately the lack of offense will cost them.  Not a ROSEy outlook here….weak pun I agree…

5 (4) Brooklyn Nets 

People are probably surprised I have them 5th….but if you want to play the contender or pretender game, my choice is pretender.  I do believe they will win their first round series (even though they lost 3 of 4 in the regular season to Chicago), but then the Heat would come to town…D-Will was playing through injuries earlier in the season and now Joe Johnson is battling them.  The Nets have the talent to make a serious run in the East, but I just do not like the make-up of their team for whatever reason.  Maybe they can build some extra toughness in the off season by taking a team building trip to Cuba with Jay-Z?!

 4 (7) Boston Celtics

One more Finals run?  Everyone outside of maybe Bill Simmons and myself say no!  But Pierce, Garnett, the Jet, rising young talent…maybe Simmons and I drink too much Celtic kool-aid or something.  But hey, until they lose 4 out of 7 games, Celtics to the Finals!  The injury bug has reared its ugly head this season, but I do like the emergence of Jeff Green… he would have to play great consistently for the Celts to take down the Knicks, Pacers and then the Heat.  After the recent bombings, another deep playoff run would be all the more special for the people of Boston.

 3 (3) Indiana Pacers 

They have some quality fire power with Roy Hibbert, David West and Paul George.  When this team is playing well, and their defensive length is troubling teams – even the Heat at times, they can beat anybody.  Putting that winning formula together for 4 out of 7 games is not as easy. In my eyes they lack the killer instinct…remember last year when they were up 2 -1 on Miami and enjoyed a double digit lead in the third quarter of game 4, only to never win another game in the series?   

2 (2) NY Knicks 

They say they can beat the Heat, but do they truly believe it in their hearts?  I remain a skeptic, even though they are currently playing great basketball.  It is time for Carmelo to come through in a big way….in the playoffs.  The NBA regular season is what it is.  Do people really remember the scoring champion five years down the road?  Can he get the Garden and Spike Lee to the NBA Finals?  An Eastern Conference showdown vs. the Heat would be a treat for NBA fans.  I like the championship blood Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd bring along with the great season J.R. Smith is having….possible path to the Finals would be the Celtics, then the Pacers followed by the Heat.  Yeah no, not happening.

 Hands Down 1 (1) Miami Heat 

They have the best basketball player walking this planet on their team and this guy, you might have heard about him, his name is LeBron James.  He shoots 57% from the field.  He is the unanimous MVP this season.  D-Wade is shooting 52% with the Bosh hitting 54% of his attempts.  With the Big 3 taking the majority of the team’s shots, I love their chances.  Battier plays defense and hits 3′s at a 43% clip.  Chalmers is extremely underrated as he is drilling 41% of his 3 point attempts while playing the point guard position with a 2.3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.  NO ONE BEATS THEM 4 OUT OF 7 (barring any significant injuries).

My brother asked me this hypothetical question a couple weeks ago, if the Bucks were given a 2 – 0 advantage could they beat the Heat in a best of seven? ….ahhh no was my response.  They would not pick up a game if the Heat had their backs against the wall starting down 2 – 0.

How the West will be won

8 (6) – Golden State Warriors

It is awesome the Warriors are back in the playoffs.  Mark Jackson has done an absolutely excellent job blending young talent while dealing with injuries.  It helps he has Stephen Curry leading the charge as he has become an all-around NBA star, breaking the single season record for 3 pointers, passing Jesus Shuttlesworth.  The first round series with Denver has potential to be as exciting as they come.  A few baskets will be made between these two up and down teams. The only way Golden State makes some noise is if Curry takes over like he did while playing at Davidson when they were a 3 pointer away from the Final Four…thanks for playing, Golden State.

7 (8) – Houston Rockets

James Harden has turned into the man this year, although his impressive beard should have already suggested this a few years ago.  The rising young talent on this team really knows how to put the ball into the hoop.  One of the great NBA moments this year came when Kevin Garnett hugged Coach Kevin McHale shortly after the passing of McHale’s daughter.  It was one of those moments that puts life into perspective and makes it hard not to root for McHale’s Rockets to do some damage in these playoffs.  It’s ironic Harden will be headed back to OKC in round one….ya never know…that’s why they play the game.

6 (7) – Los Angeles Lakers

They finally get the ball rolling out West and just like that their season for all intents and purposes is over.  Kobe’s ruptured Achilles’ Tendon took all the wind out of the Lakers’ hopeful playoff run.  I am in the same boat with Kobe on this one…as the Doctor said I “exploded” my Achilles’ playing Rec Basketball in early January…Kobe will be back, no doubt in my mind.  Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol need to all of a sudden go into twin tower beast mode for any surprising playoff stay.  The lateral defense of this team is awful as anyone can drive on them.  One thing we have found out though…Ron Artest either engulfed massive amounts of deer antler spray or his body is that well trained and in shape he heals 5x times faster than the average human being.  This off season does promise some great drama…Howard, Kobe, Phil Jackson, etc.  If Kobe was healthy I would have liked their possible draw to the Conference Finals.

5 (5) – Memphis Grizzles

The trade to acquire Tayshaun Prince was a financial move many Grizzly fans probably did not appreciate right away, but he has really gelled with the team and brings championship experience.  Marc Gasol has quietly had a solid season.  This team brings a nice balance to it, much like Denver, but you generally need big time stars come playoff time.  I do not see them taking down the Clippers, OKC and then San Antonio in the playoffs.

4 (3) – Denver Nuggets

This team has adopted President Obama’s spread the wealth strategy, so no they are not going to the Finals… The loss of Danilo Gallinari greatly hurt this team’s hopes of an under the radar run. His ability to stretch a defense in the half court will hurt them the most.  The 7th seeded Lakers had two NBA All-Stars who both started and the 3rd seeded Nuggets did not have any All-Stars…makes perfect sense!  Coach George Karl gets my NBA Coach of the Year.  Honestly, who wins 57 games without one All-Star?  The Nuggets are fun to watch and stand to be a tough out.

3 (4) – LA Clippers

I give them the slight edge over the Grizzles because I favor the team with the best player – Chris Paul, or Cliff Paul if we want to discuss car insurance.  He is a top 3 point guard in this league. By the way, who would have thought the Clippers would be running LA these days?…paging the LA Lakers!  The Clips do have a deep and gifted roster, but at this point Blake Griffin is slightly overrated (not his dunks though).  Griffin could use a nice summer in the gym with Hakeem, the Dream, Olajuwon to polish up his post game.  Can the Clips generate enough half court offense once the game slows down in the postseason?  Should be another great series with the Grizz, but tough to see them taking that series and then OKC followed by possibly the Spurs to reach the Finals.  The fat lady isn’t singing yet on these guys though…

2 (2) – San Antonio Spurs

Coach Popovich could take 5 token Rec League players and win 30 games during an NBA season…dude’s ridiculous.  And I just called Pop a dude…I do not call many 64 year old white haired guys a dude, oh well.  Duncan is playing as efficient as ever and Tony Parker continues to do Tony Parker things.  The role players on this team are simply better than the average playoff team’s role players.  BUT, is Manu Ginobali going to be healthy enough to make a run to the Finals, something this squad has not done in quite a few years.  A healthy Ginobali and its neck and neck with OKC…speaking of OKC…

1 (1) – Oklahoma City Thunder

Seems like the talk lately is that they cannot repeat what they did last year without James Harden.  I see how some people can think that, but please remember they have two 1st Team All-NBA players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  Durant is silky smooth while Westbrook is electric.  The Thunder also have great interior defense in Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins.

My question for this squad is whether or not they can get enough “easy” baskets….they tend to live and die by jump shots against great defenses.  Can Durant lead them back to the Finals and get a second shot against the Heat?  I’m thinking so.

Well I have to say I went out on a limb by picking both #1 seeds to the NBA Finals…now I know how it feels to be one of those ESPN Analysts who picks straight chalk when they fill out their brackets during the March Madness preview shows.  Guess the reality here is that there is not as much parity in the NBA compared to NCAA basketball.  Enjoy the Playoffs!   

Follow Cousin Alex on Twitter at  @alexallister09

Darkness fell upon the city. 

The afternoon smiles vanished from faces – never to return.

A man lifted himself from the pavement and continued forward.

A boy waited for his dad to appear at the finish.

Both had something stolen.

The citizenry rushed towards a blood stained sidewalk.

The pain cut deep.

Cries settle permanently within the streets.

Was the intent to divide?

If so, I would bet the opposite.

Anger makes arrangements to visit.

Selflessness and resiliency are longtime residents.

My thoughts are with this old town.

My relationship with the sport of baseball began over thirty years ago.  My earliest baseball memory is Tug McGraw decked in red pinstripes, feverously jumping up and down after recording the last out of the 1980 World Series.  Shortly thereafter, the relationship became increasingly more intense and focused.    Baseball made its initial appearance during a time I was highly impressionable and open to embrace something I didn’t have to share with anyone. A connection was made and to this very day it remains.

Youth becomes less visible in the review mirror with each passing year.  We all move pass certain interests, passions and relationships in hopes of uncovering what we seek out today.  However, a few still hold on to us regardless of age.  I’m not sure why baseball and I continue down this road together.  I have my theory, but my investment with the analysis is time wasted.  So I just accept it for what it is.  Baseball and I reconnect at the onset of spring then say our farewells when the leaves begin to fall.   We don’t spend much time together during certain months of the year but pick back up like we had never departed.  The consistency never wanes; the attributes remain.

Baseball constructed a way to link me to older generations of family members.  It was a way to open the lines of communication with those I shared a name but no other noteworthy commonalities.  Without baseball, I might not have been keen to listen to, or take part in, conversations with those who were relative strangers.   I would have missed a great deal of my education.

Any longstanding relationship will consist of peaks and valleys.  In fact, I tend to think of baseball as the longtime friend whose relationship always seems to be in question.   It falls on me to end it but I can never muster up the strength to do so.  My loyalty is stronger than logic.

Relationships are built on feelings of euphoria and the premise of perfection.  Time exposes the imperfections as we begin to see the realities behind the curtain. The stage of innocence is unsustainable and eventually dismissed forever.  However, it pays back the loss with the currency of wisdom.  I wonder if I would be apt to trade all the wisdom gained for one last moment of youthful innocence so to experience the feelings I had at the very beginning.

Though my love for the game is unconditional it can certainly be tough to like at times.  In fact baseball is downright cruel more times than not.  It may lead to ridicule when you grasp for hope as you express emotions outwardly for everyone to witness.  Then the outcome doesn’t turn out how you wished leading to a different set of emotions; uncertainty and disappointment.  The anger of loss may remain for what feels like eternity until the warmth brings about hope once again and you repeat the cycle once more.  Baseball never promises sanity.  Baseball is fickle.  I once watched a groundball avoid the glove and I cried.

Why must I continue with the seemingly one-sided relationship, do I not have any ounce of pride?

Maybe I became selfish in my adult years; always looking for how I can benefit from the relationship.  That outlook becomes problematic, leading me down a path of taking something dear to me for granted.  When I was close to ending it one day, baseball gave me something to hold on to forever in a way only it could.  It eased pain and despair and gave me some insight to how it all works.  I am more appreciative of our time together these days.  I make time to see its beauty and to listen to its unique voices.  I will expose my children to my relationship with baseball, what they do with it is not my concern.  If anything, many years from now, I hope baseball can be a way to spark up remembrance of their Dad’s love for them.  I understand that baseball provides the only link to their great grandfather who they never knew.

The joys of Baseball do not come daily; you have to grind them out through a long and at times tedious journey.   Any relationship of substance comes from experiences marked with obstacles to overcome and pleasures to take in.  That’s the only way long term relationships can truly work, and we should strive to never give up on them.  It’s all we have.

It’s April, my good friend and I will be sharing a few drinks tonight at 7:05, I can hardly wait…

I usually write something about the videos I post, in this instance, I’m going to let it do the talking.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7-TTWgiYL4

For Tara and her family

The frigid breeze was sharply pointed needles lightly brushing back and forth across my face.  It was the reality of being in New Jersey on a February.  We departed Newark Airport and headed west on Interstate 78.  It started to snow.

Northwestern New Jersey isn’t much different than what you would find throughout rural America – farm houses sitting on acres of flat open plains, the occasional deer sighting, long stretched out country roads and the town’s gas station serving as the top producer for the local economy.  The area represents a simple remote lifestyle thousands of miles from anything urban, even though New York City is only 90 miles away.

As we made our way out of Newark towards the New Jersey countryside the sights from the car window became boringly predictable.  For mile after mile, a passenger took in a tree lined highway covered liberally with fast falling snow.  The view of the landscape was drawn using black and white colors.  As we approached the exit off I78, closer to our destination, marked the only time I noticed an actual building. It appeared out of place for such a desolate area.  Nestled in with the thick wooded landscape, almost hidden from view, were these large pharmaceutical companies’ manufacturing plants. It felt like they moved their operations out to the area to begin serving time in some corporate witness protection program.  However, I am certain to most; these pharmaceutical companies are not off the grid by any means. Their secret location was anything but, especially amongst the many customers needing these large corporations to pump out the latest pill to satisfy their fix.

We made a right then a left and I believe another right before reaching our final destination.  With the Pennsylvania boarder less than 15 miles away, I stepped out of the vehicle and looked around at my surroundings.  It appeared to me that we were transported to a small western Massachusetts community.  It was the home of my wife’s college roommate and close friend who had invited us up to spend the weekend with her family.  We gathered up our belongings and walked inside.

My wife and her college roommate continued their close friendship after college.  They speak on the phone regularly, and they’ve both made it a priority to see each other on a regular basis. Over the years, and before kids, my wife and I along with her good friend and husband traveled together on some.   We’ve been to each other’s weddings, spent five crazy days together out of our minds on an island deep in the Caribbean, and together experienced a disastrous casino weekend[i] many years ago in Connecticut.

Our families both have two children, all around the same ages, so it’s always great for them to stay busy playing with each other as the adults catch up and do adult things.

Reports were calling for a massive snow storm for most of the Northeast, with some parts of New England predicting up to 30 or more inches.  Miles and miles away in his Massachusetts home, my father sat expressionless in front of the television watching the weather channel’s continuous coverage of the winter storm.  We basically did the same thing my father was doing.  The four adults were seated in the living room to watch the local station’s meteorologist bear the elements so to best explain to everyone watching that it was indeed snowing outside.  The kids ran around the house completely oblivious to what was occurring outside.   The entire Northeast by nights fall would be covered with a blanket of snow, but to those four children playing with each other was priority number one.  Plus there was a birthday party happening in a few hours to prepare for with a very special guest planning to attend.

It was reminiscent of any family birthday party I attended growing up in Massachusetts.  Tonight’s was for our friend’s oldest son who would be turning six on Sunday.  The weather became more of an issue for those traveling longer distances to attend the birthday party, it was an hour before the party was set to kickoff and we were unsure who would show up, if anyone.

The doors flew open and through them came family members, long time friends of the family, children and parents from the local elementary school and neighbors with their children.  In their grasp were birthday presents, trays of food, wine and beer.  I stood in the kitchen to get a glimpse of what was to be served at tonight’s party.  Only in the Northeast – for about twelve adults and a small gathering of young children there was enough food to feed everyone in for a week.

Trays stacked with deli style sandwich offerings from the very best cold cuts to eggplant.  Bowls of freshly made salads, large rectangular tin trays of Italian sausages and peppers and more fried chicken than one could possibly dream; all carefully displayed on the kitchen countertops.  With a show of constraint so as not to be rude, I waited for someone to signal the okay to sample before dinner.

Besides my family, what I miss most about living in the Northeast are feasts like this.  Not only did I continue to eat eggplant sandwiches and fried chicken well after the actual dinner had concluded; we ate the leftovers at almost every meal through the weekend.  I was happy.

Then he arrived.   I overheard conversations throughout the party but the details were scarce at best.  I received contradictory answers to where this person came from, what he did for a living, and how he was invited to this party as the night’s headlining entertainer.

His appearance resembled an Italian chef, stocky built with dark features, sporting a graying beard.  He wore a broken-in brown leather brimmed hat, like something Indiana Jones would wear when dealing with Nazi’s or digging up some prized artifact.  He swiftly walked through the house carrying an enormous plastic storage bin container (which I have only seen when used for storing Christmas decorations) asking anyone along the way where to set up.  He removed his camouflage jacket in the room used mostly as an office, and told the children to gather around.  The Lizard Man had arrived.

My top five fears in no particular order:

1. Heights
2. My 2^nd grade teacher
3. Roller Coasters
4. Office birthday parties

And

1. Reptiles – with snakes being most fearful in this particular class of animals.

He sat down on the chair and leaned in just ever so slightly towards the children, who were seated semi-circle and staring ahead with wide eyes, a sense of the unexpected falling over them.  My daughter and I opted to stay in the back, far removed from the other children.  We wanted to be ready for any incidents of poisonous reptiles escaping from the confines of the plastic storage bin.  At least that is why I remained far from the Lizard Man.  The Lizard Man then began to speak.  I am not sure what he said verbatim, however, it had something to do with the rules of the night.  I tuned out,  I respect my fears and plan to live by own set of rules regarding reptiles – stay the fuck away from anything coming from the Lizard Man’s plastic storage bin.

He removed the top and pulled out a cinched linen bag.  He untied it, reached down into it and removed our first reptile of the night.  My anxiety picked up some as the albino snake curled its body around his forearm.  I tried like hell to suppress everything I felt so to put on a false front of fearlessness with my daughter.  She saw right through me.

For the next two hours Lizard Man pulled out fucking snakes, turtles, and strange bugs, all types of lizards for children to touch and learn about.  My daughter had grown tired of me acting like a pussy so she left me to join the other children gathered within feet of the Lizard Man.

For the encore, he pulled out an eight foot yellow and white scaled Burmese Python.  My daughter walked right up to the front and the Lizard Man put the snake around her neck.  It’s possible she is not of my blood.

The Lizard Man packed up the snake and shortly thereafter was out the door to head home.  A sense of relief came over me.

The remainder of the night continued with children playing and adults drinking.  I would pass through the kitchen every fifteen minutes to pick on the tray of sausage and peppers even though I was beyond full.  Many in attendance, including the maternal grandparents of the birthday boy, had made the trip from the Jersey coast.  It was less than four months since Hurricane Sandy and many had witnessed the destruction of the horrendous storm in late October of 2012.  I listened intently to story after story of the havoc Sandy caused to so many residents of New Jersey.  It was only then Hurricane Sandy became very real to me.  It was only then I could see the true hurt and pain in the eyes of those who suffered through it.  It was only then I felt true sadness for those who lost so much.  It was only then I remembered the Northeast are a resilient people.

We gathered around the dining room table to sing and watch our friend’s son blow out six candles.  The night wound down quickly, by 11:00 PM I was fast asleep on the living room couch.

I awoke the next morning and it was still snowing.

I have to admit, I truly enjoy being snowed in.  All plans of leaving the house were scrapped.  The day would be spent stretched out on the couch with left over stuffed faces.  For me, the circumstances were ideal, nothing to do and no one to answer to.  After a long January of work stresses and family sickness, I along with my wife just needed to get out of town and hang out with good friends.  I loved there was no agenda for the weekend and the peace I felt was refreshing and very much needed.

Many of my desires have drastically changed in a relatively short period of time.  I remember not too long ago, before the kids, when traveling to see good friends, we would pack in a full agenda of sightseeing, bar hopping, attending concerts or just taking in the city offerings well into the night.  Today I want to do nothing.

Usually, about three days before leaving for a trip of any kind, I simply don’t want to leave.  The feeling eventually subsides and more times than not I have fun.  This trip felt different.  No anxiety came over me in the days leading up to us leaving; I was actually anticipating getting out of Dodge even if it were for a few days.  Maybe, like visiting my parents, hanging out with our friends from New Jersey renders familiarity and comfort.   Children, careers and maybe even age all play factors in seeking out this rarest of time to be able to just sit and take in a conversation.  Maybe I was overworked, tired from watching the kids when Caroline was out of town for work, or maybe the anticipation of being snowed in without a place to go appealed to me.  Whatever the reason, I wanted to go to New Jersey.

Throughout Saturday and into Sunday we never left the confines of the house.  The kids all got along so well and were content playing with each other every single minute of the weekend.   I saw the children infrequently, catching them on the occasional lap around the house as they belted out primal screams for no apparent reason.  We watched episodes four, five, and six of the Star Wars trilogy, revisiting the films of my youth only elevated my fandom.

We took the kids out to the backyard for a snowball fight and to sled down some hills, quickly returning to the couch with a plate of food.  I wished for the weekend to be extended; hoping for the snow to continue falling.  The adults sat pain free in the living room locked in to conversations about past travels and the people we encountered along the way.  We were so content with what we were doing (or rather not doing) that our friend dismissed all calls to her phone from those wanting to express birthday wishes to her. Her birthday fell on this particular Saturday and she was more or less burdened by anyone wishing to recognize it.  I could relate.

My wish wasn’t granted, our perfect little enclave couldn’t continue, so we made sure to appreciate every moment before returning to the real world of flight delays, cranky kids and the relentless beat of another work week.  The trip home was as you would expect, the work week the same as always, and the days continue to churn on at their petty pace.  It’s helpful to know when I’m buried in paperwork or dealing with one crisis or other, that friends like Tara and James are out there, even if the Lizard Man is somewhere close by.

A few years ago Matt and I worked for the same company and he was in charge of communicating our culture out to the company.  You’d think we would get our own culture, but apparently we didn’t.  Matt was in charge of making sure we did.  To that end, he recruited a few of us to write zany Onion style blog posts about our company culture.  This all sounded like a good idea until after multiple fruitless attempts I realized my sense of humor was apparently not part the culture, as all but one post was deemed unfit for corporate consumption.

Today, Old 67 was followed by Meeting Boy on twitter.  After just a couple of reads, we realized this was some funny shit and we quickly followed back.  Seriously, I don’t like to tell people to leave my writing, but if you work in an office environment you need to go read Meeting Boy RIGHT NOW.  Go, I’ll stay here and wait, I’ve got nothing else to do anyway.

Great stuff huh?  So great it inspired us to release some of those awful posts I wrote back in the early 2000s, when we were young, innocent and didn’t know much.

This first one was inspired by the big push our company was making to educate our employees about their benefits.  We offered a lot of extras we felt employees wanted but didn’t know they had, we also had a really bad spam problem.  I thought it would be funny to write a piece combining the two while not really saying anything at all.  I knew the last line wouldn’t fly, and it was changed to something more palatable when I submitted it, but apparently it was still too over the top for the general populace.  I thought it was great, and it also had the benefit of making fun of me as I was the one in charge of the IT department allowing all that spam to come through.  Regardless, it never saw the light of day…until now.

And before you ask, yes, that was the car I was driving and I did in fact get it from my grandfather.  I miss that car.

Benefits

Company Provides new and improved benefits to co-workers

As I was riding to work in my ’94 Lincoln Continental (That’s right Baby, powder blue and everything, keeping it in the same condition my grandpa had it in when he gave it to me), I started thinking about how great my company is.  I’ve worked lots of places, and left most of them on my own terms, but they have an employee for life right here, and let me tell you why:  benefits.

Look, most places will tell you they have benefits, but it’s mostly lies.  Like I worked at one place with free health insurance and they loved to talk about what a great benefit it was.  Big deal.  I don’t trust doctors anyway, think about it, why is it no matter what you have to go to the doctor for, they make you turn your head and cough?  When I was in school they called that molestation.  So, as you’ve probably figured, I never used that so called “health benefit”.  I worked at another place that gave us free lunch.  Yeah, I like food as much as the next guy, but if I eat your free lunch, then I have to eat it with the people I work with.  If I have to sit across from someone wearing their little paper hat and polyester shirt, it makes me feel like I’m still behind the counter cooking those tasty fries instead of eating them.   So you can probably figure out what I told them to do with THAT benefit.  401K?  Is there a bigger scam out there?  Sure, take money away from me every month so I get less pay for the same amount of work.  Then, when I’m old and wrinkly and don’t even know how to have fun anymore, I can spend it on my dentures.  No thanks.  I’d rather have beer now instead of teeth later.

Here they really know how to kick ass with the benefits.  The cool thing is it’s something new every day.  Like yesterday, I got an email about getting a really cheap Rolex watch.  I used to have a watch, and now I don’t, so this seems like a good opportunity to get another one.  I had the watch because I was always late for stuff and I could tell my boss was starting to get peeved, so I thought I’d get a watch to help me be on time.  Well I was taking care of a little business and found myself late for a meeting, in all the rush to get myself together and to the meeting at least close to on time, I had a minor accident.  Let me tell you, Waterproof up to 50 meters doesn’t include flushing your watch down the toilet, but I digress.  Apparently, according to the email I received, I can get a Replica Rolex for super cheap.  All I have to do is give them my checking account information and they will save me the hassle of mailing in a check or having to deal with a credit card.  To me, that’s a REAL benefit.  You can never be too careful these days with ID Theft and what not, so knowing I can safely give my information over to a reputable firm like this really goes a long way in providing me peace of mind.  I know, I know, you’re thinking “Its just a Replica, dude.  Its not the real thing, what are you so excited about?”  While it may be true that a replica is just an imitation, what’s important is that it LOOKS like the real thing.  And I have been assured it does.

I’m a pretty simple guy, honestly, I’d be pretty stoked about working here just for the Rolex (hey, why not start getting into the mindset of calling it a Rolex.  Replica is really just a technical term as far as I’m concerned), but they doesn’t stop there.  No sir.  The benefits just keep on coming.  Are you familiar with PayPal?  Me neither.  However, apparently I have an account with them, and some dastardly ne’er-do-well has accessed my account and “abused” it.  Mind you, I’m not sure what any of that means, but that’s not the point is it?  The point is my company is looking out for MY well being.  As far as benefits go, that’s priceless.  With just a few clicks of my mouse and some taps on my keyboard, my credit card information has been confirmed and this PayPal account is up and running, safe and protected because of my good friends and their fantastic benefits.

My mother always taught me it was impolite to brag, and because of this, I fully intended to stop right here. But my mom also told me to sing the praises of those who take care of me.  As I sit here, typing away, I’ve just received two more beneficial emails.  According to these I can not only add 2 – 4 inches in girth, but can “perform” for hours on end.  All this without pumps or surgery!  That email was followed up with one from a lovely young lady by the name of Matilda.  Apparently she’s free this weekend.  Looks like Matilda’s a lucky lady and I’m going to need to use another piece of advice my mother gave me, “always wear clean underwear, you never know when you might run into an internet whore”.

This really is a great place to work.