The Bla's

I've probably said this before, I repeat myself from time to time. I think that may have something to do with my graying hair. Anyway, besides seeing your parents suffer from various ailments as they grow older and wishing them the best in fighting those ailments. Adult children as they grow older and see their parents go through what they go through, we get the extra burden of knowing that is probably what we get to look forward too.

So, I wish my parents would stop having ailments. It is really a win win. They don't have to suffer, and I don't have to look forward to the coming attractions. It is a true sentiment with a bit of humor. Truth is it sucks that my mom is going through a battle with cancer. She has had two surgeries this year alone. My dad has some heart issues. Thank goodness no heart attacks. And I wonder why my loving wife demanded I go to the ER last Spring when I had chest pains.

The truth is sometimes life stinks. I wish these things would go away, just like any of life's problems. They don't go away. So, it is better to grab a fleeting moment to smile or laugh.

Not Much Beau News

I haven't heard too much Beau Torbert news lately. The last I heard he was playing with the Mississippi Braves (AA) and he hit a home run last week. The good news is Beau is playing deep into Spring Training. Which means the Atlanta Braves organization is giving him a good look. It also means his talents are on display for other teams as well.

The bad news is the early Mississippi Braves roster does not list Beau on it. This of course could change. The Braves have a lot of names on their AAA and AA teams in the outfield which means there is a lot of competition for Torbert.

As Spring Training winds down this week some concrete news should be available soon.

Geraldine Ferraro

Geraldine Ferraro passed away today in a Boston hospital due to complications with blood cancer. Geraldine Ferraro was the first female vice president candidate in the United States when she ran with Walter Mondale.


A giant step for woman. In the last election we had Sarah Palin running for vice president. Hillary Clinton made a run for president.  Since 1984 the political landscape has changed quite a bit. Some of that due to doors opened by Geraldine.


Blood cancer sounds like an awful way to pass away. So many cancers, so few cures. Most of the treatments for cancer our rough. Hopefully, science will come up with better treatments and more cures soon.


Politics aside, it is important for someone to be the first. The ones who have the opportunity to be first open doors for others. 

Bracket is Busted!

Okay my bracket is officially busted with Kentucky upsetting Ohio State. The Wildcats have come on strong of late winning the SEC. Hats off to Virginia Commonwealth for making the elite eight with a close win over Florida State. Butler is making another Cinderella run.

Love the match ups in the next round. No fluke Butler takes on Billy Donovan's Florida Gators who are back. Arizona and UConn is a solid match up too. Will Arizona be able to avoid a letdown after their big win over Duke? Then Sunday..Cinderella VCU against the last top seed Kansas. The other game is full of basketball tradition the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kentucky Wildcats. Something for everyone..

Remembering Leo

I never met Leo Fender. However, I own three of his guitars. Two Strats and a Tele in my collection. More important than my guitars..are what the masters of guitar playing have done with the guitars Leo had a hand in creating.

Anybody who reads my blog knows I like guitar music. I couldn't imagine a world with know Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour..and the list could go on. More locally Danny Gatton, Tom Principato and I could go on. One of my favorite young guitarists Joanne Shaw Taylor. I know I am leaving out a ton but I think my point is made. Without Fender guitars and the musicians playing them the musical landscape would be different.

Leo Fender passed away 20 years ago yesterday..March 21, 1991. Funny my Telecaster is a 91. I probably should have posted something yesterday but the passing of Pinetop Perkins trumped it. Feel free to comment about your favorite Fender guitar or Fender playing guitarist. 

R.I.P. Pinetop Perkins

Pinetop Perkins lived a long life. His long life ended today at the age of 97 according to NBC affiliate KXAN.com in Austin, Texas. The Austin, Texas native became the oldest performer to win a Grammy last month at the award ceremony. I had the pleasure of seeing Pinetop Perkins perform in June of 2000 at the Western Maryland Blues Fest in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Born in Mississippi in 1913, to Chess Records in the 50's and touring with Ike Turner and joining Muddy Waters band in 1969. Pinetops Perkins was living blues history. I am glad I had the opportunity to see him perform. I am glad his music is recorded for other generations to enjoy. I am glad he lived a long life. I am saddened that another link to the old blues has passed away.

I am updating my youtube feed to play some of his performances. So, we can celebrate his music on this sad day.

Sources not listed above: pinetopperkins.com.

Todd Sharpville

Something cool happened since I wrote a review of the latest Todd Sharpville release "Porchlight." The artist quoted me on his reverbnation page. I really enjoyed his CD and recommend it to anyone who likes the blues. I am very flattered to see my article quoted among others such as the Blues Review, Artist Direct, and the Independent.

I discovered the quote at a great time. I had a couple of writing projects go sour, so it was great to see some positive feedback. It really isn't an ego stroke. Too many things in the writing world happen to keep you humble. It is more or less something to keep you going.

First Round of the Madness

Just my thoughts on the first round of the NCAA Tournament. George Mason might of been the eighth seed, and Villanova might of been a ninth seed. It was still a huge victory for the Patriots to take down a Big East team. The Wildcats finish a season on quite a skid.

Virginia Commonwealth did not just upset the Georgetown Hoyas. VCU crushed the Big East club 74-56. What a day for the Colonial Athletic Conference. Two big wins over the Big East. Old Dominion lost Thursday to Butler 60-58. All and all a great showing by the Colonial.

Marquette upset Xavier 66-55. FSU took out Texas A&M. Some pretty good madness for Friday.

A look at Thursday..

Morehead State upsetting Louisville and Richmond defeating Vanderbilt sets up a nice match up of double digit seeded teams in the next round. One of them is going to the sweet sixteen. Gonzaga added to the Big East woes in this tournament.

Sources for scores: Fox Sports

Busy Day

Even when I take a day off work it is a long day. I still took my daughter to daycare. Then I went to a Non Profit Summit. The summit was held at Frederick Community College. The organizers did a great job. It was planned when the college was not in session. They had conference rooms, classrooms, and a cafeteria to use.

Anyway I think I might of learned a thing or two. After the summit I had a meeting to attend. So, when it was all said and done I was out of my house at 7AM and not home until 9PM. What a busy day..and yes I wrote another article. Last night I did beat the deadlines on two other articles. I still have more to write but I can breathe a bit. 

March Crunch

March is one of my busier months writing. This year is no different. I haven't been getting the assignments but I have been writing them anyway. They are the type of assignments that have worked for me in the past. Plus sports is kind of like comfort writing. A week that was suppose to be great blew up. So, I needed to get back on track a bit. Another article published on Yahoo and a bunch on Associated Content and I feel a little better.

I wrote a couple of test assignments today. One on soccer which I haven't wrote about since the World Cup. The other was on college basketball. Plus I have been trying to roll with the punches of the new changes. Bumps in the road. So I will wrote a couple of articles to position myself and let the chips fall where they do.

Well it is late I want to get a couple of hours of sleep.

March Madness!

All my writing today was focussed around the 2011 NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I was also impressed how the SEC Tournament played out. Just the way I predicted in my SEC preview. Though I would have been happy if Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators would have won. However, hats off to the Kentucky Wildcats since they kicked butt.

You can find your seeds and brackets for the 2011 tournament here. I also included records. I think the four play in games will be interesting this year. Yes two are for 16th seeds. However, an 11th and 12th seed being up for grabs should increase interest.

I previewed a few team for the Big Dance including Butler, Oakland, Old Dominion, Belmont, and San Diego State. I will probably write a few more articles on March Madness. However, tomorrow will be the return to the day job and Monday Madness. I am also suppose to writer to other articles as deadlines are approaching. However, I will try to squeeze in some hoops.

Fifty Fifty Day

My interview with Jason Bonham fell apart today. Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule it. I was really looking forward to it, obviously since I am a fan of so many bands he has performed with.

Anyway, I had another interview scheduled and it went well. The interview was with Ken Hays the founder of the Gathering of the Vibes festival. I am working on typing it out now while it is fresh, but I will post a link in here about it. Couldn't tell me who is playing this year..but it was a heart felt conversation about the Grateful Dead, Michael Potashnick, the festival, and the city of Bridgeport.

Maybe I should I have invested in the blank tape business back in the day when I was actively trading Grateful Dead shows and others.

Yahoo! Hot 500 for February

Everyone likes a little recognition. I am no different. Today, I was awarded Yahoo's Hot 500 badge for February. Meaning I will have a badge on my Associated Content profile page for the month of March.

I've been away from the blog recently. Sorry, I had a bit of a bug going around and then when I wasn't under the weather sleep and other things got in the way. I am back and I will blog much more.

Short blog today but more tomorrow. Tomorrow I have two big interviews. The first one will be with Jason Bonham ans the second one will be with Gathering of the Vibes founder Ken Hays. Needless to say tomorrow will be exciting!