The Trade Deadline: One of Baseball's Interesting Days

Today is Major League Baseball's trade deadline. Sure trades can happen after the deadline but players need to pass through waivers. This is the time of year for the blockbuster trades.

The Toronto Blue Jays traded for David Price an ace pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Highlights from 2014..

The San Francisco Giants traded for a Mike Leake a starting pitcher with a 9-5 record with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Giants and Braves were involved in a huge trade. Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies was traded in an eight player deal with the Texas Rangers..

What do you think the biggest trade was? What trade do you wish happened? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. See you soon with a new post!

Happy Birthday Buddy Guy!

This is the fourth year in a row I have celebrated Buddy Guy's birthday on the blog. With the passing of B.B. King I feel a bit more urgency to celebrate it a bit more. Here is a link to my first birthday tribute to him.

My second tribute is here. Here is last year's celebration. Adding them because they contain more music. Speaking of music let's add some in!

Here Buddy performs "I Can't Quit You" with the legendary B.B. King..

I can't quit the blues. I am thankful I was able to see B.B. quite a few times and I am glad to say I have seen Buddy a couple of times.

This is how Buddy Guy said goodbye to Wannee Fest in 2012..

Below Buddy Guy performs "Fever" with one of my favorite guitarists Tab Benoit...

While we are having Buddy play with some of my favorites we might as well have him jam with the Rolling Stones.."Champagne and Reefer"..

Cheers! I hope he sticks around for a few more birthday celebrations!

Thanks for visiting and I will be back soon!

My Latest Movie Review: Northern Limit Line

A foreign film in a foreign tongue with subtitles. I respect that. There are creative people around the globe and English isn't the only language. Just not what I usually look for in a film. I like a film in my language. I don't want to read the dialog on tiny print on the screen. The Foreign part is okay I like exotic locations. I know get a bigger screen than the print isn't tiny. As I am typing along the slippery slope of political correctness what is my point. My point is when it comes to film and most entertainment we prefer it to be in our comfort zone.

When I reviewed the Korean film "Northern Limit Line" it wasn't in my comfort zone. In the end however I am glad I watched the film. The movie wasn't in my comfort zone with the language and having to keep up with the small print on the screen. However, the movie wasn't created for my comfort zone. In it's native language "Northern Limit Line" is probably better!

I discovered the film packed a lot of suspense and was well made. The combat scenes were incredible! I even felt following the dialog on the screen drew me even deeper into the suspense of the film.  The movie had a great story to share and did a suburb job of sharing it!

You can read my review here. U.S. Trailer below for you to check out...

If you like Naval thrillers this film is worth checking out. It is similar to the movie "Pearl Harbor" but with another battle, across an ocean, and with another generation in another country.

Thoughts on "Comedy Warriors: Healing through humor"

Stopping in the blog about a recent movie review I did for a film called Comedy Warriors: Healing through humor. I reviewed the film right before the Fourth of July holiday which was great timing for the movie. The film's theme is perfect for Veteran's Day, Memorial Days and other Patriotic Holidays. Also perfect if you want to get a glimpse on the lives of wounded warriors.

Here is the trailer for the movie...

It is a documentary. The movie did share some of the humor but it left me wanting to catch these warriors' full comedy set!

Here is a link you can find out more about the project. The film is definitely worth checking out!

Bugs Bunny Turns 75

Who's older than Mick Jagger? Bugs Bunny by three years. Bugs turned 75 years old on July 27.

Here is one of the first Bugs Bunny strips..

Here is a vintage episode from 1944.."Nips the Nips"

I'll leave you with one more.."Hillbilly Hare"

Do you have any favorite Bugs Bunny memories? Favorite episodes? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Cartoons weren't really big in my parents home so most of my Bugs Bunny memories translate in spending Summertime with my Grandparents.

Happy Birthday Mick Jagger!

Mick Jagger turned 72 today July 26. This is the fourth year in a row I have celebrated his birthday with a post. Jagger just keeps rocking as The Rolling Stones just wrapped up their North American Zip Code tour.

Here they do "Far Away Eyes" in Nashville from their latest tour...

He keeps going and "Dancing in the Streets" with David Bowie...

It's "Just Another Night" as Mick turns another year older..

"Not Fade Away" with the boys way back when...

Happy Birthday Mick and keep rocking!

Happy Birthday Slash!

Today Slash of Guns N Roses fame turns 50 years old! He was responsible for the many guitar riffs that filled my ears in my later years of high school and early college years.

Starting the celebration with "Sweet Child O Mine"

As my ears had gone from Eddie Van Halen to the older generations of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Ritchie Blackmore well Slash was a modern guitar hero who in my eyes had that old guitar hero swagger.

Here he is with "Anastasia"  a solo song....

Here is Slash with a band called Velvet Revolver performing "Slither"

Here is a selection of someone's top ten list of Slash unforgettable moments...

Do you have any Slash moments or memories? Feel free to share in the comments...

I'll wrap this birthday celebration up with another Guns N Roses song..

"Welcome to the Jungle:

I hope you enjoyed your stay!

Happy Birthday Don Henley!

It has been a big week of classic rock birthdays and today on my blog we celebrate yet another one. Today Don Henley turns 68 but he his not slowing down. After wrapping up a tour with The Eagles he is poised to release a solo album in September..


Here is a teaser from that album..

I will even share a new song featuring Martina McBride...

The album is called "Cass County." However lets get to "The Heart of the Matter" as we celebrate his big day...

Here is a perfect song for summer...

Well I wish him a Happy Birthday and I will be back soon with a new post!

Johnny Cash winner of the Battle of the Bands

I know I didn't vote. I rarely vote on my own Battle of the Bands unless it is a tie or the battle is already decided I may cast my vote. Some may feel I should vote but I get to pick the song and the match up. I enjoy letting the audience pick the winner.

The winner article is something I picked up a while after I started with the BOTBs. I kind of like the follow up article it gives me a chance to share some more music. Sharing music is something I do a lot on my blog.

As my title indicates Johnny Cash won this Battle of the Bands challenge against the Charlie Daniels Band. However it was a nail biter the final score being 9 to 8. Every vote counts here! So please vote when you visit my Battle of the Bands. Don't jump on a band wagon when you vote. The voting sometimes gets very streaky.

Here are both of my contestants with a version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"

As a bonus track here is Johnny Cash with "Walk the Line"..

Please share your thoughts on my Battle of the Bands and Johnny Cash. I can't wait to see  the results from the other Battle of the Bands participants! 

Happy Birthday Carlos Santana

Today July 20, 2015 marks Carlos Santana's birthday and I plan to celebrate his birthday with lots of great music. It is a bonus to have back to back great guitarist birthdays like Brian May and Carlos. So I will open up the music with a song called "Winning."

He has won multiple Grammy Awards, the majority of them coming later in his career with collaborations like this one with Rob Thomas..

As you can see Carlos Santana has been very "smooth" over the years. his career has gone a long way since Woodstock when he performed "Soul Sacrifice"...

Here he is with Michelle Branch with "The Game of Love"..

I hope you enjoyed your visit. I will be back tomorrow with the winners post of my Battle of the Bands post.

Happy Birthday Brian May

Brian May celebrates his birthday today July 19. He is best known as being the lead guitarist for Queen. He is also has a PHD in Astrophysics.

Below he answers questions about Space and Astrophysics...(There is an S-bomb in there as well). Thought it would be neat to share another side of Brian May...

Of course you know I am going to celebrate his music as well! 

Here is a solo song from Brian May called "Too Much Love will Kill You"...

Here is "No One But You" a song created by the surviving members of Queen after Freddie Mercury's death. The female on the song is Kerry Ellis, a musical theatre star in London's West End.

Last but not yet here is a song by Queen "Who Wants to Live Forever"

Thanks for tuning in and I will be back soon with a new post

Battle of the Bands number 24: My One Year Anniversary Battle

It is hard to believe it has been one year since my first Battle of the Bands battle.



Some bumps in the road but it has become one of my favorite blog hops. A lot of it becoming one of my favorites is the other participants. Everyone sharing music it is pretty neat. Especially when the music might be in a genre or era you don't necessarily listen to a lot. Sometimes it is hearing a song you know done differently. Sometimes people share music that is right up your musical alley that you have never heard before. Another thing I have discovered is the participants have some interesting blogs. Several times I have gone to check out a battle on a participant's blog and ended up sidetrack checking out their other blog posts.

The Battle of  the Bands has grown since I started and I am sure that os true when it started two years ago.

Hopefully this is the updated list of participants. I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands': 

@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE. 

Today's battle is based on a song by The Band called "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." It fits well with some current events. 

Here is their version..

I was impressed with the number of covers I found for this song. Selecting two was the hard part.


 I will start off with:

Contestant One: The Charlie Daniels Band

Contestant Two: Johnny Cash

I was originally planning on using the Zac Brown Band's version but I think this is a pretty fair battle. Two legends same era. Remember the only battle here is between Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash vote and comment accordingly. 

It has been a fun year and I look forward to continuing into the future with the Battle of the Bands.
.

The movie "Dead Kansas"

I'm playing catch up on my blog going back and blogging about thinks I meant to blog about earlier.  I reviewed a movie called "Dead Kansas" last month. It was a Zombie flick. You can read my review here.



The film brought me full circle to the first film I reviewed Blood and Donuts which was about vampires instead of zombies.

Here is a promo of sorts for Dead Kansas..

The film did win the Fantastic Horror Film Festival in San Diego Award for Best Zombie movie in 2014. I thought the movie was a bit short. I know the budget was low but it would need more to be a feature film. That said the film did have it's moments and I was impressed by a couple of things!

Some me time and Big Red

A week later I come back to finish this post. Life is still pretty crazy. It has been a crazy week. Sunday I was out and about with a friend getting ready for the 4th of July when my boss called and asked if I wanted to work some overtime. So when I got back home I changed and went into work. I thought I would just do a couple of hours of work and then spend the evening at a fishing hole for some much needed me time. I was wrong the overtime lasted longer than I expected. Not that I am complaining.

The last time I went fishing had been a couple of weeks before and I went with my daughter. The fishing was slow. I was able to show her some big fish in the water, a couple of stingrays, and dolphins. Plus we caught some of the Blue Angels practice. I made some adjustments so she could catch some pin fish. Kids like to catch, so do I. I ended up catching some crabs.




Well my next journey out I checked with the family and they were heading out somewhere to eat. So, I responded okay I am going fishing for a while. Well it was already 10 PM so I decided I would try this new Wal-Mart Neighborhood store out and get some bait instead of going to the bait store. I managed to find the only Wal-Mart store in the area that doesn't sell bait. The fish had to eat something so I went to the seafood isle and found some frozen shrimp and whiting fillets.

I wanted to try night fishing at this spot I had fished before which was closer to home. I found it had been barricaded up so I couldn't park there. My plans were not going to well. So, I tried my normal place but the spot I wanted to fish was quite crowded. I fished a while and caught some fish nothing to brag about. A saltwater catfish, a couple of croakers, a grunt, and a few pin fish like my daughter is holding. My night of things going not as planned continued as I ended up getting snagged a couple of times at a place I never get snagged at. However, the scenery was beautiful..



Oh had my fishing buddies drop in throughout the night and towards dawn..




Finally I got to my spot. I also kept one of the pinfish I caught and was using it for bait. Once I was at my spot something decided it wanted pinfish for breakfast!



I ended up catching a nice size Red Fish (red drum). He ended up being put back in the water to swim away and I ended up packing up to head back home. After all I had a growing list of things I had to take care of at home and at some point catch a little sleep.

R.I.P Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Once in a while on this blog I like play it forward and spot light another writer or give a shout out to another writer.Even though Sydney-Chanele Dawkins is deserving of being put into a spotlight due to her writing this is not the way that I had envisioned. Most of the writers I know and spotlight or give a shout out to are people I only know in the cyber world. It is a little different when the person is someone you know in person. I have found memories of hanging out with this writer at CATF- Contemporary American Theater Festival after parties and at DC Metro Theater Arts meetings and gatherings. What is sadder is writing a Rest in Peace article. She lost her battle with breast cancer.

Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

I will share the article on her passing penned by Joel Markowitz here. She was a reviewer, columnist, and interviewer at DC Metro Theater Arts and I do recommend checking out her work there. You will find some great interviews on film, theatre, and music. Also there are some fantastic reviews of the Washington area entertainment scene. 

Photo courtesy of DC Metro Theater Arts. Beyond writing she created three feature films, produced plays with local theater groups, and was involved with  several film festivals and art groups. The Washington Area arts scene will definitely miss her. At 47 she passed away too soon. MAy she rest in peace.

Battle of the Bands Winner: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong won my battle of the bands competition against Billie Holiday 13 to 3. I knew whoever won this "Summertime" battle would provide some great music on my winners post.

Here they perform "Cheek to Cheek"

"Dream a Little Dream of Me"

"Learnin' the Blues"..

Do you have any favorite songs performed by Ella or Louis separate or solo? Any memories? Feel free to share in the comments. I will be back on the 15th with a Battle of the Bands marking my one year anniversary  participating in the BOTBs. 

Congrats TEAM USA Woman's World Cup 2016 Champions

The United States Woman's Soccer team defeated Japan 5-2 to win the World Cup. The U.S. Woman's team dominated the game and left no doubt they were the best team in the Tournament.

Highlights here...

It is a great victory for soccer, woman, and girls in the United States. 

Battle of the Bands 22: Summertime

Summertime is here so picking a song is easy!

Here is the choice from Porgy and Bess

My battle of the bands contenders are below. However , I thought I would share some other Battle of the Bands with you as well.

If you are still looking for more musical fun after you vote, you can check out these sites for more battles:

Tossing it Out

‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

 'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Book Lover

This Belle Rocks

DC Relief Battle of the Bands

Shady Dell Music & Memories

Angels Bark 

The Doglady's Den

'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE

WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME

ALEX CAVANAUGH

Introducing:

Jingle Jangle Jungle

Please check out my friends above, they post some pretty neat stuff! 


Contender one: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong...

Challenger Two: Billie Holiday

 Vote in the comments and stay cool this summer!