Just when you thought the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) couldn't get any more idiotic -- it does. Rather than face the embarrassment of a non-BCS team defeating one of its BCS boys as happened last season, it finds a solution. It puts perhaps the best two teams in the nation, TCU and Boise State, against each other in the Fiesta Bowl. The BCS did not want to face the humiliation it did last time when Utah, from the non-BCS Mountain West Conference, defeated Alabama from the BCS's Southeast Conference.
The BCS continues to resist a playoff system which would allow a legitimate champion to rise to the top. So, forget the Alabama-Texas BCS "national championship" game next month. The real national champion will be decided when TCU plays Boise State (the only bowl game I will watch). And again, the real loser will be the BCS, college football's perennial bad joke.
Obama, for once you got it right.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Clovis Sound
During the late 1950s and 1960s the little High Plains town of Clovis, New Mexico became "the music recording center of the universe." Some of the greatest names in music came to the Norman Petty Studios in Clovis to record songs that would reach the top of music charts in the U.S. and England.
A PBS documentary shown June 4 on New Mexico's three PBS stations highlighted some of those recording stars such as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Fireballs and Buddy Knox, all of whom made Clovis famous in those early days of rock and roll and "rockabilly". This music would become known as "The Clovis Sound" and put Clovis on the music world map. Decades later that little girl with the heavenly voice, LeAnn Rimes, would step to the same microphone as those previous stars and record her "Blue" and other popular songs.
The focus of the documentary is recording producer Norman Petty who brought all that young talent to Clovis. But Petty never claimed credit for the success of these musicians. He said he only offered a stage for them to perform their magic.
The documentary shows film of these musicians both in Clovis and on world stages. It shows musical groups who were inspired by Holly, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Bobby Dylan. Also included are those still painful-to-see photos of plane wreckage outside Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959 on "The Day The Music Died" with the death of 22-year-old Buddy Holly, along with "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens. Wayland Jennings missed being on that crowded flight when he "lost" a coin flip to Valens and had to take a bus to the next concert.
For those of you living outside New Mexico the documentary will be made available to PBS stations around the country. The show is titled Norman Petty Studios. I hope you get to see it.
A PBS documentary shown June 4 on New Mexico's three PBS stations highlighted some of those recording stars such as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Fireballs and Buddy Knox, all of whom made Clovis famous in those early days of rock and roll and "rockabilly". This music would become known as "The Clovis Sound" and put Clovis on the music world map. Decades later that little girl with the heavenly voice, LeAnn Rimes, would step to the same microphone as those previous stars and record her "Blue" and other popular songs.
The focus of the documentary is recording producer Norman Petty who brought all that young talent to Clovis. But Petty never claimed credit for the success of these musicians. He said he only offered a stage for them to perform their magic.
The documentary shows film of these musicians both in Clovis and on world stages. It shows musical groups who were inspired by Holly, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Bobby Dylan. Also included are those still painful-to-see photos of plane wreckage outside Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959 on "The Day The Music Died" with the death of 22-year-old Buddy Holly, along with "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens. Wayland Jennings missed being on that crowded flight when he "lost" a coin flip to Valens and had to take a bus to the next concert.
For those of you living outside New Mexico the documentary will be made available to PBS stations around the country. The show is titled Norman Petty Studios. I hope you get to see it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Why I liked Reagan
My friend Karen and I were walking her dogs yesterday when we began discussing our favorite U.S. presidents. We agreed the four best are on Mount Rushmore but disagreed on a fifth. Karen liked FDR and I chose Ronald Reagan.
"Why did you like him?" Karen asked.
Boy, was I ready for this one. That's because the same question had been asked on a radio talk show a couple years ago. "Name me one thing Reagan did that was good," the liberal caller had said to the host. The host answered this way:
Reagan brought us out of Jimmy Carter's economic chaos with its double-diget inflation and double-diget interest rates. "Reaganomics" brought tax cuts which spurred the economy to new heights which we have not seen since.
Second, after four years of almost daily Carter disasters and weak leadership, Reagan stood strong against world bullies like the Soviets, Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the radical Islamic Iran. Remember the Iranian hostage crisis under Jimmy Carter, the most inept president of the 20th century if not in U.S. history? Under Reagan, America refused to back down under the intimidation and threats of the tyrants. Americans once again felt confidant and proud of their nation.
Third, Reagan ignored liberals' calls to cut defense spending in the face of Soviet threats. And when the Soviets tried to match U.S. defense spending their economy collapsed and the Cold War was over. With the death of the Soviet empire, the Russian people and the slave satellite nations of Eastern Europe were finally free.
"So," the radio talk show host said to the liberal caller, "other than these, I guess Reagan didn't do very much, did he?" There was only silence on the other end of the phone line.
"Why did you like him?" Karen asked.
Boy, was I ready for this one. That's because the same question had been asked on a radio talk show a couple years ago. "Name me one thing Reagan did that was good," the liberal caller had said to the host. The host answered this way:
Reagan brought us out of Jimmy Carter's economic chaos with its double-diget inflation and double-diget interest rates. "Reaganomics" brought tax cuts which spurred the economy to new heights which we have not seen since.
Second, after four years of almost daily Carter disasters and weak leadership, Reagan stood strong against world bullies like the Soviets, Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the radical Islamic Iran. Remember the Iranian hostage crisis under Jimmy Carter, the most inept president of the 20th century if not in U.S. history? Under Reagan, America refused to back down under the intimidation and threats of the tyrants. Americans once again felt confidant and proud of their nation.
Third, Reagan ignored liberals' calls to cut defense spending in the face of Soviet threats. And when the Soviets tried to match U.S. defense spending their economy collapsed and the Cold War was over. With the death of the Soviet empire, the Russian people and the slave satellite nations of Eastern Europe were finally free.
"So," the radio talk show host said to the liberal caller, "other than these, I guess Reagan didn't do very much, did he?" There was only silence on the other end of the phone line.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sign of the Times?
Maybe it is just a sign of the (economic) times. Yesterday, a vacuum cleaner salesman showed up at my door. I had never encountered one of these salesmen and have always associated them with comedy movies from the 1940s and '50s. Red Skelton comes to mind but there were many others.
Anyway, the guy offered to give me a bunch of postage stamps if I would let him demonstrate his vacuum cleaner on my carpet. Ordinarily, I have never been kind to telemarketers, or door-to-door salesmen who ignore the "no solicitors" sign at the entrance to our townhomes cul-de-sac. But perhaps I felt a twinge of sympathy for this middle-aged man who probably has fallen on hard times in our bad economy and was trying to earn a buck the best way he could. I politely told him I was satisfied with my old cleaner and wished him a good day.
Warning to telemarketers: Don't ever expect the same politeness from me because it ain't coming.
Anyway, the guy offered to give me a bunch of postage stamps if I would let him demonstrate his vacuum cleaner on my carpet. Ordinarily, I have never been kind to telemarketers, or door-to-door salesmen who ignore the "no solicitors" sign at the entrance to our townhomes cul-de-sac. But perhaps I felt a twinge of sympathy for this middle-aged man who probably has fallen on hard times in our bad economy and was trying to earn a buck the best way he could. I politely told him I was satisfied with my old cleaner and wished him a good day.
Warning to telemarketers: Don't ever expect the same politeness from me because it ain't coming.
Monday, January 5, 2009
How to Lose Weight, Even During the Holidays
How many of you can honestly say you didn't gain any weight during the holidays? Well, not only can I make such a claim but I can say I LOST six pounds. I wish I could credit heroic self-discipline but I can't. Two weeks of being stuck in the house with a cold will do the trick. At least it did for me.
Today would be the start of my third week of this misery. But I am feeling much better and tomorrow am going to declare this virus from hell defeated and then get back to a semi-exercise routine and attack some long delayed chores.
The home imprisonment could have been worse. It gave me a good excuse to watch some of those bowl games on TV. I chose eight of the best from the 34 bowl games and thoroughly enjoyed them (one more, the Fiesta, is tonight, and the BCS championship game is Thursday). My favorites have been Utah's win over highly favored Alabama, Nebraska's close win over Clemson, Ole Miss's crushing of Coach Mike Leach and his Red Raiders, and USC's defeat of Penn State.
Oh, sorry, I am getting away from the weight loss thing. Just looking at the positives from this cold, I lost some weight (I hope it doesn't return soon but it probably will) and I saw some excellent football games. Also, now I have even more appreciation of my dear neighbor, Kim, who has watched over me like a mother hen throughout this ordeal. Without her delicious meals I would probably be too weak to write this. Kimberly, you are a saint and an angel combined. God bless you, sweetheart.
Today would be the start of my third week of this misery. But I am feeling much better and tomorrow am going to declare this virus from hell defeated and then get back to a semi-exercise routine and attack some long delayed chores.
The home imprisonment could have been worse. It gave me a good excuse to watch some of those bowl games on TV. I chose eight of the best from the 34 bowl games and thoroughly enjoyed them (one more, the Fiesta, is tonight, and the BCS championship game is Thursday). My favorites have been Utah's win over highly favored Alabama, Nebraska's close win over Clemson, Ole Miss's crushing of Coach Mike Leach and his Red Raiders, and USC's defeat of Penn State.
Oh, sorry, I am getting away from the weight loss thing. Just looking at the positives from this cold, I lost some weight (I hope it doesn't return soon but it probably will) and I saw some excellent football games. Also, now I have even more appreciation of my dear neighbor, Kim, who has watched over me like a mother hen throughout this ordeal. Without her delicious meals I would probably be too weak to write this. Kimberly, you are a saint and an angel combined. God bless you, sweetheart.
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