Thought I'd share a recent picture of my kids, Lucas & Cadence, taken by my favorite photographer and close friend, Charles Funk. And while we're at it, you should check out his website: http://CharlesFunk.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The ACME
Back in "the day", I spent most weekends DJing at the ACME Bar & Grill in historic downtown Annapolis. I landed there by accident one Saturday night as a fill-in DJ and the next thing you know, I was part of the ACME Family. At one point in time a couple years ago, I was DJing there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights each week. On top of that, I was also DJing wedding receptions. It got to be too much for me and since wedding receptions pay way better than bar gigs, I abdicated my DJ throne there almost six years ago. I hand-picked and personally trained my replacement who still DJs there two nights a week.
The coolest thing about ACME was the people. ACME had the best bartenders in Annapolis (I think)... Phil Jones, Bobby G., Kevin Eply, and Troy. There were others, but these four stand out. In the golden days of my DJ Rule there, it was wall-to-wall people after 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. I played everything and anything and that's what they loved about me. And I loved being able to look out over a sea of partying people going nuts for the music. And there were the bartenders... facing a hundred thirsty, drunk people shouting orders of beer and mixed drinks. I really don't know how they did it. It was non-stop chaos. Girls would jump up on the bar and dance until a bouncer got to the bar to escort them safely back to ground level. And every so often, Bobby G. would be possessed (drunk) enough to jump up on the bar and lead everyone in a sing-along of his favorite song; "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe. There were other sing-alongs that I would initiate... like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Livin' on a Prayer" among others. It was a CHEERS type of place and it had its fair share of "regulars". I knew half of the people by name and most everyone knew me. After 11pm, the crowd shifted from the chilling-out after-dinner crowd to the younger we-came-to-dance-and-party crowd. Naturally, the music was more dance-oriented featuring newer songs intermixed with disco, funk, 80s, and rock-n-roll. It was the best mix in Annapolis. I knew it, the owner of ACME knew it, and the bartenders knew it. ACME was my place on the weekends. I wasn't just a DJ, I was a member of the crew and I manipulated the crowd using music and announcements in order to help out the bartenders and the bouncers. If there was a fight breaking out on the dance floor, I'd tone the music down until the bouncers could neutralize the situation. I'd constantly switch the music up to keep the crowd guessing and surprised. Ah, it was heaven most nights. But like I said, it got to be too much and so I quit DJing there almost six years ago.
A lot can change in six years. ACME's original owner sold the business to one of the the bartenders and another local guy. They kept the name the same and at first the transition seemed quite seamless. I would hear from my replacement how things had changed; mostly all of the original bartenders quit or were fired and replaced by pretty girls with nice figures and very little bartending experience. Suddenly, there was no longer any live music in ACME on the weekdays -rookie iPod DJs seemed a suitable replacement. The menu changed, the walls were painted (baby blue?!), and more LCD TVs were added.
I had only been in the "new" ACME three or four times in the six years since I left. Last night, I got a call from the regular DJ asking if I'd be willing to fill in for him. Short on cash and anxious for nostalgia, I agreed. I came away from the gig with a deep sadness and a slight sickening feeling in my gut at what ACME has become. The management/owners and the DJs they have now are to blame. The feel-good party vibe of the place has been sucked out and the spirit has been trampled by a bad mix of hip-hop and trashy top-40. Nobody really dances at ACME anymore and I can't understand how they get away with charging THREE DOLLARS at the door to get in. The hottie girls are still showing up, but everyone just sort of stands around and drinks. It's disgusting. Really. The sound system is downright pitiful; a handful of 10-inch powered Peavey speakers mounted on the wall behind the bar near ceiling level and tilted down at a perfect angle to drown out customers ordering drinks. The tiny speakers can't handle any bass and they don't do very well with the mids or highs either. The music is just blaring. Two 15-inch JBL powered speakers hang idle -blown out- from the ceiling near the front. They look impressive, I guess. Too bad they didn't work.
All in all it was a sad night and I find myself missing the old ACME. My ACME. I know things have to change, but it's sad when things change so much that something precious is lost in the process. I guess it takes a lot of work and caring to make sure that doesn't happen. And I'm sorry it had to happen to ACME.
The coolest thing about ACME was the people. ACME had the best bartenders in Annapolis (I think)... Phil Jones, Bobby G., Kevin Eply, and Troy. There were others, but these four stand out. In the golden days of my DJ Rule there, it was wall-to-wall people after 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. I played everything and anything and that's what they loved about me. And I loved being able to look out over a sea of partying people going nuts for the music. And there were the bartenders... facing a hundred thirsty, drunk people shouting orders of beer and mixed drinks. I really don't know how they did it. It was non-stop chaos. Girls would jump up on the bar and dance until a bouncer got to the bar to escort them safely back to ground level. And every so often, Bobby G. would be possessed (drunk) enough to jump up on the bar and lead everyone in a sing-along of his favorite song; "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe. There were other sing-alongs that I would initiate... like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Livin' on a Prayer" among others. It was a CHEERS type of place and it had its fair share of "regulars". I knew half of the people by name and most everyone knew me. After 11pm, the crowd shifted from the chilling-out after-dinner crowd to the younger we-came-to-dance-and-party crowd. Naturally, the music was more dance-oriented featuring newer songs intermixed with disco, funk, 80s, and rock-n-roll. It was the best mix in Annapolis. I knew it, the owner of ACME knew it, and the bartenders knew it. ACME was my place on the weekends. I wasn't just a DJ, I was a member of the crew and I manipulated the crowd using music and announcements in order to help out the bartenders and the bouncers. If there was a fight breaking out on the dance floor, I'd tone the music down until the bouncers could neutralize the situation. I'd constantly switch the music up to keep the crowd guessing and surprised. Ah, it was heaven most nights. But like I said, it got to be too much and so I quit DJing there almost six years ago.
A lot can change in six years. ACME's original owner sold the business to one of the the bartenders and another local guy. They kept the name the same and at first the transition seemed quite seamless. I would hear from my replacement how things had changed; mostly all of the original bartenders quit or were fired and replaced by pretty girls with nice figures and very little bartending experience. Suddenly, there was no longer any live music in ACME on the weekdays -rookie iPod DJs seemed a suitable replacement. The menu changed, the walls were painted (baby blue?!), and more LCD TVs were added.
I had only been in the "new" ACME three or four times in the six years since I left. Last night, I got a call from the regular DJ asking if I'd be willing to fill in for him. Short on cash and anxious for nostalgia, I agreed. I came away from the gig with a deep sadness and a slight sickening feeling in my gut at what ACME has become. The management/owners and the DJs they have now are to blame. The feel-good party vibe of the place has been sucked out and the spirit has been trampled by a bad mix of hip-hop and trashy top-40. Nobody really dances at ACME anymore and I can't understand how they get away with charging THREE DOLLARS at the door to get in. The hottie girls are still showing up, but everyone just sort of stands around and drinks. It's disgusting. Really. The sound system is downright pitiful; a handful of 10-inch powered Peavey speakers mounted on the wall behind the bar near ceiling level and tilted down at a perfect angle to drown out customers ordering drinks. The tiny speakers can't handle any bass and they don't do very well with the mids or highs either. The music is just blaring. Two 15-inch JBL powered speakers hang idle -blown out- from the ceiling near the front. They look impressive, I guess. Too bad they didn't work.
All in all it was a sad night and I find myself missing the old ACME. My ACME. I know things have to change, but it's sad when things change so much that something precious is lost in the process. I guess it takes a lot of work and caring to make sure that doesn't happen. And I'm sorry it had to happen to ACME.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Footbal Shmootball
I'm a Redskins fan (hold your laughter) - but I also like the Eagles, the Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers. So on any given Sunday, I can most likely find solace in at least one of my teams winning. Of course I get ridiculed at work by my co-workers because, they tell me, "It's impossible to like that many teams -some of them arch-rivals!!!" Blah, Blah, Blah. It's not like I'm some sort of "sports fanatic" or anything. I don't buy season tickets -or any tickets for that matter- and while I do have a few Redskins shirts (and one official jersey bought by my wife), I'm not inclined to drop hundreds of dollars buying team-emblazoned paraphernalia just to show the world that I'm a "true fan". Bullshit! If you stop and think about it, all these "professional" football players are making MILLIONS of dollars for PLAYING A GAME each week... and here's the kicker... It doesn't frickin' matter how well or how bad they play... THEY STILL GET PAID!! That's like me going into work and screwing things up for 16 weeks straight and still getting my paycheck... NOT GONNA HAPPEN (unless you're a Gov't employee, of course... or a teacher... they have some freaky sorta tenure thing going on)
But back to football. I like it. If nothing more, it's an excuse to drink beer, eat unhealthy food, and play armchair quarterback for an hour or two. And there's only two teams that I absolutely positively can't stand... The Dallas Cowboys and The Baltimore Ravens. Hate 'em, hate 'em hate 'em. I'm not even sure why... must be some subconscious thing based on past experiences with Dallas and Baltimore fans...
I can't stand the fact that they call Dallas "America's Team" - Fhat the Wuck!? America's Team?@! How do you get that?! The nation's capital is WASHINGTON, D.C., so it's only logical that "America's Team" should be the WASHINGTON REDSKINS. Enough Said.
And now on to the Baltimoron Ravens. Unfortunately for me, I live in Arnold (near Annapolis) Maryland and I work in Howard County... Ravens' Country. It's downright depressing seeing all the purple jerseys and idiots parading around with their Ravens flags hanging out their car windows, flapping in the breeze. COME ON NOW! Give me a break! A few years ago Baltimore didn't HAVE an NFL team! Who were all those morons rooting for then? Huh? I'll tell you... they were REDSKINS fans, dammit! And then, all of a sudden, the Browns get relocated to Baltimore because some Billionaire owner (Model) wasn't making enough money in Cleveland. Of course, Cleveland sued for the "Browns" name, so Baltimore had to come up with a new name for the team. The morons -er- people voted and they all decided on "The Baltimore Ravens" - OK, so I wasn't that miffed about the name... after all, it was a sort of homage to Mr. Edgar Allen Poe (his story "The Raven") one of Baltimore's more well-known historical residents. But then, they go through the process of coming up with a logo to match the name and they (the same fine citizens who voted for "The Ravens") come up with the CHEESIEST logo(s) for the new team. That's when I lost interest and went back to watching my Redskins screw up every week.
Yeah, it gets worse too... A few years in and this new team wins the Superbowl and, of course, all of Baltimore goes nuts. Ah yeah, now you get to see the real (scary) fans on display.
Well, in fairness, I guess every team has them. The Redskins have the Hog-ettes and the freaks dressed like indian chiefs... Green Bay has their Cheese Heads... Still, I loath the Baltimore Ravens and even though the Redskins sucked better than an Electrolux vacuum cleaner this year, there's still hope for me... Pittsburgh (did I mention I like the Steelers?!) is playing Baltimore THIS SUNDAY and OH! will I be a happy camper on Tuesday if they beat the snot out of 'em. AND! It gets better!! The Philly Eagles are in the race too! They play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday too! So I have two possible scenarios that could make my year... either Pittsburgh pummels the Ravens or the Eagles make the Superbowl against the Ravens and kick the stuffing out of them.
So I'll be watching tomorrow... Go Pitt! Go Philly!
But back to football. I like it. If nothing more, it's an excuse to drink beer, eat unhealthy food, and play armchair quarterback for an hour or two. And there's only two teams that I absolutely positively can't stand... The Dallas Cowboys and The Baltimore Ravens. Hate 'em, hate 'em hate 'em. I'm not even sure why... must be some subconscious thing based on past experiences with Dallas and Baltimore fans...
I can't stand the fact that they call Dallas "America's Team" - Fhat the Wuck!? America's Team?@! How do you get that?! The nation's capital is WASHINGTON, D.C., so it's only logical that "America's Team" should be the WASHINGTON REDSKINS. Enough Said.
And now on to the Baltimoron Ravens. Unfortunately for me, I live in Arnold (near Annapolis) Maryland and I work in Howard County... Ravens' Country. It's downright depressing seeing all the purple jerseys and idiots parading around with their Ravens flags hanging out their car windows, flapping in the breeze. COME ON NOW! Give me a break! A few years ago Baltimore didn't HAVE an NFL team! Who were all those morons rooting for then? Huh? I'll tell you... they were REDSKINS fans, dammit! And then, all of a sudden, the Browns get relocated to Baltimore because some Billionaire owner (Model) wasn't making enough money in Cleveland. Of course, Cleveland sued for the "Browns" name, so Baltimore had to come up with a new name for the team. The morons -er- people voted and they all decided on "The Baltimore Ravens" - OK, so I wasn't that miffed about the name... after all, it was a sort of homage to Mr. Edgar Allen Poe (his story "The Raven") one of Baltimore's more well-known historical residents. But then, they go through the process of coming up with a logo to match the name and they (the same fine citizens who voted for "The Ravens") come up with the CHEESIEST logo(s) for the new team. That's when I lost interest and went back to watching my Redskins screw up every week.
Yeah, it gets worse too... A few years in and this new team wins the Superbowl and, of course, all of Baltimore goes nuts. Ah yeah, now you get to see the real (scary) fans on display.
Well, in fairness, I guess every team has them. The Redskins have the Hog-ettes and the freaks dressed like indian chiefs... Green Bay has their Cheese Heads... Still, I loath the Baltimore Ravens and even though the Redskins sucked better than an Electrolux vacuum cleaner this year, there's still hope for me... Pittsburgh (did I mention I like the Steelers?!) is playing Baltimore THIS SUNDAY and OH! will I be a happy camper on Tuesday if they beat the snot out of 'em. AND! It gets better!! The Philly Eagles are in the race too! They play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday too! So I have two possible scenarios that could make my year... either Pittsburgh pummels the Ravens or the Eagles make the Superbowl against the Ravens and kick the stuffing out of them.
So I'll be watching tomorrow... Go Pitt! Go Philly!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Forget Me Not
So Mom has Alzheimer's or dementia. Alzheimer's is a form of dementia but the only way to conclusively diagnose whether it's Alzheimer's or not is to slice open the brain postmortem and examine it. Nice, huh?
I lost my dad to a massive heart attack when I was two. And I lost my brother, Kenny, to Leukemia when I was five (he was 24 when he died). Heart attack, cancer, leukemia... all horrible ways to lose a loved one. But in my experience, nothing can hold a candle to Alzheimer's. It's a real bastard when it comes to terminal illnesses. You can lose an arm, a leg, your hearing, or your sight and still be a normally functioning member of society. But once you start losing your memory -your mind- you pretty much blow away your whole normal life and the lives of those around you. You become confused and frustrated because everyone around you doesn't understand or believe you. And guess what... everyone around you becomes confused and frustrated because you don't understand or believe them. And then there's everyone else on the periphery... social services, department of aging, etc. - all of these folks don't quite know who to believe. Is this an old lady being taken advantage of by her greedy son or is this a son trying to help his stubborn demented mom? Man, let me tell ya, it was a rough eight months from the time when my wife and I noticed there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with my mom and the moment we actually got someone who mattered to BELIEVE us.
And that was just the first hurdle. Then we had to figure out what to do... how to take care of this person who refused to be taken care of... who insisted she was fine to take care of herself.
And then after all that was taken care of (it all kinda fell into place), we settled in for the long haul; knowing full well that the light at the end of the tunnel wasn't daylight but rather a speeding freight train headed full-on in your direction. Nothing compares to the day that you walk in to see your mom and she doesn't know who you are. And then you remind her and then there's this awkward silence; her thinking "how could I not know that" and you thinking "we're just gonna play this off so she doesn't feel bad."
So how do you deal with your mom -the gal that was your best friend for so many years- suddenly forgetting who the hell you are? I don't know. It just happened to me, matter of fact. So I guess I'll have to get back to you on that.
But I'll leave you with a bright thought... the good thing about Alzheimer's... is... You meet someone new every day!! (ba-dump-bump!)
I lost my dad to a massive heart attack when I was two. And I lost my brother, Kenny, to Leukemia when I was five (he was 24 when he died). Heart attack, cancer, leukemia... all horrible ways to lose a loved one. But in my experience, nothing can hold a candle to Alzheimer's. It's a real bastard when it comes to terminal illnesses. You can lose an arm, a leg, your hearing, or your sight and still be a normally functioning member of society. But once you start losing your memory -your mind- you pretty much blow away your whole normal life and the lives of those around you. You become confused and frustrated because everyone around you doesn't understand or believe you. And guess what... everyone around you becomes confused and frustrated because you don't understand or believe them. And then there's everyone else on the periphery... social services, department of aging, etc. - all of these folks don't quite know who to believe. Is this an old lady being taken advantage of by her greedy son or is this a son trying to help his stubborn demented mom? Man, let me tell ya, it was a rough eight months from the time when my wife and I noticed there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with my mom and the moment we actually got someone who mattered to BELIEVE us.
And that was just the first hurdle. Then we had to figure out what to do... how to take care of this person who refused to be taken care of... who insisted she was fine to take care of herself.
And then after all that was taken care of (it all kinda fell into place), we settled in for the long haul; knowing full well that the light at the end of the tunnel wasn't daylight but rather a speeding freight train headed full-on in your direction. Nothing compares to the day that you walk in to see your mom and she doesn't know who you are. And then you remind her and then there's this awkward silence; her thinking "how could I not know that" and you thinking "we're just gonna play this off so she doesn't feel bad."
So how do you deal with your mom -the gal that was your best friend for so many years- suddenly forgetting who the hell you are? I don't know. It just happened to me, matter of fact. So I guess I'll have to get back to you on that.
But I'll leave you with a bright thought... the good thing about Alzheimer's... is... You meet someone new every day!! (ba-dump-bump!)
Monday, January 5, 2009
This is no time for parties...
Can I vent? I really must before I come apart at the seams.
I'm just SO fed up with hearing about partisan politics. It's the Democrats against the Republicans or the Republicans against the Democrats. Nothing gets done. It's just a giant pissing contest in D.C. Doesn't matter if have a good idea, if you're a Democrat you can rest assured most of the Republicans will be against it. And if you have a bad idea... well hey, as long as you're in the majority party and can throw enough weight around, your idea will get by.
Hate to break it to you, but we got a bunch of 5-year-olds trying to run the country. Any wonder why we're in such dire straits?!
I say do away with the whole idea of political parties. Elect people based on their record, their convictions, their experience, their moral character. Why does it always come down to having only TWO choices for president -those of the major parties. That's B.S.!! Why the hell does a person have to spend FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS to run for a job that only pays $250K/yr.?!? Does that make ANY sense whatsoever?!
We're being hoodwinked and we're too fat and lazy to care. Too detatched to get involved. Shame on us. Shame on me. God Bless the U.S.A.
I'm just SO fed up with hearing about partisan politics. It's the Democrats against the Republicans or the Republicans against the Democrats. Nothing gets done. It's just a giant pissing contest in D.C. Doesn't matter if have a good idea, if you're a Democrat you can rest assured most of the Republicans will be against it. And if you have a bad idea... well hey, as long as you're in the majority party and can throw enough weight around, your idea will get by.
Hate to break it to you, but we got a bunch of 5-year-olds trying to run the country. Any wonder why we're in such dire straits?!
I say do away with the whole idea of political parties. Elect people based on their record, their convictions, their experience, their moral character. Why does it always come down to having only TWO choices for president -those of the major parties. That's B.S.!! Why the hell does a person have to spend FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS to run for a job that only pays $250K/yr.?!? Does that make ANY sense whatsoever?!
We're being hoodwinked and we're too fat and lazy to care. Too detatched to get involved. Shame on us. Shame on me. God Bless the U.S.A.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Music Can Change the World
Music can change the world. Think about that for a moment. Music can change the world. It was the saying printed on a nice framed artwork that my wife got me for Christmas. It was a profound statement to me when I read it even though I knew it to be a fact for many, many years. There was just something about reading it and then letting it sink in. It was as if some secret of the universe had been revealed to me.
If you're like me, there are certain songs that define certain moments in your life. The soundtrack to your life. Hearing any one of these 'soundtrack' songs can instantly transport you back to a specific moment in time and you're able to feel what you felt and see what you saw and relive the moment. It's a magical thing. So, while we can go around in circles arguing about whether a particular song actually changed the world, you can't tell me that the songs in my world haven't made a profound difference in my life.
Sometime this year I will release my sophmore effort CD. I think the songs on this CD are very well-written, well crafted songs. So I'm hoping that my music will change the world -at least my immediate world- in 2009.
Here's to a 2009 filled with love, hope, and peace... and world-changing music.
If you're like me, there are certain songs that define certain moments in your life. The soundtrack to your life. Hearing any one of these 'soundtrack' songs can instantly transport you back to a specific moment in time and you're able to feel what you felt and see what you saw and relive the moment. It's a magical thing. So, while we can go around in circles arguing about whether a particular song actually changed the world, you can't tell me that the songs in my world haven't made a profound difference in my life.
Sometime this year I will release my sophmore effort CD. I think the songs on this CD are very well-written, well crafted songs. So I'm hoping that my music will change the world -at least my immediate world- in 2009.
Here's to a 2009 filled with love, hope, and peace... and world-changing music.
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