May 2010 Archives

Happy Memorial Day

Last year, the LSU Tigers entered the SEC Tournament as the top seed. This year, they entered as the bottom seed. The result was the same. They won the tournament and the automatic NCAA bid that comes with it. More importantly, they gained a measure of confidence to go along with their talent and experience this time. They didn't need it last year. They'll hit the road this weekend and 16 host teams are hoping it won't be to their place. One guy has them going to Miami along with Florida International and Minnesota. The BOTD has them at Georgia Tech with Oregon State and Mercer. I'd like to see them stay a little closer to home like Georgia Tech or TCU but they're going to be a pretty tough out wherever they go.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Dust N' Bones - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I
2. Ghost In This House - Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live [Disc 1]
3. Help Me I Am In Hell - Nine Inch Nails - Broken
4. Desperate Andy - The Cranberries - Bury The Hatchet
5. Stormy Monday - The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East

Quote of the Day

Let’s not worry about next weekend. Let’s win this damn game right now.

Paul Mainieri, LSU Tigers Head Baseball Coach

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "You can check out the full bracket below, which is our best projection of what the field could look like come Monday. The College World Series Selection show will be aired at 12:30 EST on ESPN."

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I was sad to hear about Dennis Hopper yesterday. He had an enormous body of work. There is a little something there for everyone, I suppose. I liked him in most of the movies I saw that had him in it. Like a few other excellent actors, though, I just wish he had done more movies I cared to see. His signature film, Easy Rider, seemed a bit amateurish to me when I finally saw it and I thought one of his other famous movies, Blue Velvet, was awful. He was easily the best thing in both of them so there's that. He was fantastic in Waterworld, True Romance, and Speed ... all CME that I liked. Yes, I liked Waterworld. R.I.P., Dennis.

The LSU Tigers, who stumbled played their way into the SEC Tournament on the last weekend of the regular season, have turned in three excellent games and are playing for the SEC Championship today. Because they're playing in Alabama against Alabama and because both teams have great fans, there figures to be a very large crowd. GEAUX Tigers.

I offer a few from around the house on this hot and muggy CrabAppleLane Sunday and then we're off to a barbecue.

CrabAppleLane - Sunday, May 30, 2010

CrabAppleLane - Sunday, May 30, 2010

CrabAppleLane - Sunday, May 30, 2010

CrabAppleLane - Sunday, May 30, 2010

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Hide In Your Shell - Supertramp - The Autobiography Of Supertramp
2. 20th Century Boy - Placebo - Velvet Goldmine
3. Gotta Get To Know You - Foghat - Foghat
4. Heartbreaker [Live] - Grand Funk Railroad - Caught In The Act
5. Never Before - Deep Purple - Machine Head (Roger Glover Remixes) [Disc 2]

About today's QOTD: Welcome to the NFL, rookie.

Quote of the Day

The first-round pick, Florida State cornerback Patrick Robinson, got torched on the first route he defended Thursday

James Varney, The Times-Picayune

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Dennis Hopper, whose portrayals of drug-addled, often deranged misfits in the landmark films “Easy Rider,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Blue Velvet” drew on his early out-of-control experiences as part of a new generation of Hollywood rebel, died at his home in Venice, Calif., on Saturday. He was 74."

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You know how you have a job in the yard that would take maybe 10 minutes with a handsaw but you’d rather do it in 2 minutes with the chainsaw, because, really, what’s the point of having power tools? So, 10 seconds from the finish, it stops. You know it’s the safety so you click it back in place (Or so you thought) and still nothing. You take it apart and put it back together again several times because, you know, you’re an idiot. All of that and a ton of sweat and Deadwood language later before you try clicking the handle back in place again and fixing it? Yeah, I hate it when that happens.

That out of the way, below is how I'm spending the rest of the rainy afternoon: Grilling boudin. This is a brand I had tried before but not the "Premium". You can buy it at every grocery store in town here and I have grilled boudin before but didn't think much of it grilled. i usually bake it or broil it in the oven. Of course, those other brands didn't say they were "Great off the grill". If it tastes half as good as it smells (Update: It does), I'll be done for the day.

CrabAppleLane Grilling - May 29, 2010

CrabAppleLane Grilling - May 29, 2010

This story had everyone at my workplace buzzing yesterday. Games like that one are not worthy of decent people but are even less so during this human tragedy and environmental disaster. Shame on you, BP.

5 song iTune shuffle from the Five Star Playlist that start with "C":

1. California Dreaming - Mamas and Papas - Andrea's Gift Mix
2. Communication Breakdown - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I
3. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) - Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve And Other Stories
4. The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon (Remastered)
5. Cocaine Habit - Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World

Quote of the Day

Well, I went to Mr Demon in a lope
He got a sign on the window said NO MORE DOPE
Hey hey honey take a whiff on me

Old Crow Medicine Show, Cocaine Habit

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Sometimes I forget what a beautiful part of the world I live in."

Great photos. Great name for a blog. -Rob

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The Tigers took another game in the SEC Tournament last night over yet another ranked opponent, Vanderbilt. LSU got a good outing out of their starter last night and that's going to be key for how far they go. Their pitching has been suspect and inconsistent all season. Their bats have come to life, though. They rang up 15 hits last night and 19 the night before. It's a good sign but it's still only two games. The Tigers are now a safe bet to be in the NCAA Tournament. I'm fairly sure they'll have to hit the road as a Number 2 or Number 3 seed, though.

On another note, Mike Yastrzemski, grandson of Carl, plays for Vandy. Carl is one of my all-time favorite players. Loved the way he played the wall in Fenway.

Darren Sharper of the Saints and Visanthe Shiancoe of the Vikings, a candidate for the all-name team at tight end, are tweeting trash talk at each other. Better material is available at most kindergarten schoolyards. Although this kind of silliness will have no bearing on opening night, it is fairly safe to say that both teams will be wound up pretty good by kickoff.

104 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Somebody To Roll - Nazareth - Play 'N' The Game
2. Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil - Rock: The Train Kept A Rollin' [Disc 2]
3. Shambala - Three Dog Night - The Best Of Three Dog Night
4. White, Clean and Neat - Robert Plant - Now And Zen
5. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) [Live] - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

Quote of the Day

Hello lamp post
Whatcha knowin'
I've come to watch your flowers growin'

Simon & Garfunkel, The 59th Street Bridge Song

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "And now Al’s gung-ho on organizing the closets and pantry and trying to set up systems all over the place that will help our future selves avoid getting buried under heaps of clutter and I’ll Deal With It Later boxes, so if you don’t hear from me, it is probably because I will be cleaning this fucking apartment FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE."

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Picked three cherry tomatoes yesterday. They passed under the faucet and went straight into the two salads Patsy was making last night. Three is a totally unsatisfactory serving for two people even in a full-sized salad but they were too red to save for another day. These are a variety called "Sweet 100 Hybrid Cherry Tomato". I'll look for them again next year. I've only picked a total of 4 so far but they are a perfect size and quite tasty. The bushes are ridiculous, though. I have two of them and they are a full two feet taller than the other 18. I think I'm still another 7-10 days out from picking the larger varieties.

The sleeping Tigers woke up yesterday. It remains to be seen whether they'll stay awake for long but there is enough talent and experience on the team for them to make some noise if they're so inclined. Maybe having their backs to the wall is what they needed. Or not. It may be just a one off. This is baseball we're talking about.

RIP, Art Linkletter.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Hells Bells - AC/DC - AC/DC Live
2. Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1) - Pink Floyd - The Wall [Disc 1]
3. Sugarhigh - Coyote Shivers - Shivers, Coyote
4. Winter - Joshua Radin - We Were Here
5. You Fool No One - Deep Purple - Burn

Quote of the Day

In a couple of months Art Linkletter would have been 98 years old, a full life of fun and goodness, an orphan who made it to the top. What a guy.

Phyllis Diller

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Linkletter would ask several children their thoughts on various topics; their responses were often hilariously absurd. A collection of the children’s sayings eventually became one of the best-selling books of the era."

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You can say one thing about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. When he wants something, he gets it. He wanted the overtime rule changed in the NFL. He got it. He wanted a Super Bowl in New Jersey despite requirements for 50º average temperatures that have eliminated other cities from consideration in the past. He made an exception for New Jersey and got that, too. I'm not a big fan of this idea but I suppose the NFL needs to get it out of their system. I'm kidding myself, of course. That won't happen. It will set a precedent and we'll see more games up north in the elements ... and just when Super Bowls are finally starting to get exciting. Washington, Denver, and New England all want one. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Chicago will undoubtedly not be far behind in tossing their names into the hat as well. Games played in perfect conditions are remembered for the game. Games played in horrible conditions are remembered for the horrible conditions.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Let It Rain - Eric Clapton - The Cream Of Clapton
2. No More - Neil Young - Freedom
3. So Far Away - Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
4. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
5. Fool In The Rain - Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door

Quote of the Day

People talk about the weather, but, you know, this is football, not beach volleyball.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "In the event of cold weather, the host committee will distribute hand and feet warmers, blankets and self-warming seat cushions to fans. There will be heaters throughout open concourses and fire pits in the parking lots for tailgaters."

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Via Marie.

A 9-0 decision against the National Football League? Good. The league is enjoying unprecedented popularity. It is, by far, the most powerful and profitable league in all of professional sports. Apparently, being the 900lb gorilla on the seesaw wasn't enough for them. They wanted even more leverage with the players, with the networks, with their vendors, and with fans and municipal governments. Their dream is to have ALL of their teams in brand new taxpayer-funded stadiums, ALL of their games broadcast on their own NFL Network and Pay-Per-View, and ALL players and coaches on a salary scale. Hopefully, they'll pursue that dream a little less fervently although I'm certain they won't abandon it altogether. Next, they should stop preparing for a lockout and start negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the players now. There is lots of time and the worst either side can come out of that negotiation is filthy rich. Just do it.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Stretching Out - Mark Knopfler - Wag The Dog Soundtrack
2. Sweet Lady - Queen - A Night At The Opera
3. I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King - Tapestry
4. I Can't Stand The Rain - The Commitments - The Commitments
5. Down In Mississippi - Ry Cooder - Crossroads

Quote of the Day

The opinion from the Supreme Court makes a lockout less likely but clearly does not eliminate it. The NFL has clearly been preparing for a lockout. The league hired Robert Batterman, the New York lawyer who led NHL owners through a season-long lockout in 2004-05.

ESPN.com

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "But Stevens found that the NFL contract amounts to concerted action that is subject to scrutiny under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. "To a firm making hats, the Saints and the Colts are two potentially competing suppliers of valuable trademarks," Stevens wrote. But he left open the possibility that at trial, under a rule of reason standard, the NFL could justify some finds of cooperation. "Football teams that need to cooperate are not trapped by antitrust law," Stevens wrote."

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It's probably just me but I think that British tabloid got a little too much enjoyment out of breaking that Sarah Ferguson scandal. Their copy refers to her as "Greedy Sarah Ferguson" and also includes this lovely paragraph:

Her astonishing offer will shock the Queen, the royal family and the Government, for the loose cannon Duchess's ludicrous claims that Prince Andrew - unpaid UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment - could be party to such a scam jeopardise Britain's global reputation for honesty and fair play.

I'm sure they did an undercover investigation to verify that her claims were indeed "ludicrous". Certainly, they did that. Good to know that "Britain's global reputation for honesty and fair play" is now saved. I'm relieved.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Allison Road - Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
2. Smokestack Lightning - The Yardbirds - Heart Full Of Soul And Other Hits
3. Shinin' On - Grand Funk Railroad - Caught In The Act
4. Be My Lover - Alice Cooper - Killer
5. I Think We're Alone Now - Tommy James & The Shondells - AM Gold: The '60s Generation

Quote of the Day

Along the way she also INSISTED on one per cent commission on any deals we might strike due to her royal connections, and DEMANDED we wire the main £½million backhander into her private HSBC bank account.

Mazher Mahmood, Investigations Editor, News of the World

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The style of music is a nearly indescribable mix of folk, indie rock, Appalachian jugband (not really, but that’s a vibe I’m getting on a couple of songs) and some kind of butchered bluegrass (mandolin, banjo on many tracks)."

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First things first. Only an idiot would spend over an hour in the stifling Bush heat this morning tying off tomato bushes ... and not finish. He's soaked and more than a little irritated. They reacted to the rain last week like Popeye reacts to spinach. They're starting to get bushy and also starting to outgrow their stakes. I'll be picking soon.

CAN NOT WAIT

The LSU Tigers barely made the SEC tournament this year after winning a National Championship last season. They were playing OK early in the season but they disintegrated once SEC play got underway. They lost a few important players from last year's squad but everyone thought they had enough talent and experience to make another deep postseason run. They have been a major disappointment. If they get invited to the NCAA tournament, they'll have to hit the road. I suppose anything can happen in baseball once everyone is 0-0 again but the Tigers look more like the team that will go quietly into the good night than one that will make any noise.

We know New Jersey is going to get the Super Bowl in 2014. The commissioner wants it. There are some fans who want it, too. The new home stadium of the Giants and Jets is an open air stadium. There is a potential for really bad weather for the most important game of the season. The few regular readers here know that I prefer perfect conditions. The only thing the teams should have to contend with is their opponent. I want to remember the game for the onside kick, the interception return, the touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone, the hook and trailer play, etc. I don't want to remember it for the weather. During Super Bowl week, the focus should be on football and football only. That game, in particular, should be about football and football only. This is a bad idea.

On a different note and for the record, I have nothing but contempt for Floyd Landis and anyone who gives him a microphone. He's a cheat, a liar, and a gold digger. His image and reputation cannot be restored so he is trying to take down as many people as he can with him. He's a loser. Go away, Floyd.

Inspired by the iTunes Shuffle, the incomparable Alison Krauss & Union Station. I have the DVD this performance is on. I can't recommend it highly enough. Phenomenal musicians, particularly Jerry Douglas on the dobro.

I offer three images from the CrabAppleLane Backyard on a very hot and humid Sunday in Bush, LA and I'm off for a cool shower and lunch.

CrabAppleLane Hydrangeas - May 23, 2010 - Chose this morning to explode

CrabAppleLane Tomato Garden - May 23, 2010 - Cherry tomatoes

CrabAppleLane Tomato Garden - May 23, 2010 - Starting to outgrow the stakes

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Choctaw Hayride - Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live [Disc 1]
2. Gone, Gone, Gone - Bad Company - Desolation Angels
3. Locked Within the Crystal Ball - Blackmore's Night - Secret Voyage
4. All Mixed Up - The Cars - The Cars
5. Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag

Quote of the Day

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "i became a
pro shoplifter

are
invisible."

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I admit it. I have a lifelong thing for time lapse photography. I have always loved it. Below is one of the coolest ones I have ever seen. It's called Go For Launch. Saw it at The Daily Irrelevant. It gets especially cool toward the end. Adding something really cool like a time lapse record to an already super cool event like a space shuttle launch and I have exhausted my May quota of cool. Was worth it. To me, the most amazing thing this clip records is the massive teamwork involved. GEAUX NASA.

39 steps is a famous Alfred Hitchcock movie but it could also describe this dance Brett Favre and the Vikings are doing. ALL NFL fans know the ending. He's going to play this year but both sides are going to be coy all 39 steps of the way. See you at the shootout in the SuperDome on September 9 at about 7:30, Brett. Be there. And one more thing:

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. Solitary Man - Neil Diamond - Classics: The Early Years
2. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream - The Cream Of Clapton
3. Lightning Crashes - Live - Throwing Copper
4. Romeo And Juliet - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Real Live Roadrunning
5. Welcome to the Machine - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Quote of the Day

You bought a guitar to punish your ma
You didn't like school
And you know you're nobody's fool
So welcome to the machine

Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Basically, the best-selling five hundred books each year will likely be published much like Little Brown publishes James Patterson, on a TV production model, or like Scholastic did Harry Potter and Doubleday Dan Brown, on a big Hollywood blockbuster model."

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The plan was to pick up something at Walmart and just grab a burger at the in-store McDonald's. As I was approaching the entrance, I noticed a hot dog stand outside supporting The Children's Miracle Network. They were serving a chili dog, chips, and a drink for $3. The wife will not buy red hot dogs ... ever. It offends her sensibilities. Subsequently, I don't buy them to bring home, either. However, I will eat one in a heartbeat if it's what's being served. I digress. A little red hot dog on a little bun with a small bag of chips and a 12oz canned soft drink is what I got. No surprise and it served for lunch. What did surprise, though, was the chili. This was NOT canned store-bought chili. It was homemade and it was so good that I wish I had gotten two ... or three. What a treat.

I love it when I scratch in fertilizer for the vegetable garden and it starts raining just as I'm finishing up. I could swear the bushes grew a foot overnight. They didn't, of course, but they do look great this morning. I don't use fast release chemical fertilizers or any pesticide. I lose a handful of tomatoes to critters or worms every year but I just can't bring myself to spray or dust the whole garden just to save a fraction of a total that is way more than we can eat anyway. A small rabbit that used to hang around here developed a taste for ripe tomatoes. Haven't seen him/her this year but the tomatoes aren't ripe yet. He/she was always hanging around the garden when I'd go out in the yard and I'd see nibble marks on only the ripest red tomatoes near the bottom of the bushes. Saw that on about 10 tomatoes last year and the year before. If I had a whole herd of rabbits ravishing the garden like my friend up north, I would probably deal with it. Since it's just one, Bon Appetit.

5 song iTune shuffle from the "Starting with F" playlist:

1. Friendly Advice - Tom Cochrane - Mad Mad World
2. Free Man In Paris - Joni Mitchell - Court And Spark
3. Flick Of The Wrist - Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [Bonus Track]
4. Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen - Jazz
5. Firefly Main Theme Song - Joss Whedon - Firefly

Quote of the Day

Take me out
To the black
Tell them I aint coming back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me

Sonny Rhodes, Firefly Main Theme

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Always sterilise pots and equipment that have come into contact with soil used to grow tomato plants in previous seasons – to avoid disease."

Probably not a bad idea but I've never done it. My hoe has 10 or 12 years worth of carryover. -Rob

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I find myself laughing at the Sound FX Super Bowl Episode. I have it saved on my DVR because, well, I'm just a glutton for the joy it gives me.

The Saints kick a field goal at the end of the first half.

The camera cuts to the Colts sideline and the defensive line coach talking to a trainer about Dwight Freeney: "Put him in a hot tub, re-tape him, do whatever you have to do. Offense is up first. We have lots of time."

The camera then cuts to the Saints sideline and Sean Payton: "We have to recover the onside kick, boys.".

I'm so glad both of those moments were captured.

On another football note, it's fun to see what the pundits are already saying about the upcoming NFL season. Peter King of Sports Illustrated is high on Green Bay. Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald is high on Baltimore. Both writers put the Ravens ahead of the Saints. Fair enough.

111 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Tall Cool One - Robert Plant - Now And Zen
2. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica - Black Album
3. Like Crying - Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On
4. South Side Of The Sky - Yes - Fragile
5. One Slip - Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Quote of the Day

One slip and down the hole we fall
It seems to take no time at all
A momentary lapse of reason
That binds a life for life
A small regret you won't forget
There'll be no sleep in here tonight

Pink Floyd, One Slip

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Also, for the record, I’m on-board with the Vikings desire to experiment with a kickoff specialist. After doing some offseason studies on the matter, it has the potential to be a solid weapon to have, as the Cowboys and Saints proved last year against the Vikings in the playoffs."

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My friend in The Netherlands has a whole category of entries that he puts under the heading, "If you're in marketing, kill yourself". I'm not that extreme but there are days when I'm close. Have you noticed that some popup ads get through your browser's built-in and add-on popup blockers? Have you also noticed that some ads on websites have sound and can't be closed, paused, or muted even though they have buttons that purport to do so? I guess there is no middle ground between unnoticed/ineffective and annoying/obnoxious/intrusive. I acknowledge that advertising is a necessary evil in the world but, Mr Webmaster, if you put ads on your sites that I can't turn off or ignore at my pleasure, the only way I can combat it is to move along.

A spectacular sunrise from New Zealand captured by Fi.

5 song iTune shuffle from the "Starting with N" playlist:

1. New Slang - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
2. Nothin' But Time - Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
3. Nothing Is True - Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor
4. The Needle And The Damage Done - Neil Young - Harvest
5. Nobody's Got The Gun - Mark Knopfler - Golden Heart

Quote of the Day

I know you're never ever gonna amount
To anything that people talking about
Out of your mouth
And onto your shoes

Earlimart, Nothing Is True

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Granted, she is closer to the mom (females are made up of a single blob of a dress, while males have a top and a bottom, like a shirt and shorts). Arms, apparently, are optional!"

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Who doesn't belong on this list?

A) Joe Montana and Jerry Rice
B) Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry
C) Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann
D) Tony Romo and Roy Williams

Someone thinks it's not D. He might be the only one.

Have the Darwin tryouts started already? I drove up alongside a small truck yesterday as I was heading to lunch. The traffic where we were is 45-50 mph. The guy driving the small truck was hauling lumber, 2 X 12's to be precise. He had two of them and they were stacked on top of each other. The bed of the truck was 5 or 6 feet long with the tailgate down but the 2 X 12's were 10 or 12 feet long and hanging way down over the end of the tailgate. At the other end of this shifting and sliding seesaw was a guy squatting on them like a surfer, trying to maintain his balance but it looked like he could only reach something to grab onto with one hand. His job, apparently, was to keep his weight on one end of those heavy boards to keep them from tipping out of the truck and to also keep them from sliding out of the truck. Don't know what happened. They turned. I went straight. For my money, the guy in the bed is a Darwin candidate and the guy who convinced him it was safe is salesman of the year.

Got a little of everything in Detroit for this one. Got the cops throwing flash grenades and storming a house, guns drawn, looking for a suspect. Got a reality TV crew right behind filming. Great TV, right? Not this time. It's an awful tragedy.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Marooned - Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
2. Polk Salad Annie - Tony Jo White - Download
3. Try A Little Tenderness - The Commitments - The Commitments
4. Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat
5. The Mule [Live] - Deep Purple - Made In Japan [Disc 1] [Live]

The QOTD reminds me of Billy Crystal's Fernando. "It is better to look good than to feel good."

Quote of the Day

Don't let pain stop you from helping your skin

WWLTV.com Headline

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Play around with the various styles to get the look you want. Here’s one I built for a functional spec recently."

Love the tag cloud. The rest is ridiculously beyond me. -Rob

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I'm very sorry to hear about Ronnie James Dio's passing. I was a big fan of Rainbow's early albums. When I heard Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was coming to Baton Rouge as the warmup band for REO Speedwagon, I got tickets immediately. Rainbow only had one album out at the time so I had hopes they might do some Deep Purple material. Deep Purple was my favorite band then. I had seen Purple in 1976 but Blackmore wasn't with them. He had been replaced by Tommy Bolin. FWIW, only in America would Rainbow warm up for REO Speedwagon. It would be the opposite anywhere else. It was a decent, but very short and very small, show. Their giant stage rainbow, seen here in a decent rendition of Kill The King, was not part of the show I saw. My memory of it is they played less than an hour and it was all Rainbow songs. Ritchie Blackmore is going to be the star on any stage he's on, he'll insist, but Ronnie held his own. R.I.P, Ronnie James Dio.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. I Hear Them All - Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World
2. Ride, Ride, Ride - Foghat - Rock & Roll
3. Tell Me There's A Heaven - Chris Rea - The Road To Hell
4. Something - Joe Cocker - Joe Cocker!
5. Right Next Door To Hell - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I

Quote of the Day

Something in the air
Tells me to beware, no, no, no
Her love is like a knife
She'll carve away your life, so go, go, go

Rainbow, Tarot Woman

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Blackmore had taken a liking to the band that opened for Deep Purple on their last few tours, a crew from Buffalo, NY called Elf, so he promptly took it upon himself to fire their guitarist and absorb the rest of the band as his own, including now legendary (but then unknown) vocalist Ronnie James Dio---thus, Rainbow was born. Living in the age of gay pride that we do, it’s difficult to contemplate a heavy metal band deciding to call themselves “Rainbow” (shit, even “Rainbow From HELL” for that matter), but back then it was an apt name, both due to the rocker bar in LA from which they took inspiration, but also because, in ’76, kids were still ingesting a lot of acid and seeing rainbows all over the place."

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The well overdue CrabAppleLane yardwork is done. There are tire tracks from either the tractor or the mower pretty much all over the yard. There are clumps of grass in some places, clumps of pine needles in others. Don't care. After yesterday's fiasco with the lawn and yard equipment, I'm just glad it's over. It's time to fire up the grill. Say goodnight, Gracie.

CrabAppleLane Backyard - May 16, 2010

CrabAppleLane Fig Trees - May 16, 2010

The Clearing Project Area - May 16, 2010

CrabAppleLane Backyard - May 16, 2010

CrabAppleLane Vegetable Garden - May 16, 2010

116 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. Miss Misery - Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog
2. Lunatic Fringe - Red Rider - As Far As Siam
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones) - Pink Floyd - Animals
4. Heat Of The Moment - Asia - Then & Now
5. The Saints Are Coming - Green Day & U2 - Saints-Falcons Pre-Game Show

Quote of the Day

Living like birds in the magnolia trees
Child on a rooftop
Mother on her knees
Her sign reads, "Please, I am an American"

Bono, Saints-Falcons Pre-Game Show 2006

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The writer wanted to know what sort of fish a “jack salmon” is. When I was a kid, that’s what we called a walleye. However, an internet search revealed that this name also is applied to various members of the salmon and cod families. Cod, it turns out, also are called “whitefish.” The name “whitefish” is variously applied to whiting, haddock, hake, pollock, sturgeon and ghost sharks, not to mention beluga whales. Don’t get me started on all the fish that go by the name “whiting.”"

Fishing has never been my thing but the wide variety of names various regions have for the same fish has always puzzled me. -Rob

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Very saddened to hear about former Saint Norman Hand's untimely death at 37. That is much, much too young. I remember his days with the Saints. It wasn't that long ago. I always liked him. R.I.P., Norman.

Lawn work awaits ... and awaits ... and awaits ...

Speaking of lawns, Soldier Field in Chicago is trying to decide on whether to install artificial turf. They're weighing safety and expenses mainly. Wonder who they're talking to about safety.

5 song iTune shuffle from the "Starting with R" playlist:

1. Running On Faith - Eric Clapton - Unplugged
2. The Ragpicker's Dream - Mark Knopfler - The Ragpicker's Dream
3. Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd - Pulse [Live] [Disc 2]
4. Rock Bottom - UFO - Phenomenon
5. Rock Of Ages - Def Leppard - Pyromania

Quote of the Day

And if you take your girlfriend
Out tonight
You better park the car
Well out of sight
'Cause if they catch you in the back seat
Trying to pick her locks
They're gonna send you back to mother
In a cardboard box
You better run

Pink Floyd, Run Like Hell

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "3. You’re going to forget about it in the morning: Some businesses are simply adorable. Social media for them means creating that blog or Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn account and then sitting back with a Corona (see how silly they are?) while they wait for the leads, traffic and conversations to pour in. Yeah, sadly social media doesn’t come with a side of magic beans. In order to see a return you need to track it and tend to it like any other marketing strategy. If you’re not going to take the time to create your marketing plan and dedicate real resources to it, then don’t even waste the time setting up your accounts. Go invest in something else. “Dabbling” in social media will get you “dabbling”-type of results."

True. -Rob

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A pending lawsuit against the Saints was dismissed yesterday. The case is now going to arbitration. No idea what to make of all of this any more. The plaintiff had a degree of credibility as a stand-up guy until he told the world he was willing to look the other way for the right sum of cash. The allegations are serious but the salacious stuff that the media was saying about possible felony charges was totally absurd. No one was going to throw the book at a first time offender who took a couple of pills out of dad's medicine cabinet without permission, especially if he had a medical condition and had no intention of selling them. That's basically what they had. In 118 days, no one will care.

118 days until football season ...

Doing some different things these days with the iTunes shuffle just to shake things up and because I can.

5 song iTune shuffle from the "Starting with G" playlist:

1. The Goin' On-(w Vince Gill) - Sonny Landreth - From The Reach
2. Goodbye Blue Sky - Pink Floyd - The Wall [Disc 1]
3. Great Big White World - Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
4. Gypsy - Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
5. Gone, Gone, Gone - Bad Company - Desolation Angels

Quote of the Day

Did did did did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky?

Pink Floyd, Goodbye Blue Sky

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "After what must have been a titan task of accepting and sorting thousands of submissions, uploading, checking and rechecking captions, not without some technical glitches, the Lens Blog has a very impressive portrait of the world."

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Back on May 2, I participated in a huge endeavor that The New York Times was putting together. I wasn't very happy with my effort but I'm glad I did it anyway. If they do it again and I have enough notice, I'll prepare more and better ideas. Some of the entries are breathtaking.

Sports cities, that is. According to Forbes:

1. Seattle
2. Atlanta
3. Phoenix
4. Buffalo
5. San Diego
6. Cleveland
7. Washington D.C.
8. Kansas City
9. Minneapolis-St Paul
10. Houston

I think ALL lists like this are ludicrous. I'm not sure how Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Francisco escaped this distinguished list. Would have added New Orleans but they did explain their thinking on that one. For Number 8 Kansas City, they reached back to the city losing the Athletics in 1957. Philadelphia lost them, too, lost them first, and the Royals have won a World Series in Kansas City since. One more thing ... also for what it's worth: Give me miserable fans over bandwagon fans any day and just try to limit that list of cities to 10.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. One More Tomorrow - Henry Gross - Plug Me Into Something
2. 2112 - Rush - 2112
3. Found Out About You - Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
4. All Mixed Up - The Cars - The Cars
5. Carry On - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu

Quote of the Day

There aint no doubt about it
It's hard every step of the way
But there aint no doubt without it
'Cause when you find what you need
One More Tomorrow aint gonna take that away

Henry Gross, One More Tomorrow

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Well, seeing as though I tend to find quite a few creepy-ass clowns in my daily internet trolling, I figured it only common courtesy to start an ongoing "creepy-ass vintage clown" count for Way-Out Wednesday."

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The QOTD and this entry are both inspired by today's iTunes shuffle. I find it quite amazing that a little puff, "Top 40" band like The Yardbirds was the primordial ooze from which sprang rockers Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and the monster rock band that replaced The Beatles at the top of the charts, Led Zeppelin. To be fair about the puff part, the Yardbirds were never quite as popular in America as they were in the UK, where they were seen on television all the time and were considered pioneers.

The linked YouTube video shows a very young Jeff Beck on lead guitar for one of their biggest hits. YouTube has a pretty good collection of Yardbirds videos if you want to get lost for a while and it includes a rendition of Dazed and Confused, a song Led Zeppelin later recorded and turned into a classic, although one I was never all that fond of. When it comes to early Zep, I'm more of a "How Many More Times" kind of fan. For what it's worth, Physical Graffiti and Led Zeppelin 1 are the two albums that define them for me but I don't ever need to hear Dazed and Confused or Kashmir again.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. Megalomania - Black Sabbath - Sabotage (Remaster)
2. Day Of The Eagle - Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs
3. Rock The Nation - Montrose - Montrose
4. For Your Love - The Yardbirds - Heart Full Of Soul And Other Hits
5. Warrior - Wishbone Ash - Live Dates [Disc 1]

Quote of the Day

To thrill you with delight
I'll give you diamonds bright
There'll be things that will excite
To make you dream of me at night

The Yardbirds, For Your Love

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The Yardbirds unfortunately soon disintegrated once they could no longer attain commercial success. Relf and McCarthy formed Together and then the excellent Renaissance."

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Anyone else think the Saints-Vikings rivalry is starting to shape up as a little bit tougher NFC version of Colts-Patriots? Saints fans show up on Viking sites and Viking fans show up on Saints sites. It just adds a little sizzle to the September 9 opener that already had a 72oz porterhouse's worth. The two played a brutal NFC Championship game last season and also played a highly entertaining and tough regular season game on a Monday night the year before. They'll be playing at least once in both 2010 and 2011 in the regular season. If the next two games between them are anything like the last two, buckle that chin strap. This aint no tennis match.

121 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. Clocks - Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
2. Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) - Kansas - Masque
3. Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits - Dire Straits
4. Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage - Garbage
5. Roll Tide (Includes Hymn 'Eternal Father Strong To Save') - Hans Zimmer - Crimson Tide

About the QOTD: When you cut and paste from some online publications, like The New Yorker, your clipboard also picks up a couple of lines of attribution, you know, in case you forget to do that in your usage. For instance, when I cut and pasted that one line from their piece, this little tidbit came along for the ride: "Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/05/the-ghost-of-mrs-kagan.html#ixzz0ncQvErXL". I have no objection to that practice but it seems to me they're spending a little too much time and effort on attribution and maybe not enough time on proofreading. Some little snot may attribute "discussing discussing" to them.

Quote of the Day

Mrs. Kagan was a strong-willed woman, but I don’t remember discussing discussing Roe v. Wade.

Blake Eskin, The New Yorker

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Former Gov. Roy Barnes took a break from swimming in gold coins today to release 25 years worth of income tax returns"

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12,228 was the paid attendance at the baseball game in Oakland yesterday. That sparse crowd got to witness some of baseball's magic. A's fans saw their young pitcher, Dallas Braden, pitch a perfect game. Major League Baseball schedules 162 games per year per team and has been doing so for over 100 years. It was 156 games per team for a long time and there were fewer teams early in their history but it's still a very large number of total games. It's not the rarest feat in baseball, though. You're less likely to see an unassisted triple play. There have only been 15 of those. I learned that this morning. You're also less likely to see a player hit four home runs in a game. 15 of those, also, but only two since the turn of the 20th century. In those hundred plus years and all those games, there have been 19 perfect games, 13 in my lifetime, which is disturbing to me for a number of reasons. They're all special but I think this one has a little extra oomph. Braden did it against a red hot first place team on Mother's Day with his grandmother in attendance. Perfect. Good Job, Dallas.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist today:

1. Now I'm Here - Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [Bonus Track]
2. Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On
3. Silvertown Blues - Mark Knopfler - Sailing To Philadelphia
4. Diamond Dogs - David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
5. Lick Your Fingers Clean - Jethro Tull - Aqualung

Quote of the Day

In the bullpen, I'm damn near perfect every day.

Dallas Braden, Oakland Athletics

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Big freakin’ props to Dallas Braden for pitching the 19th perfect game in MLB history and the first time in 20 years that an Oakland pitcher accomplished this feat."

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Happy Anniversary, Patsy
Love,
Rob
Hope the next 29 are as grand as the first

Happy Mother's Day, Mom
Love,
Rob

Did you see Betty White on SNL last night? WOW. Home run. Touch 'em all, Betty.

Speaking of baseball, a CrabAppleLane Tip-O-The-Cap to Jamie Moyer. Pitching a two-hit shutout against a major league baseball team at age 47 is ridiculous.

CrabAppleLane yardwork this weekend postponed due to battery failure. Bummer.

I offer three images from the backyard on this glorious Mother's Day. The first two are images of some of the CrabAppleLane mothers. Like most mothers, they really don't take a day off, either. Mother bluebird got that worm out of the pesticide-free, chemical-fertilizer-free CrabAppleLane vegetable garden. She's tending to at least two babies but it sounds like 10. The downside about the vegetable garden: Chemical fertilizers (Miracle Grow, Ortho) smell a whole lot better than the organic fertilizer I used yesterday. It's wafting a little bit this morning but it was a whole other something last night.

CrabAppleLane Bluebird - May 9, 2010

CrabAppleLane Cardinals - May 9, 2010 - Happy Mother’s Day, THS

CrabAppleLane Vegetable Garden - May 9, 2010

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. I Love You Anyway - Tanya Tucker - Soon
2. I Wish That I Could Tell You - Reba McEntire - Read My Mind
3. Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar - The Rolling Stone Women In Rock Collection [Disc 2]
4. Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar - Rock Of The 70's
5. I'm Sensitive - Jewel - Pieces Of You

Quote of the Day

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Pity the poor woman who tried to deny me a library card because I was only 4-years- old. “But she can read,” my mother insisted, making it clear that she would stand there until that magic license to borrow books was mine. Saving face, the librarian made up a new rule: If I could write my name, I could have a card. Mamma had won, as she always did, and I could now officially enter the sacred world of readers."

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Spent the better part of the morning trying to figure out why a file simply disappeared off of my website server. Everything was working fine when I went to bed. Reason number 1 of 32578947587 why computer stuff makes people crazy: Things that were working when you went to bed don't work when you wake up.

Not the only one with server troubles today. The NFL, which has considerably more resources than CrabAppleLane, is having intermittent issues with NFL.com. Links broken, files missing, etc. Their video library, in particular, is horribly unreliable. Available yesterday no problem, "Sorry, video no longer available" at 6AM this morning, available again at 6:10am this morning. I spend about $12 per month and a few hours per month on my website. Wonder how much time, energy, and money goes into theirs.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Songs for Jeffrey - Jethro Tull - Aqualung
2. Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits - Making Movies
3. Special - Garbage - Version 2.0
4. Shiny Happy People - R.E.M. - Out Of Time
5. Save Me A Place - Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

Quote of the Day

A thousand years ago, popular birth control methods in the Western world included spitting into the mouth of a frog, eating bees and wearing the testicles of a weasel. In Córdoba, Spain, which was supposed to be on the scientific cutting edge, women were told to leap up and down vigorously after sex, and then jump backward nine times.

Gail Collins, New York Times

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Hey, wait a minute! I know that the big plants go behind the little plants. Isn’t that all there is to garden design?"

What? There's more? -Rob

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If you've been watching ABC's Flash Forward, you have to think either 1) they have the most elaborate story plan in television history or 2) they didn't think they were going to have to go beyond a few episodes. After looking back at what I thought of the first episode back in September, an element Lana mentioned and that I had forgotten about, the kangaroo(s), seems to have been abandoned but who knows if they might bring it back next year? Another element I hadn't seen in a while, the blue hand groups, made a reappearance in last night's episode. The show's first episode in March after a lengthy hiatus was entirely devoted to bringing their audience back up to speed with the story. That's typically done with a short segment at the beginning of each episode. I don't really mind that they're veering away from CME into headier territory but they'd better slow down a tad. I know I'm not the only fan who is swimming just a little.

In another development, someone left a spam comment here overnight using the following email address:

no-spam@gmail.com

Is that cool or what? A spammer who doesn't like spam?

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. The British Arrival - Randy Edelman - The Last Of The Mohicans
2. One Way Out - The Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach
3. Stormbringer - Deep Purple - Stormbringer
4. Robot Man - Scorpions - In Trance
5. Delilah - The Cranberries - Bury The Hatchet

Quote of the Day

Look ... professionally, if the Bureau's violating someone's due process, that's uncool. But personally, if that woman has anything to do with the blackout, I really hope you're getting all Dick Cheney on her ass to find out what she knows.

Zoey, Flash Forward

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Demetri and Agent Banks (Alex Kingston) attempt to track down a killer as questions arise about the universe course-correcting itself, when people who thought they’d escaped their fates are found dead"

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I'm not understanding the safety precautions at work in the oil industry. I'm not understanding why a contingency for an oil leak, which is not unheard of, takes so long to implement. If your house was on fire and it took the fire department two weeks to get to you ...

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Native Stepson - Sonny Landreth - South Of I-10
2. The Glory Of Love - Bette Midler - Beaches
3. The Last Day On Earth - Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
4. Where Are You Tonight - Mark Knopfler & Dave Edmunds - The Booze Brothers By Brewers Droop
5. Wind Up - Jethro Tull - Aqualung

Quote of the Day

I'd rather look around me
Compose a better song
'Cos that's the honest measure of my worth
In your pomp and all your glory
You're a poorer man than me
As you pick the fruits of death
Borne out of fear

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The swedish magazine "Beatlesnytt" ("Beatles-news") has a tradition for making "clever" covers and the current issue is no exception, being a parody of the World Records album boxed set from the early eighties."

I just love that the Swedes have a magazine devoted to news from a band that has been gone for 38 years. WOW. Did I just really write 38? -Rob

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A "fan" ran onto the field the other night in Philadelphia during a major league baseball game. When he didn't surrender immediately, a security official tased him. There is some debate over whether the tasing constituted excessive force. Craig Calcaterra makes the case against tasing. Mike Celizic makes the case for.

I think I'm with Celizic on this one. People running onto the field or into the arena has been a longtime problem for all of professional sports. The vast majority of those incidents have been mostly harmless disruptions if you consider the delay of a game harmless but there have been others that were not so harmless, too. Both articles cite a few examples of the not harmless kind, including the Monica Seles tennis match where a "fan" got on the court and stabbed her in the neck.

Getting back to the Philadelphia incident, it's easy to say the fan meant no harm now that he's been subdued, arrested, and interviewed. Insert your favorite hindsight cliché here while I cite the new standard security concern. September 11 changed our view of hijackers. The Monica Seles incident and others like it should have changed our view of "fans" getting into the arena.

Finally, the use of a taser is not excessive force in my view but it is certainly not pleasant, either. The person who uses it knows exactly how much force it is because before you're allowed to carry one and tase others, you must first experience being tased. For the people who carry tasers, being tased is unavoidable. In the movie, Liar, Liar, Jim Carrey played an attorney who couldn't lie any more. When he was told that a client was on the phone, had been arrested yet again, and wanted to know what to do, he grabbed the phone and shouted, "STOP BREAKING THE LAW, ASSHOLE". Unsolicited, free advice from CrabAppleLane: If you'd like to avoid being tased at a sporting event, STAY OFF OF THE FIELD.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Mother's Daughter - Santana - Abraxas
2. I Love You ... I'll Kill You - Enigma - The Cross Of Changes
3. Bannister Fight - RZA - Kill Bill, Vol. 1 Soundtrack
4. Lift The Lid - Nazareth - Close Enough For Rock 'N' Roll
5. Lay Down Sally - Eric Clapton - Time Pieces - The Best Of Eric Clapton

Today's QOTD is from Ernie Harwell, longtime announcer for the Detroit Tigers, who passed yesterday. R.I.P., Ernie.

Quote of the Day

Baseball is the president tossing out the first ball of the season. And a scrubby schoolboy playing catch with his dad on a Mississippi farm. …

Ernie Harwell, January 25, 1918 — May 4, 2010

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Back 'in the day'
when I worked in restaurants,
we had a term
"in the weeds"...
which pretty much meant..
we were 'buried' with orders
and the food wasn't coming up as fast
as the customers orders were going in."

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Darren Sharper agreed to another one-year deal with the Saints yesterday. There probably was a little interest in him elsewhere but no one was going to offer him the moon. It's never a good time to be an aging free agent. I suspect 2010 will be his last year with the Saints and maybe his last year in the NFL. I'm glad to have him back but I'm probably in the minority in thinking it wouldn't have been a backbreaker to lose him. His performance really tailed off late in the year. That certainly wasn't all his fault. Late season injuries to the Saints two top cornerbacks changed his responsibilities and the team was also not rushing out to big leads late in the year like they were early in the season. When the opponent is way behind and having to pass a lot to catch up, Sharper is in his element. He is best when he can watch the quarterback, play the ball, and not have to help much in coverage or run defense. If the game is close or the Saints are behind, he can't do as much of that. All of that said, he's still the best free safety on the team and the defensive secondary, which was a serious liability from 2006-2008, is now a big time strength. Welcome back, Darren.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Moving In Stereo - The Cars - The Cars
2. Flesh For Fantasy - Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
3. Golden Years - David Bowie - Station To Station [Bonus Tracks]
4. Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty - City To City
5. Running On Empty - Jackson Browne - Running On Empty

Quote of the Day

Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on

Jackson Browne, Running On Empty

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Darren Sharper not coming to Jacksonville"

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It always rains on May 3 in Louisiana. One of the more amazing street flooding events occurred on May 3, 1978. Think we had 10 inches of rain in about 4 hours that day. The pumps and drainage canals were overwhelmed. Caused some damage to houses but a lot of damage to cars. There were a lot of cars on the road that day. A summary from a web page that had to be compiled before Hurricane Katrina:

A squall line approaches the Greater New Orleans area from the west, intersecting a stationary front that was settled over the city. The result was a morning of torrential rains in excess of 10 inches, with rates of 2 inches per hour at times. Coffins were lifted from ground level tombs, along with empty gasoline tanks at service stations in the New Orleans area. The city's population was at a virtual standstill as nearly all main arteries were flooded or inaccessible well into the evening hours.

I was home safe and sound that day but decided to go out. Forgot where I was going or why but it was dumb. I got about 7 or 8 miles away and started encountering street flooding and stalled cars. My car, 1974 Ford LTD, was making it through the flood OK but the car in front of me, behind me, and on side of me died. I couldn't go anywhere and I was in water well above my floor. Ford LTDs are NOT watertight. I pulled up out of the water on to someone's lawn and walked. Forgot how I got home but quite possibly walked the whole way. This is another event that isn't talked about much since Hurricane Katrina.

I offer another image from yesterday's assignment. I like this one better than the one I submitted but didn't use it because it doesn't look natural to me and because the other one was taken closer to the "moment in time". I don't think trails like this occur in nature on their own. That was my thinking, for what its worth. The New York Times has published a few of the images they received yesterday. They're all fantastic. Love that first one, the letter from Afghanistan.

CrabAppleLane Backyard Trail - May 2, 2010

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Mad Russian's Christmas (Instrumental) - Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve And Other Stories
2. Happy Alone - Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor
3. Dreamer Deceiver - Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
4. Hocus Pocus - Focus - Moving Waves
5. Day Of The Eagle - Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs

Quote of the Day

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the New Orleans area and the rest of southeastern Louisiana until 3 p.m. today.

Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Phoenix-based sports photographer Mark J Rebilas photographed high impact off road racing in Surprise, Arizona."

Love that first photo. Synchronized something. -Rob

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As A Moment In Time approaches, it is raining and dreary here at CrabAppleLane. I have a few ideas and am heading out the door now (9:45AM). Below is my 10AM image. I am more than a little disappointed that the rain came down relentlessly while I was outside. I'm disappointed with my choice of subject, which I put in the "Nature and the Environment" category. I had other ideas but the light was no good and my subjects were no good after being pelted with rain for 36 hours straight. I digress. I offer this one from the backyard. It's not much but it's what I have.

CrabAppleLane A Moment In Time submission - May 2, 2010, 10AM

The BOTD mentions the Top 13 Live albums. For fun, I thought I'd do mine. Here they are, in no particular order because that would require entirely too much thought. Had to leave a few off like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975-1985, Grand Funk Live Album from 1970, and probably a few others because 13 is just not enough.

1. Deep Purple - Made in Japan - 1972
2. Wishbone Ash - Live Dates - 1973
3. Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound Of Thunder
4. Dire Straits - Alchemy
5. Dire Straits - On The Night
6. Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live
7. Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won
8. Foghat Live - 1977
9. UFO - Strangers In The Night
10. Grand Funk Railroad - Caught In The Act
11. Three Dog Night - Captured Live At The Forum
12. Rush - All The World's A Stage
13. Uriah Heep Live - 1973

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Fall Down - Toad the Wet Sprocket - Dulcinea
2. Allison Road - Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
3. Selling the Drama - Live - Throwing Copper
4. Like The Weather - 10,000 Maniacs - MTV Unplugged
5. Good - Better Than Ezra - Deluxe

Quote of the Day

There's indecision when you know you ain't got nothing left

Toad The Wet Sprocket, Fall Down

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The folks at The Top 13 posted a list this week of their picks for the top 13 "essential live albums." Being a list lover, The Top 13 website has become a recent favorite of mine, even though the thought of assembling my own personal top 13 list of essential live albums sends my head spinning. Where to begin?"

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The Kentucky Derby is this afternoon. Says here Sidney's Candy will take it from the outside pole. Bet any house you have to lose.

Patsy and I will be participating in tomorrow's "Moment in Time" project being done by The New York Times Lens Blog. I encourage everyone who reads this to participate. Whatever Patsy and I submit will be posted here and FlickR, too. I'm very curious to see how they will be used and where they'll fit in the mosaic. She and I will talk later today about what subjects we'll try to capture. I'm looking forward to this. The moment is 10AM in New Orleans. Consult the converter if you're not sure what your local time is. Join in and also ponder how 10AM in New Orleans is 8:45PM in Kathmandu.

From Lens:

Where will you be on Sunday, May 2, at 15: 00 hours (U.T.C.) ? Wherever you are, we hope you’ll have a camera — or a camera phone — in hand. And we hope you’ll be taking a picture to send to Lens that will capture this singular instant in whatever way you think would add to a marvelous global mosaic; a Web-built image of one moment in time across the world.

Submission form for A Moment In Time

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin - Presence
2. Eclipse - Pink Floyd - Pulse [Live] [Disc 2]
3. Eruption - Van Halen - Van Halen
4. War Pigs - Black Sabbath - Paranoid
5. Back In The Saddle - Aerosmith - Rocks

Quote of the Day

Journalists are often at their worst when trying to predict the future. But it seems safe to say that many hundreds — if not thousands — of shutters will be released simultaneously on Sunday, May 2, as photographers around the world help Lens create “A Moment in Time”; one single moment in the life of the planet.

David W. Dunlap, New York Tines Lens Blog

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Pictures of the Day: Oil Spill in the Gulf, and Elsewhere"

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