Fast Five Friday: Music That Tells a Story

The Rileys are back in Tucson after another great July in the Midwest. Meg and the girls flew home, but I drove with my father-in-law and the dog. On the last leg of the trip, I put on one of my favorite records (is this word outdated in our digital times?), Hollywood Town Hall by The Jayhawks. Memories drifted in and out, mostly the Minneapolis days and other road trips, and all felt right with the world. There's something about listening to great music on the road. It clears out all the clutter and frees my mind to wander. Even though it was only a couple days ago now, this latest communion with The Jayhawks already has a nostalgic feel to it.

A great record is like a book. Each song is a chapter, building on the one before it, all of them coming together to tell a story. Hollywood Town Hall is a Minnesota story for me, and I love every song. You can't say that about many records, and it got me thinking about other records that create a story for me.

In the order I discovered them, here are 5 records with great songs from top to bottom, great individual songs working together to create a story.

5) Born in the USA, Bruce: Springsteen is a master storyteller, and this is his best story. It's the story of looking back and finding the meaning in your life. I didn't really understand that when I was young, but when I listen now, I hear a story of reflection with an eye to the future.

4) Joshua Tree, U2: This record spawned a number of hits, but the songs that weren't radio hits are just as good. When I listen to Joshua Tree, I hear the story of my transition from high school to college, a time in my life when this record was perpetually playing in my head.

3) Nevermind, Nirvana: In a lot of ways, Nevermind tells the same story as Joshua Tree. I graduated from college in '91, and this record feels like a chronicle of that time, another time of great transition. Nevermind was a snarling record, a call to make the transition to adulthood on your own terms, regardless of what others might say. 

2) Hollywood Town Hall, The Jayhawks: My first night in Minneapolis, I walked up to the Uptown Bar and Grill to listen to some music. I'd never heard of The Jayhawks, but I fell in love straightaway, and this record is the story of my years in Minneapolis, a time when I became a teacher, met my wife, bought a home.

1) Day and Age, the killers: Hailing from Las Vegas, the killers know a thing or two about the desert. The desert is an unforgiving place, but it is also a place of unrivaled beauty. Day and Age is a story about seeing beauty all around me, the beauty of creating a family in a troubled world.


I hope I'm not the only one who hears stories in his favorite music. What are some other records that tell great stories?

   

Leonard Smalls & Anton Chigurh Redux

I'm going to be on the road for the next few days, but I'm trying to stick to a Tuesday/Friday blogging schedule. It's hard to come up with something original at the La Quinta in North Platte, Nebraska, so I'm going to the recycling bin.

Today's post ran last August. I didn't have a lot of readers last summer, so I'm thinking this will be new for most people. According to Blogger stats, this post has more page views than any post in life of riles history. Only two people left comments, so apparently there are a lot of people out there searching for images of either Leonard Smalls or Anton Chigurh. Who knew. Please feel free to weigh in on my amateur film analysis. 

I'm a huge Coen brothers fan. The Big Lebowski is my all-time favorite movie, but that's not what I want to write about. I recently watched Raising Arizona again, and I couldn't help noticing some striking similarities to another Coen film: No Country for Old Men.

If you've seen both of these films, the comparison may seem like a stretch, but I've been thinking about this a lot the past couple weeks (just ask my wife), and not only do I think the films are eerily similar, I think a case can be made that they are essentially the same movie. For the record, I don't consider that a bad thing. In fact, I think it's genius.

Both films have the same basic premise.  The protagonist takes something that doesn't belong to him, and then is relentlessly pursued by a demonic antagonist.  The Coens deftly use both Leonard Smalls and Anton Chigurh as symbols.

You don't have to be a film expert to realize these two characters represent pure evil.  On a deeper level, the Coens use the bounty hunter and the hitman to symbolize the evil of the times, which happens to be the 80s in both films, catching up with America.  Or something like that.  The Coens do love their symbolism.  I'm certainly open to other interpretations.

There are other, smaller similarities as well.  Both movies are set in the desert Southwest.  Both films have friendly police officers, and finally, both movies feature lengthy scenes with dogs chasing the protagonist.  There are more, but you get the point.

Now, having tried to make the case that Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men are basically the same movie, I want to give the Coens their due.  These cats are auteurs, so I'm pretty sure they did it on purpose.  Even though the films are quite similar, the tone is completely different.  Raising Arizona was made pre 9/11, and the movie is essentially a comedy.  NCFOM was made post 9/11, and it is most definitely not a comedy, unless you tend to the very dark.  I have a feeling the Coens made the same movie to illustrate how different our world has become.

Of course, this could all be complete nonsense.  I can't help myself.  I watched a lot of Siskel and Ebert growing up.

Fast Five Friday: Sad Movies

Thanks again to Squilla's Aunt for guest posting on Tuesday. Her post got me thinking about some of my favorite moments in movies, those moments that make me feel.....something. Judging by the comments left for Squilla, a lot of those movie moments make us sad.

Then on Wednesday, I saw something on Twitter about the saddest movie of all time. Apparently there has been actual research conducted to determine the saddest scene in film history, and that scene is the ending of Franco Zeffirelli's The Champ. Embedding was disabled, but here's the link if you want to check it out.

Sometimes a sad movie is just what we need, a form of catharsis if you will. There are a lot of great sad movies, but these are my top five.

5) Marley and Me: I had no intention of ever watching this movie, but Meg and I came across it on cable one night. It was one of those nights when we couldn't find anything else, so we settled. I'm glad we did. This is one of those movies that took me by complete surprise. I've lived with dogs most of my life, and this movie reminded me that dogs truly are members of the family.

4) Ordinary People: This is a devastating movie. Timothy Hutton was perfect, but OP was really the Mary Tyler Moore Show (sorry, couldn't help myself). Maybe the best performance by an actress of all-time.

3) Up: I know this is an animated movie, but I wouldn't call it a kids' movie. This is filmmaking at its finest. There are two scenes in Up that get me every time: the married life montage in the beginning and the scene near the end when Carl is flipping through Ellie's adventure book. Simply beautiful.

2) Mask: We all knew how this one was going to end, but it was inspiring to see how Rocky Dennis made the most of his life.

1) Life is Beautiful: There are many great films about World War II and the Holocaust in particular, but this is my favorite. Roberto Benigni is brilliant as the father who convinces his son they are playing a game while being held prisoner in a concentration camp. This movie proves that there are few things more beautiful than a parent's love for their child.

Man, I get verklempt just thinking about these movies. Let me know what you think about my choices, and I hope you share some of your favorite sad movies as well.

Harry Potter and Movie Moments

Earlier this summer I put out a request for guest bloggers, and three kind souls answered the call. If you haven't read the two previous guest posts from David and Munk, they are definitely worth a look. Today's guest is known on the blog as Squilla's Aunt. She doesn't have her own blog, so she is really putting herself out there with this post. Let's give her some love in the comments.

I went to see Harry Potter 7, Part 2 opening weekend. I read all the books, saw all the movies, and was really anticipating this one. So much so, in fact, that I brought a pack of Kleenexes. The book gets me every time, in two specific places (and these shouldn’t be spoilers to anyone, should they? Consider yourself duly warned, if you haven’t finished reading Book 7: SPOILERS AHEAD, for the book and the movie.): first, when Harry is walking to meet Voldemort in the forest, and his parents and Sirius appear to him. Second, when Book 7 ends, with Harry as an adult, waving at his kids on the Hogwarts train.

The forest scene was so unexpected for me and was so touching – the parents coming to support their son, to give him courage when he needed it most. Isn’t that what we all want at the end? The knowledge that we are loved and not alone?

And then there’s the train station scene. It was the end of all of it, the final goodbye, and a wave of grief just rose up in me reading through it. When the last words were read, it couldn’t be undone. All those of you who have loved a book, loved a character, loved the world that was created within the book – you know what I’m talking about.

So back to the Kleenexes. I was prepared for those two scenes – prepared for them to move me to tears, to see and feel them in all their visual glory on the big screen. But one of the things I love most about books and movies is when out of nowhere, there’s a moment, and it just ambushes you.

For me, watching the movie, the moment was when the professors began to use all their experience, knowledge and strength to cast a protective web around Hogwarts. There was something so powerful about it – when those who had bided their time under evil began to step out and fight. And then the students joined in, taking up their own wands and standing side-by-side with their elders, as full partners in the fight.

Doesn’t sound like much, I know. I’m not going to be able to describe what it did in me or do it justice. I don’t even expect that it will be “the moment” for anyone else. But for me, that was when the Kleenexes came out, that’s when it all came alive for me, that’s what will stick.

What was one of your ‘moments’? What book, what film, had a moment that ambushed you, that sticks with you even now?

Fast Five Friday: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet

When I first heard about Twitter, it just sounded like a bunch of people sharing way too much information. I doubted any meaningful communication could happen in 140 characters or less.

I started an account just to see what it was all about, but my account sat idle for months. Things changed last summer when a friend of mine told me I should be using Twitter to promote the blog. For the last year or so, I’ve been Tweeting when I have a new post on the blog, and I can see on Blogger stats that quite a few people link to the blog from Twitter.

Along the way, I’ve been Tweeting more frequently, just random things about reading, sports, music, whatnot. My new phone has a Twitter app, and I have to admit, I dig it.

There’s a lot of crap on Twitter to be sure, but that’s life isn’t it. We learn how to filter out the crap and focus on what we like. Turns out, there’s a lot I like on Twitter. If you do Twitter, here are 5 Voices From the Stream worth following.

5) Walter Kirn/@walterkirn: If you like your social media with a dose of skepticism, Kirn is your man. Walter’s tweets (and his blog) are often glorious rants. He is concerned about the evils of social media even as he proves himself to be a master of using it.

4) Ayelet Waldman/@ayeletw: Waldman is a writer and a serial tweeter. She might fall into the category of TMI for some people, and her politics are way to the left, but I find her funny and insightful. Her tweets often contain links to interesting articles.

3) Peter King/@SI_PeterKing: This is my sports fix. King reports on the NFL, but he comments on all sports like an average fan. He responds to questions and comments from followers.

2) Katie Rosman/@katierosman: I have a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon type connection to Rosman, but I think I’d follow her anyway. She writes a lifestyle column for the Wall Street Journal and her tweets are frequent and funny.

1) Roger Ebert/@ebertchicago: I grew up watching Siskel and Ebert, and I’ve always respected Ebert’s opinion when it comes to movies. He’s much more than a movie critic on Twitter; his thoughts cover a wide range of topics. Ebert may tweet more than anyone on the planet.

I’ve connected with a few people from the blog on Twitter, and if you’re interested, my Twitter handle is @triles.

Have you embraced Twitter or do you detest it with all your heart? If you know of some cool Tweeters to follow, feel free to mention them in the comments.

The Beginning of the End?

I’m sure most of you have heard that Borders is going out of business. The news broke Monday afternoon, and it got me thinking about the future of books. My last post highlighted five great independent bookstores, and a number of people added their favorites in the comments (thank you very much by the way). I know there are a lot of great bookstores still out there, but I can’t help wondering if the fall of Borders is the beginning of the end for brick and mortar bookstores.

For the record, I’ve bought a lot of books at Borders over the years. My daughters love the place. Going to Borders was one of those things we did together, and those are memories I’ll always cherish. I know I just wrote about my love of independent bookstores and all, but I have to admit, I’m going to miss Borders.

Borders isn’t the first casualty of the digital revolution, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Barnes and Noble may stick around for a while, but eventually it too will be steamrolled by the ebook. My guess is that some of the independents will survive for people who still want to read books the old-fashioned way.

As much as I love a great bookstore, I wonder if I’ll be one of those people. The thing is, I think I might be falling in love with ebooks. I got this fancy new smart phone this summer, and it came with an Amazon Kindle app. I got an Amazon gift card for my birthday, and I bought a couple books, just to check out what all the fuss is about. I recently finished reading the first one, and I have to say, it was an enjoyable reading experience.

So while it’s sad to think that Borders is just the beginning of the end for brick and mortar bookstores, I can’t deny the appeal of ebooks. I will continue to buy physical books, supporting independent bookstores as long as they’re around. I will also continue to buy more digital books, embracing the future despite longing for the past.

Have you embraced ebooks, or are you deadest against them? Do you think bookstores can stay viable in a digital world?

Fast Five Friday: Independent Spirit

One of the highlights of our summer trip is going to the bookstore in Copper Harbor, Michigan. The store is called Grandpa’s Barn, but it’s really more of a quaint little log cabin. The woman who operates the store does a great job of selecting books. We spend a lot of time in bookstores throughout the year, but without fail, we find hidden gems at Grandpa’s Barn. We never leave without making a dent in the inventory, doing our best to help the store’s bottom line.

Driving back from Grandpa’s Barn the other day, I got to thinking about independent bookstores. There’s a lot of talk in our digital times about the demise of bookstores, but I have to believe there will always be a place for well-run independents. Here are five great independent bookstores that I hope are around for a very long time.

5) Antigone – Tucson, AZ: This store is located on 4th Avenue in the heart of the University of Arizona campus. I don’t get down there as much as I should, but every time I do, I find great books. My wife once showed up to a Barbara Kingsolver reading so early she was afraid the store’s employees might think she was stalking Kingsolver.

4) Powell’s Books – Portland, OR: I’ve been to Portland twice in my life, which means I’ve been to Powell’s twice in my life. Powell’s is huge, occupying an entire city block in downtown Portland. Without the benefit of any data, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Powell’s is the most successful independent bookstore in the country. If it’s not, I’d like to see the independent bookstore that’s doing better.

3) The Wild Rumpus – Minneapolis, MN: You have to love a place that takes its name from Where the Wild Things Are. The Wild Rumpus is a children’s bookstore, complete with all kinds of animals running around and on display. The store has an iconic entrance, a door within a door for the kiddos.

2) Grandpa’s Barn - Copper Harbor, MI: A Keweenaw Peninsula treasure.

1) Singing Wind Bookshop – Benson, AZ: This one is WAY off the beaten path. Benson is about 30 miles east of Tucson, and Singing Wind is located on the outskirts, down a long private dirt road. When you get to the end of the road, you’ll find a fully functional cattle ranch. The bookstore itself is a series of rooms in Winn Bundy's home, and she will gladly show you around. Winn specializes in all things Southwestern, but her interests are diverse, and you’re sure to find a book you need to have. Singing Wind has been written up in the New York Times, and people from all over the world have purchased books at this truly unique place.

The independent spirit is still alive and kicking at these amazing bookstores. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, make sure you stop in and spend a little money. You’ll be richer for the experience.

If you know of any other great independent bookstores, be sure to tell us about them in the comments.

You Gotta Have GUTS!

The Rileys attended the 54th Annual International GUTS Frisbee Tournament this past weekend in Calumet, Michigan. I’ll do my best to describe the action, but if you really want to know more about GUTS Frisbee, give it a Google.

GUTS (not an acronym-the caps are simply a sign of respect) is a team game. There are 5 players on a team (2 subs rotate in). Each team stands in a straight line, an arm’s length apart. 15 yards separate the teams, and a point is scored if the Frisbee makes it through the opposing team’s defenses. 15 yards isn’t that far, and let me tell ya, a well-thrown Frisbee is seriously moving. Defenders can only use one hand to grab the Frisbee, thus blocking the other team from scoring. If you’ve got some serious hand-eye coordination, you can snatch the Frisbee out of mid-air, but a lot of the time, someone simply bats the Frisbee in the air, hoping someone else on the team will then be able to grab it. It’s not uncommon for the Frisbee to be batted around numerous times until it’s tame enough to be firmly grasped. There’s more to it of course, but that’s the general idea: people throwing Frisbees at each other-really hard.

Apparently the game has become quite big in Japan, and two of the top Japanese teams played in this year’s tournament. One of the Japanese teams was selling their club Frisbee to raise money for tsunami relief back home. We bought one and all the members of the team signed it for us. The only female competitor was one of the Japanese players, and she kindly took a few pictures with the kids.

Back in the 60s, my father-in-law and a bunch of his buddies in Michigan’s UP created GUTS. In fact, we found out that he’s in the USGPA GUTS Frisbee Hall of Fame for his role in the birth of the game. He’ll tell you the game is a lot different now, but then again, aren’t they all. GUTS is a niche sport, to say the least, but more than 50 years later, they’re still throwing Frisbees at each other in the UP and beyond.

Fast Five Friday: Munk Style

I am pleased to introduce today's guest blogger, Munk Davis. I can't remember when I first came across Munk's blog, but I knew right away he was an original, a blogging maverick if you will. If you aren't following Munk already, check him out and become a follower today. Without further ado, here's the man himself.

Hi y’all,

My name is Munk and I am guest posting for Tim this week. Buckle up; you may be in for a bumpy ride.

I often find documentaries more entertaining than feature films. They make me uncomfortable, they inspire me, and they make me think. Rather than listing just five, I’m breaking the rules and shot-gunning as many favorites as I can think of. If you are not a regular doc-watcher and don’t know where to start, have no fear, I will **star** a few that I think exemplify the art.

**Surfwise (2007): The story of the surfing Paskowitzs’ and their alternative lifestyle deserves every inch of its R-rating and all of your attention. I once described it as 45-minutes of “Why can’t I just quit my job and live like that?” and 45-minutes of “holy-s—t, that’s why.”

**The Times of Harvey Milk (1984): The story of Harvey Milk told through interviews and images of the day. I found it more affecting than “Milk”. I first saw this film in 1985 and the river of candles, near the end of the film, still chokes me up today.

**Tyson (2008): Love him or hate him, this bio-doc will help you understand him. A truly sensational work of editing proves the man’s dominance in the ring, both psychologically and physically.

**The Fog of War (2005): A riveting view through the unblinking eyes of Robert McNamara. He is aging; he is brilliant, at times he is detached and scary, as one of the “Harvard whiz-kids” he was hired by Kennedy as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. He was good at his job.

**Exit through the Gift Shop (2010): Take a spin through the world of guerrilla street art and hypocrisy. One hour of, “hey that’s cool,” and 30-minutes of, “You have got to be f’ing kidding me!” Banksy’s comments are brilliant.

*My Architect (2003): A brilliant expose on Louis Kahn and his architecture. You will come away enlightened.

Visual Acoustics: the Modernism of Julian Shulman (2008): If you enjoy the modern architecture movement of the late 50’s and 60’s you must love Julian Shulman.

*Dust to Glory (2005) and Step into Liquid (2003): Two very fun, high-action documentaries that even the kids might like (but you’ll want to check the language ratings). Dana Brown wrote and directed both (Dana is the son of Bruce Brown, the documentarian famous for On any Sunday and The Endless Summer… ). These are sports movies for the casual fan.

It Might Get Loud (2008): What happens when you put Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge in a London warehouse with amplifiers and axes? It might get loud… a pure joy to watch.

Food Inc. (2008): Michael Pollan in your living room.

King Corn (2007): Inspiration for my book.

Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon (2006): A story about my little town, the logging industry, talking to God, and the cost of higher education (this one might be tough for you to find, but worth it).

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010): Three nerdy Canucks, a whole lot of music, and one great movie.

Man on Wire (2008): Phillippe Petit strings tight ropes between really high things and then walks across them. This movie made the backs of my knees tingle. Come down from there you idiot, before somebody gets hurt.

*The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002): The story of Paramount’s legendary producer Robert Evans. This very engaging bio-doc was one of the first to manipulate still pictures to create visual depth.

*No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005): Just when you thought you couldn't like Bob Dylan more.

Honorable mentions: Spellbound, Mad Hot Ballroom, Word Wars, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Super Size Me, Little Dieter needs to Fly, Jesus Camp, The Civil War, and Baseball.

Do you have any favorites?

Guest Post: A Brit at life of riles

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. Last week I put out an open call for guest bloggers, and I'll be running posts from the kind souls who took me up on the offer the next couple of weeks. There's still time to get in on the guest posting thing if you're interested, so don't be shy.


My first guest is David Macaulay from Brits in the USA. David is one of the first bloggers I followed way back when I started hanging out in BlogWorld. His writing is funny, insightful, and quite often poetic. If you aren't following David, stop by his blog and become a follower as soon as possible. David sent along something that he had previously posted that fits nicely with my last Fast Five about moments from the road. Feel free to leave David a comment and maybe share some of the quirky places you've come across in your travels.


I always love to find a naff tourist attraction so imagine my joy on the way to Williamsburg today when I took a wrong turn and found Presidents Park.

The site of a collection of gigantic white heads in a wooded glade was enough for me to cut across a few lanes of traffic clutching my camera, almost causing a six vehicle pile up.

Presidents Park closed down last September when it ran out of money. I assumed it had been there for decades but apparently it only opened up as a tourist attraction in 2006.

In presidential terms it would be William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States who decided not to wear a coat or hat when he took the oath of office on a rainy day and made a two hour speech. A month later he died of pneumonia.

On a sunny March day the heads were quietly gathering mold and bird droppings in silence while the fence around them was steadily rusting away. Nobody cared about these big old presidents gathered in beffudlement under the trees. I was amazed by the size of the busts but less so by their craftsmanship.

As one reader rather drily described Presidents Park beneath an article describing its demise it was like "Easter Island for the lame."

Apparently there are 43 giant busts in the park and that of the 44th president lies unfinished in a workshop somewhere.

Owners of the park said failure to secure the 44th bust was a tipping point, and the Obama statue, would have been a huge boon to the business, possibly even saving the park.

Oh really. It's not as if Barack Obama is ever on TV is it?

The mind boggles about what the park's owners are going to do with these giant busts. It's not your average member of the public who will say: "Forget the garden gnome Mavis. Let's get a 20 foot high bust of James Polk for the rockery."

Ever since the Griswalds went on the hunt for the world's largest ball of string, I've been somewhat fascinated by America's strangest and naffest tourist attractions, not to the point of obsessing at 4 a.m. or anything.

The string ball was fiction but apparently the world's largest twine ball can be seen in Darwin, Minnesota. When in Minnesota and all that, I guess.

More correctly it's known as the "World's Largest Twine Ball Rolled By One Man" because a rival twine ball in Cawker City, Kansas, is regularly added-to by visitors and townspeople. Darwin feels that this is cheating.

Someone should perhaps have told twine man to get a life. But obviously he didn't. Apparently the creator died of emphysema, and the townsfolk figured 30 years of exposure to twine dust, did for him.

Other gems are contained in a website of the worst tourist attractions in America. They include Seattle's wall of brightly colored chewing gum, the world's largest ball of paint (sadly the world's largest hairball disintegrated, after choking a few dozen cats), The Barbed Wire Museum in Texas, The National Museum of Funeral History (another naff Texas museum), and South Dakota's Corn Palace which looks like a mosque but is a veritable shrine to corn.

You have to be a special kind of person to want to visit these places, either that or you have to live in somewhere like South Dakota.

All of which makes those busts of presidents or the tedious model villages I used to be dragged around back in England as a kid, suddenly seem like a great day out.

Fast Five Friday: On the Road

I was on the road most of this week with my father-in-law and my dog. We left Tucson Monday morning and pulled into Minneapolis Thursday afternoon. There are certain things that stood out, fresh memories to add to the slide show in my mind, one big road trip continually building on itself.

Here are my top five memories from my week on the road:

5) Mexican Hat: This is a little town in Utah, one of those blink and you miss it kind of places. The town is named after a rock formation that does indeed bare a strong resemblance to a sombrero.

4) Cornfields in Iowa: Maybe it’s my Midwestern upbringing, but there’s just something about the sight of cornfields stretching to the horizon that stirs my soul.

3) Elk: We saw a number of elk while driving through the Rockies, but the highlight was a mother and her calf that we saw while visiting my father-in-law’s friends in Estes Park.

2) Snow in June:  There was quite a bit of snow in the upper elevations of the Rockies. The girls had given me strict orders to take a picture of the dog in snow, and thankfully, mission accomplished.

1) Grass:  This one took me by surprise. I was walking the dog at a rest stop in Iowa. As I walked through the grass in my sandals, I could feel the dew on my feet. The sensation triggered memories of early mornings from my youth, the promise of good things to come.

What are some of your favorite memories from recent travels?  

Open Call

I'm hopping in the car with my father-in-law and my dog tomorrow morning to begin the trek north. We'll be in Minneapolis by Thursday night. We're in Minny Friday, and then it's back in the car Saturday, destination Eagle Harbor, Michigan. We spend most of July in the Upper Peninsula, and wifi is hard to come by, so my posts will be sporadic at best for a while.

I've seen other blogs do the guest post thing, and if anyone is interested, that would be cool. I'd love to have some guest posts for the next few weeks. I'm open to just about anything. Maybe you have an old post you want to recycle, maybe you have a great top five list for a Fast Five Friday, maybe you have some new material you want to try out. I'm open. If you're interested, I think you can just send me a post in email and I'll take care of the rest on my end. I probably won't get to any posts until this Friday at the earliest. If I have any takers, I'll try to schedule the posts before leaving Minneapolis to run while I'm off the grid.

Fast Five Friday: Teardrops On The City Edition

The music world suffered a great loss last week. Clarence Clemons, the sax player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, passed away at the age of 69.

The Boss and The Big Man, a musical combination like no other. It's hard to explain how much I love the E Street Band. Born in the USA was the first gift I ever bought for my dad with my own money. He wasn't a huge fan, but I'd heard him say he liked Springsteen, so I was excited that we might finally have some music in common. I remember driving around Green Bay late at night with my friend Mike, driving our own Backstreets, listening to Springsteen on his boom box. I finally got to see Bruce and Clarence on their last tour. I've seen a lot of great shows in my time, but let me tell ya, the old guys put on the best show I've ever seen. I play a lot of Springsteen for my girls. It's important to me that they know the music. They may never love it like their old man does, but I want them to know it and appreciate it.

Clarence was a huge part of the E Street sound, the underlying pulse of the music, his solos turning good songs into great ones and great songs into classics. I've been listening to a lot of E Street this week, and here are the five songs where Clarence was at his very best. 

5) Secret Garden:  This song was featured in Jerry Maguire, one of my favorite movies. It's a mellow song, and Clarence brings it home in style.

4) Thunder Road: This is classic E Street. Clarence takes center stage around the 4 minute mark.

3) Bobby Jean: This is one of my favorite songs on Born in the USA. The Big Man's solo near the end perfectly captures the melancholy of this song.



2) Born to Run: Probably the most beloved Springsteen song, and with good reason. I love this video. The crowd in Barcelona is so passionate. That's what I remember about the show I saw, the passion of the crowd, people singing the whole time.



1) Jungleland: This may be the best sax solo in rock n' roll history. It's a long song, with Clarence coming in around the 4 minute mark. The solo itself is quite long, about 3 minutes, and it gets me every time.



If you're an E Street fan, feel free to share some other favorites in the comments. RIP Big Man.

Favorite Book Challenge Blogfest

I'd forgotten that I signed up for this Blogfest a while back. Time to make good.

This Blogfest is the brainchild of Teralyn Rose Pilgrim. For a full list of all the participants, check out her blog, A Writer's Journey. Here's the skinny:

*Pick your top five favorite books
*Between Jun 20 and 22, write one line of what each book is about and then write one line of why you liked it. Think of it like a twitter pitch for other people’s work. Semi-colons are cheating, but you can use them anyway.
*Go to other blogs and discuss the books.
*If you do not keep a blog, put your challenge in the comments on the day of the event.

I'm always game for a top five list. If you're a new reader, come back and check out my Fast Five Fridays. The Twitter pitch idea caught my attention, so let me see if I can pull that off.

5) Geek Love, Katherine Dunn: The owners of a traveling circus alter the genes of their children, breeding the ultimate money-making freak show.

The premise is outrageous on the surface, but it is spot-on satire if you look a little deeper.

4) The Book Thief, Markus Zusak: A young girl learns the power of the written word in Nazi Germany.

Zusak's language is unique and frequently profound, and the story is disarmingly beautiful.

3) The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger: Teen angst at it's very best.

There's nothing phony about Holden Caulfield.

2) The Road, Cormac McCarthy: A father and son struggle to survive a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Parents guide their kids down the road, but one day they must walk alone.

1) To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee: A young girl comes of age in the Depression-era South.

Scout and Atticus are two of the most memorable characters in literature.

You don't have to do a full five, but how about a Twitter synopsis for at least one of your favorites, and another Tweet explaining what you love about it.

Life's Rich Pageant

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. If you're a Dad and you love the E Street Band, make sure you play some for your kids today. RIP Big Man.

This is the first Father's Day without my dad. I know it's trite to say things are bittersweet, but man, that word just works, why resist using it. Today is a bittersweet day. I love celebrating Father's Day with my girls, but it's hard not to miss my dad. Sorry for being so personal, but the blog is that kind of outlet for me. I want to share a story about my dad, a story that I shared at his memorial service in January.

My dad wasn't a big talker, but he taught me a lot of things through example. One of the best lessons my dad ever taught me was on the golf course, and I think it's a perfect example of what a great Father he was.

My dad was in a league one year, I think I was 11 or 12. One of his teammates couldn't make it, so my dad asked me if I wanted to fill in. I wasn't sure at first, but my dad assured me my game was up to it. My dad knew my game well, so I agreed. I even started to think I might actually be an upgrade for his team.

Golf is a uniquely humbling endeavor, and to say I didn't play well that day would be an understatement. It was bad from the get-go, one terrible shot after another. It was like I'd never picked up a club in my life. With each shot I became more and more frustrated. I was really holding things up, and I kept expecting my dad to tell me to pick up my ball, put me out of my misery. Instead he encouraged me through every shot. There was no talk of quitting, only of moving forward and doing my best on each and every shot. When it was finally over I'd shot a 99 - for nine holes. I felt like I'd let my dad down, but he told me everybody has bad days, you have to leave this one behind and do better the next time. It's one small moment, one shared over hot dogs in the clubhouse, but that lesson stuck with me, and not just on the golf course.

There were a lot of little moments like this with my dad: sitting in boats waiting for fish to bite, standing around tee boxes and greens, during commercials while we watched football. You had to be on your toes with my dad, you never knew when he might slip in some wisdom. You put all these little moments together and my dad taught me how to be a man. His memory will help me be the best man I can be.


I miss you Dad. Happy Father's Day.

Fast Five Friday

This week's Fast Five was inspired by LeBron James. I thoroughly enjoyed watching LeBron and the Miami Heat lose in the NBA Finals. As if that wasn't fun enough, LeBron proceeded to put his foot in his mouth in the post game press conference, reminding all the haters that their lives are still pathetic and his life is still outrageously awesome. I consider myself one of those haters, and while LeBron almost certainly has a point, I loved being a hater this year. In fact, I loved it so much, I'm going to keep right on hating LeBron and the Heat next year.

LeBron got me thinking. He's not the only famous person I love to hate. Before I continue, please let me explain. Hate is a strong word. I don't really hate anyone. When I say I hate someone, what I mean is that I really, really, really, really, really don't like them. Now that we have that out of the way, let me present five people who I love to hate.

5) LeBron James: You have to have villains in sports, and LeBron is a great one. The only problem is, LeBron thinks he's a hero. The guy doesn't understand his role. Who knows, if LeBron accepts being the villain, I may actually start liking the guy.

4) Donald Trump: I'm not going to lie. I watched the first couple seasons of The Apprentice. I found Trump's schtick mildly amusing, the whole "You're fired" thing. I grew tired of the constant self-promotion, and now I can't stand the guy. He took things to another level with all that birther nonsense.

3) Snooki: As far as I can tell, Snooki has no discernible talent, other than getting drunk and making a fool of herself. I guess that's all it takes to be famous these days. To quote the maitre d' in Ferris Bueller, "I weep for the future."

2) Sarah Palin: I truly hope we have a female President in my lifetime. I'll be seriously disappointed if it's Palin. She's one of these politicians who feels the need to define what it means to be a "real" American. Somehow I don't think I'd pass her test.

1) Ryan Seacrest: Is it ironic that a guy with no talent hosts a popular talent show? In all fairness, I may hate Seacrest so much because I can't stand American Idol. The best thing about Seacrest is that Kathy Griffin makes fun of him all the time.

Let me know what you think of my choices. Agree? Disagree? Who do you love to hate?

Inspiring Words

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time remembering where I hear or see things these days. Was it on the news? Did I see it on Twitter? Did I read it on someone's blog. Hell, did an actual person tell me something in an actual conversation? So many different sources of information, they all seem to blend together after a while. 

Someone, somewhere, wrote or said something about Toni Morrison's commencement address at Rutgers University. I remember being interested at the time, I've always been a big Toni Morrison fan. I saw hear speak when I was a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin. She spoke at the basketball stadium, and with all due respect to the Badger b ballers of my day, it was probably the best thing to happen in that building during my time in Madison. I made a mental note to look into it further when I had more time.

While I was looking for video of the speech, I came across this excerpt:

I have often wished that Jefferson had not used that phrase “the pursuit of happiness” as the third right — although I understand in the first draft it was “life, liberty and the pursuit of property.” Of course, I would have been one of those properties one had the right to pursue, so I suppose happiness is an ethical improvement over a life devoted to the acquisition of land, acquisition of resources, acquisition of slaves. Still, I would rather he had written “life, liberty and the pursuit of meaningfulness” or “integrity” or “truth.” I know that happiness has been the real, if covert, goal of your labors here. I know that it informs your choice of companions, the profession you will enter. But I urge you, please don’t settle for happiness. It’s not good enough. Personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice, that’s more than a barren life; it is a trivial one. It’s looking good instead of doing good.

I wonder if the kids at Rutgers were inspired by these words. I know I was.    

Thoughts on Dirk and LeBron

I wouldn't say I was a big LeBron James fan when he played for Cleveland, but I was trending that way. The man is a freak of nature, a truly awesome combination of size, speed, and strength. As a basketball fan, it's impossible not to admire his game. Cleveland sports fans haven't had much to cheer about through the years, and I would have been happy to see LeBron and the Cavs bring a championship to the city.

As a fan of a small market sports team, I was irked by the way Lebron left Cleveland. Then LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh had their little dance party before the season, talking about 5, 6, 7 championships, like the first one was a mere formality. It was just too much. For the sake of all that is good in sports, LeBron and the Big Three had to be denied.

Nobody expected the Dallas Mavericks to be the team to deny LeBron and the Heat. I'm no Mavs fan, but I badly wanted them to win. I cheered for Dirk and the Mavs with a surprising intensity. Dirk is the anti-LeBron. He could have bailed on his teammates the way LeBron did, joined a team with a better chance of winning. Instead, he stayed with a team that supported him and put in the work needed to become a champion. Who knows, LeBron may wind up winning more titles than Dirk. If I had to bet, I'd say he will. No matter how many titles LeBron wins, his success will pale in comparison to what Dirk accomplished this year.

Fast Five Friday

Sometimes in life, a piece of art can be so bad, it transcends the boundaries of all rational taste to win over even the most jaded of hearts. One of those times happened this week for the Riley family.

Like their parents, my daughters are big movie fans. They're very interested in older movies, so my plan this summer is to show them a bunch of movies from that golden era of film, the 80s. I searched Netflix for something I could stream, but the girls had seen most of the movies available. One movie did catch their eye though, Mac and Me. I had never seen M & M, but I did remember hearing it was outrageously bad. I was intrigued.

Mac and Me is the touching story of a young boy befriending an alien. Did I mention this movie came out after E.T.? I'm pretty used to product placement in movies nowadays, but man, I've never seen a movie with so much blatant advertising. It's like the advertising arms of McDonald's and Coke decided to make a movie. I could probably go on and on, but simply put, Mac and Me is quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

Here's the thing. I loved it.

My daughters were initially confused. How could I love a movie that I thought was one of the worst movies ever made? It is indeed complicated. With time, I know they will come to understand the beauty of a movie that is so bad, it's awesome.

Hollywood has given us any number of bad movies over the years. Not all of these bad movies are able to break the barrier of good taste to become classics. Today I present five films that are so bad, they just might be brilliant.

5) Weekend at Bernie's: You have to love a movie where everyone is too dumb to notice a couple of guys lugging a dead body around. Don't even get me started on Andrew McCarthy.

4) Howard the Duck: This movie was thoroughly trashed when it came out in 1986. Of course, on the heels of Back to the Future, Lea Thompson could do no wrong in my eyes.

3) Breakin: This movie capitalized on the burgeoning breakdancing craze. I couldn't dance to save my life, but a buddy of mine could do a passable moonwalk. I still have fond memories of riding our bikes downtown to see this one multiple times.

2) Mac and Me: I think I've said enough.

1) Roadhouse: This is the awesomely bad movie by which all others are judged. To this day, if I come across Roadhouse on TV, and it happens quite a bit, I can't turn the channel.

Please feel free to comment on any of these fine films. For all of you who love truly bad movies, make sure you tell us what they are so we can watch them too.

Technology Is Messing With My Brain

I almost had a meltdown in the Scottsdale Hilton this past weekend. Not long after we had settled into our room, I called guest services to get the password for Wi-Fi access. I was on hold for way too long, but that's another rant altogether. I finally got the info and successfully logged on. That's when things went sideways. Not since the days of dial-up had I waited so long to reach my desired web destinations. My connection was slower than one of my middle school students going to their next class. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

The thing is, this wasn't the first time I've lost my patience with technology. In fact, it seems to happen quite frequently. My computer at work acts up so much, I'm afraid I might fling it across the room one day during class.

"What happened at school today honey?"
"Well, Mr. Riley threw his computer out the window because he couldn't get YouTube to play this cool double rainbow video he wanted to show us."

It's not just that I'm reliant on technology, that almost goes without saying nowadays. Technology is so fast now, I expect instantaneous results. I want my computer to give me a list of every single document mentioning Anthony Weiner's penis, and if it takes longer than the blink of an eye, someone's head needs to roll.

I wasn't always like this. Hell, I didn't even use a computer until I was 18 years old. In the last 5-10 years I've noticed a change. The exponential increase in technological speed seems to directly correlate with my decreasing level of patience with said technology. Sometimes I feel like we may be living through a permanent evolutionary change that is wiping out the human brain's ability to wait. Or maybe it's just me.

Fast Five Friday

My last post was about gender bias in reading. I was responding to a list put out by Esquire, 75 Books Every Guy Should Read. The list included one woman, which is utterly absurd.

Even more absurd were the recent comments by VS Naipaul. In an interview with the Royal Geographic Society, Mr. Naipual said there are no women writers who he considers his equal. Apparently female authors are too sentimental for Mr. Naipaul. In fact, Ol' VS insists he can tell if a book was written by a man or a woman in the first one or two paragraphs. Try this little quiz and see if you can too. Full disclosure, I took it this morning and got 5 out of 10.

All this talk of gender and reading this week got me thinking about my favorite books. I admit that many of my favorite books are written by men. Let those of us free of bias throw the first stone. I have read many great books written by women, and I will continue to search out female authors. I am, after all, a work in progress. It seems fitting that this week's Fast Five be my top five books written by women.

5) Case Histories by Kate Atkinson: This is a literary detective novel. The detective, Jackson Brodie, deals with his own family troubles as he investigates three gruesome crimes that ripped families apart.

4) Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison: We follow the protagonist, Milkman, on his journey to find his identity as a black man in 20th-century America. As the title of the book implies, Morrison's writing is truly lyrical.

3) The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: Immigration is a central theme of this book. A Bengali couple moves to the US, and the story focuses on the religious, social, and ideological conflicts that arise between the parents and their son.

2) Geek Love by Katherine Dunn: This book is twisted, and I mean that in the best way possible. Al and Crystal run a traveling circus. When business goes bad they start breeding their own freak show. As social commentary, this book feels more relevant to me now than it did the first time I read it.

1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: This isn't just my favorite book written by a woman, this is my favorite book, period.

Alright people, let's hear it. What are favorite books written by women? Doesn't have to be a full top five, could be just your favorite, whatever works for you. If you happen to take the quiz, I'd also love know how you did.

Gender Bias in Reading

There was a bit of a stir in the literary world recently. Esquire published a list of 75 books every guy should read. Esquire is a men's magazine, so it stands to reason that such a list would be dominated by male authors. A lot of people have taken umbrage with the list because it includes just one female author, Flannery O'Connor. Even for a men's magazine the list seems out of whack.

This got me wondering about gender bias in our reading habits. Are we more likely to connect with books written by someone of the same gender? My guess is that we are, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It doesn't mean guys should only read books written by guys, and women should only read books written by women. Not at all. I guess that's my problem with Esquire's list. By including only one book written by a woman, the message seems to be that guys shouldn't waste their time reading books written by women. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hell, I checked out three books on my last trip to the library with the girls, all written by women.

Esquire's list got me thinking. If I were to create a list of 75 books that I think everyone should read, how many of those books would be by women? I know the top spot would go to a woman, Harper Lee. I know books by Katherine Dunn, Kate Atkinson, Geraldine Brooks, and Toni Morrison would make the list. I'm sure there would be other books written by women, but I have a feeling a considerable majority would be books written by men.

My list would certainly be more inclusive than Esquire's, but there would still be some gender bias. Some degree of gender bias is probably unavoidable when it comes to our reading choices. I may be putting this too simply, but guys can relate to a male point of view more easily, and women can relate to a female point of view more easily. I don't have a problem with that. There are plenty of exceptions to this rule of course. I hate to break it to the people over at Esquire, but Flannery O'Connor isn't the only female author their readers should be checking out.

All this begs the question: do you think it's easier to connect with books written by someone of the same gender? And if so, is that a bad thing?

Fast Five Friday

This week's Fast Five was inspired by my mother-in-law. She sent me a clip of dance scenes from various movies set to "Footloose." My MIL knows my love of all things Footloose, so I had to include the video. It's kind of fun, check it out. You'll have to click on the link because embedding was disabled. The video got me thinking, so today I present my top five movie dance scenes.

5) (500) Days of Summer: I really enjoyed this movie about the rise and fall of a young couple. You don't expect to see a dance scene in this kind of movie, but somehow it fits perfectly. It's set to a Hall and Oates song, and well, in my world, that's brilliant.



4) Napoleon Dynamite: Another great dance scene you don't expect. It's hard not to smile while Napoleon busts a move to help out his buddy, Pedro.



3) West Side Story: I have a real soft spot for West Side Story. I watch it with my students just about every year, and it's always a hit. There are classic dance scenes all over the place, but this one is my favorite.

2) Pulp Fiction: Another movie that doesn't feature dancing, but has one of the all-time great dance scenes. Travolta had been off the cultural radar for quite a while, and Pulp Fiction was one heck of a comeback. It was fun to see Travolta strut his stuff again.

1) Footloose: What can I say. Footloose came out when I was teenager, and it's just one of those movies from my childhood that made a huge impression. I think I like the scene where Ren teaches Willard to dance because I am not the most graceful dancer myself. I sure could have used a Kevin Baconesque mentor to teach me some smooth moves.



Lots of great dance scenes in movies over the years. Let me know what you think of my top five, and as always, I'd love to know which five would make your list?

A Million Bucks

Two more days of school, and they should be a lot of fun. Tomorrow we practice for our 8th grade promotion ceremony in the morning, and in the afternoon the 8th grade gets together to watch the end of year slide show. Each kid makes a slide in technology class. The slide is meant to be a representation of who they are as they leave middle school and a chance to say goodbye to their friends and teachers. The technology teacher includes pictures taken throughout the year, and this year he asked the teachers to bring in baby pictures for a then and now kind of thing. The slide show is a very cool event.

We started a new incentive program with the kids this year. They earned points for positive behaviors, and then every so often we had auctions where they could bid for prizes. It was quite successful, and after the slide show, we're going to have our final auction.  One of the prizes will be the chance to throw a pie in my face, and oddly, I'm pretty excited about it. 

Wednesday is promotion, and that's always a bittersweet time. While there are certainly kids I'll be happy to see go, there are plenty of kids I'll miss. I'll probably write about these next couple days in more detail later.

Last Wednesday we had our annual 8th grade barbecue. This is a night where we honor our top students. The kids with the top 10 GPAs are invited, along with a number of Student of the Year recipients. The kids bring their families, and it really is a beautiful night. We honored 38 kids this year, all of them quite amazing people. Each teacher prepares a little speech about their Student of the Year, and things can get very emotional. Teachers tear up, parents tear up, kids tear up, it's very cool. It's the kind of night where a Dad jumps out of his seat and rushes to hug his son in front of a cheering crowd. It's hard not to be moved.

My Student of the Year was a kid I wrote about back in January. Let's call him the Quickwrite Kid. I think I knew even then that he would wind up being my choice. I started my speech with a funny story about my man, and then I told the story of the Quickwrites, just one of many ways my man made our school a better place this year. After my speech, I turned to give my man a congratulatory handshake. He wasn't having it and moved in for a hug. I'm not gonna lie, I got a little choked up.

As a teacher, I'll never make a lot of money. Driving home last Wednesday night, that didn't matter, I felt like a million bucks.                

Fast Five Friday

This is the last full week of school here in Arizona. The kids have three days next week, and then it's Alice Cooper time. Teachers have a grading day on Thursday and that puts a wrap on another year in public education.

It feels like I say this every year, but man, this school year went fast. The older I get, the faster time seems to slip away.

There was a lot going on this last week, so I haven't had a chance to post since last week's FFF. When I have some time this weekend, I want to write a post about our annual 8th Grade Barbecue. It's a great event, and the kind of night that makes me proud to be a teacher.

This week's Fast Five Friday was inspired by Roger Ebert. I follow Ebert on Twitter, and he posted a link to an article he wrote about movie sequels. It's an interesting article about the record number of movie sequels coming out this summer, and what that says about the current state of Hollywood. I'm not a huge fan of sequels, and generally speaking, they're never as good as the original. With that said, I have enjoyed a number of sequels over the years. This week I present my top five movie sequels.

5) The Empire Strikes Back: This came out on my birthday, and the memories are still vivid in my mind. My dad gave me money in the morning, and I waited in line all day with some friends. I immediately fell in love with Yoda, and I nearly lost my mind when Vader told Luke he was his father. Like a lot of people, the Star Wars movies were a big part of my childhood, and TESB was my favorite of the original trilogy.

4) The Dark Knight: I'm a big Christopher Nolan fan. I enjoyed Batman Returns, but The Dark Knight blows that movie out of the water. Heath Ledger was brilliant, and Nolan managed to make a summer blockbuster that had a lot to say about the world we live in.

3) Toy Story 2: This is another sequel I enjoyed more than the original. Just another day at the office for the folks at Pixar.

2) The Color of Money: This sequel was 25 years in the making. Paul Newman first played Fast Eddie Felson in 1961. Martin Scorcese brought him back in 1986, this time managing a young Tom Cruise. Big Paul Newman fan, and I loved the music, especially "Werewolves of London."

1) Aliens: This one holds a special place in my heart. My dad loved the original Alien, and he was really excited to see the sequel. Opening night was a family event. I think this was the first movie where I truly felt the sensation of being on the edge of my seat. My buddies and I saw this one so many times, we still quote it to this day. Not to mention I had a crush on Siguorney Weaver. I had her Time cover on my wall.

Now it's your turn. What are your top five movie sequels? Of course, feel free to belittle me for not including The Godfather II.

Fast Five Friday

I rolled out the Fast Five Friday idea last week, and by my standards, 23 comments, I'd say it was a success. Thanks to everyone who left a comment, the feedback was great.

If you read my last post, you know I was in Florida earlier this week for work, an educational conference on the shores of St. Petersburg, Florida, no less. If you read the post, you might also have seen the comment left by Munk Davis linking my absence to the filming of The Hangover 3. Is it bad when a comment is the best thing about a post? Thanks for that one Munk, it made my day. By the way, if you're not following Munk's blog, you really should. It's not like most blogs, and I mean that in the best way possible. If you follow him, he might follow you back and drop some comments your way. You'll enjoy them.

On to business. Since I was on the road this week, I thought travel would be a good choice for the second installment of Fast Five Friday. I'm not the most traveled person in the world, but I've gotten around a bit. Excluding places I return to annually for family reasons, these are the top five places I've visited:

5) New Orleans: Met a guy from NO in college, and a bunch of us went down there for Spring Break one year. I'm not going to lie, there was drunken debauchery involved. I'll never forget when my buddy's parents covered the kitchen table with newspaper and dumped out a grocery bag full of crayfish. Washed 'em down with cold beer-brilliant. My second visit to The Big Easy was for a Packers game. Again, there was drunken debauchery involved. Let's just say, that weekend still lives in infamy among the participants. Oh, and the Packers lost.

4) NYC: I've been to NYC a number of times over the years, but my favorite trip was when we took the girls out. We stayed with my brother and his wife, and the girls loved everything. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I enjoyed the city in a whole new way.

3) Prague: I went to Prague with my brother and sister-in-law. They were living in Moscow at the time, and Meg and I had gone to visit them. Meg went home early and the three of us took a short trip to Prague. Everything was so old and beautiful. I look forward to crossing the Charles Bridge again some day.

2) San Francisco: I've been to San Fran a few times, and I hope to go many more. San Fran is probably my favorite place in the US. If I had the money, I'd love to live there.

1) Golden Bay, New Zealand: I wrote about my connection to New Zealand during the A-Z Challenge. Meg and I went down over our Christmas break in 1999, and that trip is easily the best trip I've ever taken. New Zealand is a place of stunning beauty. People want to know if it's as beautiful as it looks in The Lord of the Rings movies. Absolutely, and then some. My favorite spot is Golden Bay, which is on the northern shore of the south island. Our friends have a batch there, and the time we spent there is seared into my memory. Even after all these years, my mind retains details that should have faded with time.

Now comes the fun part for me. What are the top five places you've visited?          

I Should Probably Be Enjoying This

I'm writing this post from my hotel room at the swanky Tradewinds Resort in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida. Since the resort is right on the ocean, I'll probably go hang out on the perfect white sand beach when I'm done, take a dip in the ocean, that kind of thing. Later tonight, I'm sure I'll use my two free drink tickets at the Social Hour, followed by a middling dinner that will easily be covered by my allocated per diem.

Ah, the life of a business traveler. As a teacher, not something I experience very often. I've been teaching for 15 years, and this is only the second time I've been to a conference out of town. A few years back, I went to a conference at Disneyland. I had a good time, but I had a good friend to hang out with on that one. This time I'm with a couple women from work, and while they're very nice, socializing is awkward at best. I do have my own room, which seems like it would be great, but I actually feel strangely isolated.

I think I would be having a really great time if Meg and the girls were here. Meg and I have often talked about doing a resort vacation, where all you do is hang out at the beach all day. This would be a perfect place for that type of vacation. There's a fridge in the room, so we wouldn't have to eat out all the time. They have these huge inflatable slides and trampolines in the water. It's expensive, but it really is a great place for a family vacation.

This is my first time in Florida, and I feel like a whiner. I just can't get into it. My family isn't here, and that sucks all the fun out of a place like this for me. The truth is, I can't wait to get home.   

Trying Something New

I've noticed that some people have weekly themes on their blogs: Ten Word Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, that kind of thing. One of my favorite weekly themes is Friday Night Frolic at Suburban Soliloquy. I look forward to reading it every Friday. There are other cool weekly themes out there. I caught the debut of Sippable Stories at allison writes last Sunday. It's a great idea and I hope it becomes a running segment. I've always liked the idea of a weekly theme, and I've been mulling different ideas over for a while now.

I've decided to try Fast Five Friday. The plan is to post a top five list every Friday. I enjoyed the random thing with the A-Z Challenge, so I'll go random for FFF as well. My brain works a lot like those guys in High Fidelity who make top ten lists all the time. Except I'm doing top five lists. You get the point. Hopefully people will share their top fives in the comments, and it'll be all kinds of blogging fun. Of course, this idea could be a complete bust. If so, well, it was worth a shot. Don't worry, I'm used to ideas flopping.

So here we go, the first FAST FIVE FRIDAY.

FAST FIVE FRIDAY: Top five all-time sitcoms

5) Diff'rent Strokes: They had me at the apostrophe. What am I talkin' bout? I know, this show wasn't remotely funny, but come on, I was a kid. I loved that show.

4) Family Ties: Again, in hindsight, not particularly funny. Hard not to love Michael J. Fox though.

3) Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David kills me. I love the whole awkward silence kind of humor.

2) The Office: Very sad to see Steve Carrell go. I'm not sure how long the show can last without him, but I do love the ensemble cast.  

1) Seinfeld: It's amazing how many times Seinfeld episodes still pop into my head. Just the other day, a student was driving me nuts, and in my mind I heard George Castanza screaming, "Serenity Now!"

OK, let's hear it. What are your top five all-time sitcoms?

Reflections on A-Z

The A-Z Blogging Challenge was a lot of fun. I posted more in a month than I normally do in three. While I can't imagine continuing such a torrid pace long-term, I can certainly see myself participating again next year. In fact, I have a feeling I'll be thinking of topics for letters all the time now. I should probably start a file or something. I was posting about twice a week before the Challenge started, and that feels even more right now. I'm always curious about blog frequency. How many times do you try to post a week?

Blogging is about writing first and foremost, but it's also about reading. I tried to check out as many blogs as possible. There were over 1200 participants in this year's challenge, so there was no way I was going to get to them all. I'm comfortable with the number of blogs I was able to visit, and I found a number of excellent writers to follow. I'm looking forward to reading what they come up with now that the Challenge is over.

Right before the Challenge started, I had a string of three or four posts in a row with double digit comments. That was new for me. I'm happy to say, the streak of double digit comments is still alive as I head into May. I don't know how long the streak will last, but I'm riding it out like Kramer testing how far he could drive on a tank of gas. The point is, more people were reading and felt compelled to leave comments. I don't know about anyone else, but getting feedback on something I've written is the best part of this whole blogging deal. 

There were a few surprises in the data. The post I put the least effort into got the most page views and comments. Some of the posts I worked on the longest had the fewest page views and comments. Just goes to show. You never know. That's what I liked most about A-Z. It challenged my preconceived notions of my writing on a daily basis, something that can only make me better.