Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I sent this note to a bunch of my friends who are into music ... For some reason, this drives me nuts...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

First, here’s who’s nominated:
J.Geils Band
John Mellencamp
the Patti Smith Group
Chic
Joe Tex
Miles Davis
Cat Stevens
Blondie
the Paul Butterfield Band
the Dave Clark Five
the Sir Douglas Quintet will all have a chance to make it into the hall of fame, located in Cleveland.
Black Sabbath (eighth time on the ballot)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (seventh time)
Sex Pistols (sixth time)
Stooges (fifth time)

And here who’s missing from the list:
KISS
Rush
Van Halen
Yes
Genesis
ELO
Joan Jett
Def Leppard
Alice Cooper
Heart
Deep Purple
Pat Benatar
Duran Duran

Nominees are picked by a 70-member committee of rock 'n' roll historians, journalists and label execs, with ballots then mailed to an international voting body of 700 music industry types for the final decision. The five to seven nominees that receive the most votes will be inducted into the Rock Hall next year.

So, I ask you, were these 70 people completely high?!?!

Of those who are nominated, you could make a good case for Mellencamp (although I personally think he should go in as Cougar!), Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd (how you overlook them six times and vote in a band like the O’Jays (last year) who had one hit song, is just wrong) and probably the Sex Pistols. Miles Davis was freakin’ awesome, but not a rock and roller! I’d accept the Dave Clark Five (“Do You Love Me” is classic and certainly they were huge part of British Invasion) and Cat Stevens (not sure why) although I like Black Sabbath and J. Geils more.

But how do you skip over Heart (three decades!) and Yes (c’mon). I avoided the hard rockers KISS and Rush and Van Halen and Deep Purple because you all know I’m biased, but you could make a good argument that each one of them revolutionized rock in some way (truly original and influencial, power trio, popularizing hard rock and the all-star band).

Anyway, I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts…

Trumped

So, the last two days I got to see Donald Trump and Rudy Guiliani live at a biz conference here.

Pretty cool, actually.

Trump made a lot of people mad. He used a number of dirty words (oooh, the F-bomb!) and was pretty crass about his dealings with people. I actually enjoyed it. It really showed him as a person. Yes, he's a jerk, but at least now I know he's a human jerk.

I'm not sure why swearing has the exact opposite reaction on me than other people. The second someone curses around me, I feel more relaxed. I remember the first time I met Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell when I was in Fort Morgan. Like always, he rode into town on his motorcycle. He walked into the conference room with me and my editor and said, "It's hotter than s*** out there."

I was so impressed. I mean here is a guy who is representing Colorado in the U.S. Senate and he feels comfortable enough around us to swear! How cool.

Anyway, like I said, it wasn't Trump's swearing that turned me off (I liked it). But, rather, he was mean-spirited and didn't really have anything to say beyond "be sure to watch The Apprentice" and "Don't I have a hot wife?" I mean, one of his points about good business is "Be sure to get a pre-nup." Obviously, Trump thinks of marriage like a business transaction, but the rest of us don't.

Guiliani was pretty impressive. He's obviously planning a run for president. Hard to think who could beat him. I actually got to ask him a question about media handling. Pretty fun.

Dogbert brain

Today, I attended an internal workshop called, "Maintain Your Brain." I thought it was going to be about fixing my brain which apparently has lost the ability to hold any piece of information (except baseball scores) for more than 2.3 seconds.

The session was well attended with my fellow colleagues, all of who obviously thought there was something wrong with our minds.

For some reason this got me thinking about the Evil Dogbert and how he could take advantage of something like this... He would throw one of these sessions. People would attend in droves (because, let's face it, everybody's memory stinks these days) and then he would "remind" everyone that there is a $25 fee. If anyone said they didn't remember anything about a required fee, he'd just say, "You really need this class, huh?"

When your brain is screwed up and you get no sleep and lunch consists of Liquorice-flavored Altoids, this is what happens... I'm sorry for sharing...

Caffeine

About six months ago, I switched. I went from Diet Pepsi to Pepsi One. This was not an easy switch for me because I am a die-hard. However, Pepsi One was just WAY better.
This weekend, we were up in the mountains and I couldn't find a Pepsi One anywhere. Had to settle for Diet Pepsi.

I forgot how wussy Diet Pepsi was. I thought it was just the flavor, but then I saw this site. And I realized it was the caffeine. Apparently Mountain Dew has as much caffeine as Pepsi One! Holy cow! (By the way, if you go to the tab that says "Death by caffeine" you can determine exactly how many of your favorite drink it would take to kill you. (Good to know before your next all-nighter).

Anyway, drink up!

The first day ... again

Yesterday was the second first day of kindergarten for our house.

Andy started his academic career with little trepidation. He got a little overwhelmed (and shy) with all the people (every kid had at least two parents in tow). He had been pretty excited about the big day, but was getting more nervous as the morning continued.

The parents were asked to stick around for the first 30 minutes to go through some activities with the kids. Andy was getting more and more freaked out.

But then, one of the activities involved taken a specific number of food items and putting them in a snack bag ... five pretzels, two cookies, etc.

Andy saw the items and at the end of the row -- right next to each other -- were M&Ms and marshmallows. Andy's fav. His face filled with a huge smile and I realized he was going to be just fine.

Flip-flop

Andy has been on a tear recently... typical 5-year-old stuff.

The really funny part is to watch Alex (he's 7). As bad as Andy acts, Alex goes to the exact opposite end of the spectrum.

Yesterday, when Andy threw a patented tantrum, Alex (who loves money) turned to Tracy and I and said, "Mom and Dad, I want to give you all my money because I love you."

I seem to remember doing this exact thing with my sister when we were growing up. One time when she was acting really awful, I actually cleaned up the entire house for my parents. Not sure why. I just did.

Guess this is an evolutionary behavior to ensure parents don't go insane. Whatever it is, it's pretty cool.

Long time ... no speak

Wow! Been a crazy bunch of weeks.

We survived California. Had a great time.

Here's the report on everyone:

Me: Got to watch a RiverCats game and two fireworks shows, bombed boats with water balloons, got to read in a hammock!, tan?, played the first 18 holes of (non-miniature) golf in 11 years (not too bad - shot a 49 on the front 9 and a 60 on the back). Got to meet up with my friends George, Ross and Juli which was really fun.

Tracy: Took a bunch of pictures, burned the heck out of her shoulders, actually liked "Batman Begins," was enamored with Alia and Aiden (as was everyone, of course), made cabbage pockets for my parents' anniversary, trying to survive a completely trashed house as we move into new rooms now that the remodeling is done. Met up with her friend Shar and her kids at the water park.

Alex: Loves the skeleton he got from Grandma, actually hit pretty well on the driving range with his new clubs, enjoyed getting hugs from Alia, won Uncle Mark's first annual fishing derby, loves the movie "The Incredible Mr. Limpett" (which was one of my favs growing up and now I can't remember why).

Andy: Learned to row the kayak for the first time, swam amazingly well, was a bit of a grump because of his altered scheduled (stayed up until 2 a.m. one night watching movies!?!?!), loved the big bag of candy Grandpa bought him, quite a good dancer who also really likes my bad heavy metal tunes.

Jannae and Mark: They, too, are trying to survive remodeling (the only difference is Mark has at least some talent to be able to assist), Mark caught his biggest bass ever but forgot a scale so he has no idea just how much it beat his previous record, Jannae still is happy and doesn't seem nearly as tired as I would be with three kids, including two babies.

Austin: The kid is a weed. He just keeps growing. He's five months younger than Alex, but could easily pass for at least three years older than him. Austin is gaining confidence in himself and this year mastered the kayak that was his nemesis last year.

Aiden: I have never seen so much energy in one body. He never stops. He runs from one situation to the next and doesn't pause in between. He has curly hair which just feels really cool when he gives you a big hug. He is starting to talk really well. He loves being thrown in the air and comes up to me and says, "Ump" which means "Jump" because he wants me to throw him.

Alia: This was our first look at the only girl in the family and she is such a cutie. She has big smiles for everyone and, like the boys, is off-the-charts huge. She is feature prominantly in at least half the pictures Tracy took of the whole vacation.

Mom and Dad: They are both looking and doing great. They're a bit exhausted because our trip was the end of more than a month of guests at their house. But we certainly appreciate their generosity. Next year will be a little different as they celebrate their 40th anniversary in Hawaii. (And, no, we already asked. They don't want anyone else there!).

Returning to the scene of the crime

My friend Dan is now a daddy. His lovely wife, Kate, gave birth to Jayden on Saturday morning.
Tracy and I took the boys to the hospital to see the happy family. The boys were really into it because I kept telling them they were born in the same hospital. I pointed out the rooms they were born in. And they were actually interested.
Alex kept telling me to tell people the story of how he had to return to the hospital because of his jaundice (which happened during a major snow storm). Nobody else cared, but Alex really dug it. I think next time we go to a baseball game and I want them to pay attention, I'll tell them they were actually born on the infield.
Might work?!?!

Nuts

Things are going a little more crazy than normal right now in the Flume household.

First, I'm still getting used to a new job at Aims Community College which is hectic right now because I'm getting the Fall enrollment campaign going before ...

Second, we leave for California to visit my mom and dad (and sister's family including our first and only niece, Alia!!). I love going there, but I hate getting ready to go there! Tracy has developed a pre-leaving plan that is more complicated (and better carried out) than the invasion of Iraq.

Third, we are getting ready for our second garage sale in the last three weeks. We never thought our house could belch out so much excess crap, but it certainly does. And we need it, because...

Fourth, we are prepping for a remodel on the house (thanks to Tracy's mom!). We're finishing the downstairs area (yeah, a bathroom!!!) and adding a little closet space upstairs. All that means is that we have two major areas of the house that have to be cleared away and it is just insane.

Fifth, the boys have been busy with summer fun classes and overnights with their friends.

Sixth, we just got over the promotion of the book for Father's Day. It is always a little crazy, but it was also cool because of the book award.

Seventh, now that the rain has stopped (to be replaced with scorching sun), we have been invaded with mosquitoes the size of small birds. No one is safe.

Eighth, we just adopted our newest pets... two toads we found in the window well of the basement as part of the remodeling effort. The boys are enamored of them. One is about the size of my fist and the other is much smaller (the size of Andy's fist). Alex said, "I won't watch TV at all as long as we have these frogs."

Ninth, this blog, my column (due this week ... AGAIN!), my fantasy baseball team (currently in second place!!!), my softball team (currently sucking, but my hitting is good!), and I guess that's it. End of my whining.

Wet Relay

One of my favorite activities of the year is always the Weld County Relay For Life which raises money for the American Cancer Society through an 18-hour team relay walk. I love the sense of community as Greeley's event has grown to be one of the biggest in the country. My life (like everybody's) has been touched by cancer and every year during Relay I think about the loved ones I've lost and the folks I know who have survived this horrible disease.

This year's Relay was a little different for me. I had a wonderful team of folks from my new job at Aims Community College. We also teamed up with local radio station, SUNNY 97.9. We had all the makings for a great event.

But then Mother Nature decided to have some fun with us.

We were setting up our camp around 3:45 p.m. and we were on the air for about 15 minutes when the rain started. Hard. We tried to keep everything dry, but we weren't really successful. I went to the opening ceremony at 6 p.m. in a downpour. From there, the event moved inside to a large exhibition building.

We hastily grabbed all of our stuff and even had the radio station back on the air in a matter of minutes. In the end, the event was a little smaller with many of the people opting to stay home where it was dry. However, about 2,000 people stuck it out and walked all night. It was amazing to see the dedication of these hearty folks. And in the end we raised a record total of $520,000. Pretty amazing.

My job

Long time, no post...

The other day Alex was showing drawings other kids in his class did of what their father's do for a living (don't ask how he got the pictures ... let's just say he's a pack-rat).

"See, Dad, her dad is dentist. And his is a mechanic."

So, I asked him which picture was mine.

My day-job is marketing and PR -- not something easily shown in first-grade drawings.

"That's the one, Dad."

"What is that?"

"That's you working on mummies."

"That's not what I do?"

"But it's more fun," he said.

Hard to argue with that, huh?

36 and counting ... why?

Monday was my birthday. Woo-hoo!
I vowed to stop counting birthdays after age 25. Then I realized that if I was ever to become president of the U.S., I needed to be 35. So, I kept counting. I'm not really sure why I'm still doing it now.
But I had a great day. Dinner with my wonderful family. A little festivity at my new job. Got gift certificates for some new clothes (for said job) and for some new books (for non-said brain!).
Guess I better keep counting to 65. I gotta retire sometime, right?
But, then, there's always the lottery!

What's goin' on?

OK, I am now getting over ANOTHER FEAKIN' COLD!?!?!?
This is getting stupid. Kids got this one, too.
In between bouts of sneezing and coughing, I was wondering why we're getting hit so hard this year (my wife has barely had a sniffle).
Possible reasons:
Red Meat -- Tracy only eats the untasty variety.
Men -- Chicks have to have babies; men get colds?
Whiners -- Men whine?

But I don't think it's any of that. My bet is on aliens. Damn them!

New leaf(s)

So, first things first... I have a new job! Yup, beginning May 9, I'll be the Marketing and Public Information Director at Aims Community College. This is a job I have wanted for a long time and I am really excited about getting started.

Second ... I went to the Pike Peak Writers Conference over the weekend with my friend, Eric. Had a great time. Heard from some good folks. Pitched my novel to an agent who wants to see 50 pages! Got to hear from the guy who wrote The Pina Colada song (bizarre). And also saw the Sky Sox for the first time. Great weekend. Now, I just have to put all the novel stuff to use so I can get it the novel published.

Third... Now that we're at the end of April and the job situation is good, the novel is directed the right way ... well, now it's time to start marketing the holy heck out of Fumbling Thru Fatherhood for Father's Day. Woo-hoo!

Crossing fingers

My buddy, Eric Anderson, and I are headed to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this weekend.
I am scheduled to do a read and critique session Friday and then meet with an agent on Saturday, on top of all the other events going on.

I don't have high hopes for selling my book, Wrath (although I wouldn't mind coming home with a six-figure advance!). My main goal is to get all the tools to refine my pitch letter and other materials in order to do a mass mailing to agents in the near future. So, basically this weekend is a kick-off of sorts for the book.

Plus, Eric and I are going to a Sky Sox game on Sunday, so no matter what, life is good when you have baseball.

Andy figured it out!

We were driving in the car the other day and talking about going to Grand Lake.

I told the boys that Grand Lake was where I asked Tracy to marry me. Andy said, "You got married in Grand Lake?"

"No, we got married in Fort Morgan."

"So, that's why you and mom fight sometimes! You should've been married in the same place."

"But, Andy, most people don't get married in the same place they ask them."

"That's why most people fight."

Hard to argue with that logic.

Timing

California Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit. Of course, that meant one thing: the boys were going to get sick. Not sure why, but just about every time they come here, the boys get sick. Andy had strep and Alex did his Exorcist impression all night Saturday (minus the spinning head but with a lot more pea soup!).

It's still been great having them here.

My dad joined me with a bunch of my friends Friday for a "friendly" poker game. Lots of swearing. Probably a bit too much drinking. In other words, a great night.

Dad had the best line of the night, said to Donovan, "Well, you folded, you f***" after Donovan griped about how he would have won a hand if he had stayed in.

It was that kind of night...

Opening Day

Haven't had a chance to update because I've been pretty busy, but -- most importantly -- I went to the Rockies Opening Day on Monday. This is the seventh or eighth year in a row I've gone to the home opener with my friend, Donovan. The group continues to grow. This year we had eight of us.

I'm still pushing for the legislation to make Opening Day a National Holiday. I'd appreciate your support.

This year, things were crazy as always downtown. We had a cocktail and then went inside early to watch batting practice. The weather was gorgeous. We sat in the left field bleachers, basking in the sun as we watched just about everyone else around us catch a ball. It was great.

To top it off, the Rookie Rockies (they're calling it "Gen R" now) came back from two runs down in the ninth to score four runs with two outs off Trevor Hoffman. Absolutely sweet finish!

On top of that ... my fantasy team is in third place!!! (Life is good!)

For later...

This morning, I was sitting on the couch with my legs cross. Andy woke up and crawled on top of my and laid down on top of me with his head supported by my leg. His legs were curled up on my chest. We just looked at each other and talked until everyone else woke up...
I don't really have a point to this. I just want to remember moments like that when he's too old to do it.

Wascally Wabbit

So, Sunday is Easter.
My mom and dad always made a big deal about Easter. And I was probably 10 or older before I (** Bunny SPOILER alert **) knew the truth about the Easter Bunny.
In talking with friends, many of them never thought the Easter Bunny was real. They got presents from their parents and somebody would hide the eggs for them to find.
At this point, my boys are still believers. (Although Alex occassionally has issues with Santa Claus ... after Tracy talked about where a certain gift was purchased ... and this was MONTHS after Christmas ... that Alex remembered had come from St. Nick. I threw him a line of B.S. that he appeared to buy, but he is definitely a skeptic.
I'm wondering from other parents how and when they told the truth. Or if they ever lied from the beginning.
Anything?