Viking-Packer Day

Today is the day the Vikings play the Packers. Growing up, this was always a huge day for me, filled with emotion. The match-up has lost much of its luster for me because:

A. The Vikings have gone in a decade-long tailspin, replete with off-field boat cruises and other scandals. They have threatened to move out of Minnesota. They have changed uniforms to something that looks like it's out of the Arena Football League. And, Fred Smoot was on the team. That slone could make a grown man cry.

B. The Packers usually win. And they will win again today. I'm going with 31-13.

Today, however, there is an added element to The Game. I'm not sure if you have heard this, but if (Packer Quarterback) Brett Favre throws one more touchdown pass, he will officially become the all-time passing touchdown leader in the N.......F.........L. Will he do it? Yes. First drive, probably around 12:09 CST. Now, I wanted to let you all know this because I wasn't sure if were able to find a story in the media about this. Or even a picture of Brett Favre. So, I wanted to alert all of you to the fact that this is happening.

I did catch a glimpse of an interesting picture in today's Star Tribune. It was a picture of a Packer fan holding a sign that read (and I quote):

"Brett's Continuing Journey Is Our Reward"

OK, come on. Who sits down and makes a sign that says that? I can see "We Love Brett," or "Brett Is The Best." But - "Brett's Continuing Journey Is Our Reward?" Not only is it wordy, but it is one step closer to religious imagary. Speaking of religious imagary, those of you who are Viking fans should enjoy this post on a Viking blog entitled "10 Reasons Brett Favre is Not Jesus." Jase - you may not like it so much. But, Jase, please keep in mind that being a Viking fan is kind of miserable, and we need to find humor wherever possible. I can't imagine, by the way, having a blog devoted to the Vikings. Anyway, here it is:

http://thevikingage.com/2007/09/28/10-reasons-brett-favre-is-not-jesus/

Peace,

Jeff

Ryan (not Bryan) Adams Concert - Tryin' Hard To Be A Rock Star

Tonight, my wife and I attended the Ryan Adams concert at the State theatre in downtown Minneapolis. I feel compelled to write a review of the concert before I go to bed tonight, even though it is a work night and I need to be at THE CHECK at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning. One nice thing is that we got home real early from the Ryan Adams concert. You see, he played for 50 minutes. Yes, that is right, 50 frickin' minutes. So, if I do the math right, that is nearly a dollar a minute for each ticket that I bought. Since I bought two tickets for nearly $100, that is 50 cents a minute. Do you want a review? Well, here is an indication:

I may have embarrassed my wife when I stood up and yelled "Screw you Ryan Adams!" when the lights went up after the last song.

OK. Let's back up. Ryan Adams is the admittedly talented alt-country musician that went solo after being a member of Whiskeytown in the 1990's. He has had a few critically-acclaimed albums, which I happen to really like most of them. He also had a reputation of being a drunk, moody performer who could either dazzle or disappoint with his live shows. Now, Ryan Adams has reportedly been sober for about a year.

Well, good for you Ryan! Now, you can be known as a sober, moody performer, who could either dazzle or disappoint with your live shows. My impression is that Ryan Adams is trying really, really hard to be a Rock Star. Springteen he ain't. Adams played some great songs in his fleeting moments on stage, and captured the audience. The sound was great. He even played some songs from his earlier albums, "Gold" and "Demolition." He seemed agitated, however, and didn't engage the crowd. The crowd yelled out names of songs they wanted him to play (the horror!) which seemed to agitate Adams even more! Screw these people who buy my albums and want to hear my songs! The absolute gall of these people!

Ryan told the crowd after 50 minutes "This will be our last song" and meant it. His band, The Cardinals, left the stage, and the crowd chanted for an encore. Then the lights came on, and the crowd filed out after a few minutes of disbelief. We found out later that Ryan Adams was unhappy with The Sound.

I've been watching Ken Burns documentary lately about World War II. In the documentary, many 18-year olds risk, and often lose, their lives for this country by storming the beach at Normandy in an effort to overtake the German army. This pales in comparison to the cross that Ryan Adams bears when the sound quality at his concert is not up to expectations. Oh, the anguish Ryan Adams must feel!

50 minutes. The Beatles played longer than that in the early 1960's for 13-year-olds. Van Halen has longer guitar solos than that. Most garage bands play twice as long for free beer.

Screw you Ryan Adams. You're a primadonna, rock-star wannabe. I'd be embarrassed to be in your band.

Good night,

Jeff

Morning update: Good Morning! Here is what the Friday morning edition of the Star Tribune has to say about the Ryan Adams concert. They claim the concert was 70 minutes. There's a couple of good quotes in the story:

http://www.startribune.com/music/story/1451348.html

It's Happening Again....

Just two short days ago, the Chicago Cubs had a three-game lead with six games to play over the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The Cubs lost last night and the Brewers won. As I write this, the Cubs are losing to the Marlins 4-2 and the Brewers are just starting. The Cubs lead could be down to one game with four to play by later tonight.

It's happening again.

Does anyone doubt the Curse of The Billy Goat???

Jeff

Ahmadinejad Update - He's Here!

OK - I must have read some false information before my last Ahmadinejad post. I was under the impression that his entire visit to America was cancelled. This wasn't the first time that I misunderstood something that I read and it won't be the last. It turns out that not only was MA allowed into the country, he was indeed allowed to speak at Columbia University. Only his requested picnic at Ground Zero was cancelled. Some interesting tidbits came up during today's question and answer session at Columbia. Here is what The Nation learned from MA today:

1. MA took a step back from his claims that the Holocaust did not happen. Apparently, it "happened," but it's not that big of a deal.

"Granted this happened," he said. "What does it have to do with the Palestinian people?" Hey, good point MA, sorry for even bringing it up.

2. MA questioned whether or not al-Qaida was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

"Why did this happen? What caused it? What conditions led to it?" he said. "Who truly was involved? Who was really involved and put it all together?"

Yes, MA. I think it was "those meddling kids" who flew those planes into the World Trade Center. If it wasn't for "those meddling kids," everything would have been fine!

3. And here is the greatest revaluation of all:

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."

At first, I thought that this might be the single most ridiculous statement that I have ever heard. But on second thought MA might be correct. There is a good chance that there are no homosexuals in Iran because they have been:

A. Executed

or

B. See A.

All in all, it was quite a day at Columbia University. I am not really opposed to letting individuals like Ahmadinejad speak on American soil. It shows that we are an open society, where all viewpoints can be heard, no matter how sane or insane. Plus, allowing individuals like Ahmadinejad to speak helps expose these people for the nut jobs that they really are. Keep 'em coming, I say.

Jeff

Won't Get Fooled Again (until next Sunday)

Second post of the day. These football post's are going to get less frequent, people. Here are my thoughts on this Sunday's games:

1. Vikes lose to KC, 13-10. The Offense is horrible. Kelly Holcolmb is really slow. Adrienne Peterson is literally the entire offense. It was beautiful outside, and I watched too much of the game again, but at least I got some exercise in. I stand by my 4-12 prediction for the Vikings.

2. Detroit is "back to normal," losing 56-21 to Philadelphia. Dools - why did Kitna have to pick the Vikes to play the game of his life?

3. Once again, I called the major turning point in the Packers game. I was talking to my friend Pete on the phone, and he mentioned the Packers were down 21-17. I said "Favre will throw the go ahead touchdown pass on the next drive." The was an IMMEDIATE cut-in to Farve throwing a slant to Donald Driver for 50-some yards, putting the Pack up 24-21.

Folks, I had a vision last week. I am not kidding when I say this: The Packers are going to win the NFC North this year, and possibly the Super Bowl (Packers over Patriots??). I am not joking. Jase, get ready, because something supernatural is going on here. Favre is going to be holding the Lombardi trophy with tears in his eyes, proclaiming he "might retire." You heard it here first. I am not kidding.

Seriously,

Jeff

Nice Coat

Wacky Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sure has been in the news a lot lately. You see, until yesterday, Ahmadinejad (who I going to refer to as MA because his name is too damn long) was scheduled to fly to the U.S. and speak at Columbia University. I understand that Columbia first contacted Satan to speak, but he was busy. And Hitler is dead, so MA was next in line. MA was going to enlighten the faculty and students at Columbia on his thoughts and feelings, which include the belief that "the Holocaust is a myth." I'm sure that bombshell would have come as quite a shock to some of the history professors at Columbia. He was also going to show everyone that he really is a swell guy, despite that pesky nuclear buildup and wanting to (quote) "wipe Israel off the face of the Earth." Now, I find out that Columbia University has cancelled his visit!

I feel kind of bad for MA. I'm sure he already purchased his plane tickets on Air (Terror) Tehran. There is no question that he picked out a brand new Members Only jacket for the trip. And, I have come to learn, he was busy making some site seeing plans for his visit to the New York area. One of the stops that MA was planning to make was Ground Zero. Here is what an report on CNN.com had to say:

The controversial leader asked to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks, but New York city officials on Wednesday denied that request, citing safety concerns at what is now a construction site.

Ahmadinejad said he would try to visit the site "if we have the time and the conditions are conducive." But if local officials cannot make the proper arrangements, "I won't insist," he said in an interview to be aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes."

The interview goes on to say:

CBS correspondent Scott Pelley told Ahmadinejad he "must have known that visiting the World Trade Center site would infuriate many Americans."

"Well, I'm amazed," he said, surprised by the question. "How can you speak for the whole of the American nation? The American nation is made up of 300 million people. There are different points of view over there."

Yes, I am sure there is one guy, holed-up in a compound in Montana (who also thinks the Holocaust is a myth), who wouldn't mind if MA visited Ground Zero. The other 2,999,999 might be a little bummed out, though. So, it turns out, that MA's plan to visit Ground Zero was shot down pretty quickly. No site seeing and no speech at Columbia University.

So, with MA feeling spurned, he and his military buddies decided to show the world it's might yesterday. Iran held it's annual army celebrations which included fly-overs from Iranian-made Saegheh fighter jets. "All of these arms and equipment have been manufactured in Iran by Iranian experts!" declared a speaker on state-controlled television.

And, best of all, MA got to wear his new coat after all.

Peace,

Jeff

Hockey Is Back

Hockey is back. And that makes me very happy.