someone like you

There appear to be two schools of thought when it comes to the way the hit song 'Someone Like You' is sung by Adele: there is the recorded version where she sings the lines "don't forget me, I beg" while reaching for high notes, which is how some people prefer it, and then there are the live versions I have found on YouTube where she sings those same lines with lower notes; I am firmly in the former camp. 

I was so used to hearing the recorded version that I assumed she would always sing it that way live, but no matter how much I've searched online, she just doesn't hit those high notes live that I expect to hear. At first I attributed it to the health challenges she'd had with her vocal chords, but then I also learned that her vocal chords were fine, and that she could hit all her high notes again. So I kept looking for more recent live performances of the song, and nope, she wouldn't go that high anymore. And for me, her hitting them was the finishing touch to that song. 

Some so-called experts in her singing voice have even criticized her (I remember once reading how some people don't think Barbra Streisand sings correctly either... ??), but there's such a vulnerability in that part of the song that makes it for me. Oh well, I'll always have the recorded version to listen to. 

a 17-foot 7-inch long Burmese python found in Florida

I found this article online today, and I wrote about this threat to the environment 2 1/2 years ago in a blog post. More recently I've seen that African rock pythons are fast becoming an equal threat too.

Those thriller/horror movies about monster animal invasions seem pretty real now, don't they? 

Lakers do it again

When you make a list of the centers that the Los Angeles Lakers have had over the years, it's impressive: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal... at least, those are the first that come to my mind. And now they've got Dwight Howard. Is it any wonder they've been so good for so long? 

Most teams decry the lack of good big men that are available, and yet somehow the Lakers manage to get some of the very best to ever play the game. As a Warriors fan, it's not only impressive, it's disgusting. I mean, Wilt the Stilt, the Sky Hook (I don't know what Kareem's nickname was, but I always think first of his sky hook), Shaq, and for the foreseeable future, Superman. Ack. 

And just to take it that little bit further, when you need that little bit more and take it to '11,' you can think back to when the Lakers were from Minneapolis: they had George Mikan too. A bit before my time, but yet another Hall-of-Fame all-time center.

Throw in Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, yada, yada, yada... wait a minute, just for my sanity, let's limit this to a discussion of centers. And end this discussion...right...now. 

I'm getting a headache. 

strategy for the shy

I've been reading a book called 'First Impressions - What You Don't Know About How Others See You' by Ann Demarais, Ph.D. and Valerie White, Ph. D. and it occurred to me that one of the primary strategies for having conversations with newly met people would work perfectly for the shy among us... asking questions and letting others talk!

I'm really enjoying this book and I have yet to finish (it is perfect reading while I ride my stationary bicycle... a little riding and reading each day). Now it's not as simple as peppering someone with questions to avoid having to talk about ourselves, but it's nice to get conversations started without having to worry about whether or not we are interesting enough. And by letting them talk, we are actually making a favorable first impression!

It's less pressure to meet someone new, let them talk, listen - after all, aren't shy people good listeners in general? - and after making a good impression by being a good listener, relaxing and then adding a little bit about ourselves, so that the conversation maintains some balance. 

We can worry less about what we're going to say, or having to be witty, or charismatic, whatever we worry about, and let them have the spotlight. And if they're not shy, they'll appreciate it. 

It's nice to know that by listening, we, the shy, can still communicate in new situations, and actually make good impressions on new people!

dangerous celebrations

I'm no fun - never have been. 

That being said, I'd like to express my dismay at how baseball teams celebrate game-winning hits. They're dangerous! Take the Oakland A's for example. They are leading the league right now in game-winning hits with 9 after last night's walk-off home run by Brandon Hicks in the bottom of the 9th.

How does the team celebrate? Besides the usual jumping up and down at the plate and the pounding administered by teammates, which is par for the course for most teams, the A's have made it mandatory to dump the contents of one, if not two, Gatorade containers on the hero while he is giving his post-game interview for television. Which is immediately followed by a 'pie-in-the-face.' At least I understand they are using whipping cream instead of shaving cream now. Understandably, shaving cream is painful and perhaps even a hazard when it gets in one's eyes and most certainly tastes gosh-awful if it gets in the mouth. 

But what I am most worried about is the overturning of the Gatorade container when it is being dumped. What I have been fearing all these years, whether it is that dumb tradition used at the end of big victories in football, or in baseball, happened: the container itself actually hit the athlete as he was being splashed. Of course, contact like that is inadvertent, but it's still a risk. Hicks in this case was unfazed, but one of these days, it's going to actually hurt someone. 

Speaking of stupidly dangerous celebrations, and switching once again to football, I remember a big college game that I was excited to watch. Ted Ginn, Jr. was the player I was looking forward to seeing and he made a fantastic touchdown scoring return early in the game, which all the fans were anticipating. And what do his teammates do to celebrate? They mob him in the endzone, jump up and down on top of him, and end up injuring him... badly enough that he has to leave the game. So much for watching Ted Ginn, Jr. that day.

Yup, stupid and dangerous. Reckless. Don't like it. 

same day, same year

One of my early entries to this blog mentions how I like to clue into birthdays. Well, actually I think I went into famous people who shared my birthday. Still, I am rather intrigued by birthdays in general. For example, I find it interesting that both football great Jim Brown and basketball legend Michael Jordan have the same birthday, February 17. They're each widely regarded as being the best ever to play in their respective sports.

Today is the birthday of both actor Harrison Ford and musician Roger McGuinn. What makes it even more interesting is they were born the same year. I enjoy looking back to that day and thinking how they both began their lives at the same time. I'd be curious to find out the parallels between them. I even wonder how they would get along with each other; have they ever met? 

Roger strikes me as being a little more cheerful and easy-going, whereas Harrison seems a little more complicated and maybe even a little more grumpy. Regardless, they both have reached stratospheric heights in their careers. And for those too young to immediately know who the heck Roger McGuinn is, he is most famous for once being in the seminal rock band The Byrds. He sang most of the lead vocals and played the Rickenbacker 12-string guitar and often wore those little rectangular shades. 

standing on the shoulders of Giants

Take that critics of all those Giants players starting the All-Star Game... and that, and that, and that, and that!

Talk about a good showing. I could hardly have imagined anything more lofty than what they did. The whiners and complainers sure must have felt small for what they said and wrote about Matt, Buster, Pablo, and MVP Melky before the game. 

I gotta say, I'm beginning to like Matt Kemp. That's Dodger Matt Kemp. He's showing that the Dodger-Giant rivalry is strictly between the lines when those two teams are playing each other. Otherwise, they're all playing the same game. I've even heard a story about how he grew up the biggest 49ers/Joe Montana fan. That's good too! 

Has there ever been an All-Star team with a Chipper, a Buster, and a Melky all on it? 

Did yesterday's game set a record for number of Cabreras?