Author: Matt Keough

Questions from a five year old

It is easy to forget that things adults “just know” are clouded in mystery to children. Today my five year old was in the bedroom containing the bed that Joyce and I share. We have four kids, it’s safe to assume we share a bed.

He asked “why do you sleep here and Mommy sleep here?” Uh-oh! Think quick. I’m not having THAT talk with a five year old. (Even this five year old. He also said recently “I don’t like girls. Well, I like some of their faces. But I don’t like their toys.”)

I gave a true answer – I thought it was crafty because it answered his specific question. I told him I used to sleep on the side by the alarm clock, but Mommy and Daddy had to switch because Daddy hits “Snooze” too much.

He wasn’t satisfied “No, why don’t you have your OWN bed?” I just told him that I wanted to be near Mommy because she is nice.  I’m afraid he thinks I’m not all together too smart.

I still call them albums

Today I mentioned on Facebook that my boys and I were listening to Christmas music on an 8 track. The reaction was more than I would have expected. Not so much that we were listening to Christmas music, which only happened because James asked nicely, but the medium on which the music was re-produced.

I guess it is a bit rare that an 8 track player is fired up, even here where we have an old stereo in our basement. I swear that somewhere we have several 8 track tapes boxed up. For now we must content ourselves with a nice mixed tape my mother-in-law has entrusted to our care. Perhaps I really should spend sometime at garage sales to acquire a more complete collection.

I think the quintessential album for the 8 track is Meatloaf  Bat out of Hell. Or possibly Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. If you happen to have either, let’s talk.

The general topic of recorded music media that have fallen out of vogue is one that fascinates me. In vinyl I posses 45  RPM singles,  33 1/3 RPM albums, 12″ EPs and Singles, as well as 78 RPM mini albums and singles of the Victrola era. I also have the 8 track and “Mini” cassettes. Joyce brought to our music collection cassette singles, something I never had. We have two turntables and after the boys are older I’d like to pick up a Gramophone or Victrola.

Of course there are CDs – and lots of them, thanks to my stint at both record stores and radio. I still remember writing a report in my first college English class about the new Compact Disc technology. At that time there were still those who called them Compact Disk. One of my favorite scenes in The Wedding Singer is when Julia’s fiancee buys a new CD player for multi-hundreds of dollars.

I never owned an MP3 player, leapfrogging right to my Droid. But I buy most of my new music in the digital form and then burn to CD.

So thanks for joining me on this little inventory of my odd music collection. Perhaps I’ll add a “music” category so I can share some of the unique music on these diverse media. Music from Star Wars by the Electric Moog Orchestra might be a good place to start.

The obligitory Updated WordPress post

As I warned last week – I updated the software that makes this blog thingy thing work. You may notice weird stuff happening. If so, please let me know. Chances are if you are reading this you have the 411 on how to reach me.  You can also drop a comment.

Thanks.

PS. I no longer rank for U2 Mullet in Google Image Search and I’m just a little sad about it.

Looking like a little slugger

Joyce and I were looking at old movies on our computer and came across this. Here we see John emulating his favorite Indian at the time, Coco Crisp. John still LOVES baseball. He might be a little embarrassed if his current teammates see this. But what good is having old video if you can’t use it to embarrass the people in it? Note to my family  members – this rule does not apply to Super 8 movies from the 70s.

Grade School Quiz

I recently posted a picture from third grade. Darn I was a dashing young man in that school monogrammed tie. But that’s not the purpose of this post. I realized looking back on those days that I can’t actually recall with 100% certainty the names of all of my grade school teachers. I even have a head start with some, because several had the same first name…Sister Mary (Saint’s Name Here). So the research department at MatthewK.com commissioned the following poll. If you would like to brag, use the comments below to name them all.  In other words, show me your work.


Captains Manager Kicking (Expletive) and Taking Names

It is no secret that I’m a big Lake County Captains fan. We’ve had great times at Classic Park this year. Apparently we’ve had much more fun than manager Ted Kubiak has had recently. He must be feeling a lot like Lou Brown in Major League. Check out this article in the News-Herald and feel the white hot seething frustration.

After Casey Frawley lallygagged twice in the season finale Kubiak yanked him:

“Casey wondered why he was out of the game. That’s how much he doesn’t understand,” Kubiak said, his words carrying an unmistakable bite. “I don’t give a (expletive) if you’re tired. You can give an (expletive) effort out there.”

I’m also proposing a fun party game. Print out copies of this article and have your friends fill in the (expletives) in this and other quotes with the words they assume were deleted. The team with the most matches or most creative profanity can be declared winners.

I really like how Kubiak yanked Frawley and how Frawley seems to have “seen the light”.

Lets Go Caps!

The Count is full – or is it (he) even?

Back when I was a kid, the scoreboard at Cleveland Municipal stadium had a cartoon of a vampire feasting at a dinner table. It played when there was a 3-2 count. Get it? The Count is Full. I like puns, so I liked that one.

The phrase “the count is full” means that there are the maximum number if balls and strikes in an at bat. The following pitch is called the “pay-off” pitch. But that is not exactly true as a foul ball will extend the batter’s at bat.

But there is another phrase in baseball describing the pitch count that is a pet peeve of mine. I’ll often hear an announcer say “That brings the count even at two and two.” But let’s take a step back. The  batter is retired at three strikes and the batter advances at four balls. Therefore, the next pitch may retire the batter or extend the at bat. How is that even? Seems to me that a 2-2 count actually favors the pitcher.

Which brings me to the idea that a 3-2 pitch is actually “even”, as the batter may either retire or advance on the basis of the next pitch. But that doesn’t make for a fun animation, so a  little joy of my childhood would be missing. I guess I just have to let this go.

Looking Like an All-Star

Our eldest is crazy about baseball. From morning until night everyday the topic will usually turn to who the Indians should try and get or when he will play next. If he can’t play, he makes up imaginary line score on imaginary line-ups. And then there is always Wii MLB 2K10 – something to get us through the winter.

He is seven years old now. But here is a link to a  clip from when he was two. Coco Crisp played for the Indians then. I think that is one of the reasons he is a lefty at the plate.

Slugger Jack 2005

 

The Foibles of Unfriending

I’d not be at all surprised to find that there are armies if doctoral students studying the dynamics of relationships that are primarily based in cyberspace. These anthropologists of digital societies have a lot to work with, no doubt. Today I’ve been sorely tempted to unfriend (or is it de-friend?) an individual on Facebook. This person’s only offense is a strong habit of posting pleas to help a certain social cause. It is not even a cause that I am particularly at odds with, but the sheer volume of material shared is just off-putting.

Matt Keough | Create Your Badge

The problem with unfriending someone is the friend suggest feature. In the real world friends drift apart and there is rarely a formal declaration. You might perceive that an individual has changed or have become more distant. That person can just hush up, slink away and that is that.

But Facebook will “out” you. there have been several occasions when I’ll see a suggestion to friend someone  I am ABSOLUTELY certain I’ve already friended. This happens when that person has unfriended you without your knowledge.

I can understand why someone would unfriend me. Political views, religious professions and other wedge issues can alienate folks. Personally, unless someone is particularly condescending to opposing viewpoints, I think it is interesting to read other opinions. If for no other reason than to hone a counter-argument if one is ever needed.

In any respect, I’m curious. What would it take for you to “unfriend’ someone on Facebook?

(I’ve decided not to unfreind the individual mentioned. Really, how hard is it to just scroll past something that does not interest you.)