Watch What You Say

I was watching Cardinals baseball the another night when I heard Dan McLaughlin state that ..."it must have been tough to be Tony Gwynn's son". What? Really? To grow up privledged, go to private schools, be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, have your father idolized, be pretty much taken care of for the rest of your life, your kids life and their kids life? Yeah, that must be tough.
I like Dan, I knew Dan when he was a young announcer on WIBV in Belleville. Sometimes, during the game, you need to yap to fill in the parts that are dull, but really, tough to be Tony Gwynn's kid? Man, I would have loved to have had that toughness in my life.

The "New" Joker

What leaked last week has now become official - Heath Ledger will play the The Joker in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, titled The Dark Knight. The script will be written by Jonathan Nolan (Memento) and production is set to begin early 2007. The announcements were made yesterday by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. He says:

"Chris'[Nolan] unique vision is what made Batman Begins such an outstanding film and we could not imagine anyone else at the helm of The Dark Knight," said Robinov. "We also can't wait to see two such formidable actors as Christian and Heath face off with each other as Batman and The Joker."


Can't wait. The Dark Knight is one of my favorite comic books. I really liked "Batman Begins". Batman was NOT a nice guy.

Post 403

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

New Cool Website For Music Geeks (like me)

Go to this website, it will give you the number one song on anyday you want.
The number one song on my birthday was
"The Great Pretender" by The Platters.

My life's theme song (the number one song on my 18th birthday) is
"Love's Theme" (no lyrics)from Love Unlimited Orchestra conducted by Barry White.

See How They Live...

So, let me get this straight...if I log on to seehowtheylive.com, ATT will show me how spoiled athletes spend their gazillion dollars on their new homes, electronics, cars and such.
And to top it off, the site is hosted by one of the most arrogant rich athletes in the world who couldn't hack it as a broadcaster (surprise)?

You know, I think I would rather have Lee the janitor tell me about his latest root canal. At least Lee has soul.

Post Number 400!

What the bloody hell...?

Thanks for the "hand", Jim.

My Letter To The Government

July 28, 2006
The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510

Dear Senator Sarbanes,

As a native Missourian and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue
Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the
Immigration and Naturalization Service in an effort to determine the
process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My reasons for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal
alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for
which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, what I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine.

Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively?
This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid
heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would
receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal
(retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be
most appreciative.

Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,
Randy Raley

"Superman Returns"

I just saw it at the IMAX/3D house. Loved it. Great entertainment. Drags a bit toward the end, but man, what a ride. Noticed a great deal of Jesus imagery, or was that just me? You think it's a long movie from the running time but it went by like a flash. Lex Luther still lives, Lois Lane's heart still pangs and yes, there will be a sequel, I'm sure. From a guy who LOVED the first one(1978 with Christopher Reeve), I really enjoyed this one
4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Rut Roh!

Not good news for the home team...where have you gone Lance Armstrong?

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time

I can't argue with most of them, hell I couldn't even put together my top 100.
Here's the top ten....

1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

3. Imagine, John Lennon

4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye

5. Respect, Aretha Franklin

6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys

7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry

8. Hey Jude, The Beatles

9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana

10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles

Will It EVER Stop?

I bought the albums in 1969 and in 1970 when they were new. I bought the cassettes when they were new. I bought the CD when they were first available on CD. I bought the MFSL version (Original Master Recordings) of the CDs when they were available and now, I just bought these two releases in 5.1 surround sound.
Man, I cannot wait to hear this in surround sound...

Another awesome memory from my teen age years...

The Fattening of America

What has happened to us? Fat, lazy and greedy. Not a day goes by, there isn't something about the dumbing down of the culture. We are fat, we are lazy and we need to get over it and get our faces back where they can do something. Not eat your life away.

More Beautiful Pictures

Here is something not many of us get to see, unless you live near there - Mt. St. Helens at sunrise. Mt. St. Helens continues to spew ash, while it is forming a lava dome in the crater and still having minor tremors.
Here in this sunrise shot, she appears to be blowing smoke rings (and anything so benign is welcomed, given recent history). What forms the "smoke rings" is the air flowing over the mountain getting pushed up higher as it goes up and over the top. The moisture content and initial temperature are just right so that the moisture
condenses from a vapor to small particles at the higher altitude. When the moving air moves past the peak and comes down again, the particles evaporate back to an invisible vapor.
The two "pancakes" describe that there are two layers of air for which this is happening, thus making this awesome picture possible.

More chalk drawings from Julian Beever.

Depending on your view, this picture means nothing...

What about a different view of the same chalk drawing?

Look at the expressions of the passers by...

My favorite: remember, this is a chalk drawing on the street. Wow!

Everything You Wanted To Know About Headbanging

Brilliant Wikipedia entry.

"George Micheal Is Tapping This"

"Wake ME Up Before YOU Go-Go".

Read the gory details here.
Makes nothing I ever did in my past worthy of that.
I feel woozy.

Here's Where Your Gas Money Goes

Engineering at it's finest....


Look at the scale of this monstrosity in Dubai, take a look at the palm trees for reference.....


This is the inside...


So, our gas money goes to the people of Dubai so they can ski in the desert. Is this a great country or what, to be so benevolent to people who obviously need it.....



Think about it the next time you fill up...or then again, don't.

Storm Pictures

Four days after the storm, there are still 350,000 homes without power. That translates to about a million people. Here are some pictures of the storm and the aftermath...

Cheap Trick

Man, I haven't been to a concert in a long time, the idea of fighting crowds, drunks, etc. hasn't appealed to me in awhile. The last show I saw was the Moody Blues at Starlight Theatre in KC about three years ago. They were not good.

Last night, my friend from KC came in to see Cheap Trick with me for free as a part of the Live on The Levee series being held on the Riverfront in St.Louis. It was a beautiful night, nice and cool with no humidity. The first time I saw anything that resembled Cheap Trick was in 1974 when what became Cheap Trick played at my high school prom. They are from Rockford Il, and my prom was in East Moline about 2 hours away.

I spent 6 bucks to park and that was it. Great show, fun band. The four original guys are still in theband and Robin Zander still has the voice. Rick Neilsen is still one of the most underrated guitar players on the planet and the rhythm section was their usual excellent self.

They played the hits, but some other stuff that I enjoyed "I Know What I Want" and "Voices" were treats. i wanted to hear "On Top Of The World" and "Everything Works Out If You Let It" but those are pretty obscure.

After, the fireworks were great and it ws treat from the to have the finale set to "Born To Run". Thanks guys, great show. See you next Saturday night for Grand Funk Railroad. How many times can I relive my youth this summer?

Picture Taken At The North Pole

Very kool.

What A Night!!!

Last night, out of the goodness of their hearts, the management at The Arch gave all of the employees tickets to the Cardinal game against the Atlanta Braves. I got to leave the studio at 6:10 and decided to drive to the nearest Metro-link station and take the rail to the stadium. When I got on the train, it was hot, nasty and very clear. Halfway down to the stadium, I looked to the north and after deciding that the windows on the train were NOT shaded, I wondered how the hell the sky got so dark so quickly. I quickly found out. After getting off the train (and walking into a blinding dust storm), all hell broke loose. Basically without warning,the winds blew so strong that we literally had to hang on for dear life. The box was right next to the Fox Sports Midwest broadcast that was set up to do the postgame report. The wind blew so hard, it literally tipped over the desk and tore the set to shreds.

After fretting over the fates of our families, Rick Wallace and I decided to get the hell out of dodge. Thank God Rick drove me to the Metro link stop because with all the power (Metro link runs on electricity) being out, I would still be trying to get home. Thanks Rick.


The wind was SO strong, it blew semi-trucks over on the highway on The Chain of Rocks bridge, blew a semi-truck into another car on the Poplar Street Bridge and blew bricks from a building in downtown St. Louis onto the Eads bridge. Obviously, traffic was at a standstill



On the way home, I saw that the roof from Terminal "D" at Lambert Airport had blown all the way onto the eastbound lane of Interstate 70.


Almost 500,000 thousand people are without power. I am not one of them (obviously).

Photos and a story from St. Louis Post Dispatch and stlmedia.net

Isreal and Hezbullah

You know, I am not really a political guy, I really don't know enough to make a real informed decision, but damn, I wouldn't mess with the Isreali Army. I think Hezbullah has done cooked their own goose. Isreal NOW has an excuse to go fuck up stuff. And they are. They remind me of the "Rocky 3" movie when Sylvester Stallone stands in the middle of the ring and screams at Mr. T.. "is that all you got? Is that all you got?" I don't know if this is WWIII or not but any army that kicks the shit out of Egypt in six days like Moshe Dayan did back in the 60's is not an army I'd fuck with, but what do I know?

How Could This Be?

I broke a sweat today for the first time in three weeks. It was killing me not getting any exercise. I mowed the yard and walked on the running track at the Y while watching the guys play ball. It's called motivation...
I have felt like this without exercising...

I have actually lost two pounds. WTF? I have been very careful about my diet, I guess it's working.

The 25 Wussiest Rock Stars of All Time

...from Blender Magazine. Some of these acts I actually like, but I am damned sure not to tell you who.

The Navy Drill Team In Action

This is so cool, I can't even describe it.
The US Navy Drill Team in action.
God Bless Our Boys (and Girls) everywhere.
thanks KK

Three TV Shows That I Watch....

This cat eats some real strange stuff. "No Reservations" has had Anthony Bourdain eat a beating cobra's heart, porcupine, drink hallucenogenic moonshine from Thailand, and finsh off a dead seal in Alaska. I've eaten some weird stuff in my life (squirrel, rabbit, eel), but this guy rocks.

This is one of my favorite shows. He featured a friend of mine last fall. (Mark Hemmer is a ferrier). Over the Independence Day holiday, they featured a "Dirty Jobs" marathon. Next to The Twilight Zone marathon, I was right there. Mike Rowe spends a day doing "dirty jobs" (cleaning out the insideof a cement mixer, working in a charcoal factory, shucking oysters), you name it. He is an excellent host and seems to take it all in stride.


"The Deadliest Catch" On a hot summer's night, this is the show to watch. King Crab fishing with about six different boats. Mike Rowe (again) narrates the successes, toils, troubles and heartbreaks of guys trying to make a living. Sometimes, I wish I was there. Looks like hard but rewarding work.

Three show to watch and enjoy from your buddy Randy