The Vikings play the Bears tomorrow night on Monday Night Football at the TCF Bank Stadium at the U of Minnesota. It'll be reasonably warm for this time of year (20-25F), and there's a good chance that we'll get several inches of snow tomorrow afternoon and evening.
Here's a time lapse video of the clearing of the snow (17 inches that we got last week) from The Bank:
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has tweeted that the field is unplayable because it is frozen solid and harder than concrete. He predicts concussions.
This game will be 29 years to the day that the Vikings played their last outdoor home game at Met Stadium. It's also a night that the Vikings/NFL are going to be celebrating the 50 greatest Vikings players of all time to commemorate the Vikings' 50th season.
Cue the quotes from the legends about how they loved to play in the cold.
Neither Favre nor Tavaris Jackson are able to play, so the Vikings will be starting their 3rd string QB.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sleepwalker and Fever, Club Nokia
Another couple videos from Thursday night. This is Sleepwalker. On the FYE album, this song is highly produced and emotionally flat, but live he sings this emotionally intense, angry, energetic version that I love.
The last one I'll post is Fever, my favorite uptempo song on the album.
Both videos shot by cos2mwiz.
The last one I'll post is Fever, my favorite uptempo song on the album.
Both videos shot by cos2mwiz.
Happy Belated Birthday, Michael
Sorry. I was mostly without computer access and completely distracted.
And, as always, pretend your name is Terrance:
And, as always, pretend your name is Terrance:
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Soaked at Club Nokia
And for a complete contrast from Adam's Purple Haze and Whole Lotta Love encore, posted below, here's Soaked, also from Thursday night at Club Nokia. Stunning. The tone in his quiet notes is even more breathtakingly beautiful live. This video is also shot by cos2mwiz.
Final Glam Nation show
The final show of Adam's Glam Nation tour was Thursday, Dec. 16 at Club Nokia in LA. Here's the encore. This show was unreal. It's an experience I'll never forget. His speaking voice was really hoarse, so his stellar vocal performance was all the more unbelievable. Vocal pyrotechnics all over the place. I'll post some more later, but for starters, here's the encore (Purple Haze and Whole Lotta Love) as videotaped by a fan, cos2mwiz fans and edited by fan terraj. (Warning or enticement: Contains Not-Safe-for-Homophobe gestures):
Monday, December 13, 2010
Where are they now? Updates about a few of Scooter's favorite Vikings
Bud Grant
As I mentioned, he's still employed by the Vikings. He hunts and fishes like crazy and often appears on hunting/fishing shows, like Kent Hrbek's show. (I thought Bud hosted his own snow, but I'm not able to find anything about it.) He appears on gun calendars for the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Association. Bud was visible in getting a MN constitutional amendment that dedicates funding to game/fish/wildlife and parks. (Story about that is here, with a fairly recent picture. Bud is as fit and growly-looking as ever.)
In his free time, he reads not only the entries, but also the comments, at SSJ.
Alan Page
Alan Page is a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was first elected in 1992. His 2010 election will be his last because, during this term, he'll reach the mandatory retirement age (70).
Carl Eller
It's not fair to reduce the whole of his life to one event, but this is pretty much what people think about when we think of Carl these days: an arrest for assaulting a police officer after being stopped for driving under the influence for the second time in a couple of years. He's publicly battled chemical dependency for years/decades.
Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman is a public school teacher in the area. Fun to see old football footage of him at his official website.
As I mentioned, he's still employed by the Vikings. He hunts and fishes like crazy and often appears on hunting/fishing shows, like Kent Hrbek's show. (I thought Bud hosted his own snow, but I'm not able to find anything about it.) He appears on gun calendars for the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Association. Bud was visible in getting a MN constitutional amendment that dedicates funding to game/fish/wildlife and parks. (Story about that is here, with a fairly recent picture. Bud is as fit and growly-looking as ever.)
In his free time, he reads not only the entries, but also the comments, at SSJ.
Alan Page
Alan Page is a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was first elected in 1992. His 2010 election will be his last because, during this term, he'll reach the mandatory retirement age (70).
Carl Eller
It's not fair to reduce the whole of his life to one event, but this is pretty much what people think about when we think of Carl these days: an arrest for assaulting a police officer after being stopped for driving under the influence for the second time in a couple of years. He's publicly battled chemical dependency for years/decades.
Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman is a public school teacher in the area. Fun to see old football footage of him at his official website.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Snow dome
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Aftermath, Indianapolis
The live recording of Aftermath that appears on Adam's Acoustic Live EP was recorded during his Indianapolis show on August 31, 2010. Fan-recorded video below from indybeck71:
It's hard to believe he can sing like this sitting down.
It's hard to believe he can sing like this sitting down.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
Aftermath
Here's Aftermath, another of the songs on Adam's Acoustic Live EP (made available for embed by his official site):
Aftermath was written by Adam, Alisan Porter and Ferras Alqaisi. Alisan and Ferras are singers themselves. Alisan sings extraordinary backing vocals for this song on the FYE album. Here's Ferras singing Hollywood's Not America. And here's Alisan singing Into the Fire in The Zodiac Show and singing Over the Rainbow on Star Search when she was 5 years old (too sweet to watch safely if you have a cavity that needs to be filled).
Update to add more Alisan info: Adam and Alisan have been friends for years. Here they both are in The Zodiac Show in September 2008 singing Led Zep's Black Dog. Adam is Singer #3 (starting at 1:26) and Alisan is #4 (starting at 1:46).
Alisan's band, The Canyons, will open for Adam at his LA shows Dec. 15 and 16.
Update 12/6/10: Adam's Acoustic Live EP is now available for download from iTunes here. Rockstar Weekly reviews it here (5 of 5 stars).
Aftermath was written by Adam, Alisan Porter and Ferras Alqaisi. Alisan and Ferras are singers themselves. Alisan sings extraordinary backing vocals for this song on the FYE album. Here's Ferras singing Hollywood's Not America. And here's Alisan singing Into the Fire in The Zodiac Show and singing Over the Rainbow on Star Search when she was 5 years old (too sweet to watch safely if you have a cavity that needs to be filled).
Update to add more Alisan info: Adam and Alisan have been friends for years. Here they both are in The Zodiac Show in September 2008 singing Led Zep's Black Dog. Adam is Singer #3 (starting at 1:26) and Alisan is #4 (starting at 1:46).
Alisan's band, The Canyons, will open for Adam at his LA shows Dec. 15 and 16.
Update 12/6/10: Adam's Acoustic Live EP is now available for download from iTunes here. Rockstar Weekly reviews it here (5 of 5 stars).
How to order at Chipotle
I love Chipotle. Here is some excellent advice about how to maximize your burrito order. (I say carnitas and pinto beans, though, instead of steak/barbacoa and black beans.)
On a related note, I'm spending some time with some 20-somethings for a fundraising campaign. One of these kids used to work at a Chipotle, but refused to eat there because, he complained, Chipotle's food is very very bad for your health since they put salt in everything (in the meat, in the beans, in the sauces, etc). His complaint seemed odd to me since he was smoking as he described this. But it seemed all the odder when, later in the day, I watched him shake salt onto a pizza.
On a related note, I'm spending some time with some 20-somethings for a fundraising campaign. One of these kids used to work at a Chipotle, but refused to eat there because, he complained, Chipotle's food is very very bad for your health since they put salt in everything (in the meat, in the beans, in the sauces, etc). His complaint seemed odd to me since he was smoking as he described this. But it seemed all the odder when, later in the day, I watched him shake salt onto a pizza.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Adam's Grammy nomination
Adam was nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song Whataya Want From Me. To refresh your memory, here's the video for this song:
An acoustic, live version of this song is included on Adam's Acoustic Live EP that is set to be released in a few days. I like this even better.
The EP includes 4 songs from his album, performed and recorded live and acoustic, plus a live acoustic version of Mad World. The first printing of the EP is sold out, though it hasn't been released yet. An additional printing is expected, though. It'd make an excellent stocking stuffer for Adam fans or all fans of great voices.
Full list of all Grammy categories and nominees is here.
An acoustic, live version of this song is included on Adam's Acoustic Live EP that is set to be released in a few days. I like this even better.
The EP includes 4 songs from his album, performed and recorded live and acoustic, plus a live acoustic version of Mad World. The first printing of the EP is sold out, though it hasn't been released yet. An additional printing is expected, though. It'd make an excellent stocking stuffer for Adam fans or all fans of great voices.
Full list of all Grammy categories and nominees is here.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
If you ever feel sorry for yourself...
Consider what has happened to a friend of mine and good man--Roger Chan. I had the pleasure of serving with him in Lions in Austin. Good guy and I'm confident he'll overcome and flourish. From the Statesman.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Adam's Glam Nation Tour winds to a close
Adam's Glam Nation Tour is over, except for two final shows in LA in mid-December. When the tour started in May, I wondered how Adam's voice would hold out. He's now been on the road for 6 months, headlining about 110 sold out shows around the world, performing typically 4 shows per week, and here's what his voice sounded like in the encore of his show last night in London. Twentieth Century Boy:
Have I mentioned I'm going to LA to see his final show on December 16?
Update moments later: Here's Soaked from last night's show in London. Adam has identified this song as the most challenging vocally in his set.
Have I mentioned I'm going to LA to see his final show on December 16?
Update moments later: Here's Soaked from last night's show in London. Adam has identified this song as the most challenging vocally in his set.
Kanye West and his band of ballerinas
Ballerinas are everywhere right now. Yay. There are ballerinas on the big screen in Black Swan with Natalie Portman, and there are ballerinas in Kanye West's video and movie for his song Runaway. Whether you like Kanye or this song, you can enjoy the beauty and grace of Kanye's band of ballerinas in this extended version (about 8 min) of his music video for Runaway. (You really should watch it at this link so you can make it full screen. Also, I recommend watching in 1080 HD.)
You can see Kanye's 34 minute movie, from which the above 8 minutes is excerpted, on Vevo here.
Update moments later: Also, there's a history of ballet in the New York Times list of Notable Books for 2010. It's APOLLO’S ANGELS: A History of Ballet, by Jennifer Homans. "The question of classical ballet’s very survival lies at the heart of this eloquent, truly definitive history, which traces dance across four centuries of wars and revolutions, both artistic and political."
Update 12/2/10: Here's a screen cap of the names of the ballerinas in Kanye's video and movie:
You can see Kanye's 34 minute movie, from which the above 8 minutes is excerpted, on Vevo here.
Update moments later: Also, there's a history of ballet in the New York Times list of Notable Books for 2010. It's APOLLO’S ANGELS: A History of Ballet, by Jennifer Homans. "The question of classical ballet’s very survival lies at the heart of this eloquent, truly definitive history, which traces dance across four centuries of wars and revolutions, both artistic and political."
Update 12/2/10: Here's a screen cap of the names of the ballerinas in Kanye's video and movie:
Monday, November 29, 2010
Beautiful libraries
The relatively new Hennepin County Library in downtown Minneapolis made this list of libraries with the most beautiful facades. (Nevermind that I can't really tell WHO chose these libraries, and nevermind that the facade of a library is not really its most important quality, IMHO.) The design sports an airplane-esque wing that may seem silly but is actually kind of cool, because you can see it suspended over Hennepin Ave. from many blocks down the street. I think that it's great for reminding people that the library is there, since it resides at the edge of downtown. I'm having trouble appreciating the inside of the building, but I haven't spent much time there, so maybe it'll grow on me eventually. It has mostly glass walls and no amount of heat makes up for how cold it looks outside on a gray January day.
This library was designed by Cesar Pelli, who designed my favorite building (post-1930) in downtown Minneapolis. Built in 1989, it was originally the Norwest Bank building and will always be so to me. (Other people now call it the West Fargo Center.) It's deco. Tons of stone and brass and loveliness. At night, it's beautifully lit, though when it first opened, there was a brou-ha-ha about how much energy was wasted to light it all night, so a compromise was struck and it's now dark after a certain hour. I worked in it for a few years and it was as functional as it was beautiful.
This library was designed by Cesar Pelli, who designed my favorite building (post-1930) in downtown Minneapolis. Built in 1989, it was originally the Norwest Bank building and will always be so to me. (Other people now call it the West Fargo Center.) It's deco. Tons of stone and brass and loveliness. At night, it's beautifully lit, though when it first opened, there was a brou-ha-ha about how much energy was wasted to light it all night, so a compromise was struck and it's now dark after a certain hour. I worked in it for a few years and it was as functional as it was beautiful.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Al Gore
is an idiot, in case you didn't already know. Here's wishing that this would be the last time the press will ever report on anything he says. (From a column by Tom Diemer - who? - at Politics Daily - what?)
This ought to be a crime.
"It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for first-generation ethanol," Gore said at a green energy conference in Athens, Greece, according to Reuters. First generation refers to the most basic, energy-intensive process of converting corn to ethanol for use as a motor vehicle fuel additive.
On reflection, Gore said the energy conversion ratios -- how much energy is produced in the process -- "are at best very small." "One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee," he said, "and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president."
This ought to be a crime.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
WW II Leadership
Victor Davis Hanson on the "masters and commanders" of WW II. Video here courtesy of C-Span and Hillsdale College. Lecture runs about 1:45.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Ghailani trial did not "deliver justice"
The testimony of Hussein Abebe, the terrorist who sold Ghailani the dynamite used in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, was suppressed; in a military commission, where this guy should have been tried, it wouldn't have been.
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