Saturday Song Share: Beastie Boys - Sure Shot

...and I got mad hits like I was Rod Carew...

Fishing Blues

Despite being up at the cabin in between permanent residences, I've done a scant amount of fishing.  In fact, I've not gone at all this past week.

It's related to the following:

• I'm a good hour and fifteen minutes from work, so fishing after work or staying up late really isn't an option right now
• I don't have anyone to fish with.  Mrs. YDP is a very fair weather fisherperson, and things just have not been that fabulous outside
• The move has been wildly expensive.  Way, way more than we expected.  Dropping another couple hundred dollars on boat rental, gas, bait, etc. seems like a really stupid thing to do right now

The whole situation has conspired to make me 0 for 2017 as it pertains to fishing this year.  

I hope to be able to take advantage of more time on the lake when we return here later in July.

The Surprising Twins

We're firmly in June and our favorite baseball team is in first place in the AL North.  No, the lead isn't big, and the lineup has holes aplenty, but this team has been fun to watch.  Specifically:

• The defense has been off the charts.  The speed in the outfield, in particular, is worth the price of admission.
• Sano is already damn near the best third baseman the franchise ever had.  Gary Gaetti, watch your butt
• With Santana and Berrios, the Twins have the best one-two starting pitching punch since I don't know how long.  

I know it's a long season and there is a lot of baseball yet to play, however one cannot argue with the entertainment this team is putting out there on the field on nearly a daily basis.

Tucker Carlson on Kathy Griffin's Apology and the Culture of Victim-Hood

This is really wonderful analysis of the rise of victim-hood:

Who's Next? London

On the 23rd, I penned an article which asked, not rhetorically, who'd be next in the Islam hit parade.  Specifically, I stated the following: 

As sure as we know who did this, we also know they'll be striking again sometime soon.

We had to wait a little bit more than a week.

How long will we continue to put up with this?

Saturday Song Share: Rare Earth - Get Ready (Plus Discussion on Top Drummer Lead Vocalists)

Rare Earth was rare indeed - one of the very few white acts that signed to the Motown label.  That being said, they definitely had a funky vibe:



Beyond that rarity, they also had a drummer that handled the lead vocals.  In thinking about that, there are a couple that stand out, so in honor of Rare Earth's Peter Rivera, I give you my top five lead vocalist drummers:

5) Peter Rivera - Rare Earth: See above

4) Peter Criss - Kiss: While Criss is best known for the first ever hard rock ballad Beth, it is a song that never featured drums.  Go figure.  Despite that, Criss handled leads on Kiss classics like Nothin' to Lose and their best song ever, Black Diamond

3) Levon Helm - The Band: The Band's classic sound would be missing everything if not for Helm's distinctive sound.

2) Phil Collins - Genesis (and solo): He saved Genesis as a band upon the departure of lead singer Peter Gabriel, then launched a wildly successful solo career, with much of it conducted from behind the set.

1) Don Henley - The Eagles: The song Hotel California shows both sides of his performance so perfectly - the driving beats and the unmistakable velvety vocals.  

Now, let's discuss who's not on the list:

• Ringo Starr - The Beatles: His vocals are terrible, as is his drumming.  In fact, much of the material from the later albums featured drumming from other members of the Beatles instead of from Starr
• Dave Grohl - Nirvana and Foo Fighters: While a great drummer and a great singer, Grohl never focused on doing both at the same time while with either band
• Micky Dolenz - The Monkees: This one was hard.  It's not Micky's fault that they had forced them to accept other musicians playing for the Monkee lineup.

CNN Fires Kathy Griffin

I must admit that I'm surprised by CNN's action.  I really felt that they'd hide behind "Free Speech" (like there is such a thing anymore) and look for a reason to keep her on.  Certainly, their New Year's Eve ratings would be through the roof.

Good for you, CNN.  You did the right thing, regardless of what you may have truly felt.

Maybe there truly are some fair-minded people in the press.  

Ireland Day 7

I've been trying to clean up the blog, and in going through my unpublished drafts, found some golden oldies to share.  The photos below were from our last full day in Ireland a couple of years ago.  The first couple of photos are from an old monastery ruins, with some random coast shots thrown in.

The best shot is of our team on this trip.  That includes Mrs. YDP, my Mom, and our driver Liam, who, as you can see, was pretty darned fresh for my Mom.

We had an incredible trip, and it's fun to go back and look at how wonderful it was