Back in the time they called "The 90's," Everclear was one of my favorite bands....the raw emotion of Sparkle and Fade was something I could appreciate.  They went "pop" with "So Much for the Afterglow" but were still producing good songs and I dug it.  There were some good takeaways with "Songs from an American Movie vol. 1 and 2."

Which brings us to "The Vegas Years"...not even good covers.  They showed up on the radar because I was checking out shows at this summer's Iowa State Fair to see if there is anyone worth buying grandstand tickets for.  Def Leppard I have seen before, and if you can take it for what it was...put on a great show when I saw them.  Everclear is almost a detourant as an opening act.  When a band is doing an album of covers with no original members other than the lead singer, you know they are in trouble.

I'll concede I'm somewhat lost in the 90s when it comes to 'newer' music.  I like Death Cab and have been paying some attention to My Morning Jacket.  Maybe I'm just getting old like those people that are pumped about seeing Foreigner at the 'Tenderloin Fest.'  I hear nothing from new artists I like and I'm open to suggestions.

That's the music update....other than that...life is good.  Like my job...family is doing well.  I'll be in town next weekend if anyone is available to hang out.  Give a call if interested.

I attended the Iowa Caucus today.  It was interesting to say the least.  I think half of Pella was packed into the grade school gym.  Most likely a fire hazard.  I must say it didn't appear to be a very organized process.  The ballots were just slips of paper that were turned in to a garbage bag for the corresponding district.  If somebody really wanted to fabricate some votes, they could easily throw extra copies in one of the bags.  I'm usually not swayed by celebrity endorsements, but when Chuck Norris comes forward, one can't help but be influenced.

The time as always went quickly back in the B.C.  I tried you, Brandon and Josh, but was unsucessfull.  I'm hoping we'll work something out in December...Darius...I'm looking  you too.

Dad and I took Natalie ice skating at the rink.  It was around 8 this evening, so mostly older kids there.  It was a bit of a time warp because I remember skating there when I was younger.  There used to always be an older guy there that did spins and was a figure skater of sorts.  He's still there.  There were also a number of Pennfield high school kids.

Speaking of Pennfield kids, I went to meet Noah at  the Griffin downtown and ended up running into Dustin Walsh, Nate Darlington, Blaire Bollinger (Vanderford), Leigh Masters, and Brian Pollack.  They wern't all there together, but we ended up sitting together and getting caught up.  (Not like Leigh and Brian were good friends of mine back in the day...it was funny, Leigh just wanted to know if I have had any contact with Clark recently and wanted me to tell him to get a hold of her if I talk to him again).

Not looking forward to the long ass drive tomorrow, but it was worth the trip.  I think I gained about five pounds over the weekend.

NL Central Champs!