Mr. Destiny

All but Elk Grove Village was a concert.

In 1990 a movie starring Jim Belushi was about a man who though successful in life was still feeling ill will about what happened to him during a baseball game as a kid and got the opportunity to change it. However, changing that seemingly insignificant event completely changed his life and eventually caused the main character to need to change things back to what they were as his new life was not quite what he had hoped it to be. I know other tv shows and movies had the same theme including a Simpsons episode this season.

I would love the opportunity to possibly change an event like that or more importantly change an event where I got hurt or hurt myself like when I permanently damaged the bursa sac in my left leg while bowling in a league with the best amateurs in the Chicago area 15 years ago. However, that would definitely change my current life. Even preventing me from stepping on that hot dog last September could have done something as I could imagine getting into a car accident only caused by me not being at Sam's Club later filling out an accident report.

Anyway, seven years ago this past week was a convention called ALCON III. I was real excited since Weird Al was actually going to make an appearance there unlike the one in 2000 when he was on tour. Others had seen him there at the one in 1998 where I found out about it one week after it was over.

I was there early that Friday all excited and was helping people setting up. I was helping Luke Ski get his items from his car when my camera fell out of the pocket of my Hawaiian shirt and I noticed it was cracked. I was able to snap the camera back together and it still took pictures.

On Saturday the guest of honor showed up and I got someone to take a pic of me with AL with my camera. He offered to take one with his camera because I told him what happened to mine. I declined that offer stating I got it to work.

When I developed the pictures two week later, I found out the film was exposed and none of them developed. The timing was not good either since it was a very trying time with my family.

Since then, I have had instances where I thought I could replace that picture but due to timing and one person's ignorance, I never did. (Note: That second incident and my reaction over a year later possibly changed history on the Dr Demento Show.)

Since then, I have found out that where I live makes it difficult to get backstage after a concert to meet him. There are certain people, like the one who organized the ALCONs and the two who run AL sites along with the family of AL's drummer, Jon "bermuda" Schwartz who all live in the Chicago area and join AL backstage whenever they are there. That makes it difficult if not impossible even for my friends. They at most get two passes and use them for themselves and a s.o.

At times that instance has created a problem on its own in my head especially after hearing others who by not living in Chicago are able to go backstage and get a pic with AL or having people I would not expect get a pic. It would make before and after his concerts difficult for me. I used to even think people would purposely exclude me and put me down. Maybe one did but then again, I got back at him.

Would I want to alter that moment from seven years ago? Definitely. I don't see it causing any harm though I could picture an instance similar to that of the hot dog. With AL not on tour currently, I did get the next best thing earlier this year:

My circle of golf

Simple chart, let me explain:

This pattern has followed my golfing since 1992 and gone on a four year cycle since.

Excellence, Presidential election year: I play great. All my best scores and performances have come on those years.

Injury, Presidential term starts on this year: I feel the effects of an injury which prevents me from playing the game as often or well as I did the previous year and in 01 and 05, actually needed surgery. The injuries might not have happened that year but the effects were greatest in those years.

Distraction, men's soccer World Cup year: I find something else to occupy my time in the summer. Ranging from a summer bowling league, Scrabble, my wife's illness, and conventions, I barely had the time or money to play the game.

Interest: men's Rugby World Cup year: I get involved with another type of golf like video game, on line, Golden Tee, or disc golf but reach a point where I won't get any better than I do so I turn back to real golf.

Being 2009, I am currently suffering from discomfort in my left (non surgical knee) initially caused by stepping on a hot dog I dropped in September and aggravated many times since.

Bonus: Here is a picture of my daughter and one of her teammates whose family I have known for 3 years through my daughter's karate but neither they nor us knew each other's last names:

Family Circus style driving, part 4

Map Legend:

A: My best friend's house
B: My house
C: Where my wife noticed Lamb's Farm and realized she was going the wrong way
D: Where my wife was when she called me telling me she was lost and I had to go on the computer to find out where the hell a city called Johnsburg is and guide her home from there.

Since I had to watch my nephew one night in 2006, I could not go to a play with my best friend and knowing that my wife does not get out that often and since I agreed ahead of time to watch the kids that night, I realized it would be best if she went instead of me. She has driven home from her house before so I thought she knew how to get home.

First of all, I did not realize she took Irving Park Road for almost 20 miles the previous time she did that (just like FCD3) and was driving towards my house the first time using Foster Ave which taken to the Kennedy Expressway, 190, Mannheim Rd and Irving allows me to make the 21 mile trip home in about 40 minutes.

She got on the Edens Expressway which also has a Foster Ave entrance. It took her 2 and a half hours and over 70 miles.

Downloadable rock

One of the reasons I got the Xbox 360 for Rock Band was to download additional music. It is available at either $1 or $2 per song except for a couple of free songs and specific groups or albums which by purchasing all of them at once, it is cheaper.

After I used up my $20 download card last week, I realized I have 99 additional songs along with the ones from both main games and noticed the categories they are in. Here are examples of what is there:

Classic Rock: AC/DC, Boston, The Who
Pop Rock: Johnathan Coulton, The Police (that is where those songs are listed)
Rock: the Cars, Nine inch Nails
Progressive: Rush
Metal: Metallica, Motley Crue
Other: Spongebob Squarepants, MC Frontalot
Alternative: R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers
Emo: All American Rejects
Glam: David Bowie
Southern Rock: Skynnard

For anyone expecting a different theme this week, I apologize. After downloading three songs from Spongebob and noticing they were listed as "Other", I decided to do this list instead.

My inner Opus

Note: JoCo = Jonathan Coulton

My favorite December special is A Wish For Wings That Work. It features Bill the Cat and Opus the penguin most notably from comic strips Bloom County and later Outland.

Since it was made in 1991, I do not feel guilty about spoiling because I am going to talk about the episode and if you have not seen it by now, you should:

The idea is that Opus is unable and really wanting to fly like those around him and his attempts end up failing spectacularly causing him to receive much grief from those around him who do fly.

What ends up happening is that a situation arises where Opus's ability to swim saves the day as the wings of a penguin are designed for swimming instead of flying.

OK, what does that have to do with this post? I do enjoy music and love the idea of singing. However, my inability to determine pitch or tone won't allow me to do it competently. I did try to learn how but knowing what to do and being able to do it are two different things.

It has caused me unnecessary anguish and frustration and until I realized I show every symptom of a person with Asperger's syndrome including tone deafness, I had no clue why.

It makes sense to work on what a person can do well and not worry about what a person can't and to trust the intentions of those one calls friends.

Minion L Wood reporting

Comedy music artists Paul and Storm have a mostly weekly podcast where they "Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average)" www.paulandstorm.com

In their most recent cast they asked people to compose a diagram explaining their Scooby Doo ratio in which they state what percentage of themselves they associate with someone on Scooby Doo. (or other group of people)

Being a member of the Paul and Storm minion squad and someone who posts a chart or diagram almost every week, I felt it was my duty to oblige.

FYI: Gary Coleman did apprear on an Adult Swim version of Scooby Doo made in 2001 and as the Ookla the Mok song goes, There's a little Gary Coleman inside us all. (I had to explain that reference to my best friend so it is an inside joke only to the writer)

One last post about last weekend

Of the 20 performers last weekend including the 12 who had their own main stage concert and the 8 who either split time on the main stage in the sideshow slot or had a show in a small room, this is the break down of the full length CDs I own from them. I did not count EPs or any CD not available for purchase last weekend in making this chart.