Dexter

One of the great things about the new world of complete seasons and series on DVD/Blu Ray/Netflix on demand is that it allows you to discover shows you may have missed. "Dexter" is the perfect example of this. The first two seasons are on Netflix instant and so one evening I decided to check out season 1 episode 1. You see I am weird, I can never start watching any show in the middle. I must start with Season 1 episode 1 and work my way up from there.

"Dexter" got me hooked right from the start, it is the quintessential guilty pleasure show about a serial killer vigilante with a heart of gold. But here's what is really interesting: Tasha and I don't usually enjoy the same shows, she doesn't care about Mad Men, True Blood, and a few others that I love. But recently she checked out Dexter and now she is hooked!! She is halfway through season 2, and has stayed up late on a few occasions to watch "just one more episode" very unusual for her!

Season 5 just ended last night, and being as how it is the most popular show on Showtime, it has been renewed for at least one more season. And Tasha and I can't wait!

My favorite of all time

As I'm sure you've all seen in previous posts I have quite a few musical artists/groups that I like. Now the greatest of all time will always be the Beatles, but there is one artist that I listen to and like more then even them....the man from Newcastle, Gordon Sumner, or as he is known to millions, "Sting" I've been listening to Sting and the Police since I was a few years older then Kevin. Here is a breakdown of every police Studio and and Sting solo album..

Outlandos D' Amour

Virtuoso Drummer Stuart Copeland discovered Sting and invited him to be the bass player along with Henry Padovani (later replaced by Andy Summers) Success came very quickly to the police as legendary classics like "Roxanne" and "So Lonely" came flowing out of Sting effortlessly. A musical genius Sting was just beginning to write a string of classics both for the Police and later his solo career.

This album is Ska Reggae Rock all the way. It is certainly the most reggae influenced of all five of their albums. I don't listen to it quite as much as I do some of the others...all in all I will rank this album #4 out of 5

Reggatta De Blanc

The groups sophomore effort features radio mainstays like Message in a Bottle and Walking on the Moon, Sting was in a zone of pure dynamism as the melody to message in a bottle came to him out of the blue. I was/am so obsessed with that song that I know that the group sings the refrain "Sending out on SOS" exactly 25 times. In fact I remember one swimming practice in high school I screamed out the song for to girls on my swim team (Coed swimming was fun) The track "Bring on the Night" is a true gem...Ranks as #3 out of 5

Zenyatta Mondatta

"First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect, your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect"

This very singable album is one one of my all time favorites...A tour de force of pop gems, interspersed with jazz rock anthems features some great instrumentals it ranks as my #2 out of 5 in the Police Canon

Ghost in the Machine

Coolest album name ever, whenever there is any unexplained problem with any technology I always joke that it is a Ghost in the Machine..The reason why I have to rank this as #5 of 5 is because there are a few songs in the middle of the album that barely miss the mark and in this tight race I have to lend weight to that fact...on the flip side "Spirits in the Material" and the classic "Every little thing is magic" make this an amazing album...And then there is the hidden gem "Secret Journey" which I think is masterful.

Synchronicity

The fifth and final album by the group is the undisputed masterpiece. Except for the crazy "Mother" track...every one of these songs is gold...Every one is amazing...Synchronicity II was a rocking way to start their 2007 concert tour, and their live treatment of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" was my favorite rendition in the 4 times I was privileged to see the group in concert......The Hidden gem in this is the Hypnotic "Tea in the Sahara"

Solo Career

Sting is a perfectionist that needs to be in control of all steps of the process...after the Synchronicity Tour he broke up the band and set out on what I think was the most successful second act in pop music history. His first album would be heavily jazz influenced. (I'm gonna pick my top three favorite out of his 7 to date)

The Dream of the Blue Turtles

Begins with "if you love someone set them free" (the antidote to every breath you take) Jazzy, Loungey, and brilliant, this first of his solo records has such hidden gems as "We work the Black Seam" (if you don't know by now Grabbaggar considers hidden gems to be those songs that are not obvious in the amount of radio airplay they garner) Sting hired top Jazz musicians like Branford Marsalas to help him make this record.

Nothing Like the Sun

I wore this CD out in my room on Palomino, and have burned a hole in my HD listening to it as well...You really hear the beauty in Stings voice and the sonic perfection of the songs...every single one of them is brilliant....this is my second favorite Sting album. Hidden gem is his cover of "little wing" by Jimi Hendrix.

Soul Cages

Stings most personal album is also his best. Sonically perfect..beautiful..haunting...peaceful....brilliant...I could go on and on, the quintessential album to listen to when you relax or fall asleep, or do just about anything. It is an absolute marvel, a true masterpiece! (Ya I know what you're thinking, Garrett, why don't you tell everyone how you really feel? (:)

Ten Summoner's Tales

Many rank this as their favorite....playful....funny.. I remember thinking when I picked this CD up in Chico, "Can he do it again" that is write amazing songs? And when I played "If I ever lose my faith in you" I remember screaming in my dorm room "yes!!...freakin amazing, how does he do it?!!" I was a spazz.

Sting doesn't like to just use one style of music...often times he will fuse together different styles and experiment with different time signatures like the country song "Love is stronger then justice" in 7/8 time and he again changes the time signatures in "St Augustine in Hell" This is my 3rd favorite and like I said is probably his most accessible solo album.

Mercury Falling

Darker and more poignant then Ten Summoners tales it continues to meld musical styles and spawned "I hung my head" which Johnny Cash covered to Stings delight. Hidden gem here is "I'm so happy that I can't stop crying" A cathartic painful and ultimately somewhat redemptive song that talks about divorce..yes I have to fight back tears many times when I hear it.

Brand New Day

This album grew on me and is certainly one of his best..I think this one went 3x platinum, so many others liked it as well..We all know and love "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose" (who doesn't dream of rain, a lay a lay?) There is a song here that starts out as pure country, then seamlessly transitions into gospel..and then at the end right into jazz...your homework dear readers is to tell me the name of this track...

And last but not least

Sacred Love

Stings last "true" solo album was released in 2004 (he has 2 since then, but they aren't really what I would call true studio albums) Anyways, for the first time we have some dance techno....soul..jazz..etc...and the hidden gem "Dead mans rope" and one of the funnest songs to sing along with "Stolen Car (take me dancing)"

Its been six years since Sting has put out his last album with true dynamic songs...does he have enough left in the tank? He will be 60 years old next October (Mark, Scott, and I saw him on his 40th b-day at the Hollywood Bowl) We will all find out...in the meantime..lets crank up the music!!!

Sting is my favorite of all time!!!!

Dodger

Did you know?:Kevins First word was "Dodger" he said it "Dod-Che"

Like Tasha wrote in her blog, we got Dodger almost on a whim just a few months after we were married..I was 23 and Tasha was 22. There were 8 chocolate lab puppies and 3 were female. We took Dodger because she seemed like the most calm of the bunch (:

We would take turns picking her up and holding her and looking at each other with an "oh my gosh are we really going to do this" face. We didn't make it out of there empty handed..we wrote a check for $200, and drove the 30 miles south back home to Chico. Dodger rode on Tasha's lap the entire way. I can still picture how cute both of them looked.

We loved having a new puppy in our house and as she grew older she was very hyper and playful, a typical Labrador.

Dodger was a born retriever and an excellent swimmer. We would take her to the creek by our house in Chico and watch Dodger go flying off the rocks diving in the creek and joyfully swimming around until she had swallowed so much water that she would then have to yak it back up on the walk home.

The 4 years we lived in Ventura were Dodgers Glory years. Since Ventura had (and still has) a look the other way policy with regards to dogs on the beach, Dodger thrived there. We would let her off the leash and she would stalk sea gulls and chase them...she would go charging after a stick when I would throw it in the ocean, leaping over the surf until she located it and then with a flick of her "otter tail" make a quick u-turn, body surfing the shorebreak and running back to Tash and I.

She was a natural frisbee dog. We had her special dog frisbee that I would throw to her on the beach I would try to time it so that she would leap into a small wave right when she caught it. A lot of times I would jump in the ocean with her and body surf right next to her. She never had to be trained to retrieve sticks, tennis balls, or frisbees. She was just so much fun to play with. She could run so fast.

If Dogs go to a special Dog heaven, this is where I think Dodger will always be, running in the surf, waiting to chase her next sea gull

7-1-97 - 11-27-10

"Social Network"

Ahh what a great movie...this one ranks among my all time favorites....I rarely go to the movies anymore because of my issues...(see previous post) But this one one was by far the best tech movie that has ever been made. It follows Mezrichs book closely and shows the creation of a "once in a generation idea".

You don't have to have ever used a computer to enjoy this one though...it is close to a masterpiece and will easily be nominated for Best Picture.

J Timberlake had one of the all time best lines..he plays Shawn Parker the creator of Napster...when told he didn't win, the record companies did, he replies, "Oh really? How many Tower Records do you see?"

I was giddy the entire time watching this one..FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!

Quick take on the midterm election

The GOP as expected took back the house in historic landslide fashion. This is very similar to what happened in 1994 with Bill Clinton and the "Republican Revolution" But in 2010 instead of the "Contract with America" we have the Tea Party.

If Angel and O'Donnell hadn't run in the Senate, then most probably the GOP could have recaptured the Senate..instead they put up wacky out of the mainstream Tea Party backed candidates like Christine "I'm not a Witch" O'Donnell. 3rd partys always hurt the mainstream party that they are most affiliated with. Nader in 2004 took many votes away from John "Reporting for Duty" Kerry. And of course Ross "I'm not crazy, people are after me" Perot. The Tea Party will dissolve in a few years and re-assimilate into the GOP.

So we are back to gridlock just like Admiral Stockdale said in the 1992 VP debates. The best Obama can hope for is that the economy will begin to rebound and by 2012 he will be reelected, if it doesn't and the GOP can put up a good candidate then Obama is a one termer.

So this election I voted for

Legalization of Ganja...even though I have never smoked the herb in my life

Barbara Boxer

Jerry Brown

and the Democratic opponent to our lifelong congressman Buck McKeon

Looks like I better make it official and change my party registration from Elephant to Donkey.

I'm pretty much a Bill Clinton Democrat

P.S. Whoever put together that Whitman attack ad that showed Whitman and Arnold saying the exact same things....brilliant! One of the best political ads ever.

Enough with the Miners!!!!!

Last night at the Kings game the PA announcer made an announcement and they showed live footage on CNN of the miner rescue in Chile. The last time I was at a sporting event and a news announcement was made was in 1990 at the LA Colisseusm during a Raider Game (Operation Desert Storm)

I understand that this is a sort of uplifting story. What I do not understand is the crazy coverage of it..especially on my twitter feeds @breakingnews and @cnnbrk Why do they have to make an announcement about every single specific miner???? And why did they interrupt the Delware Senate debate on CNN for BREAKING NEWS another miner is out?

####Breaking news###as I write this blog..miner number 17 is out..his favorite color is blue, he likes long walks in the rain, and he is now happily reunited with his wife...please stay tuned as we break in to another of your programs to bring you ####Miner 18! And it looks like they have lowered a monkey down carrying a cheese sandwich to the rest of them. Or maybe 12 monkeys!!!

IPAD V Kindle

I love it, two of my most favorite gadgets going head to head.

Of course Kindle is a far better dedicated reading device.

Good thing I have both!