I think I've recovered from the Shelby Lynne concert at the House of Blues last night. For the record, I thought it was OK. Shelby's problem is with her never-ending quest to not be labelled, she is all over the map with her song selection and it tends to interrupt the flow of the show. You'll have a torch song here, then a rocker, then a Texas swing song, then a country song and so on. And apparently on and on for some of us. I believe the quote from Best Friend was it was "horrible". Thoughts of leaving, etc. I think she and Best Friend Spouse were suffering from a bit of "full fare grudge" and were far from impressed, but cousin and I were able to sneak in on the wonderful 2-for-1 offer that HOB offers. And Shelby licked her arm at one point, which was a turnoff...for some. Anyhow, let's set the stage.

When we arrived, the opening act, some blind guy, was just finishing. That wasn't his name, but he was blind. During the intermission, we were able to grab some stools and sit on the edge of the main floor. Screen goes up and she comes out with Napoleon Dynamite on guitar and slide, and James Spader on bass, the drummer...I got nothing. (BTW, I think I'm gonna learn the slide guitar, because I can sit down while playing. I wonder if I could do some windmills like Pete while sitting.) During the first two songs, Shelby is clearly looking at me for at least half the time, I am not kidding. Over the course of the evening, I am conservatively estimating and I have witnesses, that at least 23% of the time, she was singing to me. However, I notice a disturbing trend as the evening progresses. On the happy tunes, I'm ignored. But on the "sad songs", the "love gone bad" songs, the "I hate men" songs, I'm the target. I believe the clincher was some lyric about "Passion being stomped into the ground by your feet" or some such nonsense and I'm gettin' the stink eye. Can you imagine that? Me! Or maybe Shelby's blind like Best Friend and can't really see that far which would ruin the recap, because it's all about me, right? Many beers may have clouded my vision as well, but that's my story and dammit, I'm stickin' to it.

Meal of Links

After the concert, I realize (once again) I haven't eaten a morsel all night. Well, let's see what's open. Hah, McDonald's, and it doesn't look crowded...from the street, that is. But the line is wrapped around the building, so I have essentially done a 360 to get back on the road. With thoughts of Steak and Shake running through my mind, I realize I have two pieces of pizza in the fridge. Mmmmm....pizza. What a life. Feeling no pain, sitting in your Mike's Madness t-shirt and boxers watching "INXS: Rockstar" on your DVR, while chowin' on some pizza at 12:30. And my favorite, Daphna Dove, survived another week. Can I get a "hubba"? Thrice?

I don't think I've caved on the Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court. The guy doesn't have much of a paper trail and it's the D's in the Senate who look like they are gonna roll over. I think they are gearing up for a battle on the next nominee, as Roberts is the compromise choice. Let's wait for the questioning and see if we can find some fatal flaws.

Paul Anka has a new album. It's my life, baby.

Exercise Yard

After "INXS: Rockstar", I'm still somewhat awake, so I watch the "Mantle" documentary on HBO. Mickey Mantle, you see, was my Mom's favorite player. I think she liked his "boyish charm". Anyhow, one of the first baseball arguments I had with my Mom was about Mantle's speed. She claimed he could get down the line in 3.1 seconds from the lefthanded batter's box. I'm doing my grade school math at the time, figuring 30 yards in 3.1 seconds, that means he could run the 100-yard dash pretty fast. And his name wasn't Bob Hayes. So, I'm telling my Mom she's nuts, it's impossible to run that fast to first. And, of course, over time, I came to the realization the guy was fast. So, the first few minutes of this program is basically everyone concurring with my Mom about how fast he was. Anyhow, it's a nice tribute and a real tearjerker at the end.

BTW, Kramer punches Mickey's lights out on "Seinfeld" tonight.

Visitor

56 Down: "The Simpsons" cartoonist Groening (4 letters) Answer: Matt