We left the prairie west of Texarkana around noon heading for The Alamo yesterday. After deciding to take back roads rather than the expressway, we arrived in Hutto around 6:00 to dinner w/ my cousins. A good meal & some nice catching up later, we were back on the road & hit San Antone around 10:00. We found a hotel room in walking distance to The Alamo & The Riverwalk, but the parking situation is pretty weird. We park in a fenced in lot, but there’s no gate, so the fence seems kind of pointless. It’s $5.00 a day, & we just shove 5 bucks in a little slot w/ the # of the parking space on it. I don’t quite know how it works or who collects the money, but it seems to be fine so far. (Check back tomorrow for the continuing saga of the trip log.)
After a good night’s sleep & some acceptable eggs & waffles, we headed across the street to The Alamo. Now, I need to pause here to remind you that I’ve been a Davy Crockett enthusiast since I saw the Fess Parker movie w/ my cousin when I was 3 years old. However, I was given some mixed reviews of The Alamo itself. While some people said it was cool, the general feeling was that it wasn’t worth it. The people who said that were WAY off. It is super cool. I had such a great time. If you get the chance to see it, be sure to do so. The gardens inside the walls are fantastic, the tribute to the people who gave their lives is amazing, & the gift shop has great stuff. I don’t understand why they don’t get state or federal money to operate though. I feel they must have turned it down. It’s run solely on donations & revenue from the gift shop, so I did my part by spending too much money. You should check out the pics on my facebook page too because it’s an awesome place.
Also awesome is The Riverwalk. It’s kind of strange, & a little Venicesque, but it’s cool. Lot’s of bars, restaurants, & little shops down in the river valley but hidden by all the buildings that surround it. We walked around it all afternoon, had lunch & dinner down there, & then enjoyed it @ night all lit up by millions of lights in the trees. We happened upon a few old cathedrals, all of which were oddly locked up, but that didn’t stop us from trying to get in to see the insides. We also happened upon the house of Gen. Cas (the brother-in-law of Santa Anna & the man who may be responsible for making Santa Anna so mad that he marched his men for three months from Mexico to The Alamo in order to kick Texan ass). We even found a dude playing the bagpipes, so that was goo too. Not to mention the Irish pup w/ a real live Irishman singing songs & playing piano. His playing was pretty good, but I didn’t think to request the obvious Elvis tune. Maybe because I can’t decide which one would be the obvious one for him to play. I guess “It’s Alright Mama” would be good, but maybe “A Little Less Conversation” because I really kind of dig that tune. I guess that might not be enough to make it an obvious choice for that guy, but it’s good enough for me.
We got to hear both songs the other day when we stopped @ Graceland on our way to Texas. Like The Alamo, it’s not to be missed. Unlike The Alamo, it’s campy & ridiculous. We took the tour that also allowed us to see the Elvismobile museum & his plane, The Lisa Marie. I really enjoyed the house & the plane, & I was impressed by the gold alligator roof on his Lincoln, but in general, it’s absurd. It was hard to keep a straight face while 2, count them… 2!!! Unrelated people cried @ his grave. One of them, a woman in her late 40s also prayed to the grave. I didn’t get it. I didn’t laugh @ her, but I didn’t get it.
I also didn’t get the fact that the racquetball &gym building had easier access to the bar than the racquetball court, but @ least I can sympathize w/ the thought process that went into designing it.
I also didn’t get the billiard room draped in weird ass fabric. I didn’t get it, but I kind of want to do it to a room in my house.
I also didn’t get the room w/ 3 televisions built into the wall so as to watch all 3 networks @ the same time. Apparently, he heard that Johnson or Nixon or Ford or someone watched all 3 news broadcasts @ the same time & wanted to do the same. I guess I could understand watching soccer, The Soup & Seinfeld @ the same time, so maybe I do get it after all.
I also didn’t get the year-long pass that allows people to visit Graceland as often as they want throughout a calendar year. Who in their right mind would need to go back multiple times in a year? Maybe the crying/praying lady, I suppose.
All in all, The Alamo rules & I would go that repeatedly, so to each his or her own I guess. San Antonio is a great town, but I’m sure if I lived here, I would skip the Riverwalk like Washtenaw County locals skip the art fair. Visiting here is fantastic though… Do it…& maybe check out Graceland on the way.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Texas Post #2: New Years Eve w/ Spaniels
On Friday evening, we went for a nice drive to watch the sunset. After turning down a nice country road, we found an even nicer one. While listening to A Picture of Nectar, we saw an eight point buck silhouetted against the western sky as the sun set in purples & oranges. It was so beautiful, we thought we’d do it again on New Year’s Eve.
After firing off a few rounds from Sara’s uncle’s Glock (Sara also took some shots with the rifle before it mysteriously failed to fire), we hit the road again looking for a new sunset spot. It was not to be. And the moral of this story will be “Don’t trust the map on the GPS!” It looked as though the small county road would circle around & come back near the house so all seemed fine. We were able to get a couple nice sunset photos w/ Saturn (I think) in the background & a cool tree in the foreground. It was soon afterwards that things took a turn for the worse.
The road ended as the map showed it would. We took a left as the map suggested we should. We were happy & all was right w/ the world. Then, had we been able to listen, I’m sure we would have heard “Dueling Banjos” from behind a tree. The road was paved for a moment which was a surprise, but after it turned back to dirt, things got weird. The road twisted & turned up the hills & down the hollers through mud & sand in ways the map didn’t suggest. It then became a narrow, 2-track road. Things seemed a bit creepy, & the GPS wasn’t finding us on my phone the way it should have, but we kept going since the map showed that the road looped back to the highway. It was wrong.
I could tell Sara was getting a bit scared, so I kept the GPS situation to myself. I figured that if she thought we had a working map, there wouldn’t be a reason to freak out. So while she was outwardly freaking out, I had to keep my freak out in the inside. I don’t think letting on that we were off the map would have done any good.
After we were chased by a pretty big dog, possibly a Doberman, we came upon another turn, which presented us w/ a couple abandoned cars & a pile of old garbage. On the other side of the road, there was a sign that seemed to have been made by a freaky local, rather than the county road people who are in charge of such things. It seemed to say that the road was a dead end, but that didn’t make sense since the map suggested it wasn’t. The other problem was that over the sign, someone had secured a piece of poster board w/ a strange, rambling paragraph about fur trapping & how God doesn’t want us to use animals that way. I prepared to get a closer look @ the sign, but Sara wouldn’t let me get out of the car. I believe her exact words were, “YOUARENOTGETTINGOUTOFTHISCAR!!!”
By this point, the sun had set, so we were most definitely in the dark.
The darkness shouldn’t have been a problem, but w/o the map, w/o clear visibility, & w/o the certainty of not being approached by some weirdo, we had problems. As we maneuvered around the clutter of rusted out vehicles, we were approached by a pack of mangy spaniels. These spaniels seemed to have perhaps been abandoned out there. They were so creepy. And hungry. And maybe possessed by Satan.
Oh, did I mention, of course, that we needed gas the whole time? I didn’t, but if you’ve ever seen an old horror film, it should be obvious by now that our lack of fuel was also an issue.
She’d never given me such a direct order before, so I figured I better heed the words, as it were. We kept on going through more mud & twisting hills until we came to a fork in the road, or more specifically, a sort of multi-pronged rake. There were no signs, & we were more than uncertain as to which way to go. We chose the center path, but as we skirted around a few more abandoned cars & a couple old RVs which were missing their front-ends, we turned around. Taking a different route seemed rather perilous because we didn’t want to forget from which way we’d come.
From there, we headed back to from whence we came, & presently had to deal w/ all of the previous perils a second time. Of all of our labors, the second coming of those Satanic Spaniels seemed the worst. They were dark in the road so we couldn’t see them but for the head lights reflecting in their eyes. The dogs didn’t seem to want to get out of our way. Maybe they wanted us to play w/ them, but I wasn’t going to find out. In fact, I considered suggesting that she just stepping on it & plow over the dogs. (I should say right now that she didn’t. In fact, as far as I know, all the dogs survived the ordeal.) We finally got around them, & I let on that the GPS hadn’t been working (we had a good laugh). After our little laugh, we headed home.
Home to blow shit up. That’s right folks, after this ridiculous adventure, we were able to light off a shit-ton of fireworks that we’d acquired @ Boomland just east of Sykesville, MO. At Boomland, I also scored a shot glass for my collection & a coon skin cap for Isaiah. A coon skin cap seemed apropos since we’ll be visiting The Alamo this week. Of course, had we met our doom this evening, there would have been no one to remember us the way we remember the Alamo. In fact, there was a moment when I feared a fate worse than the folks @ the Alamo. What I would have given for 188 compatriots volunteering to go down w/ us. They who faced down the guns of Santa Anna have nothing on we who faced down the spaniels of Hell!
After firing off a few rounds from Sara’s uncle’s Glock (Sara also took some shots with the rifle before it mysteriously failed to fire), we hit the road again looking for a new sunset spot. It was not to be. And the moral of this story will be “Don’t trust the map on the GPS!” It looked as though the small county road would circle around & come back near the house so all seemed fine. We were able to get a couple nice sunset photos w/ Saturn (I think) in the background & a cool tree in the foreground. It was soon afterwards that things took a turn for the worse.
The road ended as the map showed it would. We took a left as the map suggested we should. We were happy & all was right w/ the world. Then, had we been able to listen, I’m sure we would have heard “Dueling Banjos” from behind a tree. The road was paved for a moment which was a surprise, but after it turned back to dirt, things got weird. The road twisted & turned up the hills & down the hollers through mud & sand in ways the map didn’t suggest. It then became a narrow, 2-track road. Things seemed a bit creepy, & the GPS wasn’t finding us on my phone the way it should have, but we kept going since the map showed that the road looped back to the highway. It was wrong.
I could tell Sara was getting a bit scared, so I kept the GPS situation to myself. I figured that if she thought we had a working map, there wouldn’t be a reason to freak out. So while she was outwardly freaking out, I had to keep my freak out in the inside. I don’t think letting on that we were off the map would have done any good.
After we were chased by a pretty big dog, possibly a Doberman, we came upon another turn, which presented us w/ a couple abandoned cars & a pile of old garbage. On the other side of the road, there was a sign that seemed to have been made by a freaky local, rather than the county road people who are in charge of such things. It seemed to say that the road was a dead end, but that didn’t make sense since the map suggested it wasn’t. The other problem was that over the sign, someone had secured a piece of poster board w/ a strange, rambling paragraph about fur trapping & how God doesn’t want us to use animals that way. I prepared to get a closer look @ the sign, but Sara wouldn’t let me get out of the car. I believe her exact words were, “YOUARENOTGETTINGOUTOFTHISCAR!!!”
By this point, the sun had set, so we were most definitely in the dark.
The darkness shouldn’t have been a problem, but w/o the map, w/o clear visibility, & w/o the certainty of not being approached by some weirdo, we had problems. As we maneuvered around the clutter of rusted out vehicles, we were approached by a pack of mangy spaniels. These spaniels seemed to have perhaps been abandoned out there. They were so creepy. And hungry. And maybe possessed by Satan.
Oh, did I mention, of course, that we needed gas the whole time? I didn’t, but if you’ve ever seen an old horror film, it should be obvious by now that our lack of fuel was also an issue.
She’d never given me such a direct order before, so I figured I better heed the words, as it were. We kept on going through more mud & twisting hills until we came to a fork in the road, or more specifically, a sort of multi-pronged rake. There were no signs, & we were more than uncertain as to which way to go. We chose the center path, but as we skirted around a few more abandoned cars & a couple old RVs which were missing their front-ends, we turned around. Taking a different route seemed rather perilous because we didn’t want to forget from which way we’d come.
From there, we headed back to from whence we came, & presently had to deal w/ all of the previous perils a second time. Of all of our labors, the second coming of those Satanic Spaniels seemed the worst. They were dark in the road so we couldn’t see them but for the head lights reflecting in their eyes. The dogs didn’t seem to want to get out of our way. Maybe they wanted us to play w/ them, but I wasn’t going to find out. In fact, I considered suggesting that she just stepping on it & plow over the dogs. (I should say right now that she didn’t. In fact, as far as I know, all the dogs survived the ordeal.) We finally got around them, & I let on that the GPS hadn’t been working (we had a good laugh). After our little laugh, we headed home.
Home to blow shit up. That’s right folks, after this ridiculous adventure, we were able to light off a shit-ton of fireworks that we’d acquired @ Boomland just east of Sykesville, MO. At Boomland, I also scored a shot glass for my collection & a coon skin cap for Isaiah. A coon skin cap seemed apropos since we’ll be visiting The Alamo this week. Of course, had we met our doom this evening, there would have been no one to remember us the way we remember the Alamo. In fact, there was a moment when I feared a fate worse than the folks @ the Alamo. What I would have given for 188 compatriots volunteering to go down w/ us. They who faced down the guns of Santa Anna have nothing on we who faced down the spaniels of Hell!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Trip to Texas Post #1
I know you've all been waiting so patiently for the updates from the road. Well, wait no longer! I'm coming to you live from a bookstore in Paris, Texas. A store that has a wifi connection, no less. It's been a great trip so far, & if you stay ntuned, you'll soon get to read about the side trips to Graceland & The Alamo... & me shooting guns & looking @ awesome wildlife (but not shooting guns @ the awesome wildlife). Now w/o further ado, the 1st section of the trip log detailing the drive from Ypsilanti to Texas:
27 December 2011
7:26 – Hit the road: 210 on the tripometer
7:30 – route debate: settled on Toledo to get south of the snow
7:33 - Realized we’d forgotten the trip log notebook
7:35 – Stopped for ice
7:45 – On the road again w/ the Queen/Tom Petty/Randy Newman mix
7:51 – Southbound on US 23
8:10 – Lost the pen
8:13 – Found the pen & desweatered
8:33 – Maumee River
9:30 – Sara woke up but didn’t want to go to the plastic outlet store
9:39 – Got around a boat
9:55 – Stopped for Dee to take pills & wondered if our shifts ever got covered @ Nicola’s
10:00 – Broke out the cookies & starte3d following the Arsenal v Wolves match
10:10 – Learned Gervinio scored… WOOOO!!!
10:54 – Gas in Findlay, OH: $38.00/ 10 gallons; learned Wolves scored… booo
10:56 – Valdalia, OH: I 70 West
11:22 – Inexplicable traffic jam
11:30 – Sara accidently reset the tripometer (it was @ 420)
11:50 – Learned that Arsenal drew 1-1 w/ Wolves
11:51 - Indiana Stateline
11:52 – Traffic jam explained: a semi tipped over in the median; traffic jam ends; rain picks up
11:53 – Rain turns to snow
12:00 – Sara ponders pretzels
12:22 – Crossed the Big Blue River
12:41 – Starbucks mint mocha
12:57 – On the road again
1:17 – Sara talks about quiet moments w/ Bill
1:27 –Big blue colt s. of Indianapolis
1:44 – Looked up Graceland hours & prices
1:53 – Seat belt buckle battle debacle
2:27 – Crossed the Wabash River & said it was flooded & saw it was flooded & it was flooded
2:31 – Illinois state line; Central Time Zone
1:37 – Rest area
2:30 – I57 South
3:36 – Gas @ Circle K: $40.00, 12 gallons, 286.7 miles
5:00 – Adventure in Dognoggle & vicinity
5:22 – Crossed the mighty Mississip… Missouri state line
5:32 – Boomland fireworks store
6:16 – On the road again after cruisin’ the lot for license plates
7:20 – Arkansas state line
7:25 – El Acapulco Mexican Restarasunt in Blytehville, Arkansas
7:40 – Nacho confusion
8:30 – cruising Blytheville looking for a cheap motel
8:35 – Walmart confusion
8:45 – Check in @ Super 8 (rooms were way too hot & didn’t cool down very well)
28 December 2011
8:02 – On the road again
8:15 – Bad ass hawk
8:21 – Bad ass poofy owl
8:34 – Saw a weird ass decorated X-Mas tree on the side of the freeway
8:56 – Cross the old Mississippi again; entered Tennessee; entered Memphis
9:06 – Saw our first green leaves
9:10 – Got to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, TN
12:30 – Leaving Graceland after a crappy breakfast @ the Rock n Roll Café
13:35 – 3 Near death experiences & gas @ Citgo: $2.93 per gallon/12 gallons/557 miles
12:54 – Mississippi River again; Arkansas again
1:20 – Restroom break
1:37 – Sara: “That’s a weird place to park a car.”
1:38 – Dee: “That’s a weird place to park a duck”
1:40 – Sara begins hunting hawks & we see them every ¼ mile or so
1:55 – Andre begins transcribing the log on his computer for future blogging
1:35 – Andre prepares to close the computer
27 December 2011
7:26 – Hit the road: 210 on the tripometer
7:30 – route debate: settled on Toledo to get south of the snow
7:33 - Realized we’d forgotten the trip log notebook
7:35 – Stopped for ice
7:45 – On the road again w/ the Queen/Tom Petty/Randy Newman mix
7:51 – Southbound on US 23
8:10 – Lost the pen
8:13 – Found the pen & desweatered
8:33 – Maumee River
9:30 – Sara woke up but didn’t want to go to the plastic outlet store
9:39 – Got around a boat
9:55 – Stopped for Dee to take pills & wondered if our shifts ever got covered @ Nicola’s
10:00 – Broke out the cookies & starte3d following the Arsenal v Wolves match
10:10 – Learned Gervinio scored… WOOOO!!!
10:54 – Gas in Findlay, OH: $38.00/ 10 gallons; learned Wolves scored… booo
10:56 – Valdalia, OH: I 70 West
11:22 – Inexplicable traffic jam
11:30 – Sara accidently reset the tripometer (it was @ 420)
11:50 – Learned that Arsenal drew 1-1 w/ Wolves
11:51 - Indiana Stateline
11:52 – Traffic jam explained: a semi tipped over in the median; traffic jam ends; rain picks up
11:53 – Rain turns to snow
12:00 – Sara ponders pretzels
12:22 – Crossed the Big Blue River
12:41 – Starbucks mint mocha
12:57 – On the road again
1:17 – Sara talks about quiet moments w/ Bill
1:27 –Big blue colt s. of Indianapolis
1:44 – Looked up Graceland hours & prices
1:53 – Seat belt buckle battle debacle
2:27 – Crossed the Wabash River & said it was flooded & saw it was flooded & it was flooded
2:31 – Illinois state line; Central Time Zone
1:37 – Rest area
2:30 – I57 South
3:36 – Gas @ Circle K: $40.00, 12 gallons, 286.7 miles
5:00 – Adventure in Dognoggle & vicinity
5:22 – Crossed the mighty Mississip… Missouri state line
5:32 – Boomland fireworks store
6:16 – On the road again after cruisin’ the lot for license plates
7:20 – Arkansas state line
7:25 – El Acapulco Mexican Restarasunt in Blytehville, Arkansas
7:40 – Nacho confusion
8:30 – cruising Blytheville looking for a cheap motel
8:35 – Walmart confusion
8:45 – Check in @ Super 8 (rooms were way too hot & didn’t cool down very well)
28 December 2011
8:02 – On the road again
8:15 – Bad ass hawk
8:21 – Bad ass poofy owl
8:34 – Saw a weird ass decorated X-Mas tree on the side of the freeway
8:56 – Cross the old Mississippi again; entered Tennessee; entered Memphis
9:06 – Saw our first green leaves
9:10 – Got to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, TN
12:30 – Leaving Graceland after a crappy breakfast @ the Rock n Roll Café
13:35 – 3 Near death experiences & gas @ Citgo: $2.93 per gallon/12 gallons/557 miles
12:54 – Mississippi River again; Arkansas again
1:20 – Restroom break
1:37 – Sara: “That’s a weird place to park a car.”
1:38 – Dee: “That’s a weird place to park a duck”
1:40 – Sara begins hunting hawks & we see them every ¼ mile or so
1:55 – Andre begins transcribing the log on his computer for future blogging
1:35 – Andre prepares to close the computer
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Holiday Post #3: The Movies
I don't think I've ever seen It's a Wonderful Life all the way through. I considered watching it this year, but for some reason it didn't record. That reason could be that I forgot to set the DVR, but I don't think so. I'm not sure. It's on NBC tonight so Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to see it the way so many people have seen it over the last 50 years... on network television w/ commercial interruptions. The films I have actually remembered to record are thus: A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version), White Christmas, Holiday Inn, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation & Miracle on 34th Street. Of those, A Christmas Carol & Miracle on 34th Street have yet to be watched this season. I don't know if we'll have time to get to them because I know that after tomorrow, I'll have no desire to watch them until next year. Other movies we've watched are A Christmas Story & Love Actually. It must be said that Love Actually is actually a really good film. It's got all of your usual suspects of British romantic comedies... Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kiera Knightly, & Qui Gon Jinn.As far as Christmas specials are concerned, we've watched Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Chipmunk's Christmas, Charlie Brown, Frosty, Rudolph, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, A Pink Panther Christmas, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, & The Flintsone's Christmas. Of course, yesterday, we had an obligatory viewing of "The Strike"... the Seinfeld Festivus episode (as if you didn't know that).
I know this post is more of a list that any sort of commentary, but before I run off for another crazy day @ Nicola's, I will say this. The Version of Holiday Inn that we watched was sans the minstrel show scene. I saw it once a couple years ago, but TMC no longer shows the movie because of that scene & AMC edits it out. It's had to watch... like Song of the South , but I think I support seeing it in its entirety. I know its offensive as hell, but it's a product of its time. We shouldn't get our Bing Crosby sanitized... let's see him in all of his black-face glory! Check back soon for the big James Bond post... all we have left to watch is the David Niven/Woody Allen Casino Royale spoof.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Holiday Post #1: The Songs
There's a little tradition here @ Drifting into Deep Water that actually predates Drifting into Deep Water by about a couple years. We started composing Holiday themed songs in 2008 w/ "All I Want for Christmas is Cash." In 2009, there was "Have a Swinging Christmas Time." Then last year we composed, begging your indulgences, a 2nd "all I want" song: "All I Want for Christmas is a Shotgun."
Before we get to this year's installment, I thought I'd give you a list of our Top 5 Kitschy Christmas Songs of All Time!!! It's these songs that influenced the writing of my songs the most. Enjoy... & then enjoy this year's song.... & then remember er to keep the nominations coming for your
#5: "Chewbacca's Silent Night"
#4: "Christmas in Hollis"
#3: "Holly Jolly Christmas"
#2: "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey
#1: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"
Now, w/o further ado, your 2011 Drifting into Deep Water Christmas song:
"Larry the Christmas Llama"
There's a village on on mountain top
In the Andes of Peru
Where they celebrate the holidays
Just like me and you
But the cliffs are steep upon those peaks
And the wind is oh so chill
So Santa found some local help
To guide him o're the hills
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
You know the eight reindeer
And you know all their names
And the ninth w/ his shiny nose
Shunned from all of their games
But they all join together
And I'll tell you why
To pick on poor Larry
Cuz Larry can't fly
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
Now the hills are steep and rocky
And the snow is blowing cold
So it takes a healthy llama
To lead a team so bold
The first time on those high peaks
The other nine did see
That they should quit their hi jinks
And let young Larry be
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He makes the season gay!
Before we get to this year's installment, I thought I'd give you a list of our Top 5 Kitschy Christmas Songs of All Time!!! It's these songs that influenced the writing of my songs the most. Enjoy... & then enjoy this year's song.... & then remember er to keep the nominations coming for your
#5: "Chewbacca's Silent Night"
#4: "Christmas in Hollis"
#3: "Holly Jolly Christmas"
#2: "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey
#1: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"
Now, w/o further ado, your 2011 Drifting into Deep Water Christmas song:
"Larry the Christmas Llama"
There's a village on on mountain top
In the Andes of Peru
Where they celebrate the holidays
Just like me and you
But the cliffs are steep upon those peaks
And the wind is oh so chill
So Santa found some local help
To guide him o're the hills
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
You know the eight reindeer
And you know all their names
And the ninth w/ his shiny nose
Shunned from all of their games
But they all join together
And I'll tell you why
To pick on poor Larry
Cuz Larry can't fly
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
Now the hills are steep and rocky
And the snow is blowing cold
So it takes a healthy llama
To lead a team so bold
The first time on those high peaks
The other nine did see
That they should quit their hi jinks
And let young Larry be
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
Guiding Santa's sleigh
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He helps to lead the way
He's Larry the Christmas Llama
He makes the season gay!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Euro 2012 Group Draw & Reaction
Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech RepublicGroup B: Spain, Italy, Rep. of Ireland, Croatia
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Portugal
Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England
Quarter Finals:
Game 25 A1 v B2
Game 26 A2 v B1
Game 27 C1 v D2
Game 28 D1 v C2
Semi Finals:
Winner 25 v Winner 27
Winner 26 v Winner 28
Here are my thoughts... since you've waited so patiently for them over the last 48 hours. I apologize for the wait; I know you've been on the edge of your seat wondering how I feel about these groups.
Group A is a tough one to call. Poland could do pretty well w/ their fantastic goalie & the fact that they are one of the host nations. Home town crowds will obviously help a bit. However, Russia will probably go through too. Aside from the home country situation, I think Poland, Greece & the Czechs are all pretty good. I guess I would like to see Tomas Rosicky ;lead the Czech Republic through the quarter finals, but it will be a rough group of mid-level teams. In the end, it won't really matter, because I don't see any of these teams getting past the quarter-finals. We'll say Russia (1) & Poland (2)
Group B is less tricky, I would say, & I'm sure most people would predict Spain & Italy moving on. I suppose, I will too, but it'd be nice to see the Irish get past the Italians. I wouldn't put money on it though. Spain (1) & Italy (2)
Group C will certainly be called "The group of death" by pundits (if it hasn't been called that already). I would say it's more likely to be the group of tears though as we're almost certain to see Cristiano Ronaldo squirt out a few when Portugal fails to edge past Germany & The Netherlands. In fact, I would be willing to put money on them getting gout of the group stage... if I had money to bet & was a betting man. Germany (1) & Netherlands (2).
Group D shouldn't be much of a problem for France & England, but then again, one never really knows what those two under performing squads will do. While the Ukraine is the other co-host, I don't see them getting out of the group like Poland. Based on sheer talent, I will go against the British talking heads (& Arsene Wenger) & say France will win the group w/ England taking 2nd. (They seem to see it happening the other way).
If this is what happens (& it's sure not to now that I've actually posted this), we'll see the quarter finals thusly:
QF1: Russia v Italy
QF2: Poland v Spain
QF3: Germany v England
QF4: Netherlands v France
The semi finals are obviously tougher to call, & in the past, I think I've stopped here for propriety's sake; however, for fun, I suppose I'll go all the way now.
SF1: Italy v Germany
SF2: Spain v France (if France takes a shit in the group stage, I would see The Netherlands getting past either The Ukraine or Sweden).
As far as the finals are concerned, the odds makers seems to believe that Spain will win it all again, but no country has ever repeated. This means, we're either going to see a little history, or we aren't. Shocking revelation, I know. I'm going to go w/ history but ignore my fanatical devotion to the FFF & say Germany will beat Spain in the finals.
I was going to get into my beliefs about the French squad for the tournament, but I'll hold off on that for another post. Keep checking back though... it will be pretty soon. We've got a James Bond post & a couple holiday season posts coming up soon, & we'll start the nominating process for your 2012 Visions of Ypsi Memorial Celebrity MILF of the Year contest now too. in order to be eligible, the person must meet a couple criteria... she must be a celebrity & she must be pregnant now or had a baby in the last 5 month so as to ensure she wasn't eligible w/ the same pregnancy last year. Post your nominations here in the comments section or e-mail them to me.
Here is a link to all of last year's contest posts, & @ the bottom, you'll find a link to the posts on the old blog too.
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