Katie’s Beer

Kirby today, at eight weeks old

Our family got our first dog on Friday. His name is Kirby Puckett. Why name a dog after a baseball legend? Well, during Mr. Puckett’s memorial service I heard one former teammate, Kent Hrbek perhaps, mention that there were many dogs in Minnesota named Kirby. For some reason that statement struck me. What an honor to have people name their pets after you! I made a little mental note to add Kirby to our list of names for the dog we were considering.

Kirby at one month old

My son and husband have been talking about getting a dog for a couple of years now. They even added Grandpa Roger as a lobbyist for their cause. But without my support for the project, the bill always failed. I always had good reasons not to get a dog: I work, the kids are in school, it costs money, etc. However, as my son got older, I started to have regrets about not making room in my life for a dog.

When we visited my husband’s sister’s farm at Easter, we looked forward to seeing the week old puppies born to their pure bred golden lab mother and excellent hunting dog, Jade, and an unknown black lab father from a neighboring farm. She gave birth on Palm Sunday to a little of ten pups: five golden labs, three black labs and one pure white lab. The lone male black lab caught our attention right away.

Here are the Palm Sunday pups!

That day, we knew we would be returning to take home Kirby when he reached 8 weeks of age. That day was this past Friday. Actually, Grandpa Roger was nice to meet us halfway with the dog, since the farm is a three hour drive for us. We’ve spoiled Kirby already. He has his own bedroom complete with the baseball memoribilia and decor from when it was my son’s old bedroom. The room is also our computer room and will eventually be an office/study when we can afford to buy new furniture for it. For now, is a perfect spot for a puppy named Kirby Puckett.

Kirby’s favorite things

What does the well-spoiled dog have, besides his own bedroom? He has his own central air vent, which he LOVES to lay next to. He has a kennel, which he likes so far, and he has a blankie, a sheepskin bed and three toys: a red tennis ball, a rope toy and a stuffed pheasant toy.

Kirby’s baseball bedroom

Kirby was very lethargic on his first day home, to the point of not standing up on his own. Turns out he had roundworms, like 75% of puppies. We dewormed him and he’s doing much better now. We used Heartgard Plus and it worked well. The worms were 6 inches long! Yuck! He has his first vet appointment on Tuesday and we’ll check again.

He slept for about three hours at a time the first night. He really whined and whimpered LOUDLY so we tried the car carrier in the bedroom trick and it really worked! I just had to talk to him and he’d fall back asleep. I’ve figured out that when he wakes up, we’ve got less than 60 seconds to get him outside before he goes to the bathroom. The second night, last night, he slept for close to six hours, went outside to go potty and went back to sleep for a couple more hours. Since the weather is so very hot, he’s gets worn out being outside and naps better. He’s recovered from being so tired all day and is very energetic. Not wild, but very full of life. He pounces on things and plays fetch. His very favorite thing is to stretch out in the grass on his belly and nibble on some grass.

The first two days he took to the lead/leash pretty well, but today he threw a tantrum! Just like a toddler - whimpering, crying, squirming. Sheesh! I need to separate walking time from outdoor play time, so we will get outdoor area set up so he can just go out and play. I keep reminding everyone that he will be 100 pounds in a year and we don’t want a 100 pound maniac in the house. He’s very submissive, which is good. Hopefully he’ll stay that way, but he’s just a pup so who knows…

Hope you are having a good Memorial Day. It\’s awfully hot here…I suppose it is there, too.

Tags: son, dogs by TK
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The funniest review of Wednesday night’s star-studded American Idol Season 5 Finale is written by Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly. In Soul on Nice, Michael writes:

Maybe five months of churning out the American Idol TV Watch column has turned my center all soft and gooey. Or perhaps, as a child of the ’70s, I harbor a deeply suppressed longing for the TV variety shows of my youth. Then again, it could be that everything simply looks better in the righteous glow of Taylor Hicks’ well- deserved triumph over the inconsistent Katharine McPhee. Whatever the case, tonight’s Idol finale — which played out like the Freakiest Variety Show on Earth — was as surreal as it was satisfying. (In other words, I l-l-l-l-loved it.) I call the finale surreal because, well, consider what got packed into a mere 120 minutes: Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken — rocking a baffling brown mop top — gamely offering a subdued ‘’Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me'’ as his tone-deaf doppelgänger (Michael Sandecki, who got booted during the audition rounds) provided backup; the finalists sharing the stage with artists as disparate as Live, Al Jarreau, Meat Loaf, and Dionne Warwick; a trio of amusing montages mocking the show’s judges; painfully unfunny attempts at comedy by host Ryan Seacrest; a random performance by Prince; a tribute to Burt Bacharach; and, yes, an appearance by David Hasselhoff. All that was missing was Cher in a Bob Mackie gown. Read more...

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I found the perfect recap to last night’s American Idol Finale. It is written by Shelley, a popular Soul Patroller and frequent commenter at my favorite Taylor Hicks site, GrayCharles. Shelley helps me to envision the show from her perspective.

Last night I was at my daughter’s dance recital until 9:30 pm, so I got a late start on voting and watching. I still haven’t seen the whole show, just bits. I was on the GrayCharles chat from 10pm to 12am last night, voting by Dial Idol and by hand. I tried to use Skype, but it would not get any calls through at all.

I am very frustrated that the only way to get votes through is to have had a Cingular phone and text my votes. I won’t participate in such blatant merchandising for pure profit, so I only got in about 50 votes the whole night. All other voting nights I managed to cast about 500+ votes.

Despite my low number of votes, I believe that Taylor will be crowned the winner. It is what he wanted and I truly believe he has a master plan for working the American Idol system to his advantage in getting out palatable and creative music to the masses - for those willing to move beyond the current pop craptacular music scene.

Here’s Shelley’s great take on the show:

Shelley Says:
May 24th, 2006 at 9:41 am

Edited post from Perma Chat Play-by-Play:

double d: Hey True….Are we ready in B’ham?

double d: Mobile is ready

double d: ALabama ready

Shelley: Jackson is ready

double d: whooooo

TrueNorth: Ready like Freddy

mari3jacks: Tampa Ready

Shelley: Mississippi is ready

Quossum: Houston is ready!

MaryS-NJ: New Jersey is ready

double d:AWWW RIGHT!

Jena: Atlanta Ready

KD: New York ready.

TheBigPineapple: Honolulu is ready

expressway: Ohio ready

Ani: Tampa ready again!

Ted:pennsylvania is ready

Quossum: shoot blow holster!

Shelley: cool…i’m getting chills

James Hudnall: Vegas ready

BluSkiedanClear: sweden ready, even though i have to picture everything in my head

double d: That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout

gabber565: west virginia ready

ardnian: Jakarta is ready… hehe

Shelley: shoot blow holster…READY

banda: santa Fe is ready!!!

tayluv: Oregon is ready!!!!!!!!!

Shelley: SA-WEET

Quossum: We’re READY!

RedFox: Netherlands ready

bischka: New Mexico ready

c4tay: ohio ready

madruga111: miami ready

mari3jacks: GO TAYLOR!!!!

Shelley: this is awesome. y’all rawk

Quossum: Go, Monkey, go!!!!

————————–

Was it me or was last night’s show the fastest hour of our lives…or at least of the last five months of our lives?

When Ryan gave the intros and the house lights came up in the Kodak Theatre, with its 3,000-strong audience, I couldn’t help but think…Imperial Senate. Simon definitely makes a perfect Chancellor Palpatine.

The show kicked off with a nice look back on Taylor and Kat…the younger years. I especially loved the shot of Taylor with a refreshing beverage in hand, standing by his dad. And the topper was being treated to “Don’t Stop Believing,” our second Journey song of the season (At the urging, I’m sure, of Randy Jackson).

But as much as I loved the heavy pimping of Taylor “I-Want-My-Voice-Heard-Now-Let-Me-Make-Simon-Eat-Crow” Hicks, I couldn’t help but notice through the entire show that Kat looked genuinely sad…I mean, on the verge of tears sad. If I was a nicer person, I would have felt sorry for her. But since I made note of her sadness, I feel I’m maturing…though I still wanted some skull bashing. Change takes time, I guess.

Before I get to the gooey center of the critique, let me mention some other points of interest I found during the show. Daughtry givin’ love to Taylor from the audience with smiles and applause at every pan of the camera. E Double in the house, giving “Soul Patrol” shout outs and…possibly the most fantastic event of the night…a commercial for a new Garfield movie…Huh? Wha?

And the stars were really out last night…distant stars maybe, but stars nonetheless. I spotted Mandy Moore, Taye Diggs, Ben Stiller, Tori Spelling, Christina Applegate, and, of course, Daniel Powter, who treated everyone to the most dreaded song played on Idol…“Had a Bad Day.”

A pre-show coin toss gave Taylor the upper hand at the start. He chose to go second…a wise choice by our Silver Fox.

Kat opted to stand for her second performance of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” Her count-in was bizarre but the song was fine, though not memorable. We were treated to more box drum playing, and Kat tried some new moves with funky rubber band legs…all I could think was that she looked like a Taylor wannabe. And after the “ooo hooos” were sung, she faced the judges and got a meh review. It was nice that her fans sent her 1,000 roses…I think she really needed that pick me up.

Have-A-Good-Time-Funky-Taylor was next, singing “Living for the City.” Starting in the audience and wearing the most finest of fine crushed velvet fuchsia jacket, Taylor kicked it into high gear. It was pretty brave of him to take on another audience performance, but it worked. As he walked down the aisle, he actually sneered into the camera…and sitting alone in a house in Jackson, MS, a girl named Shelley went WILD. The absolute best part of the song was when he took the main stage, wearing those funky snakeskin shoes and climbed the stairs while doing the Heisman…take that Simon. He did get pretty off pitch during the mid-section of the song, but he shook that rump like a pro and all was forgiven. At the end, it was a giant lovefest. The crowd went crazy, as did the judges.

Round 1 to Taylor

Kat came back seated on the floor and singing strong with “Over the Rainbow.” However, because it was so fresh in our minds from last week…it didn’t have any real punch. She sung well and looked great…exactly like she did last week. And the judges loved it…exactly like they did last week.

Taylor had chosen “Levon,” his “favorite song of the season” for Round 2. I was really excited to hear this again, especially since it is the song on which Simon had to first eat his words about Taylor’s talent. However, Taylor was too timid with it. The delivery came across tentative, especially where he inserted the now-famous knee jerk. I got the impression that he was trying to imitate that move from his first performance of the song…but imitation does not suit Taylor. He is about improv and invention with EACH performance. To try to choreograph his moves made him appear unsure. He should have just sung it however it came out…knee jerk or not. But beyond his tentativeness, I thought he sounded great. The judges didn’t like it. Randy said it was pitchy…which was NOT THE CASE and then Paula, trying to help in her own endearingly drunk way, said to Randy, “What may be pitchy to you is really the essence of what Taylor is.” Scratch head. I think what she was trying to say was that Taylor may have been too liberal with his vocal runs…but was not pitchy…but who really knows what she meant? Who really cares?

Round 2 to Kat

Now for the original songs that will be each Idol’s first single.

Kat walked out on stage, looking like a star, to begin “My Destiny.” And it was a lovely moment…for about two bars of music…then she actually opened her mouth to sing. The melody of this craptacular song was totally M.I.A. It was like the writers swept up the floor of their studio then emptied their dustpan of stray notes onto a score sheet and called it a song. Kat struggled to find a foothold in the song and lost all good intonation on the low parts. The chorus was even worse than the melody…at least what I thought the chorus was…it, too, was truly hard to find. By the bridge/key change, Kat seemed to have lost the will to live. She seriously gave up. I think I even spotted an actual shoulder shrug. Not even choirzilla could save her. When she finished, she looked positively ill. The judges tried to be kind, giving the kiss of death “you look amazing” critique, but everyone knew the score. Kat had bombed.

Then our boy took his turn with his original song, “Do I Make You Proud?”. The music started and the crowd applauded politely. But when the stage doors opened and Taylor walked out…they went nuts. He began with the same voice he used to begin “You are So Beautiful,” which of course dropped me to my knees. Then he hit a rough patch with some bum notes, but, fortunately, he was wearing that blue shirt…so I barely noticed. But the switch was flipped by the time choirzilla came on stage. Taylor gave a little smile and a little growl then started to Taylorize that damn schlocky song. It was moving and brilliant. It made me want to run out and buy the album. And when the song built and Taylor made the key change then shook his head behind the mic to play with the dynamics, I came unglued. It was totally amazing. I honestly loved it. I never in a million years thought I would…but I did. He owned it. He worked it. He knocked it out of the park. The judges went crazy. The crowd went crazy. Perma Chat went crazy. I went crazy.

And then Simon so beautifully… so eloquently…had to eat more crow, “Taylor, assuming that I was right that the show was tied then you have just won American Idol.”

Round 3 to Taylor

Taylor wins the title

Shoot Blow Holster…The Title

Thanks, Shelley! You’ve made my morning. I can’t say you’ve made my day, because that will come when Taylor wins this thing tonight. Read more reviews in the thread, It’s Wednesday For the Last Time, (a reference to the fun we have reviewing the show each Wednesday).

Update:
Shelley is a Taylor Maven!!! Thanks for these links

MSN Recap

USA Today Idol Chatter

CNN: “My vision as an artist is to inject as much soul as I can into popular music,” Hicks told the AP later.

Entertainment Weekly

MTV

MTV 2

James Hudnall

Glen Piper

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a shot of Belgrade, Serbia, according to Google Images

I’ve read some good articles about how Taylor Hicks’ has reached around the world, but this excerpt from today’s Alabama Press-Register really drove home what Taylor Hicks is all about:

Srbo Galic, a 34-year-old amateur musican in Serbia, shared a Soul Patrol experience in an e-mail exchange. Galic described how he played his harmonica recently while sitting on a park bench in his “once beautiful city of Belgrade.”

He noticed a nearby gathering of two young women and a young man who were singing and playing a guitar beneath a tree.

Galic began to play “A Change is Gonna Come,” which was Hicks’ first “American Idol” audition song. Galic joined in an improptu jam session with the group.

“No one was talking,” Galic wrote. “It was all just singing and playing…and all of the sudden, the guy started playing, ‘You are so Beautiful.’…And since I was convinced Taylor would sing that song later that night on TV, I was shocked.”

Immediately, Galic questioned the other musician about why he was playing that particular song. He asked him, “Do you know anything about America?”

“Sure,” the guitar player replied, “there is a show called ‘American Idol,’ and we are all rooting for a guy named Taylor Hicks.”

In that instant, an informal Soul Patrol chapter in Belgrade was formed. The group now gathers to watch “American Idol,” which is televised at 2 a.m. in Serbia two days after it airs in America.

Tags: American Idol 5, Taylor Hicks by TK
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James Hudnall, It’s the Idol Finale: Vote for Taylor!, in writes about tonight’s much anticipated Americian Idol finale:

Taylor is a refreshing change of pace. He’s an antidote to the negativity. And frankly, I love the fact that he doesn’t fit the mold of what some people think should be popular or cool. Who decides that nonsense, anyway? I’d say the arbiters of cool are unqualified for their job. The Taylor haters don’t like his dancing, or his gray hair, or his slight paunch. All those things don’t speak of youth or hipness to them. Maybe they’re afraid of age coming at them like an unstoppable freight train, so they fixate on these ludicrous examples of objectified humanity that we get shoved down our throats by the mavens of cool.

Voting takes some commitment, but there are ways to simplify the task. I’ve had Dial Idol set up on my computer for a while now. Each week you download a quick update, set it in motion as soon as the show ends and let your computer’s DSL internet connection do the work. That frees me up to add votes using my land line. I can get about 4 to 6 votes per minute dialing by hand. Last week I used Skype to dial, in an effort to save my wrist, but Skype was much slower to dial than my own fingers! I’ve heard there is an automatic dialer for Skype, but I don’t know if I will be using it.

My biggest problem tonight is how to keep voting for four hours. Why would I even do that? Well, I’ve gone this far trying to honor Taylor Hicks request to help him win this contest…so why would I quit now. My wrist will not be functional tomorrow.

I heard that the Birmingham News published a list of ten reasons to vote for Taylor Hicks. Here they are:

Taylor Hicks should win “American Idol.”

1. Song choices approved by reps for George Harrison and Bruce Springsteen. How cool is that?

2. Compare their dance moves. No contest.

3. Because he’d never, ever smile nonstop while singing “Ain’t Got Nothin’ But the Blues.”

4. If Elvis had a little brother, he’d look like Taylor.

5. “Saturday Night Live” doesn’t spoof just anyone.

6. A soul man trumps an ice princess every time.

7. Gray is the new blond.

8. Taylor didn’t wear Paula’s tacky new jewelry line on camera.

9. With Soul Patrol, we’re talkin’ ’bout a revolution. McPheever sounds like a sickness.

10. So Katharine’s dad will really have a reason to cry.

Tags: American Idol 5, Taylor Hicks by TK
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After a long absence, I finally have a post for the Purpose Driven Drinking blog. I recently tried two beers labeled as “summer” ales. The first was New Ulm’s Schell Brewery’s Zommerfest and the second was Moose Drool’s Summer Honey.

I had my husband also compare the two beers. Both are excellent summer brews, being light in taste and appearance. The Zommerfest is far less sweet than the Summer Honey, not surprisingly. Summer Honey is sweet and tastes best on its own and the Zommerfest begs to be enjoyed with salty or spicy foods, such as chips, salsa or pizza. The Summer Honey also has the flavor of some sweet spices. Zommerfest has a sharpness to its taste.
Recommendation: Moose Drool’s Summer Honey is my favorite and the Schell’s Zommerfest is my husband’s favorite. We recommend them both!

Tags: Beer by TK
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Four really great tickets to the American Idol tour for $300.00 to see your favorite American Idol stars you spent four months watching on television…

or

Four really great seats at a Cubs game at Wrigley Field plus food for $300.00

Which would you pick?

Which did I pick?

Update: My choice made my husband this happy: Yes, I was so close to clicking on that purchase button! Finger poised, I imagined dragging my husband and son to the concert. Then I remembered our upcoming vacation and how much we fun we ALL have at baseball games, especially Cubs games at Wrigley Field.

It was hard at the time, but I closed the order window and said goodbye to the tickets. Later, my daughter reminded me that she wouldn’t have gone anyway. She said, “Remember, I’m not watching American Idol this year. I’m boycotting it because the adults have ruined it.” My husband just smiled and chimed in, “We wouldn’t have gone with you anyway.” So, there you have it. Good thing I like baseball. Happy birthday, Rob!

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Really amazing video: Dance Dance Evolution.

Inspirational comedian (still trying to figure out exactly what that means) Judson Laipply has become famous for his routine called The Evolution of Dance. This is one of those things that you dont think youll watch more than a few seconds of then four minutes later you’re starting it over. If anything, this guy is in really good shape and is an artist at self-promotion. Maybe he’s funny, too. Anyone ever heard him?

Yet another video: Click here to see video of Judson’s hilarious presentation )

In watching Laipply’s presentation, I did recognize that old “the power you need is inside yourself” schtick. Lots of his message is true to a degree, but he takes his points down the path of self-empowerment. I don’t believe that the answers or even just power can be found with in myself. I can remember speakers like this when I was in high school, so his message isn’t anything new. Anyway, Judson is a very funny man and his evolution of dance video is not to be missed!

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If you are looking for me or my thoughts on tonight’s robbery of Elliott Yamin, I am over here. Most good reviews (national) can be found there. For me, tonight’s vote didn’t seem right. I am starting to wonder if the phone lines were just all maxed out, making the vote completely inaccurate. But how could anyone prove that? Not even American Idol would be able to know the true vote. All I can say is they’d better give each person at least five lines each week. That may give Taylor a chance at winning. They should have called the show tonight and declared it a three way tie, but that wouldn’t make very good drama. See you at GrayCharles.com!

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In the calm before the storm, I am waxing philosophical…

I don’t think Taylor Hicks will change the music industry; the music industry will be changed by us!

By “us”, I mean those who, no matter what age you are, have been listening to great artists of the past, downloading their songs, buying the remastered CDs, digging for true talent and waiting. We have been waiting for someone like Taylor Hicks to find a way to break through the glass ceiling seemingly placed on top of homegrown musicians by the industry.

I was born in 1960, raised on the good 60’s music and came of age in the golden age of pop, the 1970’s. My parents listened to a wide variety of music, from Perry Como to classical to soundtracks to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. I know I’m lucky, but I still remember being embarrassed that my mom liked Mick Jagger and Queen. The ~80’s and ~90’s produced a few good artists, but I didn’t have time to listen while I was playing Norman Foote , Raffi and The Flyers for my kids (I also wasn’t watching any movies beyond Barney, Disney and the Mighty Ducks, apparently).

Now as my teenagers develop their own musical interests, I make a concerted effort to give their music a chance. We often listen in the car to the local pop music and HipHop stations, but I reserve the right to switch to the 60’s/70’s stations whenever I become offended or irritated (which is very often). At home, it’s my music choices that play in the common areas. In their rooms, they can play what they wish.

I can tell you that I truly hate most rap music and hate what it represents: despair, lack of true caring about others and resignation to the worst in life. I hate that it is the soundtrack for my kids’ generation. Conversely, I like some of Eminem’s songs. It is the job of each parent (or uncle or grandmother or neighbor) to expose kids to all that music can offer, particularly in times like these.

Where am I going with this? Well, I am not depending on Taylor Hicks to change the music industry. He will be who he is and put forth what music pleases him. I mean, I know he would prefer to please others with his music, but I’m certain he’d never change his music style to please any music executives. I’ve latched on to his music because he’s made me feel good, lifted my spirits and given me hope that good music still lives and will rise again.

Taylor’s success on American Idol, I believe, is because others see that, too. We are showing our pleasure and approval with our votes. Later on, we will show the same by supporting his music with our dollars. This is how the music industry will change…or at least grow to include us. Taylor’s success will inspire others and will hopefully give a brave few in the music industry the nerve to invest in other creative artists.

If you haven’t visited GrayCharles yet, please do. It was started as a forum to discuss Taylor Hicks, but quickly grew into a forum to think about the change we want to see and how we can play a part. GrayCharles has also done a great job in highlighting artists that we should know about. Post American Idol, the site can easily live on as that forum. I know of no other site like this. Thanks, GC!

The excitement surrounding Taylor Hicks hasn’t been as about Taylor as much as it has been about those of us demanding the change in music. He’s just our first candidate for president of good music and is representing the people. There will be others, but he’ll always be special.

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