Mix Of My Life

I'm a huge music fan. While I started with just classic rock, my tastes have expanded over the years to also cover soul, jazz, country, rap, blues, reggae and a few other genres. For example, while in Florida this most recent Passover, I went to a flea market. It's not as trashy as you would think. It's all indoors and very clean and the "stands" are permanent mini-stores. Anyway, I bought CD's by Aerosmith, James Brown, Eminem and George Strait.

The other day, a blogger whose site I frequent put together the set list for the mix of his life. He chose one top 40 song from each year of his life. As with any good mix, he didn't repeat any artists. Mrs. AP has mentioned to me that I should start a music oriented meme and I thought that this was a good one. Lest you think of me as some music savant, know that I spent some time last week perusing lists of top 40 songs from each year. The following are not necessarily my 35 favorite songs from my lifetime. In most years, I selected my favorite song. In some, I selected a song that just jumped out at me. If I were to do this list again tomorrow, there may very well be some changes. In any case, feel free to comment or make your own list.

1970- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder
1971- "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes
1972- "Tumbling Dice" by the Rolling Stones
1973- "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
1974- "The Entertainer" by Billy Joel
1975- "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
1976- "Night Moves" by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
1977- "Brick House" by the Commodores
1978- "Who Are You" by the Who
1979- "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers
1980- "Brass In Pocket" by the Pretenders
1981- "Starting Over" by John Lennon
1982- "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band
1983- "Little Red Corvette" by Prince
1984- "Missing You" by John Waite
1985- "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey
1986- "Something About You" by Level 42
1987- "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by the Georgia Satellites
1988- "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns 'N' Roses
1989- "Love Shack" by the B-52's
1990- "Nothing Compares To You" by Sinead O'Connor
1991- "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
1992- "Mysterious Ways" by U2
1993- "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.
1994- "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows
1995- "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
1996- "Santa Monica" by Everclear
1997- "Everyday Is A Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow
1998- "Jump Jive An' Wail" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra
1999- "All Star" by Smashmouth
2000- "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down
2001- "Drops of Jupiter" by Train
2002- "Lose Yourself" by Eminem
2003- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
2004- "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet
2005- "Beverly Hills" by Weezer

Damn You White Chicks

For nearly seven years, I have had the privilege of belonging to an august, exclusive organization, the MNFBBQ. It originally started as a group of like-minded men getting together every fourth Monday night to enjoy athletic competition, flame grilled delicacies and good company. After a few months, we decided during months in which the athletic competitions were not being fared to enjoy cinematic classics instead. While there have been a few bumps in the road along the way , like a certain lovable dog eating hot dog buns just minutes before start time, a DVD that skipped, a missing waitress, absenteeism made worse by whining, stale buns and that dark period to which we refer as the Noam Era. Over all though, things have gone pretty smoothly. We even started giving back to the community.

This morning, the sky is gray, both literally and in the world of MNFBBQ. One of our members showed "White Chicks" last night. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was the worst movie ever, but it was by far the worst we have seen in the MNFBBQ's great history. It was worse than "Zoolander", which I still maintain is a classic. It was even worse than "Rat Race". For a way-too detailed analysis about why "White Chicks" was so bad, check out Noah Daddy.

The only bright spot is that I host next time and the bar has been set so low for whatever I movie I choose to show. Does anyone have a copy of "Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain" that I can borrow in a month or so?

The Great Chocolate Chip Mystery

On the Tuesday afternoon before this past Passover, I was getting ready to leave for Florida that night. It was pretty hectic since I had a few hours to get the dogs to their respective temporary homes, clean the house as immaculately as possible in case any prospective buyers came to see the house while we were away and pack before catching my flight. Lesley was in Las Vegas for a trade show and would meet me in Florida the next morning, so the dog moving and cleaning fell to me. During the afternoon, a Federal Express delivery man delivered a box to the house. The box was around the size of two shoe boxes and was addressed to Lesley's chocolate printing business but at our house rather than her office. I thought the delivery was suspicious since there was no sender information and Lesley moved her business from the house last summer. I was too busy to think about it though, so I just put the box in a corner.

This past Friday, as Lesley and I were unloading groceries and unpacking from our trip, I saw the box in the corner and mentioned it to her. She opened it to find nothing but chocolate chips. There was no paperwork or anything else in the box. We were very puzzled. I went on the FedEx website and entered the tracking number. The only information I got was that the box started it's journey to us at a FedEx station somewhere in New Jersey. Lesley then called FedEx, which told her that the sender was "FedEx Ground." They had no further information for her.

So, we have sitting in our house a few pounds of chocolate chips from an origin unknown and with no indication of being kosher. Unless we can unlock this mystery, the box and its contents will be at our curb with the garbage this coming Wednesday morning.

Who Is She?

This morning, the Durham County District Attorney unsealed rape and kidnapping indictments against two Duke University lacrosse players, who promptly surrendered themselves. As with every single other high profile rape case, the general public has already come to know the defendants' names and faces while having no idea who the accuser is, pursuant to a policy that every media outlet follows, sometimes due to various state laws.

I find this rule to be very disturbing. The media has a constitutional right to cover and report on court proceedings and we should all be glad they exercise that right. If there is at least a finding of probable cause that a defendant committed the crime in question, whether by a judge or grand jury, the media should report the story if it is newsworthy. They should at the same time report the name of the accuser.

I don't write this with the chauvinistic attitude that men have the right to rape a woman with impunity. If a man rapes a woman, he should face severe punishment. As a former criminal defense attorney, I will freely admit that well over ninety percent of criminal defendants are guilty as charged. At the same time, each and every defendant has the right to presumption of innocence until a jury makes a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, the two Duke students, while certainly not choirboys, have the legal status of innocents, at least as far as this case goes. From what I have seen from news reports and from my experience, I would bet on them both walking with acquittals. That, of course, is subject to hearing more of the evidence.

When this case is over, even if the defendants walk, the stigma of a rape charge will follow them forever. It is much like Richard Jewell, who was the original suspect in the 1996 Olympics bombing when he was actually helping the victims. To this day, Jewell is still known as the guy who was accused of the bombing. The fact that the police never charged him is only an afterthought to most people.

Meanwhile, the accuser has the benefit of public anonymity. If the trial results in an acquittal, nobody will be the wiser as to who she was. She can proceed with the rest of her life.

Some might say that being a rape accuser is no fun and she has nothing to gain by going through such an ordeal. People said the same thing about Tawana Brawley, who accused New York assistant district attorney Steven Pagones and some police officers of rape in 1987. Al Sharpton immediately got on his soapbox and started a crusade againt Pagones. After a grand jury refused to indict Pagones because it found that Brawley was lying, Pagones obtained a $345,000 judgment against Sharpton for defamation, in 1998. That judgment remains unpaid. The last I saw or heard of Sharpton was...yesterday. He was standing on a podium and nodding along with Jesse Jackson, who was pledging to pay the Duke accuser's college tuition.

All Hail Dougie

We've been in Miami Beach for Passover since last week. It's been a good time so far, enjoying the sun and spending time with friends and family. That even includes my great aunt who, for as long as I can remember, likes to mention whenever she sees me every two or three years, that she gave me a bath when I was a year old while on a family vacation in Israel. As of now, she has mentioned it at least four times. It makes me wonder what happened that made it so memorable.

Much more important though is the meal we had tonight. As you can guess from the logo at the beginning of this post, it was at Dougie's on 41st Street, from which I already had wings for lunch last Wednesday. Suffice to say that it was one awesome meal- blooming onion, sweet potato fries and the hot open roast beef platter, which came with fries. My favorite from Dougie's is usually the monster burger, but I shied away from it since there would be no bun to actually make it a burger. In the end, I was quite full and thinking that I should exercise some restraint and not finish the last few fries. That plan fell apart when Dougie himself stopped at our table and told me to finish my fries. I had no choice but to comply.

Have You Heard About The Lonesome Loser?

As I just caught the end of the Pistons blowing out the Pacers and now watch the Tigers tied in the fourth inning in their sixth game of the season, having won the previous five, I have to wonder what Lions president Matt Millen must be thinking right now.

The Pistons are about to close the regular season with the best record in the NBA. The starting lineup carries itself, both on the court and in the locker room, as if there is no doubt they will not stop until they reclaim the championship. Recently, bench players Antonio McDyess, Tony Delk, Dale Davis and Lindsey Hunter have been providing valuable minutes, thereby alleving fears that the starters would lose a step or two by the time June comes. There is also no fear that this is the last hurrah. The starters are all 31 years old or younger and none seems to have any inclination to leave. Veteran ex-Pistons like Jerry Stackhouse have openly talked about how nice it would be to return here as a reserve just so they can be part of winning a championship.

The Red Wings didn't miss a beat in adjusting to the new NHL collective bargaining agreement, which brought with it new rules and personnel shuffling. They are close to winning the Presidents Cup for the league's best record and have already clinched their fifteenth consecutive winning season. They have done so rather quietly, probably because anything less than second in the conference would be seen as a major disappointment. While certain key players, like Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Nicklas Lidstrom, are nearing the ends of their careers, they are still bringing their A games while mentoring future leaders like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Jason Williams.

Now the Tigers are finally recapturing at least some hope from the faithful. I don't think there is a Tigers fan, including yours truly, who expects the team to be more than a playoff longshot. The season, after all, is only five and a half games old, with 156 left after today. Even so, the hope for this team extends beyond this season. They have four pitchers, Jeremy Bonderman, Jordan Tata, Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya, who all have great long term potential. All four have been showing great stuff and are 24 years old or younger. The team also has some great talent, most of it young, on offense. I'm not seeing shades of 1984 just yet, more like 1981. In any case, bless you boys.

That brings us to Millen. The Lions have picked in the top ten in the draft each of the last four years. They'll pick at number nine later this month. With all that access to talent and a checkbook to acquire veteran free agents, Millen has the team no closer to a winning record than they were when he arrived in town in 2001. He may be a nice guy and may honestly believe that he is doing what is best for the team. But he cannot have his head that high in the clouds that he doesn't feel pretty lonesome in the Detroit sports world.

Not Too Soon

There seems to be some controversy as to whether it's too soon for "United 93", a movie about Flight 93. For those not familiar or who don't remember, that was the fourth flight on 9/11, the one where brave passengers overtook their hijackers and brought their flight down in a Pennsylvania field rather than its intended target, which was likely the White House.

Having just seen the trailer, I have to say that it's time for this film. September 11, 2001, was arguably the worst day in this nation's history. We need to remember what happened on that day. The first bright spot that came from that terrible day was Todd Beamer and his fellow passengers fighting back on behalf of civilization. We need to remember the day's heroes as well as its villains.

If I had a family member who played a part in taking down Flight 93, I would be as proud as anything and would want someone to memorialize them in a tasteful manner. In fact, each and every family of the Flight 93 approved of "United 93", which does not have any stars or over the top special effects.

I understand that there are those people who will not be able to stomach the film, much the same way people cannot watch "Schindler's List" because of their sensitivities. I, though, have every intention of seeing it.