Sunday, August 28, 2011
Best Songs of 2011 (so far): Rap is Back!!!
These are my favorite songs of 2011 so far. Please feel free to add some of your favorites.
No particular order:
1- Who I'll Never Be- Atmosphere
2- OK - Beastie Boys
3- Coming Up - Lupe Fiasco
4- Used To Be A Cop - Drive-By Truckers
5- Calamity Song - The Decemberists
6- You Are A Tourist - Death Cap For Cutie
7- Rumour Has It - Adele
8- Ray's Automatic Weapon - Drive-By Truckers
9- Don't Carry It All - The Decemberists
10- The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
11- I Don't Need Brighter Days - Atmosphere
12- Too Many Rappers - Beastie Boys
13- Became - Atmosphere
14- Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways) - Lupe Fiasco
15- My Notes - Atmosphere
No particular order:
1- Who I'll Never Be- Atmosphere
2- OK - Beastie Boys
3- Coming Up - Lupe Fiasco
4- Used To Be A Cop - Drive-By Truckers
5- Calamity Song - The Decemberists
6- You Are A Tourist - Death Cap For Cutie
7- Rumour Has It - Adele
8- Ray's Automatic Weapon - Drive-By Truckers
9- Don't Carry It All - The Decemberists
10- The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
11- I Don't Need Brighter Days - Atmosphere
12- Too Many Rappers - Beastie Boys
13- Became - Atmosphere
14- Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways) - Lupe Fiasco
15- My Notes - Atmosphere
Monday, August 22, 2011
Drive-By Truckers: Go-Go Boots
There are many things I love about the Drive-By Truckers especially the way each song tells a story with a beginning, middle, and an end. This is an essential element in country music and underutilized in pop. The Drive-By Truckers are a little of both. They remind me at times of another great band that blended country and rock, Uncle Tupelo.
Some of my favorites songs on this album include: I Do Believe, Ray's Automatic Weapon, and Used to Be A Cop. Used to Be A Cop is a perfect example of the Drive-By Truckers, the driving drums push this song forward as the whining guitars builds the song creating a moving sad story.
I love this album, on the Tina/Charlie deny it, lend it, promote it scale, with my Go-Go Boots on I promote it!
Tina said: Drive By Truckers (DBT) is a band that I never expected that I would enjoy, but with each studio release and a couple of live shows, I enjoy them even more.
One thing that DBT do best is tell a story within their songs. I like this. I also enjoy how the DBT have a nice mix of country twang. The lead singers voice contains a lot of twang, and reminds me of the country music I grew up listening to (Don Williams, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson). While the DBT have a good balance of rock and country, which makes it very enjoyable to listen to. I too enjoy, I Do Believe, Used to Be A Cop but I also enjoy Everybody Needs Love, and the Thanksgiving Fliter. This song is a good example of a story about a family gathering around the table for a Thanksgiving dinner. The thoughts they have about other family members, and the struggles families have together when they gather in large groups.
Great stories, great music, great album...on the Tina/Charlie promote it, Lend it, Deny it, scale...promote it!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Colorado 2011 Cauthorn Style Day Four
August 10th, 2011
How is it possible that it is day four already? Time does fly when you are spending time with people you love.
I made scrambled eggs this morning along with toast and bacon. Mom did most of the work but I somehow got credit.
With the boys packed up for camp. Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I relaxed around the cabin reading before headed to Estes Park to do some shopping. We first stopped by the Rock Shop to buy some presents for the Kuemmels who are taking care of our fish, Neptune. We then went to a great shop called Estes Park Coffee and Paper Company for coffee and paper. The coffee was great and the paper was actually birthday cards. We bought enough birthday cards to last the year!
We then went to the post office, ate Thai food for lunch, went to the towel exchange, picked up a yogurt maker, and the boys.
The boys had a big day. Nathaniel did a all day hike to Black Lake. They were planning on only going to Lake Haiyaha but their group split into the hard hike or the easy hike. Nate picked the hard hike and "had to jog" to make it back in time. Anthony played Nuke'em, soccer, read to the preschoolers, and made Puppy Chow and a candle. Michael finished the Tri-Wizard Tournament (he is still confused who actually won) and climbed the climbing wall. Big time!
After arriving home from camp, we played cards and Plants vs. Zombies. All the boys (including me) are addicted.
We ate leftovers, some more than others (me). Anthony again went to Teen Night and as the day cooled we settled down in to deep sleep.
How is it possible that it is day four already? Time does fly when you are spending time with people you love.
I made scrambled eggs this morning along with toast and bacon. Mom did most of the work but I somehow got credit.
With the boys packed up for camp. Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I relaxed around the cabin reading before headed to Estes Park to do some shopping. We first stopped by the Rock Shop to buy some presents for the Kuemmels who are taking care of our fish, Neptune. We then went to a great shop called Estes Park Coffee and Paper Company for coffee and paper. The coffee was great and the paper was actually birthday cards. We bought enough birthday cards to last the year!
We then went to the post office, ate Thai food for lunch, went to the towel exchange, picked up a yogurt maker, and the boys.
The boys had a big day. Nathaniel did a all day hike to Black Lake. They were planning on only going to Lake Haiyaha but their group split into the hard hike or the easy hike. Nate picked the hard hike and "had to jog" to make it back in time. Anthony played Nuke'em, soccer, read to the preschoolers, and made Puppy Chow and a candle. Michael finished the Tri-Wizard Tournament (he is still confused who actually won) and climbed the climbing wall. Big time!
After arriving home from camp, we played cards and Plants vs. Zombies. All the boys (including me) are addicted.
We ate leftovers, some more than others (me). Anthony again went to Teen Night and as the day cooled we settled down in to deep sleep.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Colorado 2011 Cauthorn Style Day Three
August 9th, 2011
The morning starts the same except that Mom made pancakes! She used a recipe that had yogurt, delicious.
With the boys packed up, Sarah and I headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park. Today's hike we decided to trek from Bear Lake Trail Head to Fern Lake Trail head. In order to do this, we parked at the Park and Ride and took the shuttle up to Bear Lake Trail Head. The begin of the hike took us straight up. We hiked for about an hour before we reached the highest part of the hike, Lake Helene. To be completely honest, we did not actually know we passed Lake Helene. We did see a pool to our left and later joked that it must had been the lake. Sarah decided that we should rename the lake "Pool"-ene.
As soon as we started down the hike became extremely fun. We hiked over three glaciers, one of which was part of a rock slide and I was actually scared crossing. At one point on the hike from "Pool"-ele to Odessa we were on a narrow path that skirted the side of a mountain, any trip would lead to a LONG drop.
I felt like we were the only people in the park at times. The few times we ran into people they were extremely nice. We met a retired teacher who spends four months a year in CO. He said he had to get out of the Iowa summer heat.
The best part of the whole hike for me was seeing Odessa Lake from above. It is, as all the lakes we have seen, beautiful but it also felt more excluded, maybe because we hiked down to it. We took the extra 30 minutes to actually hike up to the lake, a great decision. The river leading out of Odessa is a fly fisherman's dream, ten feet wide, fast water, a small island in the middle, and almost no overhanging trees to attract flies. The lake was equally as breathtaking.
We reluctantly continued on after spending a few minutes being with Nature.
It was all down hill from there, in a difficult way. Sometimes hiking down hill can be more difficult that hiking up. It is easy to stop going up hill to catch your breath, but down hill your knees sometimes do not recover. For the next two hours we hiked down hill to Fern Lake. Fern Lake is a huge deep lake. I was again surprised how much I liked it. Sarah and I hiked to the opposite side, found a round flat rock in the sun and ate our lunch. We saw fish rise and took in the sun.
The hike from Fern to Fern Lake Trail Head was not as enjoyable as the first part of the hike. That could have been that I was tired, my knees hurt, or that by noon, the temperature was rising. We arrived at the Trail Head passing Fern Falls and The Pool but were impressive. We, unfortunately arrived at five minutes late to catch the shuttle and had a twenty-five minute wait. Colorado is probably the easiest place to have to wait and after nine miles we were content.
The boys had a great second day at camp. Anthony did the low ropes course in the morning which he said was only ok but the high ropes course in the afternoon was great. He got to climb a tree and ride a zip-line back down. Nathaniel played quiddich (yes, I said quiddich), swim, play capture the flag, and make crafts. Nate made a knot bracelet with was colorful. Michael participated in a Tri-Wizard Tournament, swam, and made dragon eggs. We asked the boys if they wanted to take the day off to go on a hike with us but they all wanted to go back to camp. They love it.
The boys went back to the camp five to play another fun but competitive game of capture the flag. The whole crew picked the boys up by six thirty and drove a few miles outside of town to see real beavers in action. We have always hoped to see beavers in action at the Minnesota Zoo but they are always, I mean always, sleeping. We were shocked to find them up and actively adding to their dams. When we first arrived dad saw some high grass moving and a few minutes later, a beaver came out with branches in his mouth. He swam across his lake and dove underwater to put store his food. There were three beaver dams along the side of the road. The beaver's den was in the middle of the last pond and aspen stumps were everywhere. Beavers are not as big as I thought they would be but more active.
We stopped to have burgers at the Estes Park Brewery. On the way home, we dropped Anthony off at Teen Night and went home to Jeremiah. When I pick Anthony up we realized that he had not yet showed in Colorado. That was taken care of before well all when to bed.
The morning starts the same except that Mom made pancakes! She used a recipe that had yogurt, delicious.
With the boys packed up, Sarah and I headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park. Today's hike we decided to trek from Bear Lake Trail Head to Fern Lake Trail head. In order to do this, we parked at the Park and Ride and took the shuttle up to Bear Lake Trail Head. The begin of the hike took us straight up. We hiked for about an hour before we reached the highest part of the hike, Lake Helene. To be completely honest, we did not actually know we passed Lake Helene. We did see a pool to our left and later joked that it must had been the lake. Sarah decided that we should rename the lake "Pool"-ene.
As soon as we started down the hike became extremely fun. We hiked over three glaciers, one of which was part of a rock slide and I was actually scared crossing. At one point on the hike from "Pool"-ele to Odessa we were on a narrow path that skirted the side of a mountain, any trip would lead to a LONG drop.
I felt like we were the only people in the park at times. The few times we ran into people they were extremely nice. We met a retired teacher who spends four months a year in CO. He said he had to get out of the Iowa summer heat.
The best part of the whole hike for me was seeing Odessa Lake from above. It is, as all the lakes we have seen, beautiful but it also felt more excluded, maybe because we hiked down to it. We took the extra 30 minutes to actually hike up to the lake, a great decision. The river leading out of Odessa is a fly fisherman's dream, ten feet wide, fast water, a small island in the middle, and almost no overhanging trees to attract flies. The lake was equally as breathtaking.
We reluctantly continued on after spending a few minutes being with Nature.
It was all down hill from there, in a difficult way. Sometimes hiking down hill can be more difficult that hiking up. It is easy to stop going up hill to catch your breath, but down hill your knees sometimes do not recover. For the next two hours we hiked down hill to Fern Lake. Fern Lake is a huge deep lake. I was again surprised how much I liked it. Sarah and I hiked to the opposite side, found a round flat rock in the sun and ate our lunch. We saw fish rise and took in the sun.
The hike from Fern to Fern Lake Trail Head was not as enjoyable as the first part of the hike. That could have been that I was tired, my knees hurt, or that by noon, the temperature was rising. We arrived at the Trail Head passing Fern Falls and The Pool but were impressive. We, unfortunately arrived at five minutes late to catch the shuttle and had a twenty-five minute wait. Colorado is probably the easiest place to have to wait and after nine miles we were content.
The boys had a great second day at camp. Anthony did the low ropes course in the morning which he said was only ok but the high ropes course in the afternoon was great. He got to climb a tree and ride a zip-line back down. Nathaniel played quiddich (yes, I said quiddich), swim, play capture the flag, and make crafts. Nate made a knot bracelet with was colorful. Michael participated in a Tri-Wizard Tournament, swam, and made dragon eggs. We asked the boys if they wanted to take the day off to go on a hike with us but they all wanted to go back to camp. They love it.
The boys went back to the camp five to play another fun but competitive game of capture the flag. The whole crew picked the boys up by six thirty and drove a few miles outside of town to see real beavers in action. We have always hoped to see beavers in action at the Minnesota Zoo but they are always, I mean always, sleeping. We were shocked to find them up and actively adding to their dams. When we first arrived dad saw some high grass moving and a few minutes later, a beaver came out with branches in his mouth. He swam across his lake and dove underwater to put store his food. There were three beaver dams along the side of the road. The beaver's den was in the middle of the last pond and aspen stumps were everywhere. Beavers are not as big as I thought they would be but more active.
We stopped to have burgers at the Estes Park Brewery. On the way home, we dropped Anthony off at Teen Night and went home to Jeremiah. When I pick Anthony up we realized that he had not yet showed in Colorado. That was taken care of before well all when to bed.
Colorado 2011 Cauthorn Style Day Two
August 8, 2011
The intention was to wake up before six so I could share a coffee and chat with my father, but that is not exactly how the first morning started. Sarah and I were up by 6:30 but that gave us just enough time to get dressed, wake the boys, drink a cup of coffee, eat breakfast, and pack up for our days.
The boys decided they would like to try five days of YMCA day camp this year. Anthony is a Mountaineer, Nathaniel is a Pioneer, and Michael is a Trailblazer. All the boys had archery (Anthony hit the target three of his four shots, Nate hit the target once, and alas, Michael's arrows flew every which way but true). Anthony also had a horseback ride and capture the flag, both activities were loved. His horse, "Tin Cup", was not the most lively of beasts. Nathaniel played nuke'em and putt-putt and made several new friends; Sam, Sam, and "I think George or Jordan". Michael played wizard tag, bombs, and made trail mix. It was suppose to be named "Dragon Poop" but he was going to have nothing of the sort, so we agreed that it was trail mix.
After camp, Anthony met up with a friend he made last year, Micah. They played pool then all the boys played Capture the Flag.
While the boys were enjoying day camp, Sarah and I set off on a hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park. For weeks I have been studying maps and reviewing web sites. We love being up in the mountains with a destination in mind and the beauty of nature absorbing us. The hike we decided on was Black Lake. Starting at Glacial Gorge, we first hiked to Mills Lake. In all the years we have been here, we had never been to Mills Lake. Shame on us! It is named after Enos Mills, an early proponent to make this a national park. He must have been a great man to name such a lake after him. Surrounded by mountains, trees, and impressive boulders is but a taste of its beauty.
We continued about 2.5 mile passed Mills Lake to Black Lake. Black Lake was difficult at the end rising steeply to the lake that was over 10,600 feet in altitude. Being above the tree line only boulders encased the lake. Sarah and I ate our lunches on a huge rock looking out over the feeder creek and lake.
After we regained our strength, we hiked back down to Mills Lake. On the trail we came across an Elk with four fawns. They looked as if they too were hiking to Mills Lake.
Mills Lake inspires tranquility. When Sarah and I got back to Mills Lake, we sat taking in the view. Rocky Mountain National Park exudes nature. It feels like that if you are quiet enough, still enough, and patient enough, at some point a deer, wolf, coyote, marmot, or elk will show up. While sitting on our rock, we saw an Elk enter the lake from the opposite side, walk across to near where we were sitting, get out and continue its journey. This all happened while we silently watched and smiled.
Mom and Dad took a hike from the YMCA to Moraine Park. A few navigational errors and four hours passed before they arrived back at Jeremiah. During their hike they witnessed Anthony mounted on Tin Cup and he was at the back of the line. When they got home, Mom's knee started to bother her. It took three days to recover!
Sarah and I ended up hiking ten miles and arrived home just in time to pick up the boys. Mom and Dad had Bar-B-Que chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket with corn, beans, green beans, and salad prepared for dinner.
After dinner Anthony went to Teen Night at the Y while the rest of the crew played several rounds of Guillotine where Sarah was victorious.
Exhausted, sleep came quickly.
The intention was to wake up before six so I could share a coffee and chat with my father, but that is not exactly how the first morning started. Sarah and I were up by 6:30 but that gave us just enough time to get dressed, wake the boys, drink a cup of coffee, eat breakfast, and pack up for our days.
The boys decided they would like to try five days of YMCA day camp this year. Anthony is a Mountaineer, Nathaniel is a Pioneer, and Michael is a Trailblazer. All the boys had archery (Anthony hit the target three of his four shots, Nate hit the target once, and alas, Michael's arrows flew every which way but true). Anthony also had a horseback ride and capture the flag, both activities were loved. His horse, "Tin Cup", was not the most lively of beasts. Nathaniel played nuke'em and putt-putt and made several new friends; Sam, Sam, and "I think George or Jordan". Michael played wizard tag, bombs, and made trail mix. It was suppose to be named "Dragon Poop" but he was going to have nothing of the sort, so we agreed that it was trail mix.
After camp, Anthony met up with a friend he made last year, Micah. They played pool then all the boys played Capture the Flag.
While the boys were enjoying day camp, Sarah and I set off on a hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park. For weeks I have been studying maps and reviewing web sites. We love being up in the mountains with a destination in mind and the beauty of nature absorbing us. The hike we decided on was Black Lake. Starting at Glacial Gorge, we first hiked to Mills Lake. In all the years we have been here, we had never been to Mills Lake. Shame on us! It is named after Enos Mills, an early proponent to make this a national park. He must have been a great man to name such a lake after him. Surrounded by mountains, trees, and impressive boulders is but a taste of its beauty.
We continued about 2.5 mile passed Mills Lake to Black Lake. Black Lake was difficult at the end rising steeply to the lake that was over 10,600 feet in altitude. Being above the tree line only boulders encased the lake. Sarah and I ate our lunches on a huge rock looking out over the feeder creek and lake.
After we regained our strength, we hiked back down to Mills Lake. On the trail we came across an Elk with four fawns. They looked as if they too were hiking to Mills Lake.
Mills Lake inspires tranquility. When Sarah and I got back to Mills Lake, we sat taking in the view. Rocky Mountain National Park exudes nature. It feels like that if you are quiet enough, still enough, and patient enough, at some point a deer, wolf, coyote, marmot, or elk will show up. While sitting on our rock, we saw an Elk enter the lake from the opposite side, walk across to near where we were sitting, get out and continue its journey. This all happened while we silently watched and smiled.
Mom and Dad took a hike from the YMCA to Moraine Park. A few navigational errors and four hours passed before they arrived back at Jeremiah. During their hike they witnessed Anthony mounted on Tin Cup and he was at the back of the line. When they got home, Mom's knee started to bother her. It took three days to recover!
Sarah and I ended up hiking ten miles and arrived home just in time to pick up the boys. Mom and Dad had Bar-B-Que chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket with corn, beans, green beans, and salad prepared for dinner.
After dinner Anthony went to Teen Night at the Y while the rest of the crew played several rounds of Guillotine where Sarah was victorious.
Exhausted, sleep came quickly.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Colorado 2011 Cauthorn Style Day One
August 7, 2011
A few things before I begin describing Estes Park: all places are beautiful beyond words so any attempt I make will be wanton, life was everywhere around us so I will leave out most animal encounters, and pictures will be added soon which will not do justice to our trip.
Travel was uneventful other that the "slight" detour we took trying to avoid the toll roads in Denver. We ended up driving through Boulder, another amazingly beautiful city, which slowed us down quite a bit. Driving through Boulder is like trying to navigate in downtown Stillwater during the dinner hour.
When we did arrive at the YMCA of the Rockies it was two in the afternoon just in time to sign the boys up for camp and to get a bite to eat. We ate at the Estes Park Brewery. Having not eaten for seven hours all Minnesota Cauthorn's chowed down, well, all but Sarah that is.
After a few side trips, one where Papa bought Anthony some "real" hiking boots, we gathered at Jeremiah to play Guillotine and eat pizza. I won the inaugural game which is the only game that really matters, so I won't go into how I fared the rest of the trip.
Mom and Dad look great! Both were so excited to see us and greeted us with kisses, hugs, and more kisses. I am shocked how quickly the boys seem to acclimate to their grandparents. Not that Mom and Dad make it difficult, it is just that after only minutes, we seem to be one big happy family again.
We all slept well anticipating exciting days to come in Colorado!
A few things before I begin describing Estes Park: all places are beautiful beyond words so any attempt I make will be wanton, life was everywhere around us so I will leave out most animal encounters, and pictures will be added soon which will not do justice to our trip.
Travel was uneventful other that the "slight" detour we took trying to avoid the toll roads in Denver. We ended up driving through Boulder, another amazingly beautiful city, which slowed us down quite a bit. Driving through Boulder is like trying to navigate in downtown Stillwater during the dinner hour.
When we did arrive at the YMCA of the Rockies it was two in the afternoon just in time to sign the boys up for camp and to get a bite to eat. We ate at the Estes Park Brewery. Having not eaten for seven hours all Minnesota Cauthorn's chowed down, well, all but Sarah that is.
After a few side trips, one where Papa bought Anthony some "real" hiking boots, we gathered at Jeremiah to play Guillotine and eat pizza. I won the inaugural game which is the only game that really matters, so I won't go into how I fared the rest of the trip.
Mom and Dad look great! Both were so excited to see us and greeted us with kisses, hugs, and more kisses. I am shocked how quickly the boys seem to acclimate to their grandparents. Not that Mom and Dad make it difficult, it is just that after only minutes, we seem to be one big happy family again.
We all slept well anticipating exciting days to come in Colorado!
Friday, August 05, 2011
Born to Run
By Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall makes many statements with his book Born to Run. He tells a story of the Tarahumara, an isolated tribe of American Indians living in the remote foreboding Copper Canynons in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. He explains the theory of how long distance running may have been the reason our species has ascended to the dominate species on our planet. He then argues for barefoot running and how modern footwear has damaged our technique and health. Finally, he weaves all these together with a Zen-like concept that to be a distance runner, one must become a better human being.
This was a great easy read. McDougall spryly and humorously incorporates himself in the stories he tells but he does not dominate.
The climatic ending sees the greatest Tarahumaras running against the great Scott Jurek and others. The outcome is not important; it is the running that matters.
Christopher McDougall makes many statements with his book Born to Run. He tells a story of the Tarahumara, an isolated tribe of American Indians living in the remote foreboding Copper Canynons in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. He explains the theory of how long distance running may have been the reason our species has ascended to the dominate species on our planet. He then argues for barefoot running and how modern footwear has damaged our technique and health. Finally, he weaves all these together with a Zen-like concept that to be a distance runner, one must become a better human being.
This was a great easy read. McDougall spryly and humorously incorporates himself in the stories he tells but he does not dominate.
The climatic ending sees the greatest Tarahumaras running against the great Scott Jurek and others. The outcome is not important; it is the running that matters.
The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
The End of Eternity
by Isaac Asimov
When I want to read some science fiction, this book is what I would have in mind. There was a distinct vision of how science would progress in the future and Asimov's description was thorough but not over stated. The story was excellent with an ending that was satisfying.
Asimov also comments on current and future social issues. He sees our future as limitless if we avoid social injustice.
I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5, it was that good!
When I want to read some science fiction, this book is what I would have in mind. There was a distinct vision of how science would progress in the future and Asimov's description was thorough but not over stated. The story was excellent with an ending that was satisfying.
Asimov also comments on current and future social issues. He sees our future as limitless if we avoid social injustice.
I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5, it was that good!
