JNo, Alex, Dakota, Signe, and I met up at the 1-time (Madison) showing of The Edge of Never – Bill Kerig’s most recent stop as he tours the US with his film.
“The Edge of Never is a nonfiction book that follows the story of a young man, Kye Petersen, who travels to Chamonix, France, to ski the route that killed his famous, big-mountain skiing father, Trevor Petersen.” – theedgeofnever.com
As the film progressed I found myself (personally) seeing the story less as Kye’s coming-of-age, and more as honoring a lost friend.
To Kye, this was obviously a huge moment in his life – doing something that surely would have made his Dad unbelievably proud and happy, while helping to cement the course of his life: to follow in his Dad’s footsteps.
But for those helping him – those who had grownup with Trevor Peterson, as central figures in the golden age (as far as the US is concerned) of big mountain skiing. It had to be just incredible.
Knowing that your friend was suddenly taken from you, but now – all these years later – you have a chance to do something (through his son Kye) that would make him so happy and proud… That would have to be just incredible.
Great film. It’ll be in Milwaukee tomorrow (10/29). Go check it out.
Full Disclosure: I seldom participate in a draft where I don’t come away feeling like a lock for the championship… and I am 50/50 on making the playoffs
My team is a lock for the championship.
I came in keeping MJD (1st), Chris Johnson (3rd), and Matt Forte (4th), so my chief concerns were QB and WR. Seeing as many of the best QBs were already being kept – I wasn’t going to get one in the 2nd round, but I didn’t want to overpay for a 2nd-tier guy either. So, my plan was to grab the best available WR in the 2nd and pick up a QB shortly after I resumed picking in the 5th round.
Before the draft I had drawn up a list of WRs that I thought might be available for my 2nd pick. After review with expert fantasy footballer (expert at everything really), Pete – I had them ordered like this for my personal rankings:
Terrel Owens – ended up already taken
Anthony Gonzalez
Vincent Jackson
Roy Williams
Dwayne Bowe
Braylon Edwards – already taken
TJ Houshmandzadeh
Chad Ochocinco
Santonio Holmes
Brandon Marshall
Eddie Royal
So, I was largely accurate on who would be available (only 2 were already off the board). The catch now was that my top ranked guy (Anthony Gonzalez) was also one of the few guys in my list that I thought had a chance of actually being around for my next pick (35 picks later). For that reason, I passed on him and went with Vincent Jackson.
Paid off in spades as not only was Gonzalez still there for me in the 5th, but Eddie Royal was still there in the 6th. My regret at that point was I just *had* to take Royal in the 6th, even though the last QB that I would be happy with as a starter (Schaub) was sitting there for the taking.
It ended up being another gamble that paid as Schaub was somehow still waiting for me at pick #81 – a full round and a half after his normal draft position.
I also ended up with 2 of my 2nd-tier defenses which was one of my mid/late draft goals.
Here’s my full team:
#1 – RB MJD (Keeper)
#2 – WR Vincent Jackson
#3 – RB Chris Johnson (Keeper)
#4 – RB Matt Forte (Keeper)
#5 – WR Anthony Gonzalez
#6 – WR Eddie Royal
#7 – QB Matt Schaub
#8 – WR Laveranues Coles
#9 – QB Carson Palmer
#10 – RB Tim Hightower
#11 – DEF San Diego Chargers
#12 – DEF New York Jets
#13 – TE Scheffler
#14 – RB Moroney
#15 – K Rackers
Feel free to leave a comment commending me on my incredible team – or (if you are in the league) swearing allegiance to my squad and forfeiting your season!
Jack Daniels Studio 7 was in Madison Monday night, sponsoring The Dandy Warhols, with The Pale Young Gentlemen, over at The Majestic Theater. The show is free so long as you win your ticket online or, in our case, had them handed to us after seeing The Breeders.
It was my first time seeing a full show from Madison’s own Pale Young Gentlemen and I very much enjoyed them. Not every song was a diamond but there were more than enough very good tunes mixed in to hold up their end of the bargain.
The Dandy Warhols are a band that JNo introduced me to quite a while back so it was fitting that we (along with Chuck, Dan, and Joan) saw the show together. The setlist wasn’t quite what I had hoped for but the show, sound, and company were good – even if the crowd wasn’t completely committed to the show.
Down home cooking next to an authentic Madison recycling container (from their blog):
I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell you this, but… the former quarterback for the Packers will now be playing quarterback for one of the opposing teams.
Whew, glad that’s out there. Really clears the air.
My personal standpoint on the whole debacle — well… at least the very most recent chapter of the decade long dance — is: great. As a long-time huge fan of Favre, I’ve been pretty startled recently to realize just how disconnected from him I feel only a year and some change since he departed the Packers. At this point though, I really don’t feel much different about him going to the Vikings than I did with Cutler going to the Bears. Both moves improve teams in our division – and therefore:
* Negatively impact the Packers by improving the competition.
* Make watching the NFL that much better and exciting this year.
At the end of the day: I wish the best for him and the worst for the Vikings and if there’s some gray area left in the middle of that: so be it.
Of course, the real winners here are Bears fans residing in Wisconsin. Packers fans only have so much dislike for the opposition to dole out, so with more of it headed West: the sentiment heading South is diminished. In the meantime, they are given all the ammunition they could ever want to poke fun at us!
You know that guy at the show that’s only there to hear the 1 song that got the most radio play? … so lame. And last night? … so me.
I’m not really sure why I never got really into The Breeders — everything I listen to tells me that I should have. Looking back, it was just a matter of discovering them at the exact same moment that I discovered 10 of my other all-time favorite bands. There was just only so much ear time to go around; not to mention that this was a point in history where (this is hard to believe now): you had to pay money to get music. and working 12 hours a week at Hardees was only getting me so far.
But long story… uh… continued: I’ve always been a huge – 10/10 – 5 star – fan of Cannonball. It probably makes me not a “real fan” – and I’m cool with that. Actually the only part that I’m not cool with is that apparently if I would have spent a bit more time learning to love The Breeders, I would have enjoyed last nights show a lot more (so say: Muzzle of Bees and 77 Square).
As it was, I merely “thought it was great”.
I was definitely not as high on the opener, The Whispertown 2000, as those reviews. To me, they threw a couple pretty songs into an overall not-so-hot set. It was pretty hard not to notice the drummer (or at least he started as the drummer) proclaiming “I am the best musician in this band” as loudly as he could on every track. Whether it was the completely out of place drum fill lasting an entire song, or effectively pushing people out of the way so he could “play the hard part” on their instrument — it just didn’t sit right with me.
The Breeders were quite well received. Maybe not to the level claimed in those reviews linked to above… but the crowd was quite into it — and it was a great show. High energy from both crowd and performers and an “understanding”, nay “appreciation” for the misteps and misnotes thrown in for good measure. They played everything I came to hear and then some – great show.
And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t think Muzzle Of Bees for getting me into the show via the ticket giveaway on their @muzzleofbees Twitter feed. Definitely subscribe to both — highly recommend.
As a fan of the most recent album from The Decemberists (“The Hazards of Love”) – and having been even more into it’s predecessor “The Crane Wife” – I was expecting a good show on Wednesday night. What I ended up with FAR exceeded my expectations.
The night began with The Heartless Bastards playing their first note at the exact moment that we arrived – nice of them to not waste any of our time. They always sound great live but with the help of the Overture Center – it was even better.
The Overture Center itself was, as expected, both a blessing and a curse. Aside from the now famous sippy cups, the sound at the venue was just perfect (both bands) and despite arriving “right on time” and being in the back of the 3rd balcony – we could see well enough. The “strangeness” of the venue was noticed mostly during the Heartless Bastard’s set. Between the entire audience remaining seated + no talking during (and barely between) numbers for an opener — it was just a “weird” feeling. but hey: they sounded great and I’ve always been a fan of sitting for shows anyway, so I’ll quit my complaining.
The venue fit The Decemberists much better as they (first) performed their much publicized “rock opera”. Heading into the night, this was the part that I was most unsure of. Really seemed like playing the album start-to-end without even a break between songs was something that could come off wrong, let alone with increased theatrics. It. Was. Awesome. The incredible sound (yes, it really does warrant repeating this many times) and great execution from the band really made it a wonderful experience.
Following the “opera” and an intermission, they returned to play a full 10-song set, mostly centered on their previous album with a few others (including “Crazy on You”, from Heart) thrown in for good measure. This pretty much covered all my favorites and then some providing a great wind down to the show.
Highly recommend catching this show if it’s headed your way – best show I’ve seen this year.
We were in Milwaukee this weekend for a combination of Germanfest, the air show, and a Brewers game. All were big hits.
We took in the air show from the field between the museums. The view was perfect as the planes flew directly over and performed their tricks over the lake right in front of us. Henry was surprisingly tollerant of the incredibly loud/low Thunderbirds. They (and the rest of the show) were awesome.
Germanfest was up next. Great food, music, and company made for a great night. Henry got to see the UW band play a special 5th quarter show and got more than his share of lederhosen-viewing. Dad got some great beer, knockwurst, and rollbraten. Big wins all around!
Finally, today was Henry’s first Brewers game! He did a great job and puts off the nap to make it through the full 9 innings – a feat not accomplished by most fans who took off in the 7th.
Of course, 9 innings in a row is a bit much – there was some time spent out in the concourse… and since we’re on the subject: the carpeted concourse in the box seats/suites? Paired with the full windows to let you look out? WAY nicer for getting away from the game with a kid than what you’d get elsewhere in the stadium: highly recommend the extra $ if you’re taking a young one.
