"Oh, history involved itself"

Oh what the heck, I've got to get some of this down before 2010, right?

I'd say these are my favorite 10 songs of the decade, based primarily on iTunes playcount along with a few of those that really are my favorite but don't always get played the most.

Honorable Mention:
Closer -- Joshua Radin (2006)
To Run -- Josiah Leming (2008)
Indiana -- Jon McLaughlin (2006)
William Fitzimmons (I love most of his songs, so none in particular rise to the top)

The List:
10. Yesteryear -- Rosi Golan (2008)
9. Look After You -- The Fray (2005)
8. Skeleton Key -- Margot & the Nuclear So and So's (2006)
7. The Minnow and the Trout -- A Fine Frenzy (2007)
6. Slow Show -- The National (2007)
5. Viva La Vida -- Coldplay (2008)
4. Flume -- Bon Iver (2008)
3. Jolene -- Ray LaMontagne (2004)
2. Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois -- Sufjan Stevens (2005)
1. The Blower's Daughter -- Damien Rice (2003)

I just couldn't -- and in most cases still can't -- get enough of these songs. For the top 10, I've spent about 58 hours listening to these songs on iTunes since I got my iPod in 2006. But I generally listen to the CDs in the car, so that's nowhere close to the real number.

Several of these are from the last 2-3 years...it'll be interesting to see if I'm still listening to them a few years from now.

"How they resemble one another"

A decade gone. I want to opine on what a decade ending means. I want to list my top 10 favorite albums of the last 10 years. I remember what I did at the close of the last decade. It was December 31, 1999. Lisa and I had professional pictures taken at Wal-Mart. We had a sketch drawn at the Mounds Mall. We watched Bicentennial Man at the movie theatre. Then I think we went to an all night party with the North Anderson Youth at Cross Street gym...although I'm kind of thinking that may have been 1998. But the other stuff was 1999. And it seems like a long time ago...but then ten years have passed quickly. It's hard to imagine that another decade could bring so much change and then I'll be 36. To think about the people I didn't know in 1999...many of my best friends today that I didn't meet until I moved into Myers Hall a couple of years later.

So anyway, perhaps I will capture additional thoughts during this decade's waning days. I noticed the other day that one of the first things that happened in the year 2000 was I scored my 1,000 high school basketball point that January. I have two basketballs in the garage...mementos for 1,000 and 2,000 one from the year 2000 and one from 2002.

A rambling jumble of thoughts before bed. (Wow, bed's a lot earlier than it was circa this time in 2005.)

"Yuletide by the fireside"

If you're worried about Global Warming, you'd better...

Maybe I'll make this into a t-shirt next year.

"With the wild wolves around you"

Well I finally turned the corner and started working on some accounting problems. I'm looking at a balance sheet right now. I'd spent the last week reading, and it was time to start working through some stuff. Now that I've got that rolling, should be off and running.

Right now, I'm really enjoying Bon Iver, and I just found a sweet live show that is available to download for free here:
http://radiomilwaukee.podbean.com/2009/10/12/bon-iver-live-at-the-riverside/

Go to the web site and you can stream it or click on the "download" button underneath the player. The first song is Flume, which is my favorite Bon Iver song, but this is an unbelievable version.

I've also been listening to William Fitzsimmons and David Gray a lot recently. All good music for the depths of fall.

Christmas...here we come...hooray.

"On to the next chase"

I started my new classes on November 30. Since that time, I've found it incredibly difficult to study. Last term I was really moving. I'm finding it challenging to get back into the swing of things. First Quiz is on December 18 over approximately 8 chapters in accounting. I got my book today. However, 7 of those chapters are review of undergrad. Unfortunately, that was many moons ago.

I'd rather watch Christmas movies and shop for people...

"A glimpse you let me see"

I'm looking forward to the weekend...it's been just an OK week. Trying to get back into the swing of new classes...minus one of the books that I need. (Woops!) So my Saturday will be spent working ahead in the other class, I guess. We'll see how it all shakes out over the next few weeks.

Tomorrow morning we have a conference call in our "Great Lakes" market with the CEO. That should be interesting. I don't think I've heard her talk to any group smaller than the whole US, so this will be a group about 5% as big as our whole country...if that makes sense. I'm kind of tired.

Highlights:

• The fireplace works
• Hanging out with my sister on Tuesday
• The house is so nicely decorated
• Listening to William Fitzsimmons while sleeping on the bus
• mondaytuesdaywednesdaythursday!!FRIDAY!!
• Footie pajamas
• Christmas is coming

Lowlights:

• Starting classes again...yeah it was only one week off, but it was so great
• Losing HBO (Lisa had negotiated 2 or 3 free months and we got like 8, so I guess I can't complain)
• Heating issues in the house
• The dog refuses to use her new stairs to get on the bed

"I will possess your heart"

Having a 30 gig iPod consistently challenges me with difficult decisions...like do I remove songs by Deep Blue Something (of course I'm leaving Breakfast at Tiffany's) or Weezer's Green Album...neither have ever been played in iTunes, but I just like having the option for when the mood strikes.

I think I might give last year's Madden game a try on the old Wii tonight. Ah the luxury of a one week break from the old Kelley School of Business.

"Chant like an army"

Good catching up with you tonight, Phil.

"Talk of the town"

What if there were something other than light at the end of the tunnel? What if it was a door in the dark...maybe one that led to another tunnel...or something surprising? Or what if instead of a light, there was just a bed, so you could lie down and rest?

Tomorrow morning, I'll put Quantitative Analysis to bed and Saturday, I'll put Economics for Managers down too. Then I'll turn my attention to an integrated Accounting and Finance course. If there's one thing I didn't come out of the Falls School of Business with, it was a strong grounding in Finance. Maybe I'll take what is weak and springboard into a Masters of Science in Finance in 2012. (It's only 4 additional classes beyond my MBA, if I take certain electives.) It might be fun to be a CFO someday. I guess I'll shoot for an A or a B in this entry level course next quarter and go from there.

While I can't say I'm enjoying school all that much - which I think in part is a reflection of taking courses online - I am enjoying using more of my brain than I do in my day job and learning things outside of the norm. There is some useful stuff that I wouldn't have learned otherwise, and I'm only two courses in. So that's how I feel today.

Song of the Day: Skeleton Key - Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos

"I need some old times"

It's been a blogging hiatus of late...not by intention. I've been learning how to simulate scenarios and determine optimal solutions given constraints. While I did not really enjoy my statistics course as whole, I feel really clever knowing how to do a bunch of Excel stuff, that I have no intention of using in the future. But perhaps my career will surprise me. Or maybe I can optimize our savings or determine the risk of us getting in a car crash and needing money for a new car or something. All this knowledge and no place to apply it...maybe it'll be useful next quarter in Finance or Accounting.

So I just finished taking 1 of 3 finals. I think it went well. I predict a 95%ish, unless I really missed something. Still a humbling experience, as there was stuff the Lord just made work that didn't seem to be working previously. Thanks be to Him if I can get out of here with an A or a B, and therefore be refunded by the Company.

I've been on a huge Margot kick of late. Can't get At the Carnival out of my head. They have so many great songs. I wonder if/when I would have discovered them if it weren't for Parliament pointing us in the right direction?! I think they might be moving into my top 5 favorites. We'll see if the new album and new lineup next year matches their warranted high expectations.

Holidays are coming soon. Hip hip hooray. I'm tired.

"We should be in perfect harmony"

Well tweeting is one thing, but this is my first full-blown blog update via blackberry. I'm waiting for the bus in the rain...well more of a drizzle and the bus is late. Traffic is horrible due to the Pacer game - opening night - tonight. So I decided this is the ideal time to blog...while listening to Vampire Weekend in the drizzle.

The biggest news this side of the pending health reform legislation is that B-Nasty, Big N*ts, Brian Roberson himself is moving back to Central Indiana after many years of exploring the Alaskan wilderness. He'll once again be a mainlander.

Happy Halloween!

"Over fall break, you're coming down to see me"

I'm surprised I haven't been blogging more often...I've certainly been trolling facebook regularly now that I'm up to my eyeballs in online MBA work.

Friday was an exciting day, so I took a day off of work. The morning was spent doing my first MBA midterm. It was tough...ended up with an 88 and the class average was 81, so I was happy with that. The afternoon was then spent anxiously awaiting the arrival of Rosi Golan and company for the house show she was playing at our house that night.

It was a bit surreal to receive a phone call around 2:30 with a "this is Rosi" on the other end after planning and preparing for the show for so long. She, Jake (guitarist) and Ben (boyfriend) arrived around 5 and we hit McCallisters for some pre-show fuel. Very, very nice people. Easy to talk to, laid back, very gracious and kind. And not too harsh when I couldn't find my way back home after taking the back way through the neighborhood.

So they relaxed for awhile and before long Chase Coy showed up to settle in, do a soundcheck and hang out for a bit before people started arriving. Ultimately, the soundcheck was unnecessary as no mic was needed for the two rooms that would be filled with 25-30 people. But I enjoyed chatting with Chase for awhile, hearing some of his new songs. A genuinely good kid with genuinely enjoyable music.

More to come on the adventures in concert hosting...

"I'm caught up and bruised"

Tonight we went to Morty's to watch a couple of comedians, including one who was the overeater on Sex and the City and one billed as the funniest man in Milwaukee. Both were pretty funny. I like comedy. Some pretty good stuff.

Rogers surpised me with the new Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson duet album today. When you mix one of my top 10 favorite musicians with one of my favorite actresses, it's got to lead to some good things.

Off to bed soon.

"Seal it for thy courts above"

I'm starting to remember what it was like in college when I would take a 10- to 30-minute break to play Tetris every half hour or so. Now I can't afford such breaks, so I make them 5-10 minutes to look up a long-forgotten artist on MySpace or check Facebook. Thoughts I had during homework tonight:
* What happened to Josiah Leming ? (Turns out he co-wrote a song with Kevin Griffin last month.) Kevin Griffin gets around like a who-re on the weekend. But boy does he write good music.
*I should make a playlist of my 1,000 favorite songs. (I didn't undertake this yet.)
*I should make a best Christmas song playlist. (I started this one.)
*What is Sufjan Stevens working on right now?
*Should I or should I not ride the bus tomorrow?
*What's the minimum amount of work I can do tonight and still finish my assignments on Saturday?
*I should email my study partner and tell her I need to push back our time to chat on Saturday, because I haven't gotten enough homework done yet.

"Everyday things change, basically they stay the same"

Another week ends. September is coming to a rapid close. Four years ago...around this time, I'd be gearing up for a drive over to the old Applewood 9 for a midnight movie complements of Mr. Ricky Lehman. Yes, I suppose the year was 2005 and into 2006. 2005 was a good year. 2006 had its challenges. Ups and downs. The ebb and flow of life. Four years sounds like a long time ago...but heck Detroit seems like a long time ago and that was only 16 months. Four years? Yesterday?

I just downloaded David Gray's new album, which I'm very much looking forward to absorbing over the next week. I remember being at Darren Rayl's house when he first had White Ladder by David Gray. Now we're moving back in time...2000. It took me awhile to see the light, but ultimately White Ladder became one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time. Perhaps number one or two. If you don't listen to David Gray yet, just download Please Forgive Me and maybe This Year's Love for a couple of strong samples from that album...it's great music for the fall.

We're on a huge jumpstart for Christmas shopping this year. If you're reading this blog, you may already be the owner of a Christmas present bought specifically with you in mind. Don't get your hopes up yet though...Really we do have a lot of gifts already though. Kind of nice to spread it out from a budgeting perspective.

Perhaps the most interesting news today is that I road the bus to work. Public transportation = good study time for MBA.

"My feet sprouted wings, and I flew all the way home"

Today was marked with excitement followed by disappointment. On the news this morning, we heard the Wizard of Oz would be screened tonight to mark its 70th anniversary so we decided we would attend. Unfortunately, I didn't think to buy tickets in advance and it was sold out. So Rogers missed her chance to see her favorite on the silver screen.

Other movies we've seen on the big screen in the past couple of years:

• Dirty Dancing - one of Rogers' favorites
• It's A Wonderful Life - one of my top 3
• Back to the Future - another of my top 3 (I saw this one by myself.)

So instead we watched an episode of Flipping Out...not quite as exciting. What else is new...I might try riding the bus in the morning.

"The prodigal runaway"

I am quickly realizing the next two years will likely be somewhat exhausting. I don't think it's so much from a lack of sleep, but more of a work and stress level exhausting. The good news is that classes run for 12 weeks, which seems like manageable chunks of time and there's that one great week inbetween terms. I'm banking on those weeks off.

Currently listening to: Mat Kearney, Imogen Heap, A Fine Frenzy, Rosi Golan
Watching: Colts Football, Freaks & Geeks, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Survivor

"Like fire engines racing"

It was an interesting day, I suppose:

• Woke up
• Dressed, took Grace out before pinning her in
• Went to work, flipped the stations around on the way, finally turning on some Margot
• Long day, lots of meetings, some good news, some interesting news, didn't feel too great, kind of sick
• Came home
• Talked to Rogers about her day, ate great pasta leftovers, half of candy bar, jarlsburg cheese compliments of Grandma M.
• Watched 15 minutes of Flipping Out
• Quantitative Analysis webcast (2 hours, 10 minutes)
• Skype conversation with Economics team (10 minutes)
• Q. Analysis homework (1 hour, 45 minutes), listened to A Fine Frenzy
• Read Exodus 14
• Time for shower, bed, sleep

"Ask me now I'll give you the reasons"

This is shaping up to be a challening week. I feel like I'm already behind on school work after only one week into my current classes. Additionally, Rogers has been fighting something for a week or two that now seems to be attacking me...so I'm wearing down quickly. Soon, I'm going to need to look into bussing into work. That'll allow for some key study time.

Football season is back, A Fine Frenzy and Imogen's albums have dropped (and I'm enjoying them), Rosi Golan is playing our house October 16, It's Always Sunny and Dexter are around the corner, and Rogers and I are trying to find some time to catch Sorority Row, so from an entertainment perspective...well, we are entertained.

I've been feeling that I need to step up the doing things for the "least of these" and generally being Christ's hands and feet in Fishers, Indianapolis, at work, play, etc. It's ridiculous how lame of a Christian I seem to have become. Am I a "good and faithful servant"? I've been forgiven a great debt, am grateful and should live accordingly.

"Come over and convert me"

Labor Day Weekend is upon us...and I vow to only labor a little bit...and that will be house cleaning and cleaning up the yard a little bit.

Tonight I unexpectedly went to the Margot and the Nuclear so and sos show...reportedly their last show in Indianapolis all together followed immediately by their last show period tomorrow night.

I'm glad I went...it won't be the same without over half the band. Highlights included:

• Talking in Code
• Broadripple is Burning
• Quiet as a Mouse
• Skeleton Key
• At the Carnival
• Children's Crusade on Acid
• As Tall as Cliffs

It was fantastic.

"With the champagne eyes"

Next week somewhat officially begins my life for the next 2+ years. I'll start taking two classes at a time at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Classes run for 12 weeks meaning by next year this time, I'll have about 24 credits...takes 51 to graduate.

So because the hour is imminent, I'm taking advantage of not having schoolwork to do right now by watching Sixteen Candles. Last night I watched a critically-acclaimed drama from several years back called In the Bedroom (not too exciting).

Hopefully, I'll get through The Breakfast Club before next week as well. I'm looking forward to the long weekend although Saturday will involve a lot of housework in preparation for a Rosenberg family cookout on Sunday.

This health reform battle is interesting...I feel like an election is right around the corner what with all of the ads on TV. Let's hope it lands on the side of capitalism and efficiencies rather than socialism and bankruptcy. (I can't stop there.) The government sucks at running all of their programs...cash for clunkers ran out of cash...Medicare costs way more than initially projected...Social Security isn't sustainable...the list goes on and on. I really really don't want them to be running my health insurance plan. Call Congress. Write letters. Buy ad time on TV.

"It just doesn't get better than this"

Is this fall? Things I'm looking forward to this fall:

• Rosi Golan concert
• Rogers' 26th Birthday
• A haunted house
• A campfire or two
• Jackets
• David Gray and A Fine Frenzy albums
• Listening to Imogen's new CD
• Getting a little more settled into Life Church
• Catching up on a few more Woodlawn sermons
• Reading a chunk of the Old Testament
• Surviving Quantitative Analysis and Economics for Managers
• Walking outside while the leaves fall
• Fall Golf
• Sleeping with the windows open
• Living
• Praising
• Serving

"This is not a fire drill"

Things I came across while sorting through boxes and trying to clean up our house:

• My ticket to the movie Titanic on 1/3/98
• My ticket to a no hitter Phillies game pitched by Terry Muholland
• A Peter Pan cup from Burger King still in the box
• A picture of Josh Campbell in high school...he wrote on the back:

To Lisa
From Josh Campbell

You are fun to pick on,
But I hope our friendship will never be gone.
May your brain & beauty grow
Away from your friends I hope you never go

• A wristwatch from the Ringling Bros circus in 1990 with a cool zipper pocket attached to the band.
• Mix tapes I'd made for Rogers in high school.
• Lisa's chapstick from high school. (Still smells good.)
• A talking baseball card machine.
• My dad's Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays cards.
• An unopened 1996 NBA Calendar.
• A Lincoln - Kennedy assassination coincidence document...did you know Lincoln's secretary, whose name was Kennedy, advised him not to go to the theatre. Kennedy's secretary, whose name was Lincoln, advised him not to go to Dallas. (There's more where that came from...)
• A Sears catalogue from 1994.
• Robin Hood Prince of Thieves trading cards.
• And so much more...

"Tell me everything, anything true"

It was a nice weekend, which included playing a game of Canasta with my paternal grandparents earlier today. It was a good time and a treat, although the old folks beat us. And they are old...my Harold and Verna Rosenberg have been married for 67 years as of last Friday. Amazing. Grandpa still works in the yard every day with good weather and without a sore back. I learned today that Grandpa used to raise baby chickens with a light bulb when he was young.

The weekend also included some Fraziers ice cream, a nice meal at TGI Friday's with friends, a date with Rogers and a pretty good movie by Quentin Tarantino. It's a good time watching Nazi's get beat up.

Anyone who hasn't heard yet, please save the date October 16. Rosi Golan is reportedly playing a set in our house! Check her out at www.rosigolan.com. This is national recording artist Rosi Golan and is sure to be a good time. She's doing a house tour and we volunteered! So save the date and tell your friends.

"Surrounded by the sky and sea"

Last week was completely and utterly exhausting. Kelley Direct was kicking my tail. At the same time, it was stimulating, enjoyable, engaging, exciting and rewarding. It was a good week in the end, although Friday morning around 3 a.m. when we were still wrapping up our presentation content -- before moving to practice presenting it -- didn't seem so good at the time.

Rogers and I spent the weekend catching up on time with each other and relaxing. It included two movies in two days, which I don't know if we've ever done. Both (500) Days of Summer and A Perfect Getaway were great movies though.

I also enjoyed St. Elmo's Fire, which I watched over the last few days. Interesting movie.

Two questions:
1) Why would A Fine Frenzy have a CD cover in black and white, hiding that hot, fiery red hair. What a mistake!
2) Could Rosi Golan really be doing a house tour and potentially playing at our house on October 16? That would be sweet! Trying to confirm the details so stay tuned!

Albums I'm looking forward to:
A Fine Frenzy - Bomb in a Birdcage
David Gray - Draw The Line
Imogen Heap - Ellipse

"We are doomed, but we wanted more"

It's been awhile...A lot has been going on. Rogers and I spent a week in Myrtle Beach with the Rosenberg clan before I began my in-residence week in Bloomington at IU on Saturday. Suffice to say, the program has been kicking my tail so far. Basically 18 hour days all spent in the classroom or with your teammates working on the case studies every night. Challenging. Exhausting. Can't wait to finish this on Friday morning and head back to Fishers for some quality downtime with Rogers! Missing her all the time.

Time for bed.

"I'm crazy from all this spinning"

Dave show tonight:

Friday Jul 31 2009 Verizon Wireless Music Center
Bartender
Proudest Monkey
Satellite
Seven
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Funny The Way It Is
#41
You Never Know
Why I Am
Crash (Into Me)
Spaceman
So Damn Lucky
Lie In Our Graves
(Shotgun )
Squirm
Alligator Pie
Jimi Thing
Time Bomb
__________________
Rye Whiskey
The Maker
All Along The Watchtower

Great as always...the new songs are sweet live. Vacation tomorrow...Myrtle Beach yayhoo.

"Eyes to see a brighter day"

A few things I learned about my Grandpa today from talking with the family while sitting in his room in the nursing home:

• His third and fourth toes on both feet are webbed up to the knuckle. I saw it. It's pretty sweet.
• Some of the many countries he traveled to for business with John Deere were Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Iran and Argentina.
• Upon return home from business trips, sons Grant and Greg usually received two spankings. One for doing something wrong and one for good measure because they probably did something else wrong.
• Rumor has it that Grandpa's discipline eased as time went by as last child Dave didn't have as many spankings.
• Once my Grandpa had bought my Grandma expensive perfume from Paris for Christmas. One day the box and wrapping paper was wet and Greg and Grant were promptly spanked for breaking the bottle of perfume. On Christmas, Grandma opened the package anyway and the perfume hadn't broken. Instead my Mom had spilled water on the wrapping paper while watering the tree.
• My grandparents had a condo in the Bahamas for over 25 years. They initially went to the Bahamas because a friend had a golf package and invited them down for a visit.
• Most days in the Bahamas Grandpa would sit by the pool reading while Grandma cooked dinner in their condo. When dinner was ready, Grandma would go out to the balcony many floors up on the high-rise, whistle and wave him in. While he was a long ways down, he could always hear the whistle and knew dinner was ready.

It's the little things that are so beautiful.

"Sail away with me, honey"

I think most know that I've been blessed to have all of my grandparents living to date. I had the opportunity to know them, to love them and to spend time with them for 26 years. In fact, as of last June, all lived in Anderson, Indiana just a few minutes away.

Donald Gregory Martin, my maternal grandfather, will likely die this week. Pass away into the arms of the Maker. He's been sleeping peacefully all day, although his breathing has been heavy. And, it's comforting to know that he's in a better position than the rest of us...so close to heaven. Ah, the peace that passes understanding.

On Saturday, we listened to some Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker and Dean Martin together. He was awake, but couldn't really talk. I didn't have "Summer Winds" on my iPod, which my Uncle Dave informed me is his favorite. But we still got in several great songs. Grandpa was a dancer, and I suspect he wanted to jump out of his nursing home bed for a spin.

I've visited him several times over the past couple of weeks. For the most part, many things have been consistent. He can barely speak. He's mostly sleeping. He may not be completely aware of what's going on. But you can see in his eyes that he's happy -- and perhaps somewhat sad -- to see you. And his hands can still squeeze as though he were gripping a golf club ready to drive the ball down the fairway. There's still strength in those hands, even as his body wastes away. He can't say it beyond a whisper, if at all, but the squeeze tells you he loves you.

A man of faith. He was studying Galatians this past year. Something he'd done so many times before. Undoubtedly, still working to comprehend the magnitude of God's grace and our salvation.

I asked him about heaven on our way back from Ohio over Memorial Day Weekend. He said it was strange not knowing what it would feel like transitioning from the current- to the after-life. Not knowing how that works, but having the faith that it does all the same.

Some of my earliest memories of Grandpa were in the yard at my parents house...him teaching me the finer points of how to play first base. I suspect my first base mechanics have stood the test of time although my baseball career ended at 12.

I miss him.

"Turn the black lights on"

It's just getting out of control. Is there really a health reform bill being considered that would outlaw the writing of private insurance policies? This is ridiculous and a hard copy of the bill should be printed out and promptly burned. The following links to an editorial on this specific detail in the bill.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=332548165656854

Yesterday, I submitted the following to Senator Bayh and Senator Lugar through their comment system on their Web sites. (Had to submit three separate comments.) To voice your opinions:
http://lugar.senate.gov/contact/
http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/
-------------------------------------------------------------

I am writing today because there are several issues compelling me to take action. I am 26 years old and have never written your office, but expect I will do so regularly in the future, if our government continues to guide our country in the current direction. I ask that you consider my opinions and represent them in the Senate.

1) Nuclear treaty with Russia. The July 6, 2009 agreement President Obama struck with President Medvedev is alarming. First, I do not agree with the decision to reduce our nuclear arms. In these unprecedented and dangerous times, when our enemies are working to procure nuclear arms, planning to destroy those we have will only serve to unnecessarily reduce our security. Secondly, Article II, Section 2 of our Constitution clearly states the President has the power "…to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur…" Obviously, the Senate must be engaged in these discussions moving forward, and I ask you to ensure this occurs.

2) Health reform. I work here in Indianapolis for a company called Mercer, the largest global and US provider of employer-sponsored health and benefit solutions, including strategic consulting, brokerage, communication and administration. My personal opinion on health reform is very much in line with that of Mercer's.

Our industry leadership position gives us a unique perspective in understanding the strengths and improvement opportunities for our health care system. We have 7,200 employees in the US, who help employers of all sizes design, fund, market and administer employee health and benefit programs that attract and retain high-performing workforces. Our clients pay a substantial portion of the nation’s health care costs and have been at the vanguard of innovative health care solutions.

Significant improvements can and should be made to better control health care costs, improve efficiencies, reduce the uninsured population and improve overall population health. I believe that those objectives can be achieved more fully and quickly by supporting and enlisting the private sector and its entrepreneurial strengths. Unnecessarily expanding government’s involvement through new, duplicative bureaucracies could destabilize the current system and increase the economic risk of rising federal budget deficits.

Mercer [and I] support an approach to US health care reform that achieves the following:

• Builds on the health insurance industry's considerable strengths rather than eroding competition and threatening the industry's viability
• Encourages and supports private sector efforts to continue to provide innovative services and new forms of more affordable access rather than duplicating existing capabilities and expanding the size and cost of government
• Allows employers to control decisions about their health plans, including providing consistent benefit plans in all locations
• Demonstrates fiscal responsiblility by funding new initiatives within existing federal budgets rather than adding to the budget deficit or raising taxes

Please let me know if you would like additional thoughts on this topic.

3) Sotomayor. I have justifiable concerns regarding Judge Sotomayor's potential appointment to the Supreme Court. I do not believe she will be good for the country and do not think she should be confirmed. Perhaps most importantly, Sotomayor's record and speeches clearly show her to support and believe in policy-making from the bench. For instance, she has written:

"Our society would be strait-jacketed were not the courts, with the able assistance of the lawyers, constantly overhauling the law and adapting it to the realities of ever-changing social, industrial and political conditions." (Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Nicole A. Gordon, "Returning Majesty to the Law and Politics: A Modern Approach," Suffolk U. L. Rev., Vol. 30, No. 35 (1996), p. 37.)

This is an alarming quote that independently should be convincing enough to not appoint her to a position of such grave importance for our country. I thank you and your staff very much for serving our country, and would appreciate your support and representation on these topics and would gladly engage in a dialogue with you on these issues.

May God bless and guide you.

"The sun with my eyes closed"

Thursday - Bachelor party of Jason Diamond Clodfelder
Friday - Rehearsal and No Doubt
Saturday - Wedding
Sunday - White Water River Tubing

An exhaustingly enjoyable weekend.

-Berg

"The way you sing with me"

Off to Chicago tomorrow for what's become our annual trek to the Windy City to celebrate our anniversary (which was a couple of weeks ago), get away for a couple of days and have a good time. I'm looking forward to Taste of Chicago, fireworks, the Threadless store, some good Chicago-style pizza, perhaps catching Public Enemies, perhaps a Chicago event, Navy Pier, walking around, holding hands and having an all-around fun 72 hours.

"One day we will both feel good"

Father's Day was sad. My Mom's dad is dying, and it's sad to watch. I hurt for him mostly because you can see his sadness. He has the hope of heaven and praise the Lord for that. He says he will miss the people here and is sad to leave them behind, but grateful for the promise of the afterlife. He was/is a great man. A great athlete, businessman and family man. The turmoil in Iran this week reminds me that my Grandpa used to do business in Iran for John Deere. Before retiring, he was "Managing Director of Operations Latin America, Australia and the Far East." I wonder how they fit that on a business card...he traveled the world with John Deere and moved his family to Heidelberg, Germany. My mom lived there for 8 years or so. He retired young and soon devoted his life to studying the Bible, devouring the writings of Martin Luther. He loved to study and discuss the scriptues even more than he loved discussing politics. I miss him already. His body is a shell of what it once was breaking down more every day even while containing the spirit and mind that continue to function. Ease his pain.

"Just around the riverbend"

It just dawned on me that I've been going to Dave Matthews Band shows for 10 years now. I'm glad I squeezed the Cincinnati show in last night since I might not make either Deer Creek show this summer. (maybe Friday night, but doubtful) I've missed a year or two over the past decade, but also caught two shows last summer, so it's got to be getting close to ten shows. They've never disappointed and last night was no exception despite about 30 minutes of hard rain at the beginning of the show and another 20 during Jimi Thing. It was Killers-esque as far as rain goes. Couldn't have been much wetter. The lawn was a giant mud pile by the end of the show.

And the Hyatt comforter I snagged after last year's Dave show was put to good use covering up puked-up spaghetti about 6 feet from where Charlie and I were standing. I knew that blanket would come in handy.

The setlist in general didn't blow me away last night, but #41, The Stone, Grey Street and Everyday are all among my most favorite "non-radio single" songs, so that was like jackpot. I think what I'm getting at was Ants Marching and Halloween were the two moments when the crowd exploded...sometimes you'll see three or four of those during a show. That being said, the Big Whiskey songs were awesome live. They were rocking out. Seven was a great live song, and I hadn't really cared for it on CD. Overall amazing show as always.

Tuesday Jun 16 2009 Riverbend Music Center

Shake Me Like a Monkey
Funny The Way It Is
Stay Or Leave
Dive In
The Stone
Anyone Seen The Bridge
Too Much (Fake)
Ants Marching
Lying In the Hands of God
Why I Am
Lie In Our Graves
So Damn Lucky
Seven
Jimi Thing
Squirm
You and Me
Everyday
#41
Grey Street

Alligator Pie
Halloween

"Drinkin Big Whiskey while we dance and sing"

• Currently watching: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia -- what a great show
• Getting ready to: Do a little work
• Looking forward to: Friday -- anybody up for Dinner and the new Michael Cera flick Year One?
• Headed to: DMB in Cincinnati on Tuesday night -- looking forward to hearing some of Big Whiskey live
• Enjoyed: Saturday night out with Rogers
• Did not enjoy: Breaking the blender by leaving a spoon in it when trying to make a caramel/coffee shake
• Thinking: The Lakers are going to close it out tonight

"The TV's playing it"

Well I hustled home after The Taking of Pelham 123 -- or as I like to call it the movie where John Travolta says f#$k a bunch to show how tough he is -- to reserve facebook.com/berg for myself. I had no such luck as names must be at least 5 characters, so I settled for facebook.com/theberg, which makes me feel special. So much more special than myspace.com/androsenberg or twitter.com/mindofberg or even andyrose.blogspot. I've got all my little virtual spaces carved out for myself. Come and visit me anytime. Prowl around when I'm not home. Just be sure to leave a note.

The movie was OK. Nothing too special, but entertaining enough. My only regret is I didn't get a chance to play pop-a-shot before it started.

"When you gonna put me in a song?"

I feel like I've been tired all week, so I should keep this brief, finish up my work and go to bed. Problem is Game 4 of the NBA Finals probably won't be over until a bit after midnight. We'll see.

Good news: I got accepted into the IU MBA program. In a few months I'll be a Hoosier, and my cousin will let me yell, "Yeah we got em" when the Hoosiers when a basketball game next year.

Currently listening to: Big Whiskey and the GruGrux King - DMB and City of Black & White - Mat Kearney

Currently watching: Funhouse - 80's slasher

I've decided that I can most easily rank my favorite groups based on my concert-going behavior. That being said, my favorite bands based on the fact that I will always try to go see them when they come around locally are:

• Better Than Ezra
• Dave Matthews Band
• Coldplay
• The Killers

No surprises there...not necessarily in that order. The next phase would be those bands that I would want to go see or have seen before, but I might not try to go everytime. I'll need to think about who falls into that category. I think it's pretty big.

My nephew Preston got his first baseball bat today. He was a new year's baby so is 2.5 years old and a very small little man. Rogers and I got him some extra small baseball pants that I think are going to be pretty cute.

"Punch right through my chest"

Well with Coldplay kicking it off on Friday, the weekend was good. Saturday brought the BFFC*, which was a great time of eating, socializing, enjoying Hillbilly Golf and suffering through neverending games of Cornhole. Followed immediately by the Hangover, which was pretty darn funny, but I had inflated expectations so not sure if it was the funniest movie I've seen this year (I Love You Man was classic). That being said, I was laughing throughout and especially enjoyed Allen...who wouldn't.

Today Rogers and I went to Life Church for the third time, before heading to Anderson to play my Rosenberg Grandparents in a game of Canasta. A come-from-behind victory...I saw my Grandpa cheating one time, but he's getting close to 90, so you can't hold that against him. When I'm that old, I'm probably going to be cheating in games all the time. My game-playing adversaries...you've been warned.

For a couple of ha-ha's go to www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com.

*Berg's First Fishers' Cookout

"Now my feet won't touch the ground"

As the sun went down, Coldplay started to get into their groove. They left the stage for a mini-stage about halfway back in the pavillion, so Jason and I made a move to position ourselves closely for the mini-lawn stage they looked to be headed to next. We were about 20 feet from the stage, and I had Shannon's camera ready to snap some close up pictures. Jason took a quick bathroom break, and as soon as he left a middle-aged woman walked up and said "Are you here with anyone?" -- "Yes" -- "Would you like my tickets? I'm leaving." -- "Sure, are they pavillion?" -- "Yes, they're row L." -- "Thank you" -- I immediately dart back to our spot on the lawn, hand Sharp her camera and grab Rogers' hand. As the Hardest Part and then Viva La Vida play, we Nick and Norah'd our way up to the front, ultimately landing about 4 rows back. from the stage. Section C, Row L, Seats 3 and 4. We were 10 feet from Chris Martin when he danced around with his Chinese-Dragon Mask on during "Lost."

It was surreal. Confetti was flying. The last five songs were amazing. Since we didn't have a camera, fortunately, I have some memorabilia to prove we didn't just head home early.

"Tell me who makes these rules"

It was an OK birthday...work was OK, Rogers got me a sweet TMNT ice cream cake, and dinner at Cancun was great.

Unfortunately, the day was marred with the acquisition of 75+ holes in the side of our house due to hail. Hopefully, the roof is not also damaged.

So it was an OK, yet costly birthday -- hopefully not more than our $1,000 deductible. At least we didn't have car damage also.

"This face keeps getting older everyday"

I was five 21 years ago this upcoming June 2. Strange. I think 26 will be a good year. I still have a bunch of resolutions to chalk off my list in 2009 for starters. Oddly my parents and my sister both had kids when they were 25. I guess I dodged that one this past year. Someday.

To ring in the new age, it's time to laugh a bit at Conan's first night in his new gig, which will start any minute.

"Maybe laugh a little more"

It's been a busy week. Last Friday was spent rollercoasting around King's Island with the Martin clan. Highlights include 10 coaster rides plus Delirium, Drop Zone and a couple of swings and Viking Ships. Not to mention La Rosa's pizza and a small prize from the 3-Point Shootout. It was a good time. Niece Noel is quite the amusement park ride enthusiast as well. She's arms up the whole time on the log ride and viking ship. It was a good day.

Rogers and I went couch shopping this weekend. In a couple of weeks, we'll have ample seating for friends.

What else is going on?

• I'm finishing up my application for graduate school.
• I've been pretty tired most of this week.
• I've got a new book to read during a certain time each day thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Patrie.
• I'm finishing up watching Terminator I think for the second time in 25 years.
• El Toritto is a good place to get some fancy Mexican food.
• Rogers has some cool news on the work front.
• I've got some personal statement drafting to do to finish up my application.

Now time to see if the Cavaliers can hold off the Magic for one more game. Here's hoping for an entertaining Lebron vs. Kobe finals. It doesn't look too likely right now.

"Such a timeless flight"

Billy Joel and Elton John setlist from tonight's amazing 3.5-hour show. It was sweet. Managed to snag this.

"Wonder what it's all about"

Tomorrow evening is the Billy Joel/Elton John concert on what I like to refer to as the Two Guys, Four First Names Tour. It will undoubtedly be a good show. Thanks to Eileen referring to the new Coldplay live album download (FREE!) from their web site, I'm getting more excited than ever for the Coldplay concert. It is going to Rock. Snow Patrol will be a great warm-up too. Here's hoping Chris Martin runs out into the crowd like last time. Favorite Coldplay songs:

Honorable mention: Lovers in Japan, Sparks, Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground
10) Strawberry Swing
9) Death and All His Friends
8) Talk
7) Life in Technicolor ii
6) Clocks
5) In My Place
4) Green Eyes
3) The Scientist
2) White Shadows
1) Viva La Vida - I just cannot get over it. Everytime I hear it, I smile.

After the top few, the rankings get tough for me. I enjoy most of their songs, but those are some that I could listen to over and over again. Coming soon...favorite DMB songs. Will Don't Drink the Water make the cut? Depends on how long the list gets!

"Doesn't mean I'm lost, doesn't mean I'll stop"

Lost! I'm ready for the final season. And I continue to be glad that the next season will be the last. It's been a great show, and it needs to end. This season was good, but I don't know that I'd say it was the best.

Favorite moments...

• Juliet in book club when all of a sudden the plane crashes, and we see the Dharma houses on the island for the first time.
• The numbers in the hatch turning to odd hyrogliphics when they don't enter the code on time...the first time.
• The Episode about Charlie's Greatest Hits.

There are many more, but these few always jump to mind first.

I am looking forward to this weekend. It will be good to relax a bit. Highlights of this week so far:

• Healing from wisdom teeth surgery
• Seeing Ricker for the first time in a long time and Bigcat for the first time in a few weeks
• Waking up with Rogers every morning
• Good client meetings today
• Qdoba, Coldstone and Lost tonight

"The clouds are building outside"

A day in the life...
Present to 12:15 - prepare for tomorrow's meetings
12:15 - 12:20 - brush teeth, fall asleep
12:20 - 7 - sleep
7 - 7:30 - get up, get ready, leave for work
8ish - get to work, leave for mtg
10ish - return from mtg
11:45 - leave for lunch mtg
12:45 - return from lunch mtg
2:45 - leave for another mtg
4 - return from that mtg
5:30 - leave work
6:30 - go to the gym
7:30 - qdoba
8ish - Lost finale

"That first step onto the street"

• It's absurd the Western Conference NBA playoff games start at 10:30 every night. That rules them out for me...I must be getting tired. I tried to spell absurd "ubsurd." That seems pretty bad.
• Another busy week at work. Thursday I have meetings with two of the larger local employers. That should be fun.
• One of my resolutions for the year is to read the Bible straight through. So far I have read 31 chapters of Genesis. I've got some work to do.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm makes me laugh hard.
• My computers all seem to run slowly. There is an unfortunate common element of this equation.
• Better Than Ezra's new album is different to say the least. "Party" would be the best one-word description that comes to mind. That's not necessarily a good thing. I'm still enjoying it. And it's #6 selling Album on iTunes right now. nice.
• "Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King" are pretty sweet nicknames for the late Leroi Moore of DMB. I like "Berg" but it's nothing like those nicknames.

"Turn on the mystery"

My wisdom teeth were plucked from my mouth on Friday afternoon. I must say that Friday was a bit blurry in hindsight. They gave me four prescriptions, three of which said "may cause drowziness." So I slept about 15 hours after my surgery with about 30 minutes to an hour awake a couple of times. Thanks to Rogers for making sure I had my applesauce, pudding, ice cream, soup, and yogurt. All the liquidy foods a guy could want. Overall, I wasn't in too much pain over the weekend. I'd say I had a bit more discomfort in the past 24 hours actually, which is strange. I asked them to keep my teeth for me, so I could trade with Phil (per his request), but they apparently came out in pieces so they threw them away. Too bad. Overall, I wasn't too heavily medicated beyond the first 24 hours, but still felt kind of wierd at times.

This morning I was a bit hopped up on penicillin and extra strength tylenol when one of my co-workers passed me in the hallway and asked if I was headed to such and such meeting. "No, I wasn't invited. Thanks for rubbing it in," I responded. Hopefully, my John McCain-like cheek jutting out tipped her off that something wasn't quite right.

In other news, we apparently have a bird's next full of baby birdies living in our dryer vent hose. We'll get rid of those little tweeters though soon enough.

Movies watched while laid up this weekend:
Live Free or Die Hard - 6 of 10
Blood Diamond - 7 of 10
The Invasion - only could watch about 20 minutes before I was too tired. But I'm excited about watching the rest of that one.

"Know just when to fold"

Our freshman year of college, Lisa lived with her Mom in her Grandma's duplex just on the other side of Scatterfield off of University Boulevard. It was 2002...seven years ago...I remember a few things about her time in the duplex. We killed lots of spiders. Two or three every time I was over there. On halloween, a kid came by in a Harry Potter costume. Doing homework on Sunday afternoons on her mom's computer. Her mom cooking barbecued chicken. Spending the night there after tearing my ACL, since there was no way I was getting into my loft...

And sometime during that year, Lisa and I started cutting out the Papa John's coupons from the Andersonian and ordering our $6.99 large pizza on a weekly basis and watching Friends...and eventually Scrubs as well. Partially because of our love for pizza, I suppose, and partially because we didn't spend a ton of time together during the week throughout college, pizza night became a tradition. Something we both looked forward to every week. Papa John's and Scrubs. We kept this up and as we moved to Michigan it became Hungry Howie's, and we continued to have our pizza night. So tonight, in honor of Scrubs finale, we ordered our Papa John's and sat down to watch what was meant to be the last episode of Scrubs ever. This season has been a marked improvement over the last few and the finale was superb. The ending with Peter Gabriel's Book of Love playing over JD looking into the future made me smile...and made me happy to be young. To be able to look forward to the future. With family. With kids. And with friends.

And to pizza nights as well...they will continue with some other show taking the place of Scrubs. But I will always have a place for the show that we watched every year as we grew from kids into adults.

"Your protector's coming home"

It seems like nearly every Monday and Tuesday evening I feel very tired. Thursday's, on the other hand, I feel energized knowing that no matter how late I stay up, the next day is Friday, which is typically a very good day. Perhaps the best day of the week, due simply to the anticipation of the weekend to come beginning around 6 p.m. that night. Saturday is disappointing because you start to think that the weekend is halfway over and Sunday makes you wonder where all your free time went. Wednesday...the name of the day speaks for it self. (Although it does include NES which is my all-time favorite video game system.) And Thursday...well Thursday is OK, but it's no Friday. And that my friends is why Friday is the best day of the week.

So this was Monday. Rogers and I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo one day early (beat the crowd) by splitting a meal at Cancun and picking up some Dairy Queen. I also learned that today is Star Wars day...MAY the FOURTH be with you. Seriously, look it up on wikipedia...of course everyday is Star Wars day to somebody.

Things I've been watching recently:

• 2009 NBA Playoffs - if you're a fan of competition, that Bulls/Celtics series was sweet
• Scrubs season 8 - series or season finale on Wednesday? Rumor has it's only the season finale yet again. While this season has been better than the last few, the last few years of mediocrity has caused it to lose it's luster with me. It's fine for 20 minutes during lunch on Satudays.
• Lost - season finale in two weeks...always good and this season is no different.
• Survivor - Tyson was evil...but hilarious. "I'm looking forward to tonight's tribal council...I hope Siera cries a lot."
• The Hills - My hate for Spencer keeps me watching. It's sad.

"I wanna breathe that fire again"

I purchased Hot Fuss the summer of 2004 a few weeks after it hit the shelves. I'd heard Somebody Told Me on the radio probably two or three times and knew that was music I would enjoy. I remember blasting Jenny Was a Friend of Mine that whole summer. Man I loved that song. I think I had the short-lived, hood-won't open Acura that summer...While I thought the album was amazing, I kind of expected the Killers to ultimately go the way of some of my other impulse buys...enjoy the album for awhile and don't even bother with the follow-up (James Blunt anybody?). Little did I know that 5 years later, I'd be enjoying every song of a concert. The Killers continue to impress. While Sam's Town wasn't my cup of tea as much as the other albums, what a fantastic show in Columbus on that tour...Terrific. And Sawdust and Day and Age are more great albums -- Sawdust which is really just a collection of b-sides, yet a handful of some of their best songs mixed in. All this to say, a fun show in Indy tonight. I can only hope the Killers continue to impress for another decade or so. I think a nice collection of 7 or 8 albums would be enough to allow us to ride of in the sunset never growing tired of the music.

"We persevere, God gives us hope"

Tomorrow night the second Killers show that I've been too...and boy am I stoked. With a splash of rain (torrential downpour) some earsplitting music, a rambunctious crowd and a wayward drumstick, it was a memorable evening to say the least. Tomorrow should be grand as well.

In the meantime, the Celtics-Bulls have played their 4th overtime game out of 6 in their first round series. And it was triple overtime...Pretty amazing.

What else is shaking...hmm...my boss is out for a few weeks, so my responsibilities have somewhat expanded...basically meaning if someone really needs to get something done and it would normally fall on my boss, now it falls on me. So far, no problems though.

Friday is rolling around in about 10 minutes. Time for some sleep. It will be a good Friday.

"Greedy little pig"

The WHO has raised the swine flu alert one more time so it's one step away from a full-fledged global pandemic. Does this mean concerts...like the Killers...will be postponed, schools canceled and offices closed? Will South Park parody this right away as they did the Somali Pirates or do they need to wait 20 years so it can be funny? These are all pertinent questions at the dawn of the unknown.

In the meantime, time to go to sleep with a plastic tarp between me and Lisa to protect each other from...each other. Afterall, someone from Lisa's office was in Mexico last week. Great.

"A shell of empty thoughts"

700 posts later...from January 2005 - April 2009. 52 Months of blogging capturing many songs of the day in the early posts...trips to Lithuania, Mexico, a Spring Break in Naples, and beyond...a lot of currently watchings...some political rants...a few lists...thoughts on modern life...some memories...old pictures...two posts that weren't titled with song lyrics...and some things that are just fun to go back and read now and then. While I always blog with the realization that this is public information and at least a few of my friends will likely see it, a lot of what I've written has been for me. For catharsis at the end of the day (when I would venture to say about 680+ of the posts were typed up.

So with that, how about a list of things I'm looking forward to in the upcoming warm weather season:

• Coldplay in concert at the old Deer Creek
• Enjoying the new neighborhood...and proximity to Coldstone
• Living without wisdom teeth
• A trip to Kings Island with the Martin clan
• Perhaps a trip to Cedar Point...anyone?
• The Diamond-Mason wedding festivities
• How about another game of Blood Fued of New York...with an egg timer?
• Rogers' grilled chicken and her turkey burgers...yum
• Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp
• Better Than Ezra at the Vogue...anyone want to go with me and Diamond?
• An anniversary
• A birthday
• Fireworks
• A few rounds of golf
• Maybe a basketball game or two
• Niece and nephew playing on the swingset
• A trip to the beach
• A Tigers baseball game
• Sleeping with the windows open (if it can stay a bit cooler for awhile)
• Being more spiritually, physically and financially fit

While it's technically a couple of months away, with 80 degree weather I think it's OK to say it will be a good summer.

Song of the Day: Live Again - Better Than Ezra

"Shoplifting corner store"

This is No. 699. The weekend had it's ups and downs, and it's about time to roll into Monday feeling fine. Anyone that hasn't been to Night of Thrills at the Anderson Speedway should put it on their calendar for the end-of-season edition. It was a good time.

Can you believe it's almost May...every month seems to fly by. And this also means, we've been in our house for about a month. (Which, by the way, is the only New Year's Resolution I've completed this year: "#4 - Move out of parent's house") The house is very slowly coming along. I'm not the best unpacker. I've resigned myself to making very small, positive steps. So today, I set up both the DVD player and VCR on our downstairs TV and also began putting all of the TV DVDs on the top shelf where they will ultimately be alphabetized. We also have the grill all set up and a new screen in the back door. Slowly, but surely.

The Killers will hit Indianapolis in five days, which is destined to be a fantastic evening. Between now and then, there's work to be done and sleep to get. Goodnight everybody.

"I turn round and there you go"

Well Monday is over, and I feel pretty worn out. This is shaping up to be one of my busiest weeks since I began working in Indianapolis. Meetings every morning for the rest of the week and plenty of work to do as well as my boss is going to be out on medical leave for about a month. But it is good to be busy, so this is OK. Just need to get some sleep and a cup of coffee during the day.

Our house is starting to get a little bit cleaner thanks to some work over the weekend. Rogers has our bedroom mostly organized and the family room doesn't have too many boxes left. So we're getting there...slowly but surely.

Currently listening to: Fleet Foxes
Watching: Transformers
Dreaming: Philadelphia overlooked Iran and Iran's missiles started launching, but then quickly turning back toward the ground and blowing up Iran. (And their missiles looked like big rockets.) Before long, we were in a building taking cover from the waves of fire that were coming at us much like the waves of time-change that came through on Lost island. Eventually, we made it to safety as the fire really didn't burn very many people if you ducked and covered.

This was a real and strange dream.

"If this is what we get"

There will be no normal for the Rosenbergs. We're in a perpetual state of change. As quick as we have a new house, Rogers is launching into a new full-time job! So I need to pitch in a bit more around the house, which is something I'm not good at...especially when it comes to unpacking boxes and organizing messes. I tend to get easily distracted and usually take about three hours for 30 minutes of work. That's my MO.

While we were incredibly grateful to have been able to stay at my folk's house for the past 9 months, and I stand by my frequent statement of "It's actually not too bad" I could not overstate the feeling of being back in our bed, having our little dog, room in the freezer for an ice cream cake, an office and a bathroom connected to our room. Good times.

Song of the Day: "Yesteryear" by Rosi Golan

"Closer to the end"

Tonight's Report Card:

• Deano's Vino: B- Food was great, but not filling enough. I'd recommend checking it out, but not getting the pizza for your meal.
• Chase Coy: B- Good songs and a great first show for an up-and-comer.
• Rosi Golan: A- She would have an A+, but she couldn't play my favorite toon Come Around because it's a piano song and she was all acoustic. But what a voice!
• Rosi's Autograph to Wilbe when he sent me up to buy her CD for him: A+ "Wilbe, thanks so much. Don't be shy. (heart) Rosi"
• William Fitzimmons: A Great songs, good singing, good sense of humor and an all around nice guy.
• William Fitzsimmons' Setlist: A+ It's scribbled out on a napkin for his first of hopefully many shows in Indianapolis. Autographed now too. Priceless.
• Radio Radio: A+ Great venue. The Berg seal of approval.
• Company: A+ Jason and I had a good time eating dinner and hanging out. And I'm glad Shannon and Wilbe made it down for the show.
• Drunk Girl at the next table over: F She sucked.

"A small part in your passion play"

Good Friday everyone. It is now Saturday, but Friday was pretty good and involved some good Italian eats, free ice cream, and some Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit with good friends. Tomorrow will be spent cleaning up the house and putting things away. Hopefully a relaxing day. It's been good having some space to stretch our legs. Having an office again. Having Grace with us. And having a bathroom connected to the bedroom, which we haven't had since the old apartment.

Shows I'm watching this season:
Survivor
Lost
Amazing Race
Scrubs
The Office

Time for a good nights rest...perhaps the end of the old Oceans 11 first.

"The glow of something bright"

For your consideration:

• Berg needs to work on his Rock Band vocals -- weak
  
• It was good to see Greg Tipton -- I believe for the first time since Margot and Bon Iver at the Vogue in 2008
• Don't ever tell Greg he can't sing Chop Suey on Rock Band -- he will prove you wrong
  
• It's been different -- seeing Squatch without his Jennings jersey
• I got Larry Bird's autograph at Tuesday's Pacers game -- thanks to my Dad-In-Law who took me to and his great seats
• The guys had an awesome story about the Pacers game on Sunday -- ask them about it
• When you Google Josh McRoberts stuff to try to find the Blog that references the guy's story, you won't find it -- even if you throw Clodfelder's name in there
• When you get bored and Google just Jason Clodfelder without McRoberts -- you'll find this really easily:
• Meadowbrook Pizza is better than Meadowbrook Stromboli
  

"Things go hazy"

It's been a busy time. Last Wednesday I was in Cincinnati. Thursday we moved into our new house and acquired a couple of dogs for the weekend. Friday I was in Warsaw, Indiana (just as far as Cincinnati) and today I was an 90 miles from Indy again. Meanwhile Rogers has been busy unpacking the house, working, watching dogs, and a bunch of other things. Unfortunately, it's only Monday and we're both exhausted.

At least we have our bed to sleep in again!

"A little ditty"

A few things I did today:

• Played canasta with my grandparent rosenbergs and lost
• Ate Subway
• Listened to a Woodlawn sermon
• Watched "Righteous Kill" starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro
• Did a little work
• Compared tourney brackets with my grandfather martin and was winning
• Realized that I should have just filled out my bracket by ranking this year; would've hurt some in the first round, but made up a bit in the second
• Walked around AU hanging up condo signs for my sister
• Tweeted once
• Blogged once
• Vanilla Coke Zeroed once
• Shaved once

"Perfect shadows alive"

My Grandpa Harold Charles Rosenberg turned 88 last week and Lisa asked my grandparents if they remembered the depression. I've often heard them tell of President Hoover promising soup in every pot, while everyone was too poor to own a pot in the first place.

This time my Grandma Verna Elizabeth Rosenberg recalled it being so cold in their house one winter that the water in her brother's gold fish bowl froze. I asked if the fish was alive when it thawed ala Austin Powers or Demolition Man...apparently that phenomenon is reserved for action heroes and men of mystery.

-----------------------
It feels like a time for change. If all goes as planned, we'll complete the move we began last June 14 within the month. We hope to close on a new house in Fishers, Indiana on Tuesday. It'll be a nice place to live for awhile. Hopefully to raise a couple of kids too. There's a neighborhood playground and a basketball court and tennis court in an adjoining neighborhood we could quickly walk to.

For friend's favorites: A Qdoba is within two miles, a Donato's within one mile. It's one of a thousand houses in the middle of suburbia. A quaint little cul-de-sac that is one gorilla goal short of a good basketball game...hopefully we can fix that soon. I'm looking forward to settling in with Rogers and Gracie. It will be a good spring.

I made some technological upgrades last weekend by joining Twitter. There are many times that I have a thought for my blog, but don't end up logging on and posting. So I decided Twitter might be a better approach for consistent updates. I'm afraid I may have lost my Web counter...I'll look into recovering that, but for the record, I believe I was at 7,900+ hits. And I'll add my links back in as well.

Now I guess I'll need to look into Skype this summer, especially so I can keep in touch with Deardorff in Romania.

Is 2009 almost 25% over? Spring is approaching. God bless the return of Spring!

"If we get bored it won't be a problem"

It's a good day when:

• You hear Tal Bachman's She's So High on the radio twice on the way home from work
• South Park's 13th Season Premier is on again when you're flipping channels
• You get to celebrate your grandfather's 88th birthday
• You live in a house with your parents, and they are gone on vacation
• You hear your two year old nephew pronounce Un-cle An-dy when you see him instead of the Un-Candy he'd been saying just two weeks ago
• You set your goals for the year at work
• Your grandma gives you three pairs of pants that she's been patching or sewing for you
• You get to see Mickey Mouse go ape on South Park
• You go to bed, knowing tomorrow is...Friday

"Try the streets at night"

There's about fifteen minutes left of Die Hard. Only the second time I've seen it...I might have to go for the other three movies sometime soon, since I haven't seem them at all. Bruce Willis movies I enjoy: 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Die Hard.

Yesterday I watched Troy Murphy hit 7 of 8 three pointers in the first half of the Pacer game, including 4 in a row. It's been enjoyable watching the Pacers as they rebuild this year. It had been several years since I had gone to games, and now that they're starting over, it's fun to get behind them.

Well the whole roof blew up and it looks like the final showdown is about to happen so that's all I got tonight.

Currently listening to: A Fine Frenzy
Last movie watched (before Die Hard): The Prestige

"A platinum blonde life"

Updates are hard to come by in 2009, and this one will likely be short, as it's time for a nap. Perhaps due to Daylight Savings or perhaps due to taking a short early evening nap or perhaps because I stayed up until 4 a.m. (post-daylight savings change) watching the Prestige last night, I just don't feel completely tired yet.

But the week will be busy, so rest is needed.

I feel optimistic. I know longer own a house in Michigan. I feel as though I was Borat with the giant man sitting on my face and now the guy is gone, and I can run around celebrating. What a feeling of freedom.

That being said, Rogers and I left the house and locked the door for the last time on Friday afternoon. It was a sad feeling. We loved our first house and had a blast there for a year. We made some good memories and enjoyed our time in Detroit and in that house. But with the closing of the door on 1501 Annabelle in Ferndale, new doors will open in Indiana.

In the meantime, I was in Vegas a couple of weeks ago and had the interesting opportunity to attend Haylie Duff's 24th birthday party thanks to great friend and co-better man when I got married, Ricky.

Dumb things that I need to do in 2009:

• Get no ringtones
• Figure out how to update Facebook and Blog through Twitter

This post is all over the place...like Felder since he's landed his new job...Florida, Wilbe's house, Vegas airport, California.

"So weird to be back here"

It's been 8 months since we've moved into my parent's house, and now there is hope of moving elsewhere. As our house in Detroit sells, we'll finish the relocation we started last June somewhere closer to my work in downtown Indianapolis. We plan to end up in Fishers. As someone pointed out tonight, we'll be moving from one of the "worst places to live" to "one of the best" as Hamilton County is typically highly ranked.

This will be a nice change.

This week was our one week in February, where the weather warms and the sun breaks free from the clouds for a day or two. Of course, there was wind, rain and cold as well, but those two days in the 50s were enough to lift one's mood and remind of the coming spring. It may be 4 or even 8 weeks off, but it will come. The sun will shine, Rogers will put on her Old Navy flip flops and, hopefully, we'll walk the streets of a new neighborhood.

Last movie watched: Lakeview Terrace
Currently watching: The Tudors, Season 1
Last meal: Hacienda
Last video game played: Lego Batman

"Glasses of water"

The house is selling, praise the Lord. On Friday morning, I received a 248 area code phone call...my realtor was on the line and he said "We've got an offer."

Maybe...someday soon...I will move out of my parent's house once again.

All praises be to the Lord. The One who sells houses in Detroit when they're buried under a foot or two of snow in the dead of winter. Thank you.

"The hollowest of halos is no halo at all"

This article is being posted simply for my own sake...so if/when I want to look back at this time and read about what made the 2008/2009 recession a very dark time, I will have some context.

Obama and the Economy: When, If Ever, Was He Telling Us the Truth?
By John R. Lott, Jr.“Freedomnomics” author/Senior Research Scientist, University of Maryland
As the final push for the 778 page, $827 billion stimulus package faces votes today and tomorrow in the Senate, President Obama is hammering his opponents and pushing hard for the bill. On Friday, Obama pointedly reminded Republicans that he won the November election and had the right to get his policies enacted. But the stimulus bill bears little resemblance to his campaign promises. It bears little resemblance his many promises he made just a month ago.
If Obama claims a mandate, shouldn’t it be related to what he campaigned on?

President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall style meeting about the economic stimulus package, Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, at Concord Community High School in Elkhart, Ind.

At the very end of the presidential campaign Obama “proposed a $175 billion plan with tax-rebate checks for consumers as well as spending on school repairs, roads and bridges, aid to states, and tax credits for job creation.”

The current bill is not only spending 4.7 times what he promised in November, but gone are the tax-rebate checks and tax credits for job creation. The new additional programs have nothing to do with roads and bridges. Yet, a package that Obama never hinted at a couple of months ago is now considered sacrosanct. The Associated Press described Obama’s position on the stimulus plan this way: “Stopping just short of a take-it-or-leave-it stand, Obama has mocked the notion that a stimulus bill shouldn’t include huge spending.”

Take an emphatic promise that Obama made just a month ago, well after the heat of the presidential campaign had passed: “We are going to ban all earmarks — the process by which individual members insert pet projects without review.” That wasn’t a new promise. During the third presidential debate on October 15, 2008 Obama bluntly promised: “they need to be eliminated.”

But now take Obama’s testy defense of those same earmarks last Friday. Obama reportedly “also defended earmarks as inevitable in such a package.”

During the third presidential debate Obama promised to rein in the budget deficit. When moderator Bob Schieffer asked Obama what he was going to do about the deficit Obama promised to cut the it: “But there is no doubt that we’ve been living beyond our means and we’re going to have to make some adjustments. Now, what I’ve done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut.”

Or take the second presidential debate on October 7, 2008. Obama noted that eliminating earmarks was “important,” but even more important “I want to go line by line through every item in the federal budget and eliminate programs that don’t work and make sure that those that do work, work better and cheaper.” This was his constant theme during the presidential debates to cut government.

So how do you go from campaigning to cut government spending and ban earmarks before the election on November 4 to start talking about a $500 to $700 billion stimulus plan in mid-November. What changed?

What exactly did he learn immediately after the election about the economy that caused him to go from a budget cutter to proposing the biggest increase in spending ever? Prior to the election, Obama was already regularly claiming that the economy was in the worst financial crisis since the depression. Do you cut spending when you are in the worst financial crisis since the depression, but massively increase it if you can claim that things have gotten a little worse?
Now Obama is saying that we will be facing trillion dollar deficits “for years to come.” There was no hint of these policies on November 4, 2008.

Some economic logic is required here. Some explanation for these changes within weeks is needed. When will someone in the press ask Obama to explain what his economic view of the world is that made him support positions right before the election that he then reversed right after he won.

I don’t know of any economic theory that explains Obama’s different policy positions. The most likely explanation is a simple one: Obama told voters what they wanted to hear during the campaign, not what he planned to do. Obama’s short Senate record tells us that he really was the most liberal member of the senate.

While the stimulus bill is going to increase federal government spending by over $800 billion, there is one place that Obama has so far announced a cut — defense spending. A 10 percent cut might be fine, but during the presidential campaign defense spending was one area where he promised to “increase” spending.

Disappointingly, no one is asking Obama to explain any of these changes. Possibly everyone has gotten so distracted or tired trying to catalogue Obama’s broken ethics promises that they are missing the littered field of broken campaign promises.

If Obama merely waited until after the election to make his policy views known, he can’t claim a mandate for his “new” policies. What should be questioned is Obama’s truthfulness to the American people.

John Lott is the author of Freedomnomics and a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland.

"I'm down on my mind"

Another quick update! Phil's post about the movie where communists invade America immediately made me want to write on his wall a joke about communists invading Washington DC in 2009...well at least $900 Billion dollar let's stimulate the...government(?) socialists.

But I decided it'd be better to put my opinions on my own blog. Joking aside, let's hope the stimulus bill doesn't pass in it's present form. There's a bunch of crap in it, and I'm told it's a massive expansion of government. Surprise, surprise. (Full disclosure, I haven't read the bill...I've skimmed some of the lowlights and heard some of the results of studies from the CBO.)

Hooray for socialist health care: Man pulls out 13 of his own teeth with pliers 'because he couldn't find an NHS dentist' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1135582/Man-pulls-13-teeth-pliers-NHS-dentist.html?ITO=1490

In other news, it's ridiculous that so many of our appointees have these tax issues. It's no wonder democrats are likely to raise taxes over the next few years -- at least on the "rich." Why wouldn't you vote to raise taxes on the rich if you are rich, but never plan to pay your taxes anyway? Obama: I "absolutely" stand by Daschle.

The next day Daschle steps down. How about our Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner? Are there no law-abiding citizens who can take these jobs. Are we appointing criminals on purpose? Can I wait to pay my taxes until I'm appointed to a high government position?

"Learn not to hear keys"

I've been playing on the church basketball team over the past couple of months. I'm a legacy member of Madison Park Church of God, so they let me play. It's been enjoyable, although it is a little sad, how bad I am. Mostly in bad shape, but definitely lacking in some of the skills I used to have. There are ocassional impressive flashes, but they are few and far between.

Football season is over and I'm jonesing to play some Madden Football on the Wii. I've never played it, but I'm confident I would enjoy it. It would be the perfect game for that time of the day when it is 11 p.m. -- not quite ready for bed, but will be in 45 minutes. In my early teens, I played Madden 96 on the Sega Genesis all the time. I was always the Colts, and it was the days of Craig Erickson...sad days. I had that game down. I would set up my audibles and do a no huddle the whole game in hopes that I could score a ton of points.

Another classic game around that time was World Series Baseball on the Genesis. My mistake was beginning a full season thinking it would be fun to see the stats from 162 games. I think I made it to game 40 or 50 before my attention turned elsewhere.

Perhaps the best Genesis game I played was Phantasy Star IV...thanks Ricker. He let me borrow it, and it was a great RPG. Perhaps someday, I'll download it for the Wii as well and revisit the glory days.

In other gamer news, on February 4, 2009, I canceled my Xbox Live Account. Reckless Jon will never capture the flag again. It was awhile overdue, I suppose and the $50 charge just didn't seem worth holding on to since I don't think I played once in 2008. Maybe I'll use that $50 bucks to go get Madden and play on the Wii's wi-fi for free.

"Then the snow started falling"

Between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon, Indiana had its fourth biggest snow on record with 12-13 inches. Our office closed at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and closed at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. But by Wednesday afternoon the sun was shining and the roads were beginning to clear.

The first 1/12 of 2009 - The Year of the Bro Thump - has gone quickly. January always does. Tomorrow the NFL Season will end. Groundhog Day is around the corner and spring will follow shortly. The year may hold a trip to Vegas, a new home, a Berg-Rogers vacation and all kinds of excitement. We'll just have to wait and see.

Things I've eaten today:

• Bowl of frosted flakes
• Bowl of magic stars (generic lucky charms)
• Piece of grandma's german chocolate cake
• Part of a peanut butter brownie

My most recent favorite show:

• It's always sunny in Philadelphia

My most recent music purchase:

• Blood Bank (ep) - Bon Iver

My most recent favorite restaurant:

• Red Robin

"The riddles and the rhymes"

Psalm

What am I speaking, if not your name
What am I looking at, if not your face
What am I thinking about, if not your word
Where do my feet lead, if not toward your throne
What am I singing, if not your praises
What am I listening to, if not your voice
What are my hands doing, if not your work
Where will I bow, if not at your feet
What am I eating, if not the bread of life
What do I want, if not your presence
What am I seeking, if not you?

"Motionless cars rust"

Things that have occurred in 2009:

• My third Pacer game of the season...and third overtime game
• A few stays at the Spires house in Plainfield to shorten my commute to work
• One viewing of My Bloody Valentine 3D with Rogers
• One all night game of Blood Feud of New York
• One dinner at Loco's in Detroit
• Several drives on snow-covered roads
• One 2-day fast
• One viewing of The Illusionist
• A few good trips to Hacienda
• One big meal at Journeys
• Some quality time spent with friends
• A couple of games of darts with Squatch and Wilbe
• One Colts playoff loss
• Two nights in Detroit
• Zero nights in our Ferndale house
• A bunch of snow, including more than a foot in Plainfield, where I stayed last night
• Eight chapters of Genesis read
• Two blog posts
• Zero viewings of Wilbe's Twister championship prize Trish Stratus wrestling DVD

"Day and age"

Pictures we found while searching through old photo albums to include on my parent's digital picture frame Christmas present:

Dr. and Mrs.
The law always catches up with you in New Jersey

Big sister and pops

The 80s
I love that guy