Fall, Glimmer, Sparkle and Fade

:: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 ::

My 21st birthday came and went and I'm happy to report that I was able to make it home under my own power. That's quite an accomplishment considering what most people go through on their 21st. All I know is that the only thing that could have topped this years birthday would have to have it at Chuck E. Cheese. Since Mr. Cheese's place was booked, we decided to catch a Met game at Shea Stadium. There were 11 of us in all and we were lucky enough to catch one of the most exciting Met games in a while. Good times were had by all.

Then Sunday came around and it was time to get back to work. I was working with TIC-FM at the Melissa Etheridge concert in Hartford. Now before I say anything else, let me just state for the record that I've never, nor will I ever, have a problem with a person because of their sexual orientation. Whoever someone likes, they like. I like women, but not all guys do. Some like other guys, some are into themselves, some are into horses... Whatever. My point simply being that everyone is into their own thing and that's fine by me. That being said: there were some SCAAAAAAAARY people at this concert. Trust me, I know I'm not all that attractive, so I'm not saying that these specific people were ugly by any means. What I AM saying is that a good 50-60% of this concert going population had at least 25 pounds of pure muscle on me... and they were all girls. While almost every person there was a female, the guys that were there all thought that the mullet was back in style (was it really ever IN style?). So between all the mullets and FE-mullets (female mullets) it looked like a mullet convention.

The best part of the Mellissa Etheridge concert was the opportunity I had to meet Rosey, a very talented and very attractive musician who was the opening act. Over the last couple days I've looked at some pictures on her website and seen her perform on Leno and she doesn't look that attractive, but believe me when I tell you that she is absolutely beautiful. While I didn't get to see her performance, I heard it and her music is phenomenal. No, I'm not just saying that because she's hot. So go to her website, listen to some of her stuff and then buy her CD.

On a more serious note:
This past week has been tough on the world of Major League Baseball and more specifically the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Last Tuesday legendary broadcaster Jack Buck died at the age of 77. Mr. Buck was one of the all time greats when it came to calling baseball games. If you ever heard any of his calls, specifically his calls of two big HRs by Kirk Gibson and Ozzie Smith, then you would know he was just a fan sitting in the booth. He always reacted the same way you or I would. When Ozzie's HR went out he screamed "Go Crazy folks! Go Crazy!". Nothing he did in the booth was typical, he would always react to plays as if he were sitting around watching the game with a few friends. His son Joe, the #1 play-by-play guy for Fox, said that in many ways it was better that his father was gone now, only because he had been in so much pain the last months of his life. So while it hurts to lose someone like Jack Buck, his death didn't come to a shock to anyone because of his health problems and his age.

Before the Cardinals, or baseball for that matter, could recover from the loss of Jack Buck they were hit with something no one ever thought could happen: they lost one of their own. Saturday morning Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in his hotel room. He was 33 years old and left behind a wife and three children. If you go to the Cardinals team page on ESPN.com, they can describe the details surrounding Kile's death better than I ever could. Losing someone is obviously never an easy thing to deal with, but it's even harder when it's a 33-year-old professional athlete, who by all accounts was in perfect health. I don't think I have ever seen a death in major league baseball hit home with so many people, players and fans alike. Kile was one of the most popular players in the league and it isn't one of those situations where people speak well of someone only after they die-- which as bad as that sounds does in fact happen-- Kile was genuinely liked by everyone to ever come in contact with him. He took rookies under his wing, he gave back to the St. Louis community and what makes the news of his death even more of a surprise is that in his 12 seasons in the majors he didn't go on the Disabled List or miss a start once. The Cubs-Cardinals game on Saturday was canceled and when they met as a team to decide if they should play on Sunday they voted unanimously-- To play the game. It was Darryl Kile's turn in the rotation. In 12 seasons he never missed a start and his teammates weren't about to let that change. Fernando Vina, the Cardinals second baseman, led Sunday's game off with a basehit and when he got to first base he pointed to the sky in memory of his teammate, his friend. It didn't matter who won the game or how many runs the team scored. The Cardinals were playing. Playing for their fallen teammate and for each other. With a "DK 57" patch on their sleeves and two of Kile's jerseys hanging in the dugout they will have to recover the only way Darryl Kile knew how to live-- by playing.

"God needed a pitcher on his team in heaven, and he sure got a good one."
-One fan's sign at the makeshift memorial to Darryl Kile outside Busch Stadium

:: Ryan 2:57 AM [+] ::
...

I'm only a few minutes away from turning 21. I think, for me, this is the most overrated birthday. Most people are happy when they turn 21 because they can go out to the bar, legally anyway, every night and can go into the liquor store and, once again legally, come out with whatever they want. For me, however, it's a little bit different than most people. I'm anything but a college alcoholic. The only time it would have really been convenient for me to be 21 was when I was a freshmen because my best friends were seniors and I couldn't go to the bar with them. I wasn't interested in going with them to drink, but just to go and hang out. Sure, next year it'll be fun to hang out with my friends when the go to the bar, but really the best thing about being 21 is I no longer have to worry about being kicked out of bars when I'm there working. Both of my jobs require me to sometimes be out at a bar and even though I've been there in an official capacity, I always expected someone to tap me on the shoulder and ask me to leave, thus not allowing me to do my job. Wow, after reading that statement, I must seem like the most boring 20-something on the planet to a lot of you. And that's fine with me. Most people don't understand how someone can go to parties, hell how someone can throw parties like the ones I've helped throw over the last three years and not drink. The simple answer is that I just don't like the taste of most alcohol. Lets say that you don't like Mountain Dew. You're not gonna drink Mountain Dew if it's something you don't like, right? Right. Pretty simple, yet people still give me that "he must be on medication" look everytime I say no thanks to their offer of a beer. Then there are the other people that I meet for the first time and they apologize for drinking in front of me, as if I'm a straight edge kid and will get offended because drinking is against my moral beliefs or something. I have friends who don't drink for those reasons and I think that's cool, but my reasoning is much less exciting. I almost think people want a reason that's sexier than my Mountain Dew comparison. Oh well...

So tomorrow night I'll be in the Upper Deck at Shea Stadium in Flushing Queens celebrating my birthday with some friends and family. Anyone reading this has an open invitation to come and celebrate with us. We'll probably be on the first base side in the Upper Deck reserved, so gather your friends together and walk around screaming "Ryyyyyynooooooo" and you'll be able to find us. I'm sure a good time will be had by all. My sister can't wait to be able to buy me a drink or two or three dozen. Maybe I'll make her happy and have some Mountain Dew...

Happy Birthday to me...

:: Ryan 11:47 PM [+] ::
...

I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but.....

The best record of the year so far was released yesterday and if you're reading this and don't own it already then go to CDNow, Amazon, or whichever online retailer you prefer to purchase it. I'm speaking of "Gravity" by Our Lady Peace. This band has been around long enough and has had enough success in the US that you probably know who they are, but probably don't own any of their CDs. I never quite understood how a band could be so huge in Canada and yet only have mediocre success in the States. Although like most people I never understood Canadiens much either and usually look at bands that are only popular in Canada and think to myself "What's that aboot?" But it was always different with Our Lady Peace. I've been fascinated with the lead singer's voice from the moment I first heard it, although at first it wasn't nessecarily in a positive way. All it took was one more listen, then I was hooked. I understand most people in the US haven't made that same connection with this band yet and all I'm saying is that now is as good a time as any to take a listen. Maybe you could connect with them this time around.

"Gravity" will appeal to almost all music fans. If you are strictly into Country or Hip-Hop then obviously this isn't for you, but there's a little something for everyone else. You a hard rock fan? Go d\l "All For You". Do you lean more towards Top 40? Take a listen to the first single, "Somewhere Out There", or the best track on the album "Innocent". If you're into more dynamic songs then check out the last two songs "Bring Back the Sun" and "A Story About A Girl". Trust me, I'm not trying to sound like a commercial for the band, but it seriously upsets me that this band is not one of the more popular groups in the US. There are certain bands I like, but understand why they don't have mainstream success... See, that's why OLP's lack of major popularity gets to me the most, because I simply cannot understand why this band has not caught on with the average American music fan. If you know why they haven't then please feel free to fill me in. Maybe it all goes back to my Nickelback/Puddle of Mudd theory, which is that somehow the bands with the least amount of talent end up being the most popular. As much as I HATE Creed, I do understand why people like to listen to their music, because it's just harmless generic rock that won't offend anyone. While OLP's music will do anything but offend people, Raine Maida's songwriting makes this band anything but generic and blows Scott Stapp's shit out of the water. Just listen to one of their songs off the new record that I listed at the beginning of this post and if you like it buy the CD, but if you don't then post a comment here to tell me why. It's that simple kids.

:: Ryan 3:13 AM [+] ::
...

Has anyone else noticed the ridiculous amount of online quizzes that you can take? Ones that can tell you what color you are, what day you are or even which Episode II character you are. What color you are? I'm white, but the quiz said I'm blue. Whatever. My point is that these things are the dumbest things to ever grace the internet (besides my blog). However, one I saw the other day caught my eye. It's supposed to measure just how worshipable you are and the results just further support my belief that I am destined to be a rock star:

73%

I am 73% worshipable! 73%! You see that shit?? What are you?


The reason there are so many rock stars that have a problem with their new found fame is because they can't deal with large amounts of people worshiping the ground that they walk on. It freaks them out. Certain people just don't have the right mentality to be a rock star. Sure, they might have the musical talent, but I have the worshipability. If you can't deal with people worshiping you then you have no right being a rock star, because you will let down all of your die hard fans. I'm all kinds of ready to have thousands of people want to know everything about me. I want radio stations gossiping about which female rock star (Michelle Branch?) I'm dating. I want a tour bus and I want hundreds of people waiting outside said tourbus to get an autograph. And if for some reason I can't physically go out and sign the autographs right away (broken bones, unconsciousness, cheap hooker) then I want them waiting until i'm able to sign. I want to answer the same questions from fans everyday (how'd your band get its name?) and give the answer as if it was the first time anyone asked me. Just because thousands of people ask me the same question, doesn't mean I should get upset each time it's asked. I want to stay outside a venue after a show for as long as it takes to talk to and take pictures with every single fan.

Now I'd like to believe that at some point most all musicians have felt the same way. You would think having success would only make those feeling stronger, but a lot of times it's the exact opposite. Some bands will go from signing after every show before they are popular to being too 'good' to even talk with all of their fans once they've sold some records. I will never understand how that works.

:: Ryan 1:28 AM [+] ::
...

I am now employed by two of the biggest corporations in the world. I've been an employee of Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. for just about two years now and today I added a second pretty decent name to my resume: CBS, or more specifically Infinity Broadcasting Corporation. The fine people that run 96.5 WTIC-FM, WTIC News Talk 1080am, Hot 93.7 and Lite 100.5 FM decided it would be a good idea to add me to their family.

Similar to my job with Sony, I didn't pursue it for the money, but instead because it gives me an opportunity to do what I love doing, which is anything related to the Radio Broadcasting field. If you read Erik's most recent post, he says he's come to the conclusion that "our work, our jobs, and our chosen professions are just something we can bear, a burden that we can carry, in-between the times in our life that are designated for leisure." Maybe I'm overly idealistic, but I would hope people choose a profession that is something they can enjoy just as much, if not more, than what makes up their 'leisure' time. I know I'm only dealing with two part time jobs right now, nothing that makes up a '40-hour work week'. And I realize that no matter what your job- lawyer, doctor, radio dj, rock star- there is always going to be something you have to do because of your job that you won't enjoy. I don't know, maybe it's 'cool' to sit around and bitch about your job since you aren't supposed to enjoy "WORK", but I have every intention of doing something that I love. I intend on looking forward to going to work in the morning, because I'll know that there will be something there for me that I can't get anywhere else. I will feel just as much at home at my job as I will sitting in my apartment watching my favorite TV show. Why can't your entire life being 'leisure' time? As I said, maybe I am just overly idealistic. And maybe my last year of college will take that idealism from me.... God I hope it doesn't, because look what that gets you: A need to burden yourself to feel free...

:: Ryan 5:56 AM [+] ::
...