Monday, January 18, 2010
Friday, March 6, 2009
It's Only Rock and Roll, But I Like It
My friend recently emailed and said, “I noticed you havent made a new post on your blog in a
while.” Well Nick, I thought it was only a weekend off, but hey, I’ve been wrong before, ask the women in my life.
I’m
still working on my all time Indians pitching staff, that one’s harder than the position players, because I’ve been fortunate to grow up in an age of dominant Ind
ians pitchers from Bartolo Colon, Sabathia, Lee, and of course Phil Niekro.
So this post is dedicated to another love of my life besides
sports and history, music. The movie post is going to come very soon. For all you lovers of Killer Nerd all I’ll say is the movie post will, “accentuate the
positives.”
For today, I’m been very poetic, I finished Langston Hughes’ autobiography The Big Sea and
my heart is confused so I’ve been listening to my favorite music. Music has always let me reflect, listen to some of the greatest poets of the latter half of the
twentieth century and has been a release of the anger, confusion, and mysticism that is life. So here is my random playlist of music that I’m listening to
tonight. I’ve been in a seventies phase, maybe because as much as society trashes the decade, it’s mine I was born then, and two it’s where Rock
and Roll gained it’s sea legs, just watch Almost Famous.
Cream Strange Brew
I love Cream, the raw energy, Clapton’s guitar, Ginger Baker’s beats, and Jack Bruce’s rhythm. The lyrics let us know who was the big dogs of rock come 1968. Pure unadulterated power.
Electric Light Orchestra Evil Woman
ELO, my mom had the album, nothing beats hearing the harmony’s of Jeff Lyne with the scratch of the needle touching vinyl. This was the Beatles and Beach Boys combined with the power of sound of Phil Spektor wishes he could achieve.
The Raspberries I Don’t Know What I Want
Cleveland, the 70s pre Michael Stanley selling out Blossom, and before we created the Boss, this is why we have the Rock Hall, suck it Philly and Old Man Dick Clark. That’s how we roll in
Jimi Hendrix Little Wing and Little Miss Lover
Jimi always brings me to the combination of Zen, mixed with the mind boggling generations of Southern Blues, going back to Muddy, Leadbelly, and Robert Johnson. The Stones tried, Zep tried, but only Jimi and maybe Eric Clapton could capture the angst of the Jim Crow south.
Speaking of Jim Crow and Europes answer of an Irish man of mixed birth and acceptance disregarding what too many Americans couldn’t look past, a black dude that rocks harder and stronger than any white dude in the States. Phil Lynott like Roberta Clemente is the god of his craft that too many kids today don’t know existed, period.
Hall and Oates Women Comes and Goes and Rich Girl
The title of the song says it all.
This is what made Super Bowl XLIII awesome, besides the money I won on poker and the fact that the Steelers won, I loved the Bruce Concert. I still haven't come down since seeing Bruce in 07 and Rosie's one of the greatest all time closing number in Rock and Roll history.
Monday, February 16, 2009
All Time Favorite Indians Lineup
Leadoff and starting in center field,
Julio Franco
I couldn’t find a better picture, I’m impatient and this was on the first google search page. Who didn’t love hearing Mr. Johnson yell at the top of his lungs in the old Upper Reserve at Municipal, JJUULLIIOOO!!!!!! Besides the fun time with Ricky, Dad, and Coach, we got to see Julio in his prime in
Albert Jojuan Belle
Batting Sixth and hitting DH
Batting Ninth and playing Shortstop
Bench
Keith Hernandez
Again we had him for a short time, but I had a Keith Hernandez autograph Firstbasemen’s glove. Dude dated Elaine Benes and partied with Gooden and Strawberry in the 80s in NYC, enough said.
Grady Sizemore
Backup catcher and all around good guy, I met him at the museum and he read a children’s story. I got his autograph and I might have been more nervous meeting him than when I met Ozzie Newsome.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sisu: or as Patty asked, "What's a Malkamaki"
The Malkamaki Family cicra 1941
This is going to be one of the most personal blogs, because for one there’s my last name in the title of the post. Also, as many people know my Finnish heritage is one of the strongest influences, interest, and research topics in my life. Being a Finn, I’m part of a select community; the homeland only has a population of around five million.
Story the First Grandpa Jaakko Vittori Malkamaki
My Grandfather was so proud of my father how he didn’t let something be thrown away. Now fast forward to the fall of 2008. My grandfather had passed, we were cleaning out his home. I saved as many paper and books that I could get my hands on so that history would not be lost. The furniture however I didn’t save, I was merely the grunt working for my dad, Uncle Ken, and Uncle Duke. Uncle Ken brought this end table out that my gut told me I should ask for but I didn’t know how I’d get the item to my apartment since I didn’t have a car and my dad didn’t have a truck. Uncle Ken and my father had asked me to sledge apart the items to fit them into the dumpster because we were running out of room.
http://www.finnishheritagemuseum.org/index.h
[1] Wikipedia February 8, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Who to Root For Super Bowl Edition
Once again, it’s the Super Bowl, and one of my two NFL franchises is not in the game. Now, I’ve had bad luck in reason years, as far as championships are concerned. Let’s look at the history of the final game of the year in the various sports that I watch.
For this I like to go to the year 2007…
Britney was being Britney, Many was being Many, and it was one of the worst years of my life in regards to sports.
I don’t use that last phrase lightly, it was the greatest jackrammer (for anyone that watched the Loop they’d get that reference, I also could have said the obscenus word used by the doctor I’m in love with Elliot Reid’s frick, also how do I add footnotes to a blog? That was for Marissa, see I love footnotes I can’t stop it…) sports year of my life. Let’s review.
High School Football
The Mentor Cardinals lost the Ohio State Athletic Association Div. 1 title, now I didn’t go to Mentor, but I lived in Mentor at the time and in fact our first house when I was a Babe was in Mentor so I was part of One Team Same Dream, and I was rooting for Coach Anderson. I’ve been going to all the playoff games with my brother, Uncle Mike, Dad, Andrew, Mary Beth, and James. Mentor football bonding is where Uncle Mike got mad at Andrew for talking like Ditka, and Andrew also wanted the fillet, but those are stories for other times.
DA Bears. Again Devon Hester why’d you pull a Ted Ginn? I was starting to not like sports at this point.
NCAA Basketball Championship
Ha, Ha, Ha, I hate the Detroit Pistons, and Detroit baseball fans, oh wait, why don’t I hate the Spurs except that Tony Parker’s the luckiest guy in the world, oh that’s right they gave us Danny Ferry and Mike Brown (Your Eastern Conference All Star Coach boy!)