With all this chatter about Fuzeball, and Photography, I'd like to remind you all of the REAL meaning of this season - STAR WARS! I haven't missed an opening throughout the entire franchise, and my kids have the bug, too. Soooooo excited to see this new movie, and it just happens to fall on my Goddaughter's birthday! Whooo Hoooo!
Sooperbowl-Schmooper bowl .... THIS is entertainment!

(Here's my fantasy band!)

Fantasy vs Reality. I'll take reality every time.

LOL - are you saying the NFL is REALITY??????

SCRATCH that last comment - I really can't discuss football with you diehards. It'll just ruffle feathers, and serve no purpose .... sooooo who's going to the movie?

Anyone else got their GEEK on, like me?

Great band, U.D.

I'd rather hear that "combo" than most of the stuff the NFL seems determined to throw at us.

Go ahead and ruffle some feathers. College Football is more fun to watch with a few exceptions. Watching Navy and Army right now. Getting a little one-sided at the start of the 4th Quarter.

Regards, ----Dave

Thanx Dave!

Dave, OH yeah, I'm going....and remind me again is football the oblong one they play with or is it the round one....never pay any attention to either....it's not a real job you know...

The players themselves probably comprise 1% of that entity known as the NFL. When you count all the jobs (vendors, maintenance, advertisers, etc., etc.) that Pro football generates and the economic boost (and civic pride) in those communities that are fortunate enough to host a home team, it's hard to understand the dislike (bordering on hatred) that some segments of the population seem to have for it. After all, it's the same game that Army-Navy is playing. Well yeah, I guess those players ARE more 'wholesome'. Obviously the wonderful work and community involvement that some (MANY) of the NFL players undertake counts for zilch....sad,sad,sad. Oh well, that's the society we live in. I don't see any change coming in my lifetime, maybe my grandkids. Enjoy the Army/Navy game; it's SOOOooo much better than say the Ravens and the Niners.

Oh, about the "real job" thing. Those handful of guys lucky enough to have made it to the NFL level started training for it in their sub-teens, suffering broken bones, concussions, and god knows what other injuries and sacrifices. How much practice and training did you do for yours? Everyone assumes that they just wake up one morning and decide to go play in the NFL because, you know, they've got all this 'God-given natural ability'. Truth is, many (not all) came from economically deprived areas where they had to overcome the effects of poor diets and sub-par recreational and/or training facilities in their school systems. Instead of berating them, they should be commended for their work ethic and perseverance in overcoming these obstacles to become world-class athletes and in most cases, model citizens. Okay, rant over.


chas

+1

Hi Chas:

We've had this discussion before. Sorry you feel there is hatred for the NFL. At one time, it represented everything good and wholesome about America (USA) and then... players began to follow the example of a Quarterback who refused to stand for the National Anthem. The contagion of this action migrated from team to team and (to me) insulted everything I believe to be good about our Country.

Management refused to bring this situation under control and so, many people began to turn of their TV's when the NFL events would appear on-screen. Displays of this type should be done by other means... such as letters to Congress, local representatives and Governments... or NFL Team Owners... if they could, indeed, solve the perceived problem.

It is a wonderful thing when economically deprived and athletically talented individuals succeed and become world class athletes. If they don't like the extreme salaries and contracts bestowed upon them and don't respect the country they represent, they should compare their situations with poorly paid educators who spent at least as much time learning their chosen professions.

If our country is so deplorable, they are free to find another place like Canada that plays a similar version of this type of football.

I respect your right to "rant" but I hope you have not mistaken any comment I have made on Uncle Dave's Thread to imply I wanted to argue with you or goad you in any way. I, too overcame poverty and the loss of a Father while I was a child. The beauty of America is opportunity to any and all who dare to do their best. I would prefer to encourage your friendship than to turn you into an enemy.

I read "The Captain's" praise of your character and generosity but did not respond because you and I have had "words" previously here at the General Arranger Forum. I did not desire to re-create that same scenario because you might have taken any comment from me to be detrimental or derogatory.

My apologies if I have offended you.

----Dave

Gary, thank you. That +1 means more to me than all the 'atta boys' and 'nice job's in the world. It may not mean much to a lot of people here but to me it says 'I hear you, and I understand what you're trying to say'. I don't want Donny to have to put up his 'going South' post so I'll just say that that +1 to me is just a statement of who YOU are. I appreciate it and I appreciate YOU.

chas

Dave, first let me apologize to Uncle Dave for changing the direction of his post. This deviation should clearly be over in The Bar. But (and I will end with this), let me say once and for all that your perception of the Black players in the NFL and mine are 180 degrees apart. Their decision to use a command audience to peacefully protest a clear and rising trend of police brutality (with zero accountability) against Black and Brown members of society has nothing, nada, zilch, to do with patriotism. Most of the people who express all this hatred KNOW THIS, but who can resist such a convenient excuse to express feelings that were already there, just below the surface, waiting to emerge. Justification was made easy when fueled by the (deliberate) misleading and divisive rheteric of our 'divider-in-chief'. For those wishing for a return to the good ol' days of the 'Brady Bunch' and 'West Mayberry', the last two and one half years have given you a very comfortable head start. One of the few joys of old age for me is that I'll be dead before it comes to full fruition. I still love and respect my fellow man, regardless of race, creed, religion (or lack thereof), or sexual orientation, and am open to other points of view provided they make sense and accomodate everyone equally. You say " The beauty of America is opportunity to any and all who dare to do their best.". Well, that is precisely what these NFL players have done and look how you view them. As far as those "extreme salaries", you should see what their 'owners' make---and nary a broken bone. Oh well, who said life was fair. Have a good day.

chas

Chas:

I wondered when you would pull the "race card" on me. Not all of the NFL Players who "took a knee" were black. I don't care if they were Giraffes or Dinosaurs. Disrespect our country when the anthem is played and I'll be unhappy about it. That is my right, just as you have the right to defend them.

As for the rest of your second rant... believe what you will. Let's agree to just avoid each other in the future. So much for the "Olive Branch" offer!

As you wish Dave, although I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't 'play the race card'. I have at least as many White friends as Black. I also have many Asian and Hispanic friends, always have, throughout college, the military, the workplace, and the communities I have lived in. Actually, I believe what is going on this country at this time has more to do with 'tribalism' than race, but with race factoring heavily into the equation. I also believe that there are more good people in this country than bad and that in the end, the 'better angels' will win out. I bear no animosity towards you or anyone on this forum but I will likely speak up if I see something generally offensive or culturally insensitive. Some here dislike me for that BUT NOT ALL. hope you understand that our life experiences are bound to make us view things through a different cultural filter. Perhaps your interaction with me will provide you with material for a new song.

chas

sooooooo... I bought a new bass clarinet today. (guilty pleasure)

Well put, Chas.
I think what's killing football is the science on concussions and the association with brain damage and diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinson's. I'll stick to my favorite sport: Competitive Leapfrog. Lots of groin injuries though!

I bought a used Hohner chromatic to have something to do in the car while stuck in traffic. If I die with a harmonica in my mouth, it doesn't mean the accident was my fault! It could be the telephone pole's fault or a squirrel. I'm a good driver.

Thanks Beaky. Your humor is both well timed and....funny . Of all the desirable human characteristics, a sense of humor is near the top of my list.

chas

I bought a kazoo. Really. I use it for a solo in one of our songs. It's something organic amongst all the electronics, and it makes people smile.

I bought a kazoo. Well, it's not exactly a kazoo. I got it at a shop called Planet of The Vapes.

The son of the guitar player I work with in NJ plays Santa and sings a Christmas medley at our gigs ... One year he told us he was thinking of buying kazoos to hand out to the audience ... I told him NO WAY ... I wasn't going to spend the rest of the gig listening to people trying to accompany us on kazoos !!!

Coolest use of kazoos I ever saw (heard) was playing in the pit for "How To Succeed In Business, Without Really Trying". There's a scene in the executive washroom, where the guys all sing " Believe In You", as they pretend to wash up, comb their hair etc. Then, when the lead starts to shave with an electric razor, the wind section plays the melody on kazoos! It was brilliant, and very effective! (Fun, too!) Kazoos start at 4:40

Love it!

Maybe I'll get a kazoo. I think if I sleep with it in my mouth, it might cure my sleep apnea.

BTW, just joking about vaping. I don't smoke anything. We have a sign in front of the house that says, Keep Off The Grass, and we don't even have a lawn.

LOL!