A Free Man

Noon - November 5 - Adelaide

Stowed safely away from high maintenance students. Let’s get down to business. Fox, always the stalwart of responsible journalism, has it Obama 81 - McCain 39. Clearly in the tank. NYT has Obama ahead in Florida 53 - 47. My former home of Columbia County voted 66 - 34 for McCain. I’m surprised Obama got the 34.

12:11 p.m.: MSNBC calls Georgia for Obama without the votes from Atlanta or Savannah. NBC is in the tank for McCain.

12:28 p.m.: The only live stream I can get at Uni is MSNBC, which means I have to listen to Olbermann and Matthews and Scarborough stroke themselves for the rest of the day. Working to sort this out. Early returns from Michigan and Missouri look bad. Virginia looks bad. Why do the “real Americans” count faster than commies?

12:33: Oooooh. Fox News Radio! Now this is good. Fox (in the tank for Obama) has Obama with 180 electoral votes. And they just reminded me that there was a riot in Grant Park during the 1968 Democrat convention. Watch out for rioting Obamaniacs, Chicago.

12:42: OK, commies, here’s the deal. Obama needs Florida, Virginia, North Carolina or Ohio. Here’s the numbers as CNN has them:

Florida: Obama 52 - 48

Ohio: Obama 57 - 42

Virginia: McCain 51 -48

NC: Obama 52 - 48

So, it’s pretty good. Remember, real Americans count faster.

12:49 p.m.: Fox News radio jocks are depressed. Suicide watch. They’ve just called Ohio for Obama and called it “over”. Inexplicably they want to play The Stones’ “Tumbling Dice”

Women think Im tasty, but theyre always tryin to waste me
And make me burn the candle right down,
But baby, baby, I dont need no jewels in my crown.

Why?

1:01 p.m: Fox News Radio is already planning for the coming Marxist regime. President Obama will tax them to death. Fair and balanced.

I’m happy to report that Florida’s Volusia County, where A Free Man cast his absentee ballot, went for Obama 56 -44. MSNBC has New Mexico going for Obama. 200 - 865 Obama. I’m betting that we have a new president within the hour. Florida looks poised to redeem itself.

1:10: Not so fast. 62 - 39 to ban gay marriage, Florida? Really? Are we still doing that? Grow up.

1:27: The New York Times is, ironically, the most conservative about calling these states. They have it at Obama 117, McCain 18. Just for kick, let’s see how the drunken college student vote is going. These are university counties in red states:

Clarke County, Georgia (Go Dawgs!): Obama 58 - 40
Alachua County, Florida (Gators Suck): Obama 62 - 37
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (Roll Tide): McCain 55 -44
Lee County, Alabama (War Eagle): McCain 55 - 44
Knox County, Tennessee (Vols): McCain 60 - 39

So, I guess the Gators aren’t all bad. But the young ‘un vote in the South maybe not a factor.

1:51: Big news. Despite being down 42 - 56 at the latest count, John McCain is the president…

…of Utah.

2:14: More of the student/pothead vote that may, in fact, matter:

Boone County, Missouri (Mizzou!): 62 - 37 Obama
Forsyth County, NC (Demon Deacons): 55 - 45 Obama
Albemarle County, Virginia (Cavs): 59 -39 Obama

2:28 p.m.: Fox has called Virginia for Obama (so in the tank). That may be premature, but I think the cable news folks are being a bit coy about Florida. I’m calling Florida for Obama. Let’s get Cali in and this is done.

2:31 p.m.: That’s it. MSNBC calls it. CNN calls it. Fox explodes. I’ve got to say, I’m a little teary eyed from the Southern Hemisphere. God bless America.

Popularity: 38% [?]

8:11 a.m. Wednesday - Adelaide

Because I’m 15 1/2 hours in the future I already know who won the U.S. election. But to avoid ruining your election night teevee watching, I’ll keep quiet. But you might want to spend some time in the barrrrrrr tonight.

I thought I might try my hand at some live blogging today, since I spend my work day in front of a computer anyway and chances are I’m not going to get much done as I obsess over the returns.

8:20 a.m.: Turnout is key to an Obama win and most news agencies are predicting record voter turnout. I’m particularly interested in three states, largely because I used to live in them: Florida, Georgia and Missouri.  The Melbourne Herald Sun tells me that problems were “minor” in Florida. Why don’t we just wait and see about that, they haven’t started counting yet.

8:45 a.m.: Fox has a voter fraud hotline! I wouldn’t encourage vandalism, but if one were to send an e-mail to voterfraud@foxnews.com and claim that Rudy Giuliani physically prevented them from voting, for example, it would be mildly amusing. If 1,000,000 people did it, I’m pretty sure Rupert Murdoch would explode. I’ve added some election night music below - Ani DiFranco and Jake Shimabukuro.

9:12 a.m.: Surprise, surprise - MSNBC streams to our socialist isle in the southern hemisphere. Anyone want to bet that Matthews and Olbermann come to blows by the end of the night? Oh, god, they’re talking about exit polls. Do you people never learn? Stupid liberal media.

9:38 a.m.: Chris Matthews is a tosser. Rambling about South Africa, patriotism, a new dawn. Shut up and give me some early results. Indiana’s closed, so is New Hampshire. Can’t wait for NPR’s coverage at 10:30. I wish Chuck Todd would shave.

10:01 a.m.: First numbers in, woo hoo! McCain ahead in Kentucky and Obama in Indiana with 0.034% of the vote in.  Bob Barr currently has 0 votes.

10:22 a.m.: Oooh, exit polls from Slate:

Ohio: Obama +8
New Mexico: Obama +9
Virginia: Obama +9
Pennsylvania: Obama +15
Missouri: Obama +7
Florida: Obama +4

Remember 2004 and President Kerry…

10:30a.m.: Thank GOD for NPR. No more yammering morons. Obama is surprisingly close in KY with 10% in, mostly from the “real Kentucky”.  But Michelle just told me that NPR’s calling it for McCain and Vermont for Obama. McCain leading 8 - 3.

10:49 a.m.: First results from Florida. John McCain is president of Lake County. Haven’t you people learned anything in the last eight years? Don’t force me to extend Florida Hate Week!

11:02 a.m.: Stupid work. Stupid meeting. I’ll be back in a bit. Lafayette Co. in FL voted 80% McCain. But then, it is the scrotum of Florida. By the time this meeting is over, I’m expecting Florida to shape the hell up and I’m watching you too, Georgia!

11:54 a.m.: Australian bosses clearly don’t understand the U.S. election is far more important than a rambling meeting about mice. CNN (in the tank) has Obama up 77 - 34. NPR has called Pennslyvania and has Obama 101 - 34. Could be a short night if the liberal communist media has its way.

11:57 a.m.: Headed to my University office where I will shut the door and turn out the lights to keep out pesky students.

 

 Ani DiFranco - "This Land Is Your Land" [3:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jake Shimabukuro - "Stars and Stripes Forever" [2:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 38% [?]

The world’s your oyster shell
So what’s that funny smell
You eat the bivalve anyway
And you’re sick with salmonella
You get your Ph.D.
How happy you will be
When you get a job at Wendy’s
And are honored with employee of the month…

Toad, who is rapidly becoming my favorite music blogger, has been writing a lot about “Dad Rock” lately. You know the genre, the kind of music that your Dad sings along to when it came on the radio, the compilations that they sell at the gas station on Father’s Day for forgetful children, the songs that he knows only a few lines of and sings repeatedly rather than learning the whole tune. Well, what’s vaguely disturbing is that some of the music of my youth is becoming today’s Dad rock. I guess that’s appropriate since I’ve become a Dad myself. I’d like to humbly offer another band that fits squarely in the Dad Rock genre - The Barenaked Ladies.

I became a fan of the Canadian pop group with a marketer’s dream name upon the release of “Stunt” in 1998. In the autumn of that year I was in the hunt for a Ph.D. program and for reasons that are still unclear to me, I was a hot prospect. I felt like what a top shelf high school football player must feel like when it’s recruiting time for the big colleges. I had colleges phoning me, colleges flying me out to wine and dine me and colleges throwing fat stipends at me. It was a glorious time. (My eventual choice, the University of Missouri, probably regrets the expenditure now.) During one of my visits, to Iowa State, I heard this record for the first time. I remember my hosts singing along happily to “One Week” on the drive from the Des Moines airport to Ames and being instantly attracted by the Ladies’ clever penmanship and tongue-in-cheek ‘rap’.

Like Kurasawa I make mad films
Okay I don’t make films
But if I did they’d have a samurai
Gonna get a set of better clubs
Gonna find the kind with tiny nubs just so my
Irons aren’t always flying off the back-swing
Gotta get in tune with ‘Sailor Moon’
Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes
That make me think the wrong thing…

It was three years later when The Barenaked  Ladies really made their way into heavy and permanent rotation in the soundtrack to my life. In the late spring of that year my grandfather took ill while visiting my parents in Florida.  He and my grandmother had to fly back to Canada for medical treatment leaving their van down south. I was in the second year of my Ph.D. and a bit bored, so I offered to fly over to pick up the van, drive the van up to northern Ontario and fly back down to Missouri. Despite the obvious sad nature of the circumstances, I looked on a road trip as an opportunity that might relieve my ennui. And I just might have had an ulterior motive.

You see, I had met Dr. O’C in February and we were undertaking a very complicated** and long-distance relationship. Now, I’m nothing if not cagey (Machiavellian, some have said) and I thought maybe I could have a chance to see this woman that I had fallen so heavily for if I pitched this as a trip to an exotic part of the world. The wilds of northern Ontario, don’t you know, bears and moose and the rugged frontier of North America. Remarkably enough, it worked. I convinced Dr O’C to fly out and meet me in Toronto and accompany me the rest of the way. With this to anticipate, as I hit I-95 north from Florida, I was a man with a mission.

A few days and eleven hundred miles later, I picked Dr. O’C up from the airport and after a couple of nights in Toronto, we headed north for the eight hour drive to my grandparents’ home. I’ve never had the love of the road that a lot of my countrymen do, but I didn’t want that stretch of the trip to end. We would have listened to a lot of music on that trip - probably Gomez, Steve Earle, The Dandy Warhols, Lucinda Williams and Barenaked Ladies. I had “Stunt” on this weekend and it brought this trip back to me in a flood.

The Barenaked Ladies never sounded better than they did on that road trip. They’re not a great band, but their sharply clever lyrics were tailor made for barreling out of North Bay, through ramshackle old mining towns like Temagami, Englehart, Swastika (really) and Cochrane. The Barenaked Ladies’ irresistible pop licks sound perfect when listened to in a minivan driving through the granite strewn hills and around the azure lakes of northern Ontario with a woman that you’re falling in love with.

We didn’t see any bears on that trip and we didn’t see any moose. We did nearly get devoured alive by the most ubiquitous wildlife in that part of the world, the black fly.  We decided to stop for a picnic by a lake just outside of Tarzwell. As we opened up the back of the van and started to make sandwiches, the sky went dark and before we knew what was happening we were under attack from all around. Recognizing a losing battle, we hopped back in the van and took off, but even with windows wide open I think we still had a few of those blood thirsty bastards in the van as we pulled in to my grandparents’ driveway.

There’s a lot I will never do
Some fantastic, I know it’s true
But none as much as my want to be with you

It’s over seven years since that trip and our relationship is a lot different. For one thing, happily, it’s much less complicated.  We have a son together and three continents under our belt. We’ve been through some tough times and we’ve been through some wonderful times. But over every single day of that seven years, I’m as happy to see Dr. O’C as I was when I picked her up in Toronto in 2001 and “Stunt” will always make me smile as I remember this road trip.

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* The photo at the top of this post was taken in one of those mall photo booths in my Grandparents’ home town. It is still my favorite of the two of us.

**A story for another time, I’m afraid.

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The Barenaked Ladies’ “Stunt” is available from .

Northern Ontario photo

 

 Barenaked Ladies - "Some Fantastic" [4:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 53% [?]

Welcome to the Midwest edition of Deep South Smack Talk. The Dawgs are, thankfully, off this week. But looking westward to my graduate alma mater, there’s a big game brewing in Lincoln. Undefeated and fourth ranked Missouri is headed into a tricky match up with the 3-1 Nebraska Cornholers. Cornhuskers, sorry, I always get that wrong. I tried to line up guest bloggers to for both Mizzou and Nebraska. Unfortunately, my Mizzou blogger didn’t come through, so you’re stuck with me.  Visitors first, your underwhelming correspondent for Mizzou:

I’m probably not the best person to sing the praises of the Mizzou football. Regular readers of this blog will know that my loyalties lie a bit further south and east of Columbia. But, the University of Missouri was kind enough to give me a Ph.D. and thus the key to my current life, so I guess I owe them at least a bit of support.

During my tenure in Columbia, the Missouri Tigers athletic teams made choking into an art. I remember the 2003 - 2004 basketball season, when a lot of pundits had the Tigers going all the way. So, Dr. O’C and I figured, what the hell, let’s buy season tickets and go along for the ride. They were actually ranked No. 1 in the nation for a very short period of time. Then they lost to Illinois. Then Memphis. Then Belmont, a college of 4,000 students. And they just kept losing. I still want my money back. After I left, it came out that actually the Tigers had been cheating a fair bit, the team went from bad to worse and pretty boy coach Quin Snyder got the sack.

The football team. That’s a different story.  They were clean as a whistle. No dodgy dealings there. Their combined record during my time at Mizzou was 24 - 32. We never bought season tickets to watch the football team, largely because my one experience at Faurot Field was one of the worst college football games I’ve ever been seen - a hapless Baylor team and drunken frat boys are a bad combination.

BUT, things have changed at Mizzou. A new A.D., a new football coach and a new attitude. After a stunning 12 - 2 season last year, the Tigers have roared to a 4 - 0 start this year. I wish I could be in Columbia this autumn to see what it’s like when there’s a real national championship contender in town. Conference play starts this week for he Tigers, though, and this is where things have a tendency to go pear shaped. The Huskers pose the first real threat, however, and it’s a mental block that Mizzou has got to get past. The Tigers haven’t won in Lincoln since 1978.

Fortunately for the Tigers, one of the changes that’s happened since I left in 2004 is that Nebraska has just collapsed as a football program. There’s no doubt the the Huskers were once a powerhouse. Nebraska has five national titles and in the mid 90s were just a behemoth of a program. But a decade has passed and Nebraska’s day in the sun has passed as well. Their old-school Big 8 option style has gone the way of Betamax and 8-tracks. I mean Princeton won five titles as well, but we don’t here much about those Tigers anymore.

Nope, Gary Pinkel and Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin are the new faces of Big 12 football and I’m fairly confident that will become painfully clear to the Huskers on Saturday night. Thirty years is a long time, but every streak comes to an end. This one’s time is done.

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And speaking for the Cornholers, Huskers, dammit. Speaking for the Cornhuskers, April from The Bauer Confidential:

Is there any other team?!?!?  Go Cornhuskers!  Whoot!

So here’s the deal, I was born in Nebraska, my parents are Nebraskans, but I have to admit that of my more than a quarter century (and no, I’m not saying how much more), I’ve only lived in that state a handful of years.  I spent every summer until I was 16 there, with my Dad and family; I try to visit regularly, so I still feel like a Nebraskan.  It’s one of those things that’s in your blood!  We bleed Husker red!

Husker football has a rather storied past, one that Mizzou (my grad school alma mater) can’t come close to matching.  With five national championships (to MU’s big-fat zero), over 800 wins, and a ranking as the winningest college football program in the last 50 years, the Huskers are widely considered one of the best football teams in history.  Traditionally, defense has been Nebraska’s strong suit, and you know what they say about defense winning championships.  With Tom Osborne back on board as the school’s athletic director, things are looking up.
Now the upstart Tigers think they’re something special.  With a national ranking they have something to prove.  They were on a 25-year loosing streak to the Huskers that only ended a few years ago (and yes I remember those damn goal posts being drug through the streets of Columbia, what a proud moment).  This time they’re headed into Husker territory.  Memorial Stadium will be a sea of red on Saturday, and holds 23,000 more fans than the Tigers are used to at Faurot Field.  Husker football is like a religion to Nebraskans; their fans are not so fickle as those at Mizzou.  Only since they’ve started winning have people really started calling themselves Tiger fans, whereas the Nebraska stadium has been sold out for more than 25 years, in winning and loosing seasons.

Nebraska has a new coach, and if he wants to keep his job, he’ll have his team all geared up and looking for blood come Saturday.  Bo Pelini has even more to prove than the Tigers.  With a loss last week to VT, the Huskers are fired up to bring the winning streak back, especially at home.  The Tigers are getting cocky; they’re expecting a romp.  They aren’t used to crowds like this, and winning on the road has never been Pinkel’s strong suit.  So bring it on Tigers, the Huskers are ready for you and they smell your weakness.  Last week your defense looked less than impressive, allowing far more points than it should have.  Chase Daniels may be your saving grace, but he’s in serious trouble with the Husker Blackshirts gunning for him!  Go Big Red!

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Missouri at Nebraska kicks off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern (10:30 a.m. Sunday in Adelaide) on ESPN.

Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” is available from .

 

 Bruce Springsteen - "Nebraska": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 60% [?]

Do you guys ever get the idea that you’re being ruled by a gang of not very bright, petulant children? One of the advantages of being an expatriated American is that I can typically watch the goings on back home with an air of detached bemusement. But sometimes devastatingly dumb decisions made stateside can spiral out and smack me about on the other side of the world. For example, when the Congress of Megalomaniac Brats fails to try and save the world’s biggest (not much longer) economy because one of them called some of them names. That’s why I still stay actively up to date with American politics. That’s why I sent my absentee ballot to the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections today.

Maybe now that I’ve voted I can ignore the rest of this train wreck of an election.

Yeah, probably not.

All this mess, Nathan’s comment the other day and this post by We Be Toys reminded me of the last uncontrollable force that I had to try and control. My Siberian Husky, Timmins, is now the very model of a well behaved pooch. Hold on, I’ve just got my tongue stuck here in my cheek. At any rate, he’s certainly an easier animal to deal with than when we were still living in the States. When he was a younger dog, Timmins was virtually impossible to keep contained. With a running start, the dog could clear a six foot fence with not too much trouble. He used to sit by the front door just waiting for a failure in vigilance and then bolt. Once loose, you got the dog back when he wanted to come back. No matter how accomplished a dog tackler you were, Timmins would leave you cursing in a cloud of dust.

Part of dog ownership for Dr. O’C and I was chasing our dog around the streets of Columbia, Missouri as he terrorized cats or whatever other small mammals he could find, chasing him around as he occasionally glanced back at his pursuers with a look of brazen disobedience. We never held a party in which part of the festivities didn’t involve some of the guests wandering around our neighborhood trying to catch our wayward dog. We tried everything to keep the damn dog in the yard and nothing worked.

Somewhere along the way, and I really don’t recall whose idea this was, it seemed like a good idea to try to electrify the fence around out backyard. “It seemed like a good idea at the time” was kind of a theme of the first thirty or so years of my life, so one spring afternoon I came home from work early with some contraband fencing and a few curiously willing work colleagues. We spent the remainder of the day drinking beer and wiring my backyard for electricity. For a house near the center of town, we had a remarkably big yard and so the details are pretty hazy but I do remember Nathan, who actually grew up on a farm, was particularly helpful. What I can’t remember for the life of me is who tested the fence. I do recall one of my work colleagues, who in hindsight I suspect of sadism, trying to convince me to force the dog onto the fence to show him what it was.

I couldn’t cope with watching my dog hit the fence for the first time, so I went inside and waited. I didn’t have to wait long for a shrieking yelp followed by a long, low mournful and angry cry. I hurried out the back and Timmins was in the exact center of the yard looking as if he had just come face to face with his maker. He didn’t move from the center of the yard for hours and that was only to come in to the house to go to bed.

Lest you feel too much sympathy for the dog or are inclined to judge me harshly, that fence only kept the dog in for about a month before he figured out how to avoid a shock and still escape.

I never hit that fence, so I couldn’t tell you what it felt like. Dr. O’C did, at least once, despite knowing it was there. She wasn’t the only one as various people, again at parties, would forget it was there and rub up against it to their surprise. There may have been a time or two that I neglected to tell people that we had an electric fence, just because they annoyed me.

To try and tie this meandering post together, I’d like to give you my best Sarah Palin impression:

Well Katie, to fix this economic crisis, such as, I would suggest putting all of the Congresses together in a pen with a, you know, electric fence and ok, I mean, obviously out there for God and everyone to judge. Then there will be reform, such as with mavericks and lipstick. And we’ll say thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere. Katie. Obviously.  They’re not waiting to see what Barack Obama is going to do. Is he going to do this and see what way the political wind’s blowing? I’ll try to find an electric fence and I’ll bring it to you.

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The New Pornographers’ “Electric Version” is available from .

 

 The New Pornographers - "The Electric Version" [2:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 65% [?]

(For those of you who, inexplicably, couldn’t give a toss about college football, scroll down for some non-sports related fun and public humiliation. )

Lot of controversy on A Free Man lately, so I’ve decided to ease into something we can all agree as the weekend nears - the supremacy of my almae matres’ football teams*. Both the Universities of Georgia and Missouri are in action again this weekend, so the Free household will spend an Australian Sunday morning hunched over the computer keeping up with what’s happening on the gridiron half a world away.

Missouri’s got another easy one this weekend, hosting MAC powerhouse Buffalo. The way that the Tigers’ offense is clicking right now, however, I’m pretty sure that they could beat the Buffalo Bills, nevermind the Bulls. I’m looking forward to seeing what Mizzou can do in a couple of weeks time when they go over to Lincoln for a big game with the Cornholers. This one will be a walk in the park: Missouri 66, Buffalo 13.

Now, Georgia. The Dawgs failed to whelm on Saturday against the Gamecocks of South Carolina. They ground out a win in Columbia but have to travel across the country this week for a rare appearance out west against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Arizona State looked a lot scarier last week before they completely laid an egg against a lesser opponent, but it’s still a dicey game for the Dawgs. Three keys for a Bulldog win in Tempe:

1.  The offensive line has got to figure it out. We have one of the best backfields in the country, but if they keep getting crushed because their line falls apart there’s not much they can do.
2. Special teams. If you regularly give the opposition the ball on the 40, they’re going to be able to score regardless of how good your D is.
3. D backs. Come on guys, S.C. got 271 yards in the air and they aren’t particularly good. ASU’s Rudy Carpenter is 5th in the country in passing. The secondary absolutely must get it together.

It’s a late kickoff on Saturday, which means that I get to sleep in on Sunday for a change. Internet radio only, kickoff at 9:30 a.m. Sunday Adelaide time. I think Arizona State will make this a game, but the Dawgs pull it out on the road: Georgia 24, Arizona State 17.

Finally, two of my least favorite teams are head to head this week as the Marsh Skinks creep out of Gainesville up into the Smokies to face the Hillbillies of Tennessee. If only it were possible for both of these teams to lose…

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Speaking of karma, it’s about time for some more link love. Here are five bloggers who have been on their game lately:

1. One of my old timey blogging buddies, Not Afraid To Use It has taken things to a new level lately with a serial set of posts about  a cancer scare and the medical and personal repurcussions thereof. Her writing is just raw emotion. Fantastic. Start here and follow the story along.
2. Music blogging is a tough gig. I’m not the best at it, which is one of the reasons that you just see an occasional music post from me. It’s just not very rewarding as you don’t get a ton of comments. You’ve got to be something special to get your readers involved. Well, from the wilds of inner city Glasgow comes an amphibian to show us all the way . Toad of Song, by Toad is a master of getting feedback from a notoriously reticent audience. See this post about Neds and this one on Calexico as an example of Toad at his best.
3. Everyone and their bloggin’ grannies posted about 9/11 on 9/11 and fair enough, it’s a big day if your an American. I tend to be suspicious of this day, because I think that the Right has been using it for political gain since it happened. But three bloggers really got to me, got past the cynicism that’s built up in me about this day in the seven years since. You may not want to think about it again, but I’ve got to give People in the Sun, Nitro Vista and Formerly Fun kudos for very different, yet very powerful 9/11 posts that didn’t make me want to click away as soon as I saw that it was a 9/11 post.
4. New discovery of the week: a fellow Floridian, a fellow expat, a fellow dweller Down Under - check out Florida Girl in Sydney. I’m still going through her archives, but am enjoying what I’m reading.
5. I hesitate to point you here because I’m cringing in anticipation of what is no doubt going to be a hefty dose of public humiliation. Maggie, damn her, gave my name to Brian as a potentially willing victim for his Fug Mug Friday this week. For some reason, I agreed to participate and sent Brian two photos that really shouldn’t see the light of day. I’m not sure which he chose, so I’ll be as surprised as you. Check Brian’s site and see if you can figure out which Fugly is your underwhelming correspondent.

Have a great weekend!

Hurray, hurrah! Mizzou! Mizzou!

Go Dawgs ! Sic ‘em!

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Wilco’s Being There, perhaps their finest, is available from .

 

 Wilco - "Hotel Arizona" [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 100% [?]

Happy Birthday, Baby Z! No, Boy Z.

Happy Birthday, my pea. My chicken. My monkey.

Happy Birthday, Z-Man. My Super Z.

Happy Birthday, Zachary P. Quack.

It’s been a year, a year beyond my wildest dreams. I remember clearly, and hope I always do, the days leading up to your arrival in the world. I remember the seemingly endless labor, probably worse for your Mum. I remember running out of energy entirely and sleeping on a bed made of various delivery implements on the floor of the delivery room. I remember the absolute powerlessness that I felt when things started to go a bit pear shaped at the end. Most of all I remember the feeling, one that I am entirely incapable of describing in words, when I first saw the top of your head. When I broke down in tears while saying, “It’s a boy, it’s a boy.” When I first held you in my arms. When I picked you up and everything changed, as a better writer than me has said.

I remember the song that was playing when you were born. It was Whiskeytown’s cover of Gram Parsons “A Song For You”. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but as I held you for the first time - too delicately, too nervously - it made perfect sense and it’s burned into my soul now as a song for you.

“Oh my land is like a wild goose
Wanders all around everywhere
Trembles and it shakes till every tree is loose
It rolls the meadows and it rolls the nails
So take me down to your dance floor
And I wont mind the people when they stare
Paint a different color on your front door
And tomorrow we will still be there…”

MP3: Whiskeytown - “A Song For You”

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A Free Man, Dr. O’C and A Free Boy are celebrating today. Unfortunately two of us are celebrating at work and the third at kid jail, but we’ll get there. Since it seems that most of you aren’t going to be able to make it to the party tomorrow, Boy Z and I decided to give you a little bit of a gift - some of out favorite tunes of late.

MP3: Great Lake Swimmers - “See You On The Moon”

This is one of our favorite sing-a-long tracks by a wonderful lo-fi folk outfit. I interviewed Tony Dekker, the brains behind Great Lake Swimmers, a little while ago and his record Oniagra is one of my favorites from 2007.

MP3: Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants - “Tree Hugger”

I’ve been singing this one to Baby Z for weeks. Made famous by “Juno”, but Kimya Dawson is just fantastic. Check out her record “Remember That I Love You”.

MP3: Black Sabbath - “Iron Man”

Finally, my post yesterday caused a bit of a ruckus and some strong feelings. But it’s important to remember that whether liberal or conservative, religious or athiest, most of us have the same ultimate goal - a good life for ourselves and our family. We all want to raise our children in the best way can. And I’m sure that we all start off the day by listening to a little Black Sabbath with our kids. Right?

“Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!”

—————–

One last thing. Baby Z - Boy Z - told me that all he wants for his birthday is to get to see Steve Spurrier cry again. His beloved Georgia Bulldogs are headed over to Columbia, SC to play the Layin’ Hens of the University of South Carolina. Now, the Old Ball Coach laid one on us in Athens last year, but that was before Z’s time. I’ve regaled the boy with cautionary tales about Spurrier’s evilness, particularly when he was at the University of Florida. Z recognizes just how crucial it is that we smack Spurrier and his Chickens around on Saturday.

Georgia visits South Carolina on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. Eastern (5:00 a.m. Sunday in Adelaide) kick. No internet video that I’m aware of  so we’ll be listening.

In the interest of equal time for nourishing mothers, Missouri has another easy one as they host the Nevada Wolfpack on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern (2:00 a.m. Sunday in Adelaide).

Hurray, hurrah! Mizzou! Mizzou!

Sic ‘em Dawgs!

Most importantly, Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.

MP3: Oxford Collapse - “The Birthday Wars”

Popularity: 78% [?]

Regular readers of A Free Man may know that one of my life long quests, much like Superman, is fighting for justice and pointing out inequity when it crosses my path. For example, the fact that Dr. O’C has celebrated two Mother’s Days in her first year as a Mother and I have had no Father’s Days. Zero. This is due to the byzantine wanderings of our family,different holiday calendars and the universal plot to screw me. Well, dear readers, that’s all going to change on Sunday because it is Father’s Day in Australia. And I am in Australia. And I am a Father. So, time to pony up, Baby Z. A matching “World’s Best Dad” coffee mug and T-shirt are always a nice gift. Or maybe some Georgia Bulldogs gear…

Odd time of year for Father’s Day as I will be spending at least the first part of the day waking up ridiculously early to listen to American football games on the internet. As week 2 of the NCAA football season kicks off, I feel like I need to rectify something. As a couple of my grad school friends never fail to point out, I have a tendency - in my undying loyalty to my undergraduate alma mater - to forget about the institution that gave me my Ph.D. and thus current career, the University of Missouri. I’ve written about why my devotion is focused on the Dawgs, but with Mizzou starting the season in the Top 10  as well and with a win over No. 20 Illinois last week, I really should share the love a bit for the school that added the Dr. to my name and several thousand dollars to my annual earning potential (not to mention provided me with a mate). So from this week on, I will give the trials and tribulations of the Missouri Tigers at least a little bit of time every week. Roughly equal time for almae matres (nourishing mothers). As for showing support, I’ll make the same deal I did for Georgia gear: send us some Z sized Mizzou gear and we’ll reciprocate with some Antipodean styles for your little Tiger.

Both the Dawgs and the Tigers are going to have it pretty easy this weekend. Despite an easy win over Southern last week, Georgia dropped to the two spot in most polls. This is actually a good thing as it’s number 1 that everyone guns for, so let them go after the Trojans rather than my boys. Takes the pressure off for a tough season. A bigger loss than the ranking was the loss of starting D tackle Jeff Owens, who is out for the season with a “freak” knee injury. First Sturdivant, now Owens - we can’t keep losing the big guys and win a championship.

We’ll be OK without them for this week as Georgia welcomes the Central Michigan Chippewas into Sanford Stadium on Saturday.The Chippewas are back-to-back MAC champs and are thought to have a good chance of winning that conference again this year. They’ve also got a dark horse Heisman candidate in QB Dan LeFevour. (As an aside, I thought all NCAA teams were supposed to jettison their Native American nicknames. What’s up with the Chippewas? Is Central Michigan racist or something? All the more reason to beat them up on the gridiron.) At any rate, we all saw what the Dawgs can do to teams from upstart conferences with hot shot quarterbacks. This game should be largely the same. I think Central Michigan will hang with the Dawgs for a bit and may put some points on the board, but Georgia brings it home in a rout: Georgia 45, Central Michigan 24.

Mizzou’s win over the Illini (Another racist team?) last Saturday was kind of a bittersweet one. The Tigers’ offense was spectacular, putting 52 points on Illionois. But they had to do so because the D gave up 42. With a defense this porous, Mizzou’s time in the Top 10 is likely to be pretty short-lived. The good news is that they’ve got a patsy to work with this week in Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks of Cape Girardeau, Missouri represent the Div I-AA Ohio Valley Conference and are riding up the road to Columbia to collect a check. No real contest here, just the question of how many points Tigers’ Coach Gary Pinkel piles on - Mizzou 55, SEMO 20.

—————-

Your Number 2 Georgia Bulldogs host the racist Central Michigan Chippewas for a 3:30 p.m. Eastern (5:00 a.m. Sunday in Adelaide) kickoff. The game’s available on internet radio or ESPN’s Gameplan.

And the hapless Southeast Missouri State Redhawks have a date for a thrashing with Your Number 6 Missouri Tigers in Columbia at 7:00p.m. Eastern (8:30 a.m. Sunday in Adelaide). No options for international fans I’m afraid.

Hurray, hurrah! Mizzou! Mizzou!

Sic ‘em Dawgs!

—————

Green Day’s “Warning” is available from .

 

 Green Day - "Misery": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 85% [?]

I enjoyed my interview with Courtney a couple of weeks ago so much that I asked Neil at Citizen of the Month for another go at his Great Interview Experiment. Thus, late last week, I spent a fair bit of time in the role of either interviewer or interviewee. With all the questions buzzing about the internets I realized that a well conducted interview is a great opportunity to get to know a lot more about both parties.

Invigorated by inquisitions, I’ve decided to declare this week as Great Interview Week here at chrisdellavedova.com. I plan to feature a (hopefully) great interview a day for the week. In addition to the Interview Experiment posts, I’ve got a couple of crackers in the pipe, so check back each day this week to see who’s on the virtual couch.

The subject of the first day of Great Interview Week is, with narcissism appropriate for the blogging medium, me! Turnbaby over at And as the world Turns came up with a set of thought provoking inquiries that, surprisingly, got to the serious side of your underwhelming narrator (here’s her version of the interview). Without further ado…

Turnbaby: I see that you met your beautiful wife in college–I want to know how you met and what drew you to her and her to you.

AFM: Aha, an opportunity! A lot of people assume, as you did, that Dr. O’C and I are married. In fact, we are living in sin and have been for a number of years. We are co-habitors, co-conspirators and - in the eyes of the Australian and British governments - common law spouses. Since we’re interested in neither the Church nor the State’s blessing, that’s likely to remain the case until my Mom pesters me to death about it.

We met in Rocheport, Missouri when I was doing my Ph.D. and she a post-doc. I’ve written a couple of posts about how we met. Is it wimping out just to link to them? What drew me to her initially should be fairly obvious, have you seen her picture - absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine that it was temporary insanity that drew her to me as I was sporting a nappy beard at the time.

TB: The first thing I noticed about your blog was your excellent taste in music. I love the songlist you initially picked to play for your boy, Z, while he was in utero. Are there some songs that you really love that you won’t play for him yet? Why?

AFM: Not really, I sort of play him what comes to mind. I’m not bothered about strong language as his mother curses like a sailor. I tend to avoid some of the really thrashy punk or heavy metal in my library as I think it’s a bit dissonant for him yet. But beyond that, pretty much Z hears what I hear. Oh, and he’s not allowed to listen to crap - no Justin, no Brittney, no Jessica. I am a music nazi.

TB: You are an Obama supporter and a self avowed “political junkie”. I know he “gives good speech”.But I need more than that. So without using the ‘hope’ or ‘change’ rhetoric–tell me why?

AFM: Because Barack Obama gave me a puppy. This is a great question because this election is more about personalities than I can remember in recent history. I thought about using your thesaurus trick for this question (yep, I read your interview - well played, Madam), but it’s a big deal so enough fannying about. It’s a fair question as they are politically pretty similar. My biggest reason for supporting Obama is because the last eight years have been evidence of how poorly a dynastic presidency works. If Clinton won and then won a second term, the same two families would have run the country for 28 years. This is very dangerous for American democracy. Second, the Boomers have had their time in power and to be honest have done a pretty piss poor job of it (I include Bill I and George II). It’s time for the next generation to take a whack at it. Third, America is in a rut and we need a kick in our collective asses. Obama, with his inspirational rhetoric, gets people thinking about the state of the State and what we can do about it. Clinton or McCain seem cynical and jaded. Oh, and Barack Obama told me to tell you hello.

TB: I love the new template and look of the blog. I’m curious about why you wanted a change and what made you pick this look.

AFM: Well, why I changed the look was because I kind of got my ass kicked in a review by Ask and You Shall Receive. It was a great experience and gave me a lot to think about. I do like the sort of clarity and simplicity that they suggested. If you want some honest feedback on your site, request a review from these guys. But beware that they don’t pull punches. Beyond that, I change it up every few months or so because I am short attention span boy.

TB: How did you end up in Oxford and what did you find most appealing about the idea of living abroad? Did that turn out how you thought it would?

AFM: I wanted to live abroad because I was sick to death of Wal-Marts and strip malls and Fox News. Oh, and a certain red-headed Irish/Aussie woman may have had just a little something to do with it.

I applied for jobs all over Europe but Oxford offered the best opportunities for both of us. It has turned out beyond my wildest dreams. I took to the European lifestyle like a duck to water. There’s just such a hugely better quality of life over here. I don’t know if I can do it justice, but it’s like you realize that there is a whole different way of life that you didn’t know existed when you were in the States. I use this analogy: where my parents live in Florida there are two shopping centers across the street from each other - literally 50 yards away from one another - and everyone drives their cars from one to the other. It just doesn’t occur to anyone to walk across the street rather than unparking your car, sitting at the red light until it turns and then reparking your car nearly as far away from the store you want to go to as you were when you started. Takes about 10 minutes. It’s the realization that it takes you 2 minutes to walk it rather than drive. That’s the change that you go through if you have a good expat experience.

TB: I see that your move to Australia is imminent. Do you think upon seeking employment there that you’ll stick with your current field of endeavor or take a leap into the new all the way?

AFM: It’s all about the new. I’m a disaffected academic and am looking forward to joining the “real world”. I’ve got no idea what the “new” is going to be and that’s what makes it exciting. What I’ve learned so far is that no matter what happens it will be as good an experience as I let it be. I am looking forward to a couple of months off in Oz to spend some time with the boy and a lot of time on the beach!

TB: Why did you start your blog and what about it inspires you to keep it up?

AFM: I started it after Dr. O’C got pregnant. One of the reasons that I’m doing this blog is as a sort of virtual “baby book”. We can keep track of his progress, but I also spend a fair bit of time talking about my own. I now find it really therapeutic - I love writing and this gives me a reason to do it. When I get feedback from my few readers it lets me know that someone appreciates it, which is just the best. Yep, I’m a slave to strokes.

TB: You are a big Georgia Bulldogs fan. What plans have you made for keeping up with games now that you’ll have a whole ‘nother time zone thing to worry about?

AFM: Time zones are not an issue for REAL fans. The math may be a challenge but no matter where I am in the world, my Saturdays (actually I think they will be Sundays in Oz) are booked from the beginning of September til the last week in November. I see that you’re a UK fan - I can’t really think of anything to say about that as y’all don’t usually provide much of a challenge on the old gridiron.

TB: Y’all obviously plan on raising Z outside of the United States, What would you like for him to know about growing up in his father’s country of birth?

AFM: For some reason I struggled with this question more than any of the others that you’ve asked. I think it is because I don’t know myself how I feel about this. I can honestly say that I can’t foresee coming back to the U.S. to live. But it is important to me that Z identifies himself as an American - and he is a natural born American citizen. I would love for Z to be able to experience some of the things that I did growing up and would love for him to be able to avoid a lot of the things that I did. Most of the things that I loved and hated from childhood are gone, though, so they wouldn’t be there for Z anyway even if we were in the States. He’s got to have his own journey.

Gosh, this is all very serious and introspective, not like me at all!

TB: What do you miss about US?

AFM: 1. Proper corn bread.
2. Wide roads.
3. Southern accents - not that dumb ass Texan via Yale accent of Bush’s - a proper Georgia, Carolina, Virginia accent.
4. Big old steaks.
5. Waffle House hashbrowns - scattered, smothered, covered and chunked.
6. My family.
7. Wing nut right-wing talk radio.
8. Popcorn with gallons of butter.
9. People that call you “sugar”.
10. Peet’s coffee (good coffee in general, the Brits just don’t get coffee)

That was off the top of my head and I’m surprised how much of it is food. Must be dinner time.

Image Credits:

Waffle House

Cornbread

Popularity: 37% [?]

When I first heard of Destroyer I assumed, based on their name, that they were some sort of tongue-in-cheek 80’s hair metal revival act - something like The Darkness. But as I listened to the 2006 record “Destroyer’s Rubies” I quickly realized that I was dealing with a whole different kettle of fish. Destroyer is the vehicle for Vancouver based singer-songwriter Daniel Bejar’s delightfully cryptic tunes. Bejar is probably better known for his work with his side-project - Canadian power-pop collective The New Pornographers. “Destroyer’s Rubies” has been my only exposure to his solo work, but what great exposure it was! I was pretty excited to see “Foam Hands”, which is from Destroyer’s upcoming ninth full length LP “Trouble In Dreams” on Merge (Rough Trade in the UK), knocking around the internets this week. “European Oils” is my favorite track from “Destroyer’s Rubies”, which is available from Amazon and .

 

 Destroyer - "Foam Hands" [3:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Destroyer - "European Oils" [4:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 10% [?]