Happy Thanksgiving!

Best wishes to all on this day of thanks. Take the time to really sit and think about the blessings in your life and try to shut out the things that distract you from what is important. Faith, Family, Health and Freedom.

There are many other things that are blessings, the hard thing is sometimes seeing them.

God Bless.
Mike

Madonna -Confessions on the dancefloor. 2005

Mike Young. Alice Cooper lover.....RAWK guy....Black Crowes freak.....Madonna? Hey! It happens!

I am proud to admit that I have a soft and sensitive side to my music. In fact, a large amount of my music can be classified as R/B and dance music. Jackson's,O'jays,Spinners, Village People....errr maybe only one disc of the Village People is enough to satisfy my "inner macho man" cravings! :-)

Anyway. Madonna. This is a great new CD . Nothing more than a nonstop dance CD. If you are in your mid 30's to early 40's, you remember when Madonna was first on the scene as a club/dance artist. As the years went by, the image obscured the fact that she can make great dance music when she wants to. This CD is not just a trip back to her eighties sound, but also dips a bit back into that dreaded word. DISCO! But like it or not, disco had its pluses and she takes advantage of its strengths. All of the tracks blend into each other, like you are in a club and your are hearing the cd "mashed up" by a DJ.

There are no big deep statements on the CD, the sound is state of the art and will sound great on even the most crappy stereo system. Its a Cd that should be heard because of its simplicity and how it makes you just want to move your feet! Get it! Dance and forget your worries :-)

What month is this?

November the 16th. Thanksgiving is around the corner,Christmas thoughts are starting to creep in. A time of the year when the outside temps are a bit on the mild side ,30's with some nice soft snow and maybe a 40 here and there.

Fast forward to what is going on here in Minnesota. We are looking at single digit lows tonight and highs in the low 20's for the rest of the week! This time last week I was knocking off early from work to enjoy the mid 60's weather to hang up my Christmas lights ( no! I am not one of those that turns them on before Thanksgiving!). Good thing I had such foresight, I would be sliding off my roof if I decided to do that today!

I guess its all part of living in this region. I still have a fair amount of California blood left in me, and I really dont enjoy January temps in November. But I know things will change, they always do! :-)

A Night Out With My Boy!

Just got back from a night out with Steven. We decided to take in some high quality entertainment, WWE Wrestling :-)

We purchased tickets about 6 weeks ago, and it was all Steven could talk about! He was very excited because this was a rare "supershow" where both RAW ( the Monday night cable show) and Smackdown( the UPN network show) were being taped on one night. So all of the superstars would be here tonight.

About a hour before we were about to leave, it was announced that Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room. 38 years old. He had battled drug and alcohol problems, but had been sober for 4 years. No cause of death has been announced , but I am sure its a heart related issue. Just a hunch.

The night became a much more somber event. It was filled with tributes to Eddie and it was pretty emotional to see these huge men cry. It was a good learning moment for Steven. Who would have thought I would have had such a lesson taught to a 10 year old at a wrestling event. One never knows when or where they will pop up. I was glad to be there.

Reggie begins agility classes!

Reggie and I began a new chapter in his training "journey", agility !

Agility is designed for dogs that are active and love to be active. That is Reggie to a tee. I wont say that he has mastered traditional obedience training but he has become a bit bored with the repetition of it. So we are taking a little break from the sit stay....downs.....comes.....heals....and figure eights and now are concentrating on jumps...A frames....tire jumps and weaves.

First night went very well. Reggie was very happy and I had a smile on my face. He seemed to enjoy the release of energy and I loved watching the natural athleticism that he and the other dogs have. Its amazing how effortless Reggie and some other dogs make these excersises look.

As I write. He is asleep at my feet. I can tell that he had a fun night and kinda got to be a Sheltie again! We will be back next week and I am sure that he will have his tail wagging.....as I chase him through the course!

ALICE COOPER- GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN (1974)

Ok, this DVD is not for everyone. In fact I am sure its probably for only about 1% of the people that even read this blog!

The Movie is a document of Alice's record breaking 1973 Billion Dollar Babies tour. At the time, Alice was every parents nightmare and was thought to be the devil incarnate. Compared to todays artists, he seems downright tame, but you certainly see the influence that he has had on the shock rock genre. The movie is typical of 70's rock movies. Lots of zany stuff that you had to be stoned to even possibly get, and lots of out of focus concert footage. Sounds pretty bad huh? Wrong!

I loved this DVD. I really think it finally gets Alice the way a long time Alice Cooper fan has wanted to see him. Raw and dangerous. I was very skeptical when going to purchase this. Because I have been burned by other Alice DVD's. Most of the early Alice material has been of very poor sound quality ( this DVD is in very clear Dolby Digital 5.1) and Alice usually doesnt sing on key at all! This DVD corrects all of these issues! Plus its at a quality priced $12.99! I will reccomend it highly and buy a copy for my moms Christmas stocking! :-)

In other news. Life has been busy and have been trying to get the house ready for winter. Outside, the leaves have been chopped up to blow down the hill....hopefully! All of the outside items have been placed into the fabled shed. So much to do and so little sunshine!

I have recoved from my chest cold and now have my voice back. Time to hit those Freddie Mercury like high notes while listening to my music in the car! Uhhh yeah right!

One more music related item! Neil Diamond. New CD. I am not a huge "Diamond Head" but I have been hearing great things about this CD. "12 songs". Its produced by Rick Ruben, he is the same guy that worked with Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Black Crowes etc. This is Neil stripped down without the glitz and shiny shirts! Anyone that has bought it...leave me a review!

Ok....till again....good day!

Halloween

Steven had a great time last night. As you can see by the smile on his face....he loves Halloween!

He is dressed as a Jedi Knight. The sword is a special one, because it makes sounds when he swings it around!

We took our sweet time last night going around the neighborhood. Steven made sure to say thank you to all of the people that gave him treats ( guess my constant nagging of him to have polite manners have paid off!) and he also liked to comment on what people had for decorations! Yep he soaks it all in! I loved just hanging back and watching him have fun!

We had about 100 kids come to our door. Cherol is the stat keeper for this. :-)

Hope all of you had a great Halloween!