My new favorite commercial

I have a new favorite TV commercial, and, no, it's not the one with the herd of miniature dachshunds wrapped in hot dog buns running across an open field, although that one is really cute also. The one I truly appreciate is one to which many grandparents can relate.  I know I certainly can. It opens with a touching scene. Two young teens, a boy and a girl, are walking up to a house.  The door opens, grandma and grandma come out, big smiles, "Oh, we're so happy to see you!" Then you notice the grandparents are carrying an assortment of electronics - cell phones, dvd player, etc. Their next line is "None of these things are working." The tag line "Grandkids equal free tech support." It's so true.

A great day for the Broncos and a first for me

This evening I hosted my first ever "Super Bowl Party". Of course it was just for my son and his family and my brother but we six had a good time and the chili I made turned out to be really delicious.  The salad my daughter-in-law brought and the brownies my granddaughter made were also quite yummy. So we ate and talked, enjoyed the commercials and half-time show, and, yes, even actually watched the game. Peyton's team won so all in all it was a very enjoyable evening. And, making it even better, nobody talked about politics all evening long. What a nice break.

now that's excitement

I'm watching the Republican Presidential Candidates' Debate this evening and it's being pretty exciting. Tomorrow evening my family and I will watch the super bowl and I'm sure it will have its exciting moments.  But for sheer  nail biting, edge of the seat tension and excitement you can't beat the basketball game I saw this morning. At 9:00 am the sixth grade girls' basketball teams from St. Charles (my granddaughter's team) and St. Vincent's met to decide the conference championship.  Let me tell you these gals know how to hustle.  Sixth graders play four 6-minute quarters and these two teams were very well matched.  The scoring went like this: at the end of the first quarter the score was tied 2 to 2.  I did say these were high tension games, not necessarily high scoring.  By the end of the first half the St. Vincent Panthers had pulled ahead, 7 to 4.  At the end of the third quarter St Vincent still led but the gap was closing - St. Charles Cardinals 9, St. Vincent 11.  By the way the St. Charles Cardinals' colors are red and white, bringing back fond memories of Ball State's mascot and colors. In the fourth quarter the Cardinals pulled ahead 13 to 12.  In the last two minutes St. Charles led 17 to 15. Then it was tied 17 to 17.  Then, in the last three seconds St. Charles scored again and won, 19 to 17!!! Yeah, hooray, much celebration on our team's side.  My granddaughter now has her first basketball trophy and plans to play again next year.  She still doesn't get a lot of playing time in each game but she's learning and is doing much better than when she started. You go girl.

A different kind of Jazz

I heard a really interesting musician yesterday evening.  His name is Ali Paris and he plays the Qanun, an instrument described as a 76 string Arab "lap harp." Since it's about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, it was on a stand, not on his lap. During the concert he explained how his instrument was tuned.  Each of the 76 strings can be tuned to eight different sounds and he played music with major and minor octaves as usual but could also introduce tones that were between major and minor.  He suggested we imagine a piano with green and pink keys between the black and white ones.  Ali Paris has performed all  over the world and his music is an interesting blend of Arab sounds and contemporary jazz and rock.  He was accompanied by a guitarist and a drummer and the music was beautiful. In the printed information that was handed out it said "...he has performed with Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang, Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, American vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys." I think that's a pretty amazing variety of musical styles but I can imagine his qanun sounding right with all of them.  Quite an amazing concert.

caught in a lie

 Actually it was an inadvertent lie which I have now attempted to correct. It was pointed out to me by a faithful reader that my bio information on this site was a little out of date.  Since I hadn't updated it since I started the blog in 2013 I guess that's understandable.  But now I have come clean and admitted to my real age  71, gasp. How did that happen? Time flies, they say, when you're having fun.  I must be having a ball.

When was the last time....

you filled your gas tank for less than ten dollars? I decided to get gas today while I was out and about so I stopped at the Kroger station I often go to and when I ran my card got a 20 cents a gallon discount which brought the price down to $1.39.9.  When I was finished pumping gas I looked at the screen and saw my total - $9.78!!! Now admittedly I only needed about half a tank but still, seeing a total cost of less that $10 was pretty exciting.  I know, I know, I'm easily amused.

truth in advertising

I have a friend who admits that sometimes he gets so irritated with some commercials that he finds himself talking back to them.  I'm not quite that bad but I must admit that there is one commercial running these days that bemuses me.  I think they're being honest and I have nothing against lawyers.  Some of them have helped me a lot in the past.  But this line from a personal injury attorney makes me wonder. The add says "Our fee will never exceed your net recovery."  Really? If you win a case for me I won't owe you more than everything, presumably after expenses? Thankfully I don't need to sue anyone right now but if I was thinking about it I think this would take away much of my motivation.