Greyson Michael Chance - Paparazzi

Sixth-grader Greyson Michael Chance has captured more than 1M views on YouTube with his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," securing a spot on Ellen DeGeneres.

A Facebook site called We Are Your Fans, had more than 2,500 members and was growing by 100 people an hour.

This kid is a creative genius because he turned a song that wasn’t his and made it into a whole new creation. As the teacher said, "in my opinion, he just taught Lady Gaga a lesson."

http://www.kingsofar.com/

What a Great Game!

Patience a virtue to calmer Youkilis
First baseman comes up clutch with three extra-base hits

BOSTON -- Pedro Martinez took the ball, wound up and fired a high pitch toward the plate.

It was a scene that could repeat itself many times this summer.

Martinez, one of the most successful Red Sox pitchers of all time, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park on Sunday in front of an appreciative and adoring partisan crowd. Dressed in his old No. 45 Red Sox jersey and a pair of gray dress pants, Martinez returned to the site of some of his greatest triumphs.
Martinez, in a ceremony that the Red Sox did not announce prior to the game, saluted the crowd and received a standing ovation as he walked from the Green Monster to the mound. Chants of "PED-RO! PED-RO!" rocked Fenway Park as he warmed up his right arm, went into his windup and delivered a pitch to his longtime catcher, Jason Varitek.

After the pitch, Martinez jogged over to Johnny Pesky, shaking Pesky's hand and spending several moments speaking with the Red Sox legend.

In a similar sentimental gesture last month, the Red Sox signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to a one-day contract, allowing him to retire with the team.

Unlike Garciaparra, however, Martinez may not be done with baseball. Last season, he did not sign with the Phillies until July, making just nine regular-season starts and posting a 5-1 record. He pitched seven shutout innings against the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, before losing Games 2 and 6 of the World Series to the Yankees.

Later that month, Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, said that his client "absolutely" wanted to pitch again in 2010. Martinez did not speak to the media following his Fenway Park appearance, but it is certainly possible that he may sign with a big league team in the coming months.

To the game ...

The Yankees would take a lead and the Red Sox would peck away. That was how it kept going on Sunday night, and the most constant thing about that theme was Kevin Youkilis.

Boston's cleanup man produced a big hit all three times the Red Sox needed it. And each time, it was for extra bases. Just like that, Youkilis became the first Boston player since Carlton Fisk in 1973 to rope three extra-base hits in a season opener. This, on a night the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 9-7.

"He swung the bat so well tonight," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "At least we chipped away early so it gave us a chance, and when we do put up a three-spot, it means something."

It started with the Red Sox in a 2-0 hole on back-to-back homers by Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson in the second. But it was Youkilis who started Boston's half of the second with a double off the Green Monster in left-center. It was the only hit the Sox had against CC Sabathia in the first four innings, and Youkilis wound up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Beltre.

With the Sox down, 5-2, in the bottom of the sixth, Youkilis brought life back to Fenway by smashing a line drive over the head of Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher for a two-run triple.

"I got the count to 3-0 and I had the green light to swing 3-0, but I just wanted to make sure to see [Sabathia] throw another pitch," Youkilis said. "I was telling myself to lay off some stuff inside, because my last at-bat, he threw me a pretty good pitch -- a cutter in. He threw a pitch out over the plate and I just tried to drive it the other way. I was just fortunate to get it by Swisher."

The Red Sox tied it later that inning, then fell behind by two runs in the top of the seventh.

Youk da man!

But they knotted it back up again on Dustin Pedroia's two-run rocket to left in the seventh. And Youkilis had one more big hit up his sleeve later in that inning, a two-out double that put him in position to move to third on a wild pitch and score on a passed ball for the go-ahead run.

"I felt good," Youkilis said. "I just tried to capitalize on pitches. I was very fortunate I wasn't behind in the count. That always helps. I just tried to calm myself down. I've been trying to do that a lot more. I'm still trying to learn a lot more from hitting. One thing I keep trying to work on is not being satisfied with any at-bats and trying to learn my swing and my approach and trying to calm myself down at the plate."

The simple fact was that the Yankees had no answers for Youkilis, and it likely cost them the game.

RedSox.com

God, Was That a Shit Decade or What?!

The "Naughties"

I hate to quantify the last decade as "the worst since ... x," because, frankly, the '80s had their fair share of problems, as did the '70s (Vietnam comes to mind), and the '30s weren't so hot either (don't get me started on 1140s ...)

But - the last 10 years really, really sucked.

We started with the millennium, and the Y2K bug. Not only did we kick the decade off with an expected, scheduled, Apocalypse, but it didn't even happen, setting the stage for 10 years of let-downs and anti-climaxes.

The worst of which was the 2000 election, where, after 2 long years of campaigning between Al Gore and George W. Bush (both candidates had been "shoe-ins" for their respective parties since around 1997 ... ugh), the nation went to bed on November 7, 2000 with no idea who had won.

What a disappointment!

All I wanted was for that damn election to be over. I'd waited months for mercy, and was denied for another month, with the official results, and George W. Bush's subsequent speech not arriving until December 13 ... over one month later!

The media totally "jumped the shark" that night (Nov 7), first calling the election for Gore, then Bush, then ?!WTF?!

September 11, 2001 was definitely the shittiest day of shitty, shit decade. 3,000 Americans died, and the rest of us suffered the mental scars of having such horrific scenes burned straight on to our retinas forever. To add insult to injury, the nation is still divided to this day over 9/11 with sad survivors bickering over who was to blame. I can't look.

This was also the decade that rock music finally died. Rest in Peace. I love hop-hop and pop music, but there really hasn't been a popular rock movement in this country since 1999.

The whole Bush presidency sucked. We've been embroiled in two endless invasions (Iraq, Afghanistan) for nearly 10 years now, and the infrastructure of the US has suffered immeasurably as a result.

2005: Katrina sucked ass. Not only did Mother Nature kick our asses, but the governmental (local, state, federal, etc.) response to this crisis was the real tragedy. This was the saddest spectacle of all because a lot of the hardships of Katrina's aftermath (still on-going, by the way) could have easily been avoided. I'll never forget FEMA saying they didn't know there were people in Convention Center, when any one who had watched any CNN that week knew about it.

To be continued ...

The Best Songs and Artists of 2009

I asked my kids who/what they thought were the best songs and artists of the year - to get an unbiased opinion from the youth - and their answers were:

Best Song of 2009: "Stink-butt"
Best Artist of 2009: "Poop-Head"

I might be slightly out of touch with the youth of today, but I'm pretty sure these are not actual songs or band names.

Happy New Year.

Oh yeah - please refer to the coming year as "twenty-ten," not "two-thousand-ten."

Thanks.

Christmas (The Who)

Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited.
Waking up on christmas morning
Hours before the winter suns ignited.
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heavens generosity.
Peeping round the door
to see what parcels are for free
In curiosity.



And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.

Surrounded by his friends he sits so silently,
And unaware of everything.
Playing poxy pin ball
picks his nose and smiles and
Pokes his tongue at everything.
I believe in love
but how can men who've never seen
Light be enlightened.
Only if he's cured
will his spirits future level ever heighten.

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.

Christmas (Blues Traveler)

Comes the time for Christmas
And I really have to ask
If this is feeling merry
How much longer must it last?



I wish a one horse open sleigh
Would come carry me away
But I've been waiting here all day
And one just hasn't come my way

Now excuse me if I'm not being reverent
But I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Save me from my righteous doubt as I watch helpless
And everybody sings

If it's Hanukkah or Kwanzaa
Solstice, harvest or December twenty-fifth
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you're with

Comes the time for Christmas
And as you raise your Yuletide flask
There's like this feeling that you carry
As if from every Christmas past

It's as if each year it grows
It's like you feel it in your toes
And on and on your carol goes
Harvesting love among your woes

I want to buy into the benevolence
And I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Make me know what it's about
As the longing in me makes me want to sing

Noel or Navidad
Season celebration or just the end of the year
Christmas can mean anything
And I mean to keep its hope forever near

As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man

At twenty below the winter storm it billows
But the fire is so warm inside
And the children while nestled in their pillows
Dream of St. Nicholas's ride

And how the next day they'll get up and they will play
In the still falling Christmas snow
And together we'll celebrate forever
In defiance of the winds that blow

My god in heaven now I feel like I'm seven
And the spirit calls to me as well
As if Christmas had made the winter warmer
Made a paradise from what was hell

As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man ...

I wish a one horse open sleigh would come carry me away
And I'll keep waiting through next May
Until Christmas comes my way

(Words by John Popper. Music by John Popper and Trey Anastasio.)

New Zakk Wylde Interview From Ultimate Guitar

ultimateGuitar.com
There's a brief Velvet Revolver mention in the new Zakk Wylde interview that I thought I'd share.

It didn’t bother you that Ozzy was auditioning other guitar players and didn’t really say anything to you?

I mean with us there’s never any arguments; there’s no fights or nothing. It’s just, “What do you want to do, Steve?” It’s like, “Ahh, Zakk, I want to go jam with these guys now.”

It’s like with Slash and Scottie and all the guys and if they’re gonna stop doing Velvet Revolver for a while. And then Scott is going to do Stone Temple Pilots; Duff is gonna do Loaded; Slash is gonna do his solo thing; Matt’s gonna be jammin’ with the Cult again and then they’re gonna get back together. It’s just like no big deal.

It’s like Genesis – there’s Mike and the Mechanics and Phil is doing his solo thing and the keyboard player is doing movie soundtracks. And then it’s like, “Let’s get back together and do a fuckin’ album.”

I love Ozz and Sharon; Sharon is like my mother. Barbara Ann [Zakk’s wife] still hangs out with Sharon all the time. They go to Dancing With the Stars to see Kelly and all that shit. They hang out and have lunch and just chill and have a good time.

I always told everybody when the day would come when Ozz would say, “I don’t feel like doin’ this shit no more.” What are you supposed to do? But you better figure somethin’ out. You know what I mean?

I know that this is just Zakk running his mouth, and is by no means official, but it makes sense to me. I've been saying this all along that there will eventually be a Velvet Revolver reunion (say in 2014) with Scott Weiland.

We'll see.