Chase The Kangaroo

Happy Presidents Day! " I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. " ~Abraham Lincoln

Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn On this day in 1885, Mark Twain publishes his famous–and famously controversial–novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful novel  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  (1876). Though Twain saw Huck’s story as a kind of sequel to his earlier book, the new novel was far more serious, focusing on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life in the antebellum South. At the book’s heart is the journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on a raft. Jim runs away because he is about to be sold and separated from his wife and children, and Huck goes with him to help him get to Ohio and freedom. Huck narrates the story in his distinctive voice, offering colorful descriptions of the people and places they encounter along the way. The most striking part of the b...

The Turning  ~Leslie (Sam) Phillips | Then and Now This year marks the 30th anniversary of,  The Turning .  The Turning , is perfectly titled for Phillip's career in 1987.  Up to this point, Phillip's was in the throes of Contemporary Christian Music-dom. She had busted on the scene with true rock and pop-rock tunes that reflected the sound of the day, but still fit perfectly into CCM's radio format. With the release of,  The Turning , everything changed.  As Wikipedia puts it, " The Turning  stands out as a turning point in Phillips' career as a singer and songwriter; on one side, the cheerful, upbeat pop-rock albums that she recorded in the early 1980s, and, on the other, the quirky 60's music influenced rock and folk albums, with a much darker and more poetic tone lyrically."  A lot of that came with producer, T Bone Burnett, who she would marry shortly after the release.  You can clearly hear Burnett's musical influence all...

Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell  ~Social Distortion | Then and Now Happy 25th Birthday to Social Distortion's,  Somewhere Between Heave and Hell .  The great thing about this album is its ageless quality.  It is 90's punk, sandwiched between rockabilly and country rock.  There is nothing pretentious or showy about this album.  It's drums, bass, guitars and grit.  Fans of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash will enjoy Social's versions of "This Time Darlin'" and "99 to Life". If it has been a while or you've never given Social Distortion a try, this is the album for you. Somewhere Between Heave and Hell  ~Social Distortion Released:  February 11, 1992 Genres:  Punk, Country Rock, Punk Blues, Rockabilly Produced By:  Dave Jerden Purchase On:   iTunes  /  Amazon

My wife and I bought one of the Assault bikes after this past weekend's, Fittest Games, here in Austin.  Our friend/coach put them up for sale once the games were over.  We picked ours up Monday night and were on it, bright and early, the next morning. Typically, buying home exercise equipment is always a bit of an sketchy prospect.  I'm sure 98% of the equipment people purchase winds up as a clothes rack a month after purchase and then ultimately ends up in a yard sale for only a fraction of its original price. In other words, despite your best intentions, never ever buy home exercise equipment. But...as stated in the opener, we did.  Why did we?  Well, some rules provide exceptions. As in, my wife is a tennis pro.  She really likes fitness.  Now, I like fitness.  In fact, I'm building a pull-up bar in the garage, which might end up as a blog post on how to build a pull-up bar or how to rip a massive hole in your ceiling. Another ex...