Tallan Noble Latz "Stranglehold"

Farting around on youtube last night... trying to settle a question of who performed a certain song, we ran across this young man in a different video.  Tallan "T-Man" Lantz is 10 in this video.  He was not scheduled to play at this festival, but a band was two hours late and young Lantz was asked to fill in.  His voice needs to mature, but the talent is there for sure.  He has played with many well known blues and rock greats. I loved his story about Ted Nugent at the start of this video.

I think you can get to many of his videos from this video if you care to listen to more.  I recommend his video with the great Les Paul when Lantz was only 8 years old.  He is something else!  And Les Paul's comments, which are kind of hard to hear, are priceless. If you follow all the videos, you will see this boy's interesting story.  I have a feeling that we will be hearing a lot from this young man.

Welcome to 2012!  We have nothing much to do today other than take down the Christmas tree and my first load of laundry in the new year.  We are resting up not from last night, which was a mellow evening at home together ... but for tomorrow's Rose Bowl game!  If you're interested in it, I hope you catch the game. We will be watching in duck style... at a baked potato party.  Feel free to pop a spud into your microwave and join us where you're at.   Go Ducks!

DIVE! DIVE!

Sadly, my Ducks took a dive and lost.

Not the kind of dive where you purposely go down.

The reasons were fairly simple...

too many turn-overs.

Its a shame too.

This was the first game and a truly big game.

#3 vs #4 in the nation standings...

but at this point in the year, standings don't mean much yet.

Wait until we are over a month into it.

So we took on a very strong opponent our first game of the season.

Last year we lost some of our strongest players

to graduation.

I'm guessing that most teams had likewise troubles.

Our best receiver had a big brain fart last June

and decided to drive 186 MPH down the freeway...

naturally he got caught.

Head Coach Chip Kelly is not one to ignore issues like that.

So, Cliff Harris was benched for this first game.

How it would go with less experienced players was anyone's guess.

Though it is not fair to blame it all on any one player...

and I am not making excuses here.

We lost because we screwed up!

On the bright side...

A couple of new young men did some wonderful things

that give me high hopes for the season.

DeAnthony Thomas...

do not confuse him with Darren Thomas our QB...

did a fantastic job with a few goofs to be expected of a young player.

I look for great things there.

Another "walk-on" local fella also gave us some great moves.

His name is Justin Hoffman.

I am not afraid of the coming game this week.

I suspect that my Ducks will win.

Our standing will fall of course...

but like I said it is early in the season and not so important now.

It is true that to lose your first game and still get into

the nationals is very rare.

I think it has happened 3 times.

Right now, I'm shooting for the Rose Bowl and being

undefeated in the Pac 12.

Time will tell.

As for other things...

its been quiet around here.

I got a puzzle at a yard sale for a buck and delighted myself putting it together...

1500 pieces in two days.

That created jigsaw fever.

So the man bought me a new puzzle that is smaller.

But EVIL!

Its a bunch of electric colored beetles on a 3-D field.

My eyes are going blind!

This week the Bear will come down for her birthday.

She has instructed me that since she made my wedding cake...

that I am to make her the ultimate 

fancy birthday cake

and a diner to die for.

Hummm....

Chocolate cake, cream cheese filling and whipped cream frosting

with fresh strawberries should do the trick.

The man has taken on the task of a barbecue.

This time of year...

there is no other diner to die for.

PUZZLED

Seems like we're all working on putting pieces back together...

those recovering from storms and floods...

getting the kiddos back into school mode...

looking for work...

building relationships

or 

whatever each one of us has to deal with these days.

Hard to believe its the first day of September!

Where the heck did summer go?

The past few days here it has felt like fall.

I don't mind a bit.

But I'm not a fan of the heat.

Speaking of fans...

we did get our tickets.

They were send to a wrong address.

Fortunately,

we know the people that they were sent to.

So we drove over and picked them up.

Yay!

But how curious is that?

Tonight we will have little N again.

=:]

The man had an interview for a job today.

Who knows how that will go.

We've gotten used to doing interviews

and no longer bother hoping for this one or that one.

They all seem to go well.

But there are so many people interviewing for every job out there.

The odds aren't with anyone.

Kind of makes me miss the old days

of nepotism and the old boys networks...

when you could get a job just because you knew someone.

Oh well...

What will be will be.

I have a friend coming down to visit today.

We used to work at the same school.

She was the cook.

Her husband was the music teacher.

I am really looking forward to seeing her.

Speaking of that school.

The year before Squeaky would have graduated,

they closed our high school section.

This last year they closed our middle school.

Gone is our little K-12 family.

It is my understanding that next year will be the last

year that even the grammar school remains.

The pieces of that puzzle have all fallen apart.

How sad.

They are down to four teachers

and a half time principal.

My job vanished with the middle school.

Guess I got out while the getting was good.

Its a blessing in many ways.

Obviously I would have been wrangling for work,

though I had seniority and could have taken someones

job up district.

I would have felt bad about that.

It would have meant a half an hour on the freeway each direction...

which would have meant wear and tear on the car and gas.

Not to mention frozen road situations.

No thanks.

Mostly I am blessed to have a good relationship going.

Someone to share things and thoughts with regularly.

I have a much nicer home.

My family has doubled,

though my friends have become more distant, space wise.

I have an active life in a place where there are museums,

concerts, events and of course my Ducks.

Life is sweeter.

My puzzle is steadily filling in.

I like the picture.

Here we are on the cusp of a major holiday weekend.

Will you be doing anything special?

We are planning a quiet...

yeah, riiiight...

first game of the year party for two.

All the trimmings in smaller bowls.

I suspect there will be yelling and cheering.

It will be fun to see how the new line up goes.

I have faith.

I anticipate celebration!

And will be grateful not to have to drive home...

only to fall into bed when that time comes.

Whatever you are doing this holiday...

be safe

drive sober

and enjoy!