I Don't Need To Try To Explain...I Just Hold On Tight

To quote one of the greatest movies ever..."Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays". Guess what...that somebody is me. Holy smokes today was a rotten day. The funny part is that I woke up around 5am which is earlier than I needed to and didn't even care. 0530 rolled around and I felt the apprehension of the bad day and by the time I finally crawled out of bed at 0610, I managed to convince myself that it would be a good day. By 0815 it pretty much went out the window and never really got better. It never got really bad but everything seemed to be a struggle and that sucked. I can handle the days that are battles because adrenaline starts pumping. It is the days that consist of short struggle after struggle that really wear me down. It was dark when I left the office (which was 82.8 degrees BTW) and just sat in the car for a minute to gather energy to drive home. Good thing that I don't have to work tomorrow because I just don't feel it right now.

Now that we have that out of the way...let's shuffle.

I Want You by Savage Garden - Remember what an awesome song this was? I always forget how much I loved it until I hear and remember that this song totally kicked ass in an awesomely bad way. It gets stuck in your head and you can't help but sing it even though you don't know the words. I fell in love with Savage Garden from the song and stuck with them through their follow-up albums which lacked the greatness of their first. This song is filled with whacky metaphors that really don't make a whole lot of sense but sound great. I actually get a little excited when I hear this song and have absolutely no idea why. Best Line: "Anytime I need to see your face I just close my eyes and I am taken to a place where your crystal mind and magenta feelings take up shelter in the base of my spine, sweet like a chicka cherry cola." It is nice to have vivid memories that you can recall simply by closing your eyes.

What If You by Joshua Radin - Have I mentioned how much I love Joshua Radin? Brace yourself for some serious romantic bullshit but I have realized that I love his songs because they are short love stories. He somehow makes me fall in love and sometimes be heartbroken all in about three and half minutes. But more so, as I have said before, he sings songs that touch my heart. So the story in this song is once again about a love that cannot last. Much like the other love songs that really get to me, there is the upfront knowledge that it is not going to last forever. The honesty makes the love more special because of that knowledge. It no doubt makes it more painful from time to time but it is what it is. Joshua sings this song in his usual soft, almost whisper-iske voice that I suspect that you can actually see me melt when I listen to it. In this song Joshua sings that there is no forever but there is that one night. It is insanely romantic. Best Line: "So, for tonight I'll stay here with you, Yes, for tonight I'll lay here with you but when the sun hits your eyes through your window, there'll be nothing you can do."

Here I Go Again by White Snake - Is there a single person on the planet who doesn't like this song? Probably but only because they haven't heard it. It is one of the greatest songs to come out of the 80s. It is impossible not to rock out when you hear it. It is impossible to resist the urge to turn it up when you hear the opening lines. It is just impossible not to love it. It is a great 80s rock song in the sense that it provokes the closed eyed, back arching, fist pumping movements needed to really sing this song. No one sings it well but that is not the pain. The point is that is an awesome that belongs on every iPod, Zune, etc in the world. Best Line: "I don't where I'm going but I sure know where I've been."

We're Having A Party by Rod Stewart - First let me say that I know that this is not Rod's song. I only put by Rod Stewart because that is the version that came on. I actually prefer the the Sam Cooke version. Moving on...this is another song that I simply cannot fathom anyone not liking. It is just a fun, happy song that is meant for singing with friends. This is the type of song that you want to dance to with a good friend because it isn't a romantic song in spite of its lyrics about dancing with your baby. It is just about having fun...you know...having a party. Who cannot relate to the best line which is..."So Mr, Mr. DJ keep those records playin' Cause I'm having such a good time dancing with my baby"?

Now if this damn Monday Night Football game would just end I would be able to go to sleep so I can wake up and watch the NCIS marathon on USA.

Random Recaps & Rantings

What can I say? My Facebook addiction has put a serious crimp in my blogging. Once again, I asked for your forgiveness as well as extend an invitation to be my Facebook friend. As well as to commit to blog more.

Now let's talk sports.

So let's start with on a positive note...and that is Mike Mussina earning his 7th Gold Glove. The man is about to be 40 and he is still the best pitcher in the American league. Hint hint Yankee management. But that brings me to the first sad note...

Everyone is filing for free agency. OK so honestly I did not expect Jason Giambi to be back but I really had hoped that he would be. The fact that he has filed for free agency tells me that he is all but done in pinstripes. I understand the move but I am bummed by it. What can I say...I am fond of the 'stach. He was so classy about the news of having his contract bought out that I couldn't help but want to give the guy a big hug.

I am actually surprised at the Mike Mussina news. The fact that he filed for free agency kind of stung. I really don't like the fact that the Yankees keep saying how Mike told them that he was pretty sure that he was going to retire. Throw some big bucks his way and motivate him stay for goodness sake! The Yanks need pitching and Mike proved once again that he can deliver. Its not rocket science for goodness sake! Joba cannot carry the Yankees alone next season.

There was some good free agency news in Yankee Universe this week...and that is the fact that Marte filed...and only because I could never figure out why we took him except that maybe that was the only way to get Nady. I honestly don't know because I was blinded by the greatest of The X-Man and didn't really give a shit about Marte and still don't. No hard feelings but I'm not sorry to see him go.

But even better.....Bye Bye Carl Pavano. Ok so he isn't officially gone but heres hoping. Just thinking about him pisses me off. I know that I should be more sympathetic to the guy but I am not. He was a waste of money and a spot on the roster and that pisses me off. He said that he is not surprised that the Yanks bought him. Gee...how in the hell did he figure that one out? Maybe it was the perpetual boo-ing that he recieved from seriously disappointed fans like me.

But one cannot be happy about the newest free agency news that has hit the presses. So today I read that the Dodgers offered Manny Ramirez the second largest contract in baseball (just behind the greatest choker in the baseball...A-Rod). Now Manny has not accepted it however one has to wonder how he could turn it down. This actually bums me out because I was actually kind of hoping that he would be in pinstripes. Oh well.

And finally in the world of Yankee free agency...Andy Pettitte filed today as well. He said that he felt compelled to do it after being vocal about his desire to remain with the greatest organization in sports and them not being vocal about keeping him. I actually feel pretty bad for him and understand his actions. It sucks when you are waiting for the phone call that never comes. Silence can drive anyone to act out loudly in return. The problem is that it rarely works out the way that you hope it will. Poor Andy.

Football wise...I have no compliants. Of course...the Giants/Eagles game is far from over so that might change. There is really just one major moment of note to mention from the NFL this week...and it is all about Peyton and the Colts. It is always a good thing when the Colts win but it is even better when they do it in a momentus game like today. 40 years is a long time to go without a win anywhere.

And if that isn't enough...I was blessed to see three new Peyton commercials...so today has been a good day. Vote for your favorite!









Nothing like great sports to top off a great weekend. Things are good in the world of Millie.

I'm Lost In A World Made For You & Me

Happy Monday folks. Hopefully yours was a little bit better than mine. I am so frustrated with my knee that I would do just about anything to make it feel better. So let's shuffle.

I Hear A Symphony by The Supremes: For whatever reason I grew up listening to a lot of The Supremes. I think that is why I have been singing this song for years. Try to listen to it without singing along. It is a wonderfully upbeat love song that makes love seem like the greatest feeling ever. In a way it is refreshing because you can relate to the wonderful feelings described in the song. The new and exciting feelings, you joy you feel when your lips touch, the strong desire for the feelings to never end, etc. The only problem with this song is that is awfully one-sided. Of course, I doubt that it would be as much fun to sing if it was a bitter song. Best Line: "You bring much joy within, don't let this feeling end, let it go on and on and on."

This Is Halloween by Marilyn Manson: OK so this song is a wonderfully creepy to begin with. Throw in Marilyn Manson and it goes from wonderfully creepy to just plain creepy. I downloaded it for the CD that I made for my unit's Halloween party last week and then decided not to use it as it seemed like it was a bit over the top. Don't get me wrong...I love this version but it somehow seemed inappropriate for a work gathering. Listen to it once and tell me that you don't get the chills. Best Line: "I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"

Paradise City by Guns N Roses: You can never go wrong with some GNR. Picking a favorite GNR song is tough because almost everything that they put is pretty damn good. So let's just say in the right mood, this is my favorite song. Lyrically it is a bit tough to understand because of how fast Axl sings but that is OK. Between him and Slash they find a way to make it impossible not to rock out to this song. Whenever I hear this song I always think of Can't Hardly Wait and I smile. I love when geeks get their moment to be cool. Best Line: "I must be losin' my mind "Are you blind?", I've seen it all a million times".

Christie Road by Green Day: If you don't know this song...you cannot call yourself a real Green Day fan. Whenever I reflect on the days of my youth...I realize that I had it pretty damn good. I had tons of freedom, never wanted anything that I didn't get, went to the best parties, landed and held onto one of the more desired guys in the city's A crowd, and had some wonderful friends. If I had any enemies(and looking back I am sure that did)...I didn't know about them. So yeah, I had it good. And yet like all teenage girls I still had my moments when I wanted to run away from all of it. It was moments like that when I would crank this song up and sing along with Billie Joe. I used to think that he was singing to me when I would hear this song. It really felt like he was singing the thoughts that were floating through my head. Sometimes I just wanted to get away but I wasn't sure where. Towards the beginning of the song, Billie sings of the loneliness of your friends being gone. And that's when it was tough for me when I was younger. I would spend the entire surrounded by people and was never alone. But eventually night would come and the truth is that the silence and loneliness scared me. Many nights I would fall asleep while on the phone, leaving some poor friend to realize that I wasn't answering anymore. The loyal ones would leave their phone off the hook so the dial tone wouldn't wake me. But I digress....Christie Road was my crutch in those rare moments when not one else was around. I suspect that many a person who grew up in my time felt the same comfort I did whenever listening to this song. If not, I am sorry that they never did. Best Line: "So I sit here patiently watching the clock tick so slowly, gotta get away or my brains will explode."

What Planet Are We On?

OK...can anyone tell me how in the hell Kerry Collins is leading the #1 team in football?

Seriously...I don't get it.

How can Kerry FREAKIN Collins and the Titans have the best record football while Peyton and Colts are barely.500?

Once we solve this one we'll move onto how in terrible the NFC West is that the Cardinals are in first place.

Something is seriously whacky in the world of football folks.

It vexes me.

The Devil In Disguise

Well folks...I hope you all survived the Halloween festivities. In honor of holiday...here is my take on Entertainment Weekly's List of the Top 15 Actors to be play The Devil.

#15 Dave Grohl from Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny: OK so my opinion might be slightly jaded being that I don't like Tenacious D or the Dave Grohl. So that being said...I don't remember this one at all. I think that I saw the movie but can't remember it being great. So thumbs down on this one.

#14 Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled: Awesomely bad movie and an excellent devil. No one on the planet would be able to resist Elizabeth Hurley...no one. I know that she is a model and all...but you gotta admit...she is pretty damn funny actress. Definitely one of the better devils.

#13 Trey Parker on South Park: OK so he is not your typical Satan but he is completely awesome! I think the reason that it is a distinctive portray of the Prince of Darkness because you cannot help but sympathize with him. Name one other instances where you actually feel bad for the root of all evil?

#12 Ray Wise in The Reaper: OK now Ray scares the shit out of me. The reason why is because if the devil was ever going to fuck with me...he would be smart to it in this form (or one similar to it). You know what I am talking about...a good looking, funny, charming older man with a killer smile. It would be tough to resist and hence my soul ending up in the depths of hell.

#11 H Jon Benjamin in Lucy, Daughter of the Devil. Never heard of the show so I have no idea.

#10 Jennifer Love Hewitt in Shortcut to Happiness. Never seen it but as far as portraying the devil...it is a good pick. Not saying that Jennifer is evil. I am saying that because just like Elizabeth Hurley...how you could resist giving into temptation with a Devil like that?

#9 Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate: OK so this is my favorite of all of the devils. Why? Because he is a PIMP! Quite honestly...he rocked being the devil and lived the way that Satan should. I mean...if you are going to be bad...why not have fun while doing it? He certainly seemed to thriving in his evilness which made me wonder "Would it really be that bad being damned if you got to tag along with this guy?"

#8 Robert De Niro in Angel Heart: Never seen and never will due to my protest of all things containing Mickey Rourke. EW says that Bobby nailed the role...which is good for him.

#7 Vincent Price in The Story of Mankind: Never seen it. But just seeing the picture has revitalized my commitment to work my way through the entire Vincent Price collection. What a creepy looking SOB.

#6 John Glover in Brimstone: Never seen it but I am quite certain that I would have loved it. John Glover is DA BOMB so it is bound to be entertaining. Remember how convincing he was when he was evil Lionel Luthor?

#5 Viggo Mortensen in The Prophesy: As if the Lord of the Rings Trilogy didn't give the world enough...it also gave me the motivation to watch every movie ever made with Viggo...hence the reason that I have seen this movie. Let me just come right out and say it...I would stand no chance of resistance against Viggo as the devil. An eternity in hell would be worth it for Viggo. He is just too damn sexy to say no to. Viggo is amazing actor...and he was amazing in this role as well in spite of not being scary. He is too damn sexy to be feared.

#4 Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick. Another awesomely scary devil. He has the charming older man thing going on too which makes him a little bit scary too.

#3 Peter Stormare from Constantine: Give me a break. I can't be the only person who thought that this is one of the worst movies ever. It has to be one of the greatest mistakes in Keanu's career...and anyone who has seen The Lakehouse knows that that's saying something. As far as Peter goes...I hated the movie so much that I cannot help but dislike his performance.

#12 Gabriel Byrne in End of Days: Dreadful movie but decent performance. Something about his eyes just creeps the hell out of him. He just looks kind of evil.

#1 Alan Cumming in God, The Devil, and Bob: Never seen it but Alan is usually pretty damn funny so it is probably fairly good.

The only few that I can think that were left are:

Harvey Keitel in Little Nicky: Once again...terrible movie but good casting. Harvey has to be related to Satan.

Rosalinda Celentano in The Passion of the Christ: She scared the shit out of me. I swear I thought I saw her creepy face in window reflections for at least a month after watching this movie.

And of course...Ned Flanders on The Simpsons: He is the last person that anyone would expect to be the devil...and probably the first one what we should...based on the theory of "Thou protest too much".

The Winner Gets To Go To McDonalds

So if you have watching any of the professional sports that have been on TV over the past couple of weeks...you have no doubt seen the commercial for Guitar Hero: World Tour. Just in case you haven't...here it is.




Now you all know that I love professional athletes. You probably also know that I love Guitar Hero. So for me...this commercial is one of the best ones that I have seen all year.

Let's start with A-Rod. A-Rod is a totally unexpected member of the "band" which makes it so awesome. Alex's major downfall in life is the fact that he is arrogant SOB but he somehow manages not to come off that in this commercial. He genuinely seems to be having a good time and that is why he works in this commercial. When he first slid out I thought "No way!" because I couldn't imagine A-Rod allowing himself to be seen acting so silly. He even flashes that same smile that I saw back in May when I forgave him for being the most notorious choker in Yankee history. Bottom line...I love him in this commercial.

Then came Tony Hawk. I have no real opinions regarding Tony...professionally or regarding this commercial. I do think that they could have found someone better...someone like Peyton or Eli. Just saying.....

Next is Michael Phelps which was totally awesome. I loved seeing him rocking out on the guitar...especially when he and A-Rod are jamming while laying on the couches.

But then came Kobe. At the risk of opening myself up for abuse...I will admit that I am kind of a Kobe fan...at least of his commercials. In this particular commercial....he is FREAKIN' AWESOME! He totally channeled his inner geek for this one and he looked amazing doing it! Seeing him own that song made me feel like I could hang with him. He sang, he danced, he hammed it up for the entire commercial. I could spend hours trying to explain how cool it is...but I won't. Watch it and see. Let's just say that the geek in me is totally crushing on Kobe in this commercial.

Which reminds me of a commercial from earlier in Kobe's career.




I have yet to find anyone who understands my feelings regarding this commercial...but hear me out. The first time I saw this commercial....I cried. Watching it now...I still get teary eyed. Perhaps it is the whole "helping out kids thing" but it chokes me up every time. I crushed on Kobe for a good year after seeing this one for the first time.

So let's hear it for Kobe...who is just behind Peyton and Derek as the greatest pro-athletes who also make commercials.

Oh...and let's hear it for the Phillies! I am happy that they won the World Series...and not just because they are not the Red Sux.

We Were So Young...All For One and One For All

Sorry for the hiatus....and thanks for the emails and calls.

So in effort to get myself back on track....here is a special Tuesday edition of iPod Shuffle.

Blood on Blood by Bon Jovi - This song really doesn't get the credit that it deserves. I think that it is because New Jersey is one of the greatest album of all time. It contains so many absolutely outstanding songs that one was bound to be overlooked. Vocally Jon rocks the hell out of this song. Dino and I were lucky enough to see this song performed live when we saw Bon Jovi in Vancouver...at least I thought we were lucky to have seen and heard it live. It remember getting a little teary-eyed because it is a rather personal song. Listening to this song there should be no doubt that Jon is one of the best singers out there. Lyrically it is pretty damn good because it is descriptive enough that you can actually imagine a young Jon running around with his young friends. But even better....the lyrics provoke reflections on your own days of youth and friends who were there. One really must consider themselves lucky if even one of those friends is still around later. I am lucky to have more than one of them still in my life. And based on the fact that both of them spend several hours on the phone with me over the past week, I would say that there is a lot of truth to this song. So I dedicate the best line of sing to those of you who sacrificed a lot of sleep for me last week.. Best Line: "Through the years and miles between us it's been a long and lonely ride but if I got a call in the dead of the night, I'd be right by your side."

Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins - Hearing this song kind of pisses me off because I am reminded of how talented the Smashing Pumpkins were and how much it sucks that they are no longer together. I almost feel cheated. Oh well. This song is bitter...but I am not exactly sure why. But it was by far one of the better self-loathing alternative rock songs that came out during the 90s. I think that I didn't appreciate it during its heyday because it was a little too dark but now I appreciate its opening line...as I have fallen for it many a time. Truth be told...it creeps me out as it seems kind Ted Bundy-ish. Still a good tune though...creepy stalkerness aside. Best Line: "Disarm you with a smile and leave you like they left me here to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone."

I Get Lonely by Janet Jackson - I think this might be the last song by Janet Jackson that I actually liked. The title is accurate as it is all about being lonely. More importantly it captures what goes into being lonely. Only someone who has ever been lonely can describe the feeling of loneliness. From the sitting by the phone waiting for the call to know that everything is okay. Only someone who is changed by meeting someone can recall the little details such the day of the week that you met that person. This song is a very sexy song about the desperate desire for that one special person. It captures how no matter how miserable the wait is...you do it anyway because you know that it will be worth the wait. Best Line: "Holdin myself close, pretendin my arms are yours...I want no one but you."

Real Love by Mary J Blige - There is only reason why this song is on my iPod....because it makes me laugh. There is only part of the song that does this and I know for a fact that there is only one other person who knows what I am talking about. Thank goodness for the "Old Skool lunch hour" and the memories that it created. All that being said...it is not a bad song...but Mary has definitely gotten better with time. I am not even sure how to write out the best line but I will do my best. Best Line: "I-----ahhh--------'m seachin' for a real love."

Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison - Tough luck Dino but this song reminds me too much of you not to share it with my readers. So one night Dino and I were driving somewhere when this song came on the iPod. I was trying to remind Dino what an awesome video this song had and mentioned that it was by George Harrison. Dino never remembered the video by said that he liked George...especially his song "Faith". So after a few minutes of laughing so hard that I was in tears and almost wrecked the car, I was able to compose myself enough in order to let him know that he had confused the former Beatle with the guy from Wham! who went on to sing "I Want Your Sex". When I hear this song now, nothing has changed. I still think that the video was damn awesome and I still laugh as I try to picture George Harrison singing "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." Best Line: "Its gonna take time....a whole lot of precious time....its going to take patience and time". Ok so maybe not the best line but there really isn't that much to work with.

Once again...for the record...I still love Joba and am still a loyal fan.