Back to our regularly scheduled random programming

Have a couple of housecleaning items that I’d like to take care of tonight from a blog perspective. It will also be a nice bit of respite from vacation stories. Writing about your vacation in your blog has to be the twenty-first century of making people sit on your couch and look at slides from your trip, which must have been an eighteenth century idea to begin with. Anyway, here we go.

First, I am a week late in giving a much deserved shout out to my friends at Cosmic American radio, who have come up with the brilliant idea of running an internet radio site dedicated to Americana. These guys have a great song selection with highlights including Son Volt, Caitlin Cary and the under appreciated Kathleen Edwards. They even have Ryan Adams “Monday Night”, a song that I thought that I had the only copy of. That’s worth props in my book. Check them out at www.cosmicamericanradio.com. (Now, if you start playing Maggie Walters songs then I’ll really be happy.)

Second, it has been brought to my attention that many of you have noticed that my grammar and spelling can be, at times, atrocious. Specifically, the odds of my correctly choosing between your and you’re and there and there is fifty-fifty at best. I do apologize for that since I’d like to think that I am slightly smarter than that. Personally, I blame Microsoft since their grammar check isn’t smart enough to tell me that my typing isn’t matching what my brain is thinking. If anyone is interested in being my editor (my last one quit due to, uh, creative differences) let me know.

Also, I know that I am often critical of the state of Kansas in my writing. Ok, lets be honest, I am always critical of the state of Kansas in my writing. But I did catch a news story when I came back from vacation that will allow me to share the joy and be critical of Missouri as well. Seems that our governor Matt Blount (who I didn’t vote for and is my age for crying out loud) authorized the flying of the confederate flag over a state park for one day over the weekend as part of a ceremony, which is wrong on so many levels. I can’t imagine how anyone would think that having that happen would be a good idea. I could really go off on it right now but it isn’t even worth my effort. Let’s just say that this does not make me proud to know that I live in this state.

Finally, a really quick music review. Just made my first listen through Coldplay’s new album. It sounds pretty good, though a little nondescript. Meaning: while there was anything that I heard on the album that made me wince I’m not sure if there is any one song that is sticking in my head right now. It might take a few listens through to get the full picture. My fear is that since Chris Martin finds himself the luckiest man on the planet it will be really tough for him to write music that relates to the everyman. Because his early songs I could identify with and I don’t know, I just can’t identify with being married to Gwenyth Paltrow at this point in my life. Maybe it is just me.