Thunderbolt

The Shot.

This violence HAS to end. There must be a place for commonsense gun control. How many more of our brothers, sisters, friends and children have to die before someone does something? Prayers to the LGBTQ community and the people of Orlando.

Hi. The Valencia Great Strides walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is 10 days away. We're inching toward our fundraising goal, but we still need help. I know what you're thinking, because heck, I've thought it myself at times. "I don't have a lot of money to give, so how can it possibly help." My friends, every bit helps. I will use Bernie Sanders as an example.  Not his politics, because this is definitely not about that, but the success of his campaign. Regardless of what you think of Mr. Sanders, he has raised A LOT of money through small donations. People with limited means believe in his cause and give what they can. THAT is what I'm talking about. Most of the money that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations takes in goes directly into research. So... every bit counts, no matter what the amount. This year, Julie's school held two bake sales, selling cookies and Rice Krispie treats. They sold for a buck each. She doesn't work at a large school an...

In one week, the family and I will be spending St. Patrick's Day with the E Street Band. The kids have listened to Springsteen their entire lives (not by choice, but they like a lot of his music) and this is a dream come true for me. Seeing the Boss and this band is a such a communal and spiritual experience and if I never see them in concert again that would be okay. Why? Because on this night I'll be standing and singing and cheering and possibly even crying next to the three people I love most in this world, listening to my favorite artist performing some of his greatest songs.

My favorite track from the entire Beatles Anthology collection is this recording of the string arrangement for "Eleanor Rigby." It was written and arranged by George Martin, the Beatles producer. Martin passed away last night at the age of 90. The song's melody is present and the strings do their job of providing accompaniment to Paul McCartney's vocals. As the are the only instruments on this essential Beatles song, they stand on their own as a haunting, melancholic composition. https://youtu.be/6W774VU8zW4

Hearing "Young Americans" in the back of the red van as my parents drove through the heartland of our country. Discovering the message of "Under Pressure" and playing the song for a 7th grade class presentation on "What is Horror?" with Matt. Watching the "Let's Dance" video in the basement of a friend's house. Listening to "China Girl" and discovering SRV. "Space Oddity" while cruising the Metroparks on Classic Rock Saturday Night (thanks MMS). Might as well include "Transformer" in this mix. Speeding down I480 screaming "wham bam thank you ma'am!" "Blue Jean" - a most underrated song. The summer paint crew at the height of the classic rock revival and hearing the best of Bowie on endless rotation (Cleveland has long ties with Bowie, you know). "The Last Temptation of Christ." "Sound and Vision." "Heroes." "Fame 90" (a killer remix, just listen ...

One of the great pleasures of living in Los Angeles is being able to attend screenings of classic films, many shown in 35mm. I haven't taken full advantage of this in recent years, but I going to make an effort to start taking in more classic (and perhaps not so classic) movies that get screened throughout the area. Last night I went to see Paths of Glory, a brilliant 1957 WWI film directed in glorious black and white by Stanley Kubrick. The motion picture stars Kirk Douglas, who is never better, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris and Richard Anderson. The plot involves a French Army division sent on a suicide mission to take a German position called "Anthill." Douglas is regiment colonel in charge of the troops. Despite his protestations, he leads his depleted ranks into a bloodbath. Embarrassed by the mission's failure, Douglas' commanding general (Menjou) decides to make an example of the troops and calls for the court martial of three...