I was visiting Nate in San Diego this weekend since he had a business trip and needed company from one or both parental units. We had a great time, of course, but the highlight was the baseball game. Nate is a die-hard Yankees fan so the fact that the Padres were playing the current world champions Boston Red Sox was attractive to him and intriguing to me. We scored face-value tickets to the upper deck and had great seats with an unobstructed view of the field. The game had lots to occupy the sold-out crowd. There were two reversals of umpire calls, the second of which precipitated an ejection of Boston’s manager. Speaking of ejections, a BoSox fan behind us was eventually thrown out for dropping the F-bomb too many times in the family friendly confines of Petco Park.

Much to Nate’s happiness and every Boston fan's dismay, the Padres won 6-1. Nate had fun taunting the Boston fans pretending he was a Padres fan.

While sitting at a local Starbuck’s reading Rolling Stone’s review of new media they were playing Instant Karma, The Campaign to Save Darfur. I was not making the connection that I was reading the review of Instant Karma while listening to John Lennon’s Collection CD until my eyes read the title “I’m Losing You” at exactly the same time it came on the system in the store. The review praised Corinne Bailey Rae’s lonesome-gospel fire rendition of the song and that it “…located the R& B heart in Lennon’s best writing.”

… by the way if I use the restaurant fake name of Steve, you don’t get to change it to Steven without my fake permission. This isn’t catholic school.

The overflow crowd was tense with anticipation. Excitement reverberated through the air as the sun began to set. We were enjoying a day at the races on Kentucky Derby day. But coming out of the gates were not thoroughbred horses, though some of these animals were highly trained and have winning pedigrees. This was the annual Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua races held in Chandler, AZ.



These racers weigh around six pounds and stand about 7 inches tall. Some dogs were remarkably fast while others stood at the gates in a typically confused bug-eyed shiver. Others decided to relieve themselves in the middle of the track. A chihuahua named Jewels was "crowned" the overall winner and received a trophy three times her height.



So we found a new way to celebrate Mexico's defeating the French at the Battle of Puebla. Watching 100 toy dogs battle for first place in the festive confines of the Chandler Library Plaza.

During our latest gig in the park, this precious little boy was rocking along with us for a few numbers. He was keeping a pretty good beat with the music.



We tried to get him on stage and just when his dad was about to talk him into "playing" with us, he started to cry.

(photo by valerie foster)

If you're like me you sometimes create catch phrases. My newest one has potential. Imagine you are with a co-worker discussing work and the conversations goes something like this:

Tim: FYI, that report needs to be on the Vice President's desk by 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Tom: FY-No!

If you have a catch phrase and would like to share, leave a comment.