Oh yes, it has returned. This time it’s at Popdose, and they’ve brought a few friends with them. Be very afraid. And this time, they’ve got a theme.

In other musical Advent Calendar news, the great Paul and Storm are doing a different Randy Newman theme song every day during the month of December. Remember, you got a reason to live. You my frien’.

I wanted a place online to talk about my new adventures in Chicago, but I didn’t want to turn this into a personal blog. Instead, I’ve created another blog, DC To Chicago.

For those of you who don’t know me personally (if that’s anybody anymore), I am moving to Chicago next week. This is the reason why I have barely posted since mid-August. Most of my free time over the past three months has been spent trying to find an apartment (check), a job (not yet), and dealing with some very important personal stuff (check).

Now I was all set to get the podcast started back up once I got everything set up in my new place. I even had a theme and the intro all written out. But unfortunately, things have hit a snag. Shortly after I announced that I was suspending production, my desktop computer died and I’ve been working off my laptop ever since. But last week, the sound card in my laptop, which had been on its last legs for a while (note the dropouts in Episode 47, which I recorded on it), finally gave out. Unfortunately, right now I don’t have the ability to buy a new computer with so many other expenses right now.

So right now I can’t say when the podcast will be back up and running. It will all depend on how soon I find a job in Chicago and can get everything back up to speed. Again, keep subscribed to the feeds so that you will know when everything is back to normal.

Holy shit, that feels awesome to write.

Quite simply the most emotional piece I’ve read throughout this entire election season.

I was able to do it on Friday. I went down to Judiciary Square and, even though it was 1:00 in the afternoon, there wasn’t a huge line and it only took about 25 minutes. I’ve always gotten a thrill out of voting, knowing that it’s the most important act an American can do (for similar reasons, I am also one of the few people that enjoy jury duty). And, of course, I proudly cast my vote for Barack Obama.

One of the things I haven’t seen talked about in this election cycle is the outpouring from the black community for Obama. While this shouldn’t be surprising, it has been incredible to walk around downtown, or along the U Street corridor, over the past few months and count the number of African Americans proudly wearing Obama gear.  To see a group who have, quite justifiably, had reason to feel completely alienated from our political culture for a long time all of a sudden realize their power is quite amazing. Hopefully, by tomorrow, they will not have a reason to lose their faith.

Powell endorses Obama. No matter how McCain tries to spin it, it’s a crushing blow to his campaign. True, he lost a lot of his stature when he lied to help Bush sell the war, but many swing voters, for whom partisanship is not an issue, still think of him as a true American military hero with significant foreign policy expertise. It will go a long way, and if the right-wing hacks turn it into a race issue, it will backfire even more.

And with so many swing states now leaning towards Obama, this race has entered the “dead girl or a live boy” stage.

Today’s post, in which I briefly break out of this stupor I’ve been in for the past month to inform you all that WFW faves Everybody Else have released Gold Noise, a four-song EP.  Unfortunately, I am currently out of E-music credits until Thursday, but the samples provided show off more of the power pop greatness of their debut.

Earlier today, I was thinking about when I can get the podcast started up again. That still won’t happen for a while, but it is a sign that things are getting a better with me. I’ll probably give an explanation here in the near future about what’s been going on, but for now, pick up Gold Noise, either at E-music or the iTunes Music Store.

Just wanted to check in because I haven’t posted anything in over a week. I’m currently out of town, and will be until Thursday, taking care of some personal business.  Even though I said I would still be blogging, with everything that has been going on I haven’t had much to say over the past month on my usual topics beyond a sentence or two, no less a blog post.

I did watch the debate on Friday and thought both candidates did well. Obviously I disagree with McCain on a lot, but he effectively communicated his ideas (albeit condescendingly). So I was glad to read that the independents and undecideds gave the nod to Obama, and that he’s pulled slightly ahead in the polls again. If Biden can avoid any mistakes in the debate and Palin continues to prove to be incapable of impromptu speaking this race could almost be over.

(taken on my last trip to Yankee Stadium, April 27, 2005)

I haven’t been following baseball too much this year. I didn’t expect the Yankees to do anything this year, and that’s exactly what I got from them. But the final game at the Stadium just ended and I’m getting a lump in my throat and recalling a lot of memories. Growing up, I would usually go once or twice a year, either with Dad or with a friend and his father, so I guess I’ve been to Yankee Stadium between 15 and 20 times.  It’s a cliche to describe the moment when the stadium unveils itself in front of you as you walk from the concourse to your seat, but it’s all true. There was no greater thrill to me.  My first Yankee game was in 1977, so I never got to see the old stadium in person, with the frieze around the whole stadium and the monuments in play in Death Valley.

But the final game was pulled off with total class by the organization, with Rivera pitching the ninth and Jeter being pulled with one out left. Most touching of all was this:

The ceremonies opened with the clear, concise and correct speech patterns of venerable public-address announcer Bob Sheppard, who recorded his portion of the ceremony from his home in Baldwin, N.Y., unable to attend games in the Bronx this season as he recovers from a respiratory illness.

“I’ve missed being at the Stadium this season, but I hope to see everyone next year in the new Yankee Stadium,” Sheppard said. “And now, it’s time to sit back, as the Yankees pay homage to The House that Ruth Built. So, friends, I’ll see you next season.”

Here are my five favorite moments from games I’ve been to:

5) August 4, 1985. The Yanks lose to the White Sox, 4-1, as Tom Seaver gets his 300th win in the city where he made its name as a Met. That part sucked, but the highlight of the day was before the game started, as Phil Rizzuto’s number 10 was retired by the Yankees in a pre-game ceremony. The Scooter was my father’s all-time favorite player, but I went to this game with my friend Joel Tabin and his father.

4) I don’t remember the date, but it was Old-Timer’s Day in 1979. Every young Yankee fan should experience an Old-Timer’s Day at least once (see below), watching the Yankee legends get introduced as longtime fans recall their memories of that player. I recall the Yankees losing this one, but the schedule from that year suggests that they won most home games on the weekend in June and July, so who am I to complain? But in addition to seeing DiMaggio, Ford, Yogi, Mickey, etc. in person, I remember that Thurman Munson played in that game, and he would be killed in a plane crash shortly afterwards.

3) July 6, 2002. Another Yankee loss, an 8-3 pounding by Toronto as Pettitte’s sinker stays up. But it was also an Old-Timer’s Day and I came up from DC to take my nephew Ben, then 11, to his first Yankee game, which was something I had wanted to do since the day he was born. And I got to see what I looked like 25 years ago seeing the stadium for the first time. And now, I was one of those older guys telling stories about the players I grew up watching instead of listening.

I’ve got a picture of Ben and I that day, but I don’t want to embarrass him by posting it. So instead, here’s a picture from that day of Rizzuto being introduced.

2) August 7, 2003. A 7-5 win against the Rangers. It’s just me and Ben this time (was that really five years ago?). We take the train into the Penn Station from the Island and the subway up to the Bronx. Mussina gets off to a rocky start, giving up a three-run homer to A-Rod in the first. But Enrique Wilson, of all people, hits a grand slam in the second, and the Yankees hold on for the victory, with Rivera pitching himself out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth.

I took this panorama of the stadium at the top of the first, just before A-Rod’s homer.

1) June 26, 1987. Through a client of Joel’s dad, we get front-row seats right behind the Yankees dugout for two games! The first was two weeks earlier, a win against Milwaukee. But this was against the hated Red Sox. Tommy John doesn’t have it, and he gets shelled for eight runs in 1.1 innings, including a grand slam by Jim Rice. But the Yankees fight back (against Roger Clemens, no less!) and put up 11 in the third. I seem to recall that 13 Yankees reached base consecutively in that inning. But the lead is short-lived, as the Sox tie it up in the fourth.  With the game tied at 11, the offense stalls for both teams and the Yankees win it in the tenth.

As sad as it is to say goodbye to the old ballpark, what awaits us will be nothing short of breathtaking.