Blogtimore, Hon

Desperate housewife

2008-05-14T05:15:34+00:00

Of a retiree!

What I imagine the sound of my heart pounding in a bed of silence looks like...

2008-05-14T05:11:56+00:00

This is about the time that my heart exploded in my chest, and then I realized that the fast breeze blowing through the strands of my hair was actually the air being broken by my airbourne vehicle:

This is probably what the police report and insurance claim reads because this was all I could manage to muster five hours after the accident:

"4:12 am. Was leaving DC and following the direction of my GPS system, took the tunnel leading towards the 295 SE/SW entrance but went into the wrong tunnel heading towards RFK lot. Entered into complete and utter darkness with no lights, no signs. Tried to adjust to the darkeness and just when I realized the pavement swurved to the left, I tried to turn left but had already hit the tree with my right side and turned upside down, did a 360 degree turn in the air befofe flipping back over and doing a 80 degree swurve to a stop."

The only reason how I know exactly what direction my car flipped, okay, there are two:

1. The fact that as my car impacted on the tree I felt my entire insides lift up from my stomach to my lungs, compressing together like a Slinky being turned upside down. What I didn't fully realize immediately? That I was upside down. And I caught a millisecond glimpse out the cracked glass of the passenger window enough to see the pavement at eye level, and the tunnel glowing through the darkness at me. That's when I closed my eyes to prepare for nothing, something and everything - all at the same time.

2. My Guardian Angel: In the form of a 6"5-6"7 thin-framed man in a red Honda hatch. An image that will stick with me for the rest of my life as a reminder that the smallest instantaneous moments can quite possibly bring you the most purest form of joy that you'll ever feel in a lifetime.

Hours before I would see the "light of life" and my car was left demolished, I had spent the entire day just trudging through work. It was just another day among the many where I kept wandering the maze of cubicles wondering why I still, without fail, park in the same spot, walk through the same building and sit in front of the same screen every single day and endure the bezerk behavior of certain people who have made it a career in having no basic social skills.

By the time 5 o'clock chimed in, I was ready to leave the smothering feel of work and escape to a place I knew I could just let go: in the presence of friends, dancing and just releasing all that anger and stress out.

Several hours later, Christauff and I were doing our regular Friday night ritual of walking each other to our cars safely. We had the miracle of parking on the same street as each other (a rarity to anyone who has ever tried to park to go to a club in DC) and I got into my car and watched as he walked across the street to his. I went to program my GPS to head home, and started to pull out of my spot.

There were a lot of little miracles that night. Little bits of instances that in retrospect, I will be grateful for, for the rest of my life. The fact that I had decided to go to Ultrabar where seven people I knew were going to be there, the fact that Christauff and I always walked to our cars together after the night was through, the fact that Christauff forgot that I had a GPS in my car and had seen me headed in a different direction than he thought would be the regular way for me to get home and just figured I was lost, the fact that he then, as a great friend with concern, decided to follow behind me to make sure I was headed in the right direction - and that he kept following me until he was 3/4 mile away in his car as he watched my car propel itself through the air.

I even feel blessed that I had had such a crummy week prior. I had pictures of my brother's bedsores running around in my head, constant thoughts of my brother's legs being amputated, depressed over my job and my inability to deal with overt micromanagement, frustrated with the outcome of my future - where was I headed with my life? how was I going to get there?, hurt from the loss of a friend and caught in a whirlwind of complete and utter confusion with life in general.

But in that millisecond glimpse of the world upside down, and in the next instant when I closed my eyes and prepared for what I feared to be the end, I found myself shaking away that fear, gripping the steering wheel with both hands tightly, keeping my eyes shut tight as my heart pounded in my throat, my ears, the pit of my stomach - I just let go of every single stress and hurt that I had been consumed with before - and relaxed my body and just breathed.

When I opened my eyes, glass was everywhere, and my hands were bleeding and so was a small patch on my chest where the airbag had hit. Smoke was all around me, and I turned my head ever so slightly to try and make sense of what my eyes were seeing through the cracked and broken glass window of my driver's door: Christauff, his red Honda hatch, and him running from his car, across the pavement, to open my car door.

I walked out of the accident truly unscathed. No broken bones, no massive amounts of blood. As I lay in the guestroom of Christauff's and his girlfriend's condo that morning, I kept counting the solid breaths of air that I sucked into my lungs.

"Someone wants you around, Em," Christauff had kept saying as we drove to his condo.

This is my second chance at life. This is my chance to keep living it without regret and to realize the true value of what I have surrounding me. I was given a second chance at this journey and I am not going to waste it worrying about things that I cannot change.

Swoosh

2008-05-14T04:54:55+00:00

Hey, did you miss me? I was serving time in prison because I was caught wearing white before Memorial Day. I originally thought I was too pretty to go to prison, but then I realized that without access to my...

Bring me my breakfast! (Or Ghosts from My Childhood)

2008-05-14T04:34:00+00:00

Rita Moreno could live to be 100. She just will never get old. (This is from The Electric Company in the early 1970's. It takes me back, old school!) Judy Graubart is Cinderella.

And of course, I show you this on the heals of this strange news. Y'all know it's going to suck. But if it still helps children to read, the suckiness will be at least tolerable. Oh, and can you believe there is a new Fraggle Rock live-action movie in the works? No, I can't either! Again, it will suck. But at least they're going to use actual muppets and not CGI or anything useless like that. I hope they stick with the puppets when they finally decide to turn Tony Award winner Avenue Q into a movie.

Pls Pray for the Family and Friends of Forest and Preston Pollack

2008-05-14T04:05:01+00:00

Todd Rhoades of Leadership Network and Monday Morning Insight posts about the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Forest Pollack and his 13 year old son Preston.

Cloud 9

2008-05-14T02:31:23+00:00

That we won.

That we beat a team that earlier in the season mercy-ruled us, 13-1.

That the fact that we were mercy-ruled in March against them and beat them in May means I've done something right as a coach.

That it was a great game.

That we've now advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

That we came all the way from the city, that we were the severe underdogs, that we were playing on a well-manicured field that obviously has a decent baseball budget, that we beat a county team, that I overheard one of their players say, "I can't believe we're losing to these guys!"

The victory turned into a crisis of conscience when it meant we have the second round of the playoffs tomorrow, when I'm scheduled to give my final presentation for graduate school. I had not expected it to interfere with playoffs, but because of the rainouts, it is. I called my professor and left here a heart-wrenching message, right from the field. She called me back, saying she could adjust, that she has another class I can present to. That's so nice.

Nearly halfway there

2008-05-14T02:25:55+00:00

We laid down a whole bunch of this click-floor stuff last week but then had to pause it for a weekend trip. We still have about six boxes’ worth left to do, but man. Once the momentum builds on this part the rest is just sledding downhill.

I’m still trying to decide on some sort of color scheme — thinking royal blue with yellow-green accents, but I’m not married to it — and figuring out what to do about curtains. As in, where to get them, where to put them, what they should look like. And what to do about those 15-light doors: Roman blinds? Some sort of panel-curtain set up? Not sure. Suggestions welcome on all fronts.

And somewhere down the line I’d like to reupholster this pair of chairs we inherited:

… but I’m not sure what fabric to use. I’m thinking some sort of floral or wallpaper print, large-scale and without an obvious repeat, because I love this so much, but the fabric is a titch too crazy. But then I think maybe I ought to stick to a solid color, something with a little more staying power. I don’t know.

Anyway. It kills me how long this project is taking. Iain knew it would but I naively thought we could knock it all out quickly, 1-2-3. It’ll be weeks yet before we can put it all together, since we have to take turns working on it on the weekends or do what we can after the kids are in bed and before we collapse, asleep, where we stand. But oh, the end will be worth it. It’s such a great room, and to fix the problems and redecorate it intelligently will make it so much more pleasant to hang out in.

Shaking Hands With George

2008-05-14T02:22:13+00:00

My post a while back about stalking Maureen Dowd was anti-climactic because I never actually met MoDo. At best I got a curious and/or nervous look from here as to why I was taking a pictures. The person I did manage to meet was George Stephanopoulos. Like any celebrity, he is smaller than he appears in television, which is mighty small indeed. Despite his bushy eyebrows, he has never lost that boyish whiz-kid look he had as one of Bill Clinton’s inner circle.

Producing his Sunday morning show requires a fair amount of physical energy. The show is recorded in the smaller of the third floor studios of the brand new Newseum right next to a large staircase the runs up and down the height of the building. Right after the Roundtable segment, while the panelists are moseying over to the green room for the web post-interview, George and an assistant race up the stairwell to get to sixth floor for the Weekly Funnies segment.

I had been standing outside watching all the guests go by when he came out for the next segment. As he went past, to break the awkwardness of me staring at him, I said, “I really love the show.” I felt like a groupie hanging around the back door of a Hannah Montana concert.

He stopped and said “thanks” and continued on up the stairs. Once he gets up to the roof terrace (and these are tall floors), he sets up overlooking the Mall of DC. From there he points out a landmark and introduces the late show comic clips. After that, he does the closing remarks and the show wraps.

But that doesn’t mean he is done. I wandered back through the museum looking at some of the exhibits and when I got back down to the third floor I noticed a group hanging outside the door to the studio. I glanced into the studio and saw George sitting at the desk talking to the camera.

I wandered over to see what the crowd was for. Before I could find out, the door opened and a guy wearing tons of badges ushered them in and I wagon-trained along. I don’t like looking like a tourist even when I am being one. Even though I had a camera case over my shoulder, I had dressed for the day in pleated khakis and a nice earth-tone button down shirt. I looked positively Al Gore-ish.

This group that was on a private tour was also dressed pretty nicely for a Sunday morning in Washington. They turned out to be a group of VIPs from a company that owned several network affiliates. Everybody tip-toed back into the electronics filled back of the studio with all the cables and cameras. In addition to Snuffleupagus (as cruel bloggers call him), there was the guest wrangler and three or four production people.

George was doing drop-in interviews with local stations. The producer was on the phone and would tell George who they were going to talk to next. George would then sit there repeating the name and city of the local anchor he was about to talk to. The camera man would count down the feed and then George would turn on the charm. He’d make news-show happy chat with the local newscaster and pimp the panelists and topic for the day’s show which obviously hadn’t aired yet in that market. While I was in there, he talked to LA, Atlanta, and Miami.

Between the drop-ins, he would walk out from behind the desk and schmooze with the big wigs. The topic of the day was (and still is) when will Hillary throw in the towel. He would just shrug and reply to the effect of “when she is good and ready.”

I tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible. As he came around shaking hands and being introduced to everyone, it became inevitable that he would reach me. I just stuck out my hand and introduced myself. He said, “That’s right, we met outside.” He had remembered me from the hallway.

Once all the on-air promotions were done, the tour continued on over to the master control room, but I ducked out the other direction before anyone could notice me and call security.

The whole time I was there, George was nothing but polite and professional to everyone. That included senators, news columnists, corporate guests, and me, a nosey blogger that had wandered in off the street. Say what you want, but I say George Stephanopolous is a class act.

BlatantCommentWhoring™: When have you wandered into someplace you didn’t belong and were you caught?

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

2008-05-14T02:13:13+00:00

the day started out wonderfully!!! I went to curves before 9 a.m. then my friend took Bo w/ her to the park so it was just Zeke and I hanging out and doing some chores and we went for a walk after lunch. I had time before Bo got home to shower and do my hair then we had time to play outside w/ friends before heading off to a crazy busy night. we went to pick up Caleb from school early, Dean from work early , so we could go volunteer at a conference at church. I had taken dinner ( a crockpot of chili, cornbread muffins and brownies) for our tech crew so after a rough first session technically (our A server was down at the start and a fire alarm evacuated the building) we went to get our kids so we could feed them dinner before the next session. We couldnt find our keys and when we did we found our van wouldnt start. we couldnt go get our kids food!! not to mention or van wouldnt start, not even after being jumped a few times!!

A friend drove Dean to get the kids food while I stressed out and called my friend to insure a ride home for us all at the end of the night. Sometime in there Caleb dropped all of the brownies I had made on the ground in the parking lot, so only one person other than our family go to enjoy them. We had little time to finally feed the kids before being back in our serving roles for the meeting. Things were going much better technically, aside from the time freeze ( u had to be there), and sometime during the service our friend Sara, who turns the BIG 30 today, showed up. She was meeting her hubby and they had a spare vehicle so it was decided we could drive their van home. Things continued to improve and now if we can just find the money and time to fix our van we’ll be good to go….tomorrow’s going to be crazy but we’ll figure it out.

Praise God for having friends around willing and able to help us, we are truly blessed, even amidst the difficult times. it’s been a whirlwind day emotionally and I am just floored at how things can take such a drastic turn. not sure what tomorrow holds for me, but I am determined that someone doesnt want me to attend the session I really want to tomorrow, which makes me more motivated to go so ha ha on you devil I am going!! :-) I’ve got a paid sitter lined up, free childcare at church available if that doesnt work out…so I’m excited that no matter what I’ll be where I am supposed to be tomorrow. Now off to rest so I am physically and mentally up for it!

World Wide Cobweb

2008-05-14T02:08:24+00:00

Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko: I see. You and your wife, you work in the theater. And you live here...in Siberia.
Raymond Greenwood: It's just temporary.
Rodchenko: [dryly] Of course. Nobody is here permanently.

—White Nights (1985)

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I mentioned awhile back that the Morrell Park Community Association had decided that they didn't want me to do their newsletter anymore. I wasn't getting any feedback with relation to their website, so I put up a "Goodbye" page letting people know that the site was going to go dark sometime shortly after Christmas.

Well, that's when heads started to explode. The phone calls and emails started, people asking me what was going on, please don't do this, and so on and so forth. The VP of the Association came up with the hosting fee and the renewal and told me that they wanted the website to go on. So I put up a new home page with a new design, and solicited updated information. And I waited for the information.

And waited.

And waited. I got information from one person and I put that up, but otherwise nothing came to me.

And the stuff that was on the homepage started to age out, so I took it down, piece by piece. At this point, all that's left is the meeting dates, some recycling information and some contact information for the Association. I'm not going to make stuff up for them, right?

A few weeks ago (April 7) an email came to me from the Association's VP. It read, in part:

Good things are happening back here in Morrell Park. Next Pancake Breakfast, 8th year for Mayors Clean Up, Big CERT expansion Meeting, Next GED Sessions both day and evening , Little League 28th Parade, updates/plans on MP New Rec Center, Dunkin Donut expansion, and new homes being built to name a few. Also, many Business and Builders want to advertise and our web site update is desperately needed. Good people have offered to help make this happen
XX and XY son B offered to place MP updates on the web. <snipped> [B] would like to become more involved offering his experience with computers to update MPCA web site. However, he needs www.morrellpark.net user ID and password. Could you please forward that information forward so this process and progress can begin ?

I guess that's their way of saying they don't want me to do this anymore either. So I sent a reply telling them it wasn't quite as simple as handing over an ID and a password, and I'd get in touch with B directly.

A few days later, on the following Sunday, I sent B a detailed email telling him how to FTP information to the website: where the hosting is located, etc. He didn't reply, nor has the website been updated since then.

So let me be the first to congratulate the officers of the Morrell Park Community Association on their fine selection of a new webmaster. You've done a fantastic job, so far. And the best part is that I'll be billing the MPCA for hosting a webpage that hasn't been updated in a couple of months.

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Confidential to SH: I admit it in this space; you were right. 'nuff said.

My Email to Live Nation Regarding The Radiohead Debacle

2008-05-14T01:59:38+00:00

My email to Live Nation. I suggest others left in the rain follow suit.

Tags: Live Nation, Nissan Pavilion, radiohead

Little Web Gem

2008-05-14T01:50:59+00:00

I don’t really get off by bragging on my kids much regardless of how smart or beautiful they are — and they are, but my kid made the sweetest unassisted triple play in little league tonight that I just need to, uh, document it in, uh, perpetuity on my blog.

The situation: bases loaded, no out. The boy was playing 3rd base. The batter hit a pop-up right to him about 5 feet off the bag toward the pitcher’s mound. He caught it and noticed the kid on third took off for home, so he stepped on 3rd base to double him off. The runner on 2nd took off for third and didn’t have the presence of mind to get back to 2nd after the ball was caught so the boy tagged him at 3rd base for the unassisted triple play.

Honestly, the boy didn’t really even realize what he was doing; it all just kind of fell into his lap. But it was a stunning play that killed a rally. The crowd went wild (all 15 of us parents) and his teammates mobbed him by the bench when they came off the field.

After the game, the coaches award a game ball to the player who had the greatest impact on the game. It was no contest who deserved this one, and to make it better one of his coaches pulled the actual ball he made the play with out of the game for the game ball award and wrote the date, the team name, the boy’s name, and “unassisted triple play” on it. That was really cool. I have to admit the boy’s coaches might not be the greatest team of little league baseball minds ever assembled but they’re all really nice guys. And none of them play up their own kids over all others, which is something you don’t see much in youth sports.

I didn’t think my kid would even like baseball let alone be good at it, but he’s shown an ability to play that I never expected. He likes football more, but he’s better at baseball and you can’t tell he’s only in his first year compared with some of the other kids on the team who’ve been playing for 2 or 3 years.

Some kids bloom late, I guess.

Idol Recap 5/13

2008-05-14T01:47:00+00:00

So the night of the "semifinals." Three left. I'm guessing just about everyone (myself included) predicted the results of tonight before the singers even set foot on stage. Syesha bowing out leaving the two Davids for the finals. I'm not so sure that anything that happened tonight will change that result although, if the results are as close as Seacrest tells us they are (and who really trusts Fox, forefathers of the "fair and balanced Fox News" to give us the truth), there could be a shocker tomorrow.

"Celebrity" spottings tonight - Justin Guarini and Lloyd from Entourage. Also, nice job by Ryan by picking on Syesha's dad forgetting that it was her father and (a) suggesting that he may be gay, and; (b) reminding him about the finals next week. You know Ryan's fucked up when Paula is shooting him reminders to jar him back into reality.

Best way for me to recap is to give an overall review of each performer:

David Archuleta:
And So It Goes is one of my all-time favorite Billy Joel songs and Billy Joel is one of my all-time favorite artists. I thought David hit this one out of the park. Unfortunately if David was in danger of having trouble getting votes, this performance was his first. David's take on Chris Brown in his second performance was about as believable as if I got up and started rapping Fitty Cent. Really it was just pitiful. And painful. The producers did him no favors with the final song, a drippingly sacharine number that I recognize from the late-night dedication shows on the soft rock radio stations. Look, it's no surprise by now that he's got a great voice. He's just not a terrific performer. By the way... this kid is going to be a lot of fun on the Idol tour. He's dumb as a fucking brick. Have you ever seen a performer have so much trouble understanding the concept of a vamp? The hardest working person in show business - Archuleta's tutor.

Syesha Mercado:
Unlike the judges, I thought Syesha shined on Fever tonight. However, that's because I too see her true talent as a Broadway/cabaret-type singer. She's got stage presence that makes up for sometimes lagging vocals. And by lagging, I mean she suffers from the fact that as a black woman, she just can't quite measure up to Alicia Keyes and Whitney and Mariah when she covers them. She still has a great voice. As for her final song, I'd never heard of it and am not quite sure why the producers picked it. All I remember is that Syesha's wardrobe looked like something out of Flashdance. Also, am I the only one noticing that Syesha is looking more and more like Vanessa Williams every night? Nice job Idol stylists.

David Cook:
Look, it's no secret that I have a total man crush on David Cook. I think he's an incredible performer, has an incredible voice, and he's the first Idol contestant ever (and by ever I mean in the two seasons I've followed the show) that I could see myself buying a CD from. I was not familiar with the Roberta Flack song that Simon had him take on, but judging by the reaction, I'm guessing it was on par with his Mariah remake of Always Be My Baby. The second song was totally rushed. As for his final song, even though I'm not such a huge fan of Don't Want to Miss a Thing, or as most people know it, "That Armageddon Song," I understand why the producers picked it and I thought David did a great job with it. That said, I really, really, really hope now that he doesn't win because I fear what Clive Davis will force him to do on a CD.

Continued Prediction:
The two David's in the finals.

Canton Crossing Appears to be Moving Forward

2008-05-14T01:30:22+00:00

Canton Crossing developer and First Mariner Bank CEO Ed Hale announced today further plans for the project in Southeast Baltimore. The progress of the project had been in doubt recently with rumors about cash flow problems surrounding the recently completed first phase of the project (The First Mariner Bank Building). But the fact that Ed [...]

New Sports Drinks and Chocolate Candy

2008-05-14T00:57:01+00:00

I don’t usually spend money on new products when I see them on the shelves. But when I get the chance to try them for free that’s a different matter.

“Sickeningly sweet Gatorade” is how I’d describe G2 from Gatorade. If you mixed a regular grape-flavored Gatorade with one of those plastic barrel-shaped jugs of slightly fruit-like sugar water from your childhood (you know, the types with the foil lid that you peeled off), you’d get G2. That slightly sweat-like salty taste you get from regular Gatorade to let you know that you aren’t just drinking sugar water is notably absent.

I saw Mint Crisp M&M’s and thought “ooh, chocolate M&M’s infused with mint” despite seeing “crisp.” Chocolate lovers beware, there isn’t a lot chocolate in these things. There is a lot of mint flavor; if you like Andes mints, you’ll probably like the taste. They’re also bigger than regular M&M’s so you get less of them in a bag.

In both cases I’ll stick with the original.

A Modern Day Fairytale

2008-05-14T00:37:01+00:00

Once upon a time there were two ponies who were friends. These two ponies liked the same pastures and the same kind of hay, and they generally got along. They were happy ponies.

There were also some crabby ponies that were bored by their pastures, and because they were jealous that the happy ponies were chipper and contented, they were generally negative and critical of the happy ponies. One day those crabby ponies developed a horrible case of navicular disease - which is of course characterized by severe lameness - and they died.

The End.

Good story. :)

2008-05-13T23:43:41+00:00

PMOG

2008-05-13T23:28:22+00:00

The Passively Multiplayer Online Game

It’s a social network/link sharing site with a sort of Steampunk feel. You take “missions” which are basically tours of websites that someone’s linked together. You can create your own missions, leave “mines” behind that “detonate” when another PMOG person comes across them (no damage is done to your computer or your browser - just to the PMOG stats). You can leave teleports to other sites (often with little notes that indicate if you like the site you’re on, you’ll love the teleport destination, too).

“Badges” are awarded based on your surfing behaviours. Like for going so many hours without hitting Google, or having so many return visits to a particular website over a span of time.

More detailed information is here.

Yeah, it’s kind of like advertising disguised as a game. Yeah, you can do a lot of the same thing just by trolling through Digg or del.icio.us. But this is cute dammit.

This is the part where you say things like “OMG THEY’RE TRACKING YOU ON THE WEB AND MIGHT BE STEALING YOUR INFORMATION”. Me, I’mma go make me some rivals.

State of Mind: The Nature of Music in Pop Culture

2008-05-13T21:35:44+00:00

Everyone give a warm welcome to James Rodd, our newest contributor. This is his first piece, on what he believes drives pop music and culture. It is also our first staff op-ed article, falling under the series State of Mind. Enjoy, and feel free to comment in agreement or disagreement.

All my life I have heard people, whether it be the media or someone else, say that popular culture is cyclic and repetitive. Basically this means, things that were once “in” and fashionable will come back full circle at some point and be “in” and fashionable once again.

I don’t agree with this at all. In fact, I sincerely hope it is a fallacy because I am not looking forward to seeing my pre-middle aged ass in spandex or leather pants again, reliving my metal head days ca. 1987 – 1995.

Here’s how I see it: pop-culture is an amorphous shape.

It is constantly changing to fit the inclinations of the present. So instead of bell bottoms being “in” in their exact form from the 70’s, they will be changed to fit the times, if they do in fact come back to the forefront of pop culture again.

That’s why it’s called pop-culture.

I personally feel this is most evident in today’s music. The most popular successful acts today do not necessarily correlate to any one genre. Presently, according to Billboard Magazine, Madonna has the number 1 selling album overall. Is this a surprise to anyone? It shouldn’t be. She has always been a consistent seller.

But the big question is: why is she such a success? I attribute it to her ability to reinvent herself.

In her career she has produced a number of stalwart hits; she has fused genres such as Latino and Contemporary, Rock and Rap, Pop and Swing. Not to mention her flair for reinventing the Madonna persona in general. We have seen S&M, virginal newbie, religious connotations, etc.

I argue that her success is in her innate ability to mix genres that will guarantee her a broader appeal. I commend her on that and I’m not even a fan of hers. In fact, without thinking I can probably name three songs from her catalog and maybe even sing along or at least hum them.

That’s a powerful effect.

The reality is she is not the only artist to do this and not the most prevalent example of it. Let’s take bands like Gnarls Barkley and Linkin Park. Gnarls Barkley fuses a little bit of everything. You can hear Motown, R&B, some rock n’ roll, even a little hip hop in their more popular songs. Then you have Linkin Park, a young band who has boldly combined straight up Rap/Hip Hop with Rock or Metal.

How do you define these bands?

Do they fit any one genre?

Personally, I have always hated our constant need to label anyone and anything. But I guess it does make it easier to buy CD’s, clothes and accouterments if you know what section you need to go to. Nowadays classifying these bands into genres is becoming harder and harder…and I think we are the better for it.

The reality is that, by definition Madonna, Def Leppard, Portishead, and Tim McGraw are all pop artists.

Why? Because all four of them currently have an album in the Billboard top 10. They are what is popular and current. Aurally, they may seem distinct, but the reality is each of them is as successful as they are because they have caught the attention of the masses. This is pop culture. That’s pop music, contemporary music, Top 40, whatever you want to call it. All four of these artists, who would probably never even consider the similarities between each other, are similar because they are mixing genres, resulting in the popular success they are each currently experiencing.

As further evidence of the success of this amalgamation, you have established bands that enjoyed significant success after breaking genre lines. Let’s take Aerosmith, arguably one of the best Rock bands of the 70’s.

Can you listen to Toys in the Attic and Permanent Vacation and say that they are the same band?

Not in my opinion. They grew as all bands should and some do better than others. I think the cathartic point for Aerosmith was the crossover success of the “Walk this Way” remake with Run DMC.

For another example, look no farther than Anthrax and Public Enemy. Public Enemy, without a doubt one of the founding fathers of Hip Hop, enjoyed first cult success and then mainstream success as one of the best Rap groups ever. Anthrax was of the harder edged metal or thrash genre, and were successful within their niche but not in the mainstream. The two get together and redo “Bring the Noise,” fusing metal and hip hop on a grand scale. The new version becomes a mainstream hit enjoying copious radio play and MTV video rotation.

What do you call this bastard child of Rap and Metal? I have no idea…but it works. Ed: My immediate response was rap-metal, but then that brings too many other, less-than-favorable connotations.

I think the success of these bands, especially in collaboration, has directly influenced current successful bands and acts such as Linkin Park, Jay Z, Gnarls Barkley, U2, and Tim McGraw. These bands have learned that catering to a niche can bring you some success, but breaking out of the genre and giving more people what they want to hear is way more profitable.

Die hard fans may think the pairing of certain music like Rock and Country may be a sign of the impending Apocalypse. To them I say, “Don’t over think it, just listen to it.” That’s why you have Sammy Hagar touring with the likes of Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban and getting good reviews and selling out stadiums.

I will always love music in all its forms, and I deeply respect the bands that evolve and continue to experiment and test themselves. Its time to do away with the genres of yore and either update or trash them entirely. In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “Things, they are a changing…”

Matthew wants to connect with you!

2008-05-13T20:47:00+00:00

Hi,

I looked for you on Reunion.com, but you weren't there. I use Reunion.com to search for lost friends and contacts, and to stay connected with people I know, so please connect with me.

—Matthew

RESPOND TO MATTHEW:
Connect with Matthew Now! - You'll also find out if anyone else is searching for you.

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Aaargh

2008-05-13T20:36:57+00:00

Just heard from my mother--my dad's back in the hospital with what they think might be bronchitis. Though they did an echocardiogram so my mom thinks they might be worried about his valve replacement. I spoke to him after I got off the phone with ...

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Sunday in Hampden HON!

2008-05-13T20:26:00+00:00

We spend Sunday in Hampden (HON). We got some great things from Mud and Metal!

Our HON lady has green hair

I got a Baltimore Map

Pink Invasion Open Thread/Radio Alert

2008-05-13T20:08:15+00:00

The O’s are back home — finally — for a two-game series against the hated Pinque Sox. And we all know what that means. The good news, though, is that I think a handful of Sox fans actually work for a living, so these weeknight games might be relatively tame. We shall see.

We’ve got Jeremy Guthrie on the hill tonight against Josh Beckett, which should be fun. Surprisingly enough, too, Orioles hitters are batting a collective .291 against Beckett. Something tells me we won’t touch him up quite that badly tonight, but one never knows.

Also, don’t forget that tonight I’ll be a guest on the Fighting Ungers radio show on 1570 WNST from 6:30-8.

Starting tonight, this is a regular gig every other Tuesday. So, tune the hell in! And why not call while you’re at it?

Wow, what a Charley Foxtrot that was…..

2008-05-13T19:58:54+00:00

Did I ever mention that I heart Radiohead sooooo much that I even went as far to tattoo their logo on my back? Well, I do. When they play a live show, it’ freaking amazing, I try never to miss it. Except when acts of God seem to figure in. For any Radiohead fan in the [...]

X-Files Trailer now Online

2008-05-13T19:44:33+00:00

Heads up, folks! The trailer for X-Files: I Want to Believe is now up:

The Red Sox Come to Baltimore For A Brief Two Game Set…

2008-05-13T19:15:32+00:00

The Baltimore Orioles tango with the Boston Red Sox, or as I dub them, the Evil Empire 1A tonight and tomorrow at the Yard.

The Red Sox always play us tough; however, this weekend, the Twins took 3 out of 4 from them and they’ll be looking maintain their slim division lead (Tampa is 1/2 game back from first in the AL East right now).

The Orioles took three out of four in Kansas City, and despite the excellent pitching from both the starting and relief corps — they are still struggling woefully on the offensive front.

Matchups:

Tonight: Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 4.32) vs. Josh Beckett (4-2, 3.70)
Tomorrow: Daniel Cabrera (3-1, 3.54) vs. Jon Lester (2-2, 4.06)

I’d be happy with a split, and even more elated with a sweep in this short two-game series. Game one will be difficult as Beckett seems to back on his game and Guthrie will need a solid effort to win; however, I’m looking eagerly to see game two as it will be a test to see if Cabrera can stifle the Sox potent offense.

The Boston offense is always brutal, and you’ve got a determined and focused Manny Ramirez looking forward to reaching a milestone, so he’s the one in that lineup I am assuredly most afraid of.

For Baltimore, Huff has been leading the way and Bynum has busted open since his return. It looks like Markakis has ended his slump, but Roberts, Jones and several others have been struggling at the plate.

Perhaps home is where the heart is for the Orioles, and they can pick up from their road trip in Kansas City.

Rain from pearls, hey little girl.

2008-05-13T19:08:40+00:00

I have these days when I feel very sensitive around class issues. I mean, there are really NO days when I’m not sensitive around class issues, but every so often I hit a patch where, for whatever reason, I have a hair trigger.

This is one of those patches. I’m behind on every single one of my bills, I’ve taken an extra job, my checking account is overdrawn, I had to skip lunch today due to that last item, and I’m wrestling with all the fears and anxiety and anger and sadness that this stuff would bring up for anyone, plus the visceral, raw, disproportionate terror and guilt I’m still carrying around from the years I spent absorbing my dad’s visceral, raw, disproportionate terror and guilt about raising kids with not enough money or resources.

Cognitively, I understand that I’m one half of a kickass parenting duo, raising one very kickass kid. And cognitively, I understand that what she needs is to be loved and believed in, and that as long as we don’t transfer our panic on to her the way it was transferred on to me, she’s going to be just fine. Cognitively, I understand that millions of kids all over the world grow up with a hell of a lot less money, resources, and opportunities than my kid has or I had. Cognitively, I understand that come what may, we’re going to be fine, because we always have been. My mom raised me to believe that I could figure shit out as it came, and I do.

But I wake up in the middle of the night trying to find air sometimes, and I look around our house and see the clutter of a family that works a lot more hours than we’d like to and the wear and tear on a house we can’t afford to repair right now - technically speaking we can’t actually afford to live in it. I wake up some mornings and literally cannot see out of my left eye, the pain in my head is so intense from having ground my teeth all night. And sometimes I feel my cheeks burning with completely misplaced shame about having had the audacity to bring another person into all of this, even though I KNOW that the people who want mamas like me to feel bad about ourselves are the ones who are fucked up, and that I can be a good mom even during the weeks when we know a check is definitely going to bounce before payday.

There are days and weeks and months when the panic overrides the cognition entirely.

And I’m ready to unload it all on the next person who says something fucked up, I really am.

It’s YouTube, but way, WAY better!

2008-05-13T19:07:26+00:00

Seth Godin recently pointed his blog readers to TimeTube, a YouTube/Dipity mashup:

This is brilliant! Perhaps not helpful for every video search you’d ever run, but many searches would be aided by this sort of results display. Google’s already testing a timeline-based search results system; they need to get on the ball and add this functionality to YouTube (and/or Google Video).

Speaking of scrota

2008-05-13T18:28:00+00:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Poppy bud, originally uploaded by your neighborhood librarian. New fancy expensive camera and what do I do? Take dirty pictures.

When Life Hands You Rotting Strawberries...

2008-05-13T18:22:49+00:00

...make strawberry jam!

I don't know what it is about me and strawberries, but I can't keep the dang things fresh for more than a day. I knew this, yet I bought a huge two pound package the other day, knowing we wouldn't be around for most of the weekend, because it was cheap.

So now I have at least half of them left and they are on the verge of going bad. And we don't waste food if we can help it. So today's cooking project was to hull and slice them as fast as possible, then dump them into my bread machine to make jam.

Homemade jam is so much better than storebought that I'm considering buying a couple of flats of strawberries sometime this summer and making enough jam to freeze to last through the winter. Because after you've had homemade, Smuckers tastes terrible.

Here is my recipe:

Bread Machine Strawberry Jam
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp powdered low-sugar fruit pectin
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients into bread pan. Select Basic setting and press Start/Stop. Allow to mix 5-6 minutes, scraping sides of pan with a spatula. Press Start/Stop to cancel when ingredients are well mixed.

Select Bake setting and press Start/Stop. When cycle is finished, use hot pads to remove bread pan. Pour jam into containers and cover. Refrigerate to set. Makes about three cups.

In the meantime, does anyone have any tips for storing strawberries so they last more than a day?

The Red Sox Are Coming To Town; Adam Jones; The Rundown...

2008-05-13T17:50:44+00:00

The Baltimore Orioles tango with the Boston Red Sox, or as I dub them, the Evil Empire 1A tonight and tomorrow at the Yard.

The Red Sox always play us tough; however, this weekend, the Twins took 3 out of 4 from them and they'll be looking maintain their slim division lead (Tampa is 1/2 game back from first in the AL East right now).

The Orioles took three out of four in Kansas City, and despite the excellent pitching from both the starting and relief corps -- they are still struggling woefully on the offensive front.

Matchups:

Tonight: Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 4.32) vs. Josh Beckett (4-2, 3.70)
Tommorrow: Daniel Cabrera (3-1, 3.54) vs. Jon Lester (2-2, 4.06)

I'd be happy with a split, and even more elated with a sweep in this short two-game series. Game one will be difficult as Beckett seems to back on his game and Guthrie will need a solid effort to win; however, I'm looking eagerly to see game two as it will be a test to see if Cabrera can stifle the Sox potent offense.

The Boston offense is always brutal, and you've got a determined and focused Manny Ramirez looking forward to reaching a milestone, so he's the one in that lineup I am assuredly most afraid of.

For Baltimore, Huff has been leading the way and Bynum has busted open since his return. It looks like Markakis has ended his slump, but Roberts, Jones and several others have been struggling at the plate.

Perhaps home is where the heart is for the Orioles, and they can pick up from their road trip in Kansas City.

***

James Baker of Oriole Magic looks at the struggles that Adam Jones has been facing at the majoe leagie level with the Orioles. He points out that many Baltimore fans are a little upset at the lack of success the youngster has shown, and also there was piece by Jeff Zrebiec in the Sun this weekend on that topic.

Whoever is complaining about Jones isn’t seeing the forest from the trees. He’s young and ready tore it up in the minors, so let him get through his lumps at this level.

I think it takes at least 2 years, or maybe roughly 1000 at bats to truly evaluate a player. We have plenty of time on our hands and are not looking to compete for a pennant in 2008, Jones is the future, not so much the present.

People need to relax.

***

Kevin Millar has a entry up on the Orioles MLB site about the current slump he's going through. Considering he's a vital part of the offense, as is, he knows all too well that his act needs to get together. He goes on an on about life in 2008, and the struggles the Baltimore team will go through, thus it is a piece worth reading.

***

Pete Sabatini laments on the lack of Oriole offense; former Oriole pitching coach Leo Mazzone is bored and restless, so he wants back into MLB in his former position; Nowick Gray of the Orioles Hangout thinks that the loss of Bedard and Tejada have made the Orioles a more cohesive unit; Jon Wilt looks at the pitching stats in the minors; Rick Kranitz is the focus of the PressBox Online cover piece; Aubrey Huff is kicking ass at the plate in the cleanup spot, meanwhile, Garrett Olson is more focused than ever according to the Washington Post.

Finally, I am a little late on this, but Yahoo Sports has a wonderful on Melvin's Mora family honoring Mother's Day...

MLB Betting at BetUS.com - America's favorite sports betting destination for all sports fans; adding more excitement and bonuses than any other sportsbook; on the web.

Finally, feet feeling fantastic-ish

2008-05-13T17:40:07+00:00

For the first time in nearly a week I am not leaning on ibuprofen or a prescription anti-inflammatory to get me through the day or night. I've made it 24 hours without them and I feel 95% great. I still don't know what's wrong with my foot, but maybe it was just a strain or something relatively minor.

So today I'm going to run my prescribed 5 miles and see how it goes. This is supposed to be an "easy" run, which I usually run at about a 8:15-8:30 minutes per mile pace, but I might take it a little easier than that depending on how my foot feels. And if there's no further problems I'll do my speed work tomorrow, which is never all that much fun even if it's necessary.

I'm hopeful this injury "crisis" is over. So my next post will probably be about how much worse my foot feels. Ha.

12 days to my next half marathon, and counting.

Mother's Day; The O's Lose to K.C., Some Minor Notes...

2008-05-13T17:26:37+00:00

As many of us know, yesterday was Mother's Day throughout Major League Baseball, and select players on all teams celebrated the day and helped promote the cause against breast cancer via the Susan G. Komen Foundation by either adorning pink arms bands, necklaces and some actually used pink bats at the plate.

After starting off their road trip on a disastrous note with two bad series in the Golden State, the Orioles won the first three games in Kansas City before being shut out by the Royals, 4-0.

I didn’t see much of the Orioles this weekend, but I just got watch a little of the game online via MLB.tv this morning and they seemed to have certainly no chance against Brian Bannister. Sunday was just one of those games where you just had to tip your hat to the opponent because they deserved the win.

Bannister went eight strong innings, as he allowed two hits along with two walks and struck out five. Jose Guillen & Billy Butler had two hits and an RBI, while Alex Gordon and Mark Teahan also drove in runs for Kansas City.

Brian Burres was serviceable and would have to had to pitch the perfect game yesterday; however, he allowed four runs in the contest for his fourth loss of the year.

Overall, we should be quite glad with the way our Baltimore Orioles turned their road trip around as our division rivals, the Evil Empire 1A (the Boston Red Sox) stroll into town for a brief two-game set this week. With it being May, the economy and gas prices, the Red Sox fan turnout we should assume may not be as strong this time at the Yard.

However, this upcoming series is important for us. Although the Red Sox lost two out of three in Minnesota, they still boast one of the best pitching corps and starting lineups in all of baseball; thus, a sweep of Boston, or even a split would benefit Baltimore greatly.

Oh yes, if you have not seen, Alex Cintron has been called up from Norfolk to bolster our bench or start in the infield, while Bob McCrory’s brief tour in the majors comes to an end — for now.

Despite the Orioles being at .500 right now, you’ve got give them credit for staying in pretty much every game and for the pitching effort.

Like I said, due to Mother’s Day Stuff and other obligations, I didn’t see much Oriole baseball aside from TV clips and MLB.com.

Ramon Hernandez sat out the game yesterday due to a sore wrist, and I'm hoping that's not a sign of trouble -- as you never know with that type of injury what can happen. The Sun's Bill Free has a minor league report and a few prospects are mentioned of note in the piece...

Grad Student Robbed of Soda

2008-05-13T16:57:10+00:00

JHU Homewood Campus ARMED ROBBERY Unit Block East 29th Street MAY 13, 2008 - 1:05 AMA graduate student had parked his vehicle and was walking east in the unit block of E. 29th Street when a black SUV drove slowly by him and stopped. Two unknown males wearing black bandanas over their faces got out of the SUV. One suspect pointed, what appeared to be, a long-barreled gun at the student while the

2008-05-13T16:16:30+00:00

UPDATE: shot baby wasn't shot after all, but had his head scraped as grandma dove for cover.

i got your stimulus package right here

2008-05-13T15:40:03+00:00

anyone got your pound of flesh yet? i haz not.
what ya gonna do with it?

i think maybe i'll splurge on being LESS in hock to the credit card companies.

whee! i'm stimulated!

Did you know that slugs like beer?

2008-05-13T15:34:22+00:00

I can’t believe it’s May already. I am so behind…with gardening that is. I don’t know how I had time last year to start seeds inside and grow so much stuff – copious amounts of lettuce and basil, tomatoes (they didn’t last when I got lazy with the watering), eggplant, peppers, flowers…I feel really behind this year. Yesterday was the first day I got outside to do any serious work. I thoroughly weeded; dug up and replanted three dianthus plants; dug up 13 orange daylilies (apparently, they are the invasive type, as I only had 3 last year!); moved one hosta; planted two autumn sedum plants; and planted one zucchini seedling that my neighbor gave me. I am frustrated because my next door neighbor has this HUGE ugly evergreen tree. It’s two stories high and puts my yard in shade for nearly all of the afternoon. This limits my gardening options immensely. Did I mention that the tree is also ugly? I think this is why the chrysanthemums in the backyard are so runty while the two in the front yard keep doubling in size.

Given the lack of time I’ve had to spend outside digging and watering and weeding, I’ve been feeling like I needed a gardening fix. Tonight there was just the thing – a free Organic Gardening Workshop presented in Wyman Park by two master gardeners / volunteers with the Maryland Cooperative Extension. There was a lot of good information. I also felt pretty good that I’m not completely clueless. Now I may not go so far as to install a composting toilet, but I have vermicomposted. I am now inspired to go to the farmers market on Sunday and buy some strawberry seedlings. Strawberries are perennials! I also want to set up a new composting bin. I’ve wanted to do that for awhile. It pains me to throw away compostable materials. I also now have a bunch of shady mixture wildflower seeds to plant. They gave away a bunch of donated seed packets at the workshop. Free seed packets in a wheelbarrow are like candy in an Easter basket to me. I also got marigolds, summer squash, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, carrots, and broccoli. I won’t be able to use all of these right now if anyone would like some. So, yeah, I’m dorking out even more than usual over soil testing and compost and native plants and stuff at the moment.

More Garden Stuff...Cylburn Arboretum Market Day

2008-05-13T15:33:43+00:00

The Cylburn Market Day is this Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 8 am - 2 pm. Admission is free, but there is a $5 parking fee. The event is sponsored by the Cylburn Arboretum Association and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks - Horticultural Division.

I went last year and definitely found it worth the trip (of course, it is really close to my house) and the $5 fee. There was a good selection and good prices, especially from the City Horticultural Division's greenhouses. I bought at least a dozen tulip bulbs for $12 (and of course, forgot to plant them in the fall. oops.) There were people there with radio flyers and other sorts of wagons that they were loading up with plants. It was definitely well attended.

I plan to stop by on Saturday. Anyone else planning to go? I'd like to buy a few flowers to adorn the front porch and maybe some herbs if available.

Last year, I bought some a petunia, impatiens, and a geranium:

Had a Fun Shoot Last Thursday

2008-05-13T15:22:19+00:00

Two guys out in an apartment in Timonium had me jump around in front a green screen last Thursday. It was a good time! They had a $5,000 Panasonic digital video camera and an idea for an entry into some contest the FX channel is having. They’re shooting a 3 minute demo/pilot for some comedy [...]

Meemy-meme

2008-05-13T15:10:00+00:00

That picture yesterday looks like the fruits of a weekend spent castrating clowns. Don't you think? Really they're juggling balls I made for the elementary school's juggling club. Balloons filled with millet. Anyway. Here's a meme that MotherReader tagged me with. I would do it on Pink Me, but then I couldn't talk about drugs and multicolored scrotums. Scrota? What were you doing five years ago?

Snowden in DC, no Catch-22

2008-05-13T14:59:18+00:00

So there’s this band called Snowden that made quite a good impression on me at the Talking Head a few years ago. They already get massive bonus points for naming themselves after a character in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.

Snowden - Anti-Anti

Snowden - Innocent Heaven

All I Got For Mother’s Day Was…

2008-05-13T14:41:23+00:00

1. The biggest balloon ever.

I think every Mother counts on, or at least hopes for sleeping in until her body can sleep no more at least once a year on Mother’s Day. I am included in that group, especially having gone out to celebrate Sweetney’s birthday along with some other locals the night before and having stayed out way past my bedtime. The good news, no hangover was involved, on my end at least. But before my eyes were ready to open I heard the clopping of little feet running toward the bedroom. But something was different about his gait, this wasn’t the normal weekend sprint toward the bedroom to wake me, this was slow and clumsy. I heard the door creeeeeek open and a bunch of noise coming through the door along with him. He slowly climbed on the bed and yelled Mommy I got you a balloon! I used every facial muscle I have to open one eyelid just a sliver to see nothing but helium filled Mylar. He was so excited he had to show me RIGHT THEN. Sloth said he saw spied from all the way across the store and in his deep “beeeeg” voice said “I see a balloon! A beeeeeeeg one!” And ran off to get it and therefore had everyone in the store talking to him about his great big balloon.

2. Breakfast in bed.

Sloth was not far behind Cricket but if a man is going to wake me up on my day, he knows damn well he needs to have donuts and coffee in hand. It may sound lazy (what, no handmade fresh crepes, eggs Benedict and freshly squeezed orange juice?) but this is a man who is in tune with my feelings. Donuts and coffee are the way to my heart. And magazines and the alone time to read them while lounging in bed.

3. Gift certificates and lots of them.

Again another gift some may take as thoughtless but he’s been listening to my many desires: new hairstyle, Starbucks spending cash, massage, body modification, all the gifts that are best given in gift card form.

4. Nose piercing

I’m not sure if this is very 2008 but I’ve been wanting this since I was 13 people! But this has me worried if it’s coming off like a 50 year old man getting his one ear pierced with a garish gold hoop “just because he’s always wanted one.” Ah well. It’s taking me some time to get used to, mainly because it’s the only thing I can see out of my peripheral. It took me my entire life to stop focusing on my actual nose and now I went and added shiny metal to draw more attention to it. It catches my eye so badly that I feel as though I am walking around with a huge clown nose attached to my face. But in 4 weeks this starter stud will be swapped out with something a little daintier. Many hours have been logged in tattoo/piercing shops in my prime, whether just hanging out or getting tattooed but I’ve never managed to leave with my nose pierced. I did, once upon a time have my septum pierced (no that’s not my honker) and why, do I ask myself, why would I go for something so awfully painful and not the most attractive of piercings when I could have easily chosen what I’ve been coveting for years. I was 18 people and therefore a total dumbass, that’s why.

5. Thai food

Chicken Paid Thai and Panang Curry Chicken. Enough said, it’s now a Mother’s Day tradition and many days in between.

6. Misc.

A foot rub, the laundry, dishes and a family nap were some of the miscellaneous extravagances I received throughout the day. I’m sure I would have had a bath drawn as well but you know how that goes.

7. The best excuse to celebrate Mother’s Day

2008-05-13T14:33:57+00:00

we havent gotten our stimulus check yet although we dont know why. It should have come by May 9th. We could really use it, esp. as today while on the way home from curves I noticed the shell on one side of the intersection had gas for $3.73 and the Speedway across the street was $3.95!! everyone was trying to fill up before the .22 cent hike in price, and since we were almost on E I had to too since we’ll be going to church a lot this week so will need gas. blah. thankfully as far as gas goes we only have one vehicle, the downside it cost $60++ to fill it up. blah. I’m going to seriously start reconsidering where I go during the days to conserve gas. This is so ridiculous. It’s almost pay day but even then the money will be going towards the mortgage and bills. time to cut back, seriously and I’m going to dread it, I know I am spoiled, esp. for a SAHM. oh well time to live like we only have one income.